Black Key Jam (audio file) - A slow, funky groove for beginners, in a call-and-response format (4 beats each). Adaptable so a young student may improvise HS or HT using a braced finger 3, or an older student may play LH blocked 5ths and improv HT.
Black Key Jam (PDF) - Graphics and ideas for getting started.

FLASHCARDS

5-Finger Flashcards; Black-White Patterns - Two ways of visualizing the patterns; “flat” b/w patterns and b/w patterns where the black keys are “taller”.
Flashcard Race! (PDF) - A chart based on Jane Bastien’s “One Minute Club” idea, that correlates to my method of introducing and drilling Grand Staff Landmarks (see ”Flashcard Sequence” below).
Flashcard Race! (Word Doc) - A version you can EDIT, so you can adapt the idea to your own personal curriculum.
Flashcard Sequence; TOUCH TRAIN - I’m all about getting students to know the Grand Staff Landmarks BY TOUCH A.S.A.P., so the looking at fingers while sight-playing is hopefully rendered totally unnecessary!
White Key Flash - Black Key Groups - LARGE cards (2 per 8.5 x 11 inch sheets), highlighting a white key around a group of 2 or 3 black keys.
White Key Flash – 2 octaves - Cards showing a 2-octave keyboard with specific keys highlighted.

PRESCHOOL PIANO

Pre-Reading Cards for LH and RH - (warning; SLOW loading due to large graphic) ~ 2 large cards and many smaller ones to aid in distinguishing those up-stem and down-stem notes in most pre-reading piano music for children.
Music Alphabet Cards – Simple games to drill letter order; forwards and backwards by steps and skips.
Black Key Flash - A simple “play the key(s) circled in red” game for children just getting oriented to the keyboard.
51 Preschool Piano Sheets – what it says. This are bits & pieces of a book that I made for young students. Hopefully you know all of the tunes, but you’ll have to make your own CD accompaniments!
Do Is My Home – A song for ear training.

GAMES

A Penny for Your Thoughts -- An extremely adaptable group class game, so you can choose what you want to reinforce during the game, and update it monthly as new concepts are learned. It’s made for those situations where you may have different levels; getting rid of your pennies is also an option also!
Lights Out! - A Feel & Find Game to develop a sense of keyboard topography( i.e. “touch training”)
Chord Progression Cards - Roman numeral chord flashcards (I, ii, V7, etc.) with ideas for games.
Ear Factor 1 - Quarter, Half, Dotted Half, and Whole notes only.
Ear Factor 2 - Quarter and Paired-Eighth notes only.
Ear Factor 3 - Quarter notes, Quarter Rests, and Paired-Eighth notes only.

ELEMENTARY TECHNIQUE -

Drop-Roll - Too much detail for those who like it.
Major Arpeggios – Young Beginners ~ All 12 keys; ascending only. (with B/W graphics to show topography)
Major 5-Finger Patterns – Young Beginners ~ All 12 keys; harmonic 5ths used at end to reinforce “the bridge” (with B/W graphics to show topography)

INTERMEDIATE TECHNIQUE -

Major Triad Pattern #1 - Blocked major triads, ascending chromatically.
Major Triad Pattern #2 - Blocked major triads moving up and down by octave.
Relay Race – 1 Octave Scale Preparation
Relay Race – 1 Octave Scale
Contrary Race – 1 Octave Scale
Keyboard Skills COVER (in case you want to print a cardstock cover and make a booklet)
Keyboard Skills Booklet; ROTE - One way to get the SOUND of major scales…particularly the leading tone’s pull to the tonic…into the ears of young players without involving the traditional fingering of thumb-under/finger-over.
Keyboard Skills – Level 1 [separate sheets in A, B, C, D, E, F, and G] – Major and minor 5-finger patterns, cross-hand arpeggios, and cadences, but hopefully written in some different ways than what we often see in publications. Patterns are printed on separate PDF’s since it may be best to pick a few keys to get the student started and then have THEM transpose to other keys!
Melodic Cadences [separate sheets in A, B, C, D, E, F, and G] – I believe we need to teach cadences well before students play blocked chords (harmonic), so I wrote “melodic cadences”; held notes give a “pedaling” illusion and I believe that being able to hear either “DO” or “TI” (solfege) is paramount in hearing the I or V chord, esp. when they are in “fancy voicings’!

