eee A Palince » Mortar eee A mands Vick T athceo |Lesson Book Complete Level 8 THE LATER BEGINNER Complete Level 1 is especially designed to appeal to the student who starts piano study later than the average beginner. It's also useful for the young student who shows unusual musical aptitude. This one book fully presents all the principles introduced in the regular Lesson Books 1A and 1B of Alfred’s Basic Piano Library. The student moves more quickly to the grand staff, and the book progresses at a faster pace. ‘The basic contents of this book may be outlined as follows: Pages 24 Introduction to playing, 5-7 Keyboard orientation. Fluent recognition of finger numbers without associating any number with any key, black or white, Tunes on the black keys for reading rhythms and developing finger skils. Elementary dynamics. 9-11 Fluent recognition of the names of keys through the use of letter-notes in MIDDLE C POSITION, 12-17 Introduction to the GRAND STAFF. Reading in C POSITION introduced. 18-31 INTERVALIC READING in C POSITION. Anew time signature. Legato. Tied notes. Melodic and harmonic intervals. Building skills in technic, rhythmic reading, and expressive playing. 32-41 INTERVALIC READING in G POSITION. Review of C position. Sharps & flats. More dynamics. Staccato. 42-50 Staff reading in MIDDLE C POSITION. Eighth notes. Tempo marks. A new time signature. 51-57 ANEWG POSITION. Pedaling, Development of skill in technic, rhythm, and dynamics. 58-63 MIDDLE D POSITION. Half steps & whole steps. Pieces building technical skills. 64-70 TETRACHORDS. Bullding MAJOR SCALES in the keys of C MAJOR & G MAJOR, Further development of technical, rhythmic, and dynamic skils. 71-72 Review of musical terms. CERTIFICATE OF PROMOTION. Although this book progresses more quickly than regular 1A & 1B Lesson Books, there are no gaps, and there are plenty of overlaps. See the box below for additional material for reinforcing each principle introduced in this book. ‘The authors hope that these pages will bring much pleasure and will open the door to the WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUSIC for many students. Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus & Amanda Vick Letheo Correlated materials to be used with Lesson Book, Complete Level 1 Title Start on page COMPOSITION BOOK, Complete Level 1 ....13 EAR TRAINING BOOK, Complete Level 1. ELEMENTARY MUSICIANSHIP, Book 1 ENSEMBLE BOOK, Complete Level .... FLASH CARDS, Levels 1A& 1B... 5 FUN SOLO BOOK, Complete Level 1 HYMN BOOK, Complete Level 1... ¢ MERRY CHRISTMAS! Complcto Level1 .. MERRY CHRISTMAS! ENSEMBLE 800K, Complete Level 1 : Title Start on page TECHNIC BOOK, Complete Level 1 9 THEORY BOOK, Complete Level 1 ..........6 TOP HITS! Solo Book, Complete Level 1 .... 10 ‘TOP HITS! Christmas Book, Complete Level 1." ‘A General MIDI disk “= (17080) is avaliable, which includes @ full piano recording and background accompaniment. ‘Theory Games Software correlating to Levels 1A~2 NOTESPELLER, Complete Level 1 8 (14432) and Levels 8-5 (14489) is available for RECITAL BOOK, Complete Level 1 . 7 Macintosh and IBWWindows-compatibie computers. SIGHT READING BOOK, Complete Level 1... .5 “Teacher's discretion ‘Third Edition Copyright © MM by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. ‘All rights reserved. Printed in USA.How to Sit at the Piano SITTALL! Lean slightly forward. Let arms hang loosely from shoulders. Elbows slightly higher than keys. Bench must face the keyboard squarely. Knees slightly under keyboard. Feet flat on the floor. Right foot may be slightly forward. Pianos come in several different sizes and styles, Which kind of piano do you have? SPINET PIANO UPRIGHT PIANO GRAND PIANOFingers Have ‘THE THUMB IS Numbers | [| frit eae emcen OF EACH HAND LEFT HAND (cs) (Hy Piano Tones When you play a key, a hammer inside your piano strikes a string to make a tone. When you drop into the key with a LITTLE weight, you make a SOFT tone. When you use MORE weight, you make a LOUDER tone. Curve your fingers when you play! Pretend you have a bubble in your hand. Hold the bubble gently, so it doesn’t break! 1. Play any white key with the 3rd finger of either hand, softly. 2. See how many times you can repeat the same key, making the tone a little louder each time you play. Before you play any key you should always decide how soft or loud you want it to sound. For the first pieces in this book, play with a MODERATELY LOUD tone. Always LISTEN CAREFULLY to the music you are making!= The Keyboard The keyboard is made up of white keys and black keys. J LOW SOUNDS DOWN (Lower) UP (Higher) HIGH SOUNDS Black keys are in groups of 2's and 3's TWO BLACK KEY GROUPS = y . Using LH 2 3, begin at the middle . Play them again, one key ata time. . Using LH 2 3 4, begin at the . Play them again, one key at a time. and play all the 2 black key groups going the keyboard 3 (both keys at once). 