SIGHT-SINGING & SIGHT-PLAYING –

Do Re Mi Flashcards [C major/A minor for Treble Clef & Bass Clef; G major/E minor and F major/D minor in Treble Clef only] - I made these 3-note pattern cards for beginners, specifically to develop sight-singing & sight-playing skills. I prefer beginning with DO-RE-MI, and later adding TI, so these cards can coordinate with the many published materials that use fingers 2-3-4 initially, and then 1-2-3. I purposely avoided that dreaded Middle C area, using Treble C and Bass C instead. The flashcards are meant to be used in the context of teaching SOLFEGE and recognizing where “DO” is in any given key signature. Includes blank cards so you and/or students may create your own patterns.

THEORY -

Order of Sharps
Order of Flats

CREATIVE -

Sneaky Sounds – A creative project for a Halloween recital; you and your students will surely recognize the low, tip-toeing pattern!

PIECES

Berens - Op.70, Book 1 – # 1-4 and 7 (these short pieces work on the hands’ independance rhythmically, and then 2-part oblique-motion).
Easiest Studies In Velocity – Op.83, No.1 by Gurlitt (RH gets a workout). Excellent when you want to get the I-V7 progression “in the ears”! I would highly recommend using solfege in refering to the notes, since hearing “TI” is paramount in distinguishing the I chord from the V7 chord.
Easiest Studies In Velocity – Op.83, No.1 (LH gets a workout)
Easiest Studies In Velocity - Op.83, No.1 (RH) – in G major
Easiest Studies In Velocity – Op.83, No.1 (LH) – in G major
12 Easy Studies (Kohler’s Op.157, No.1) – In the original key of C major, and any fan of “The Sound of Music” will hear the possible origin of that song! Besides being excellent in developing hand independance, it is also great to reinforce LISTENING for perfect half rests!
12 Easy Studies (Kohler’s Op.157, No.1) – Transposed to G-flat major since we lack simple music in this key!
Kunz – Konrad Max Kunz’s Op.14, No.1-4 (these short canons provide an excellent introduction to 2-part playing and developing contrary-motion playing) .
Kunz PRIMO – Arr. as a duet to teach ensemble-playing in classes, as well as help with widening a child’s ability to LISTEN while playing.
Kunz SECONDO – For each part in this duet, the student’s part is bigger than the other part to avoid visual distraction.
Chopsticks – The A section, played with finger 2 only.
Chopsticks p.2 - Blocked 3rds in the B section are played with RH fingers 2 and 4 only; LH bass used fingers 1 and 4 only.
Ghost-play – an original piece; Late-Elementary to Early-Intermediate.
Saturday Morning Cartoons – an original piece; Mid-Elementary.
Trance – an original piece; Intermediate.

MUSIKGARTEN - these were made as alternate pages for their “Music Makers: At the Keyboard” series, to avoid giving young hands 3-note chords before they were ready physically/technically.

MMK – When the Saints Go Marching In
MMK – Let Us Chase the Squirrel
MMK – Largo
MMK – Composing Sheet for C major (I-V)
MMK – Composing Sheet for D major (I-V)
MMK – Bim Bam
MMK 1 – Triple Cards (replacement flash cards if they get eaten or lost!)
MMK 1 – Duple Cards
MMK 1 – Melody Cards

FONTS FOR TEACHERS - a zip fle containing all you need to get started making your OWN materials easily; fonts to download, and instructions to get you started!

Teaching Ideas (for specific piano methods on the market)

Teaching Ideas for MFPA (My First Piano Adventure – Book A; Faber & Faber). Mr. Faber asked for my input as a piano teacher who has used this method, and this PDF was the result.

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John Bisceglia's FREE Piano Teaching Materials

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