4, Play them again, one key at a time. PLAY: RH23. SAY: “Step up” as you play each pair. KEY GROUPS 7. Using RH 23 4, begin at the middle and play all the 3 black key groups going [uP > the keyboard (all 3 keys at once). RH 384 8. Play them again, one key ata time. PLAY: RH 234. SAY: “Step-ping up.”Music is made up of short fones and long tones. We write these tones in notes, and we measure their lengths by counting. a short note. Right & Left RH Fingers: 2 S 2 (Stems UP) Right hand play ~ ing, LH Firigers ¢ f e ¢ (Stems DOWN) 3 3 Let hand play - ing, Half Note J along note. ‘COUNT: “One - two” or: “Half -note” Left & Right aa f He hand plays: FH Fingers: J J J 5 Clap (or tap) ONCE for each note, counting aloud. BAR LINES divide the music into equal MEASURES. BAR BAR BAR LINE LINE LINE <— Measure —> | <— MEASURE—> edsdiidede POSITION OF HANDS rus TRH 2 2 2 Hear the high notes! Hear the low notes! DOUBLE BAR ‘sed at the end, Clap (or tap) ONCE for each note, counting aloud. | POSITION cl RH1. Clap (or tap) the following rhythm. Whole Note 2. Clap ONCE for each note, counting aloud as you clap. a very long note. COUNT: “One - two - three - four” or: “Whole - note - hold - down” °o °o Merrily We Roll Along HAND POSITIONS iu FH 3. Clap (or tap) & count. 4, Play & count. NEB Abe 5. Play & sing the words. mb reRIEEL | ma: Mer - ri - roll a - tong, roll a ~ long, roll a = long, RH Fingers: 4g ’ d3 Mer- i - ly we a - long, Oer the deep blue seal DUET PART (Siudent uses black key groups ABOVE the middle of the keyboard.) madjd ddd adji ddd 2 dilemmas wees ae1. Clap (or tap) & count. DYNAMIC SIGNS tell us how LOUD or SOFT to play. Sri 2 come SF (forte) = loud P (piano) = soft 3. Play & sing the words. 4, . Play a duet with your teacher. ecco Jolly Old Saint Nicholas BA Beene eee aree rie ee | LH It : 1 a lo 2 2 e ¢ ? f 1 Jol - ly Old = Saint o - las, Jean = your ear this way! | f fitalmlee | eeeciege ie thl: 4 la la |g Bile Pete a rege ged ee oe ey "Jdddidd gaggle ddddlo Christ- mas Eve is com - ing soon, now, you dear old man, 3 4 3) 4 J 8 Jiddlyyd [ede | Whis - per what you'll bring to me, tell me it you can. DUET PART (Student uses black key groups ABOVE the middle of the keyboard.) RH tH fe r r You are now ready to begin RECITAL BOOK, Complete Level 1.= An Easy Way to Find Any White Key Piano keys are named for the first seven letters of the alphabet, beginning with A. A B C DE F G The 2 & 3 black key groups help to identify the names of the white keys! Use LH 3 for keys below the middle of the keyboard. Use RH 3 for keys above the middle of the keyboard. 1. Play all the A’s on your piano. 2. Play all the B's. 3. Play all the C’s. 4, Play all the D's. 5. Play all the E’s. 6. Play all the F's. 7. Play all the G’s. F G You can now name every white key on the piano. The key names are A B C D E F G used over and over! The C nearest the middle of the piano is 4 called MIDDLE C. » Going UP the keyboard, the notes sound HIGHER and HIGHER! Play and name every white key beginning with bottom key A. Use LH 3 for keys below middle C. Use RH 3 for middle C and alll keys above.The C nearest the middle of the keyboard (under the brand name of the piano) is called “Middle C.” MIDDLE C POSITION ee Pe LH = 3 2@2 3 =RH 1. Clap (or tap) & count. THU! n MIDDLE C 2. Play & count 3. Play & say note names. 4, Play & sing the words. Follow these steps for each new piece. RH = Notes with stems UP LH = Notes with stems DOWN ‘Two Dots mean go back mw a a Pee eed lope ple: 1. Bat - ter upt Bat - ter up! Let the game be - gin! 2, Bat - ter up! Bat - ter up! Our team’s sure to win! DUET PART fags oa ae RH are You are now ready to begin TECHNIC BOOK, Complete Level 1. Wee =10 i a 4. Clap (or tap) the following rhythm. Music has numbers at the beginning 2. Clap ONCE for each note, counting aloud called the TIME SIGNATURE. paodcnot means 4 beats to each measure. a quarter note J) gets one beat. 4 al J * | {| °o S44 1 0 122-8248 4 2B 854, 1-2-9-47 ‘ ives MIDDLE C POSITION ridé Jd f 1. Our dog's fun! Our dog's neat! Hes a ver- y clev - er pup! 2. He stands on his front feet, When we hold his hind legs up! DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.) RH mp 1NEW DYNAMIC SIGN aif (mezzo forte) = moderately loud The Ski Lift 1. Let's go rid - ing on the 2. When we're rid ~ ing on the "I Jddjed O'er the moun-tains, hills. and Its such fun to ride the DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.) aH Lp o 6 val-leys, O’er the ice and snow. MIDDLE C POSITION eel LH=5432@)2345-=RH el fecee tl itt; Up and up well 9, lit There’s so much to see! Ipprele li’ When you're there with me.The Staff LINES Music is written 1 r SPACES 1 ona STAFF of S lines and 4 spaces: + (—— LINE NOTES — Some notes e 3 x om SPACE NOTES S are written eS on LINES: a= The Bass Staff The BASS STAFF 9» Locates the F below the middle | of the keyboard. is indicated by the BASS CLEF sign: Some notes are written == in SPACES: OE ~ This sign came from the letter F: oF This is the F line. The F line passes between the two dots of the F clef sign! 2 By moving up or down from this F, you can name any note on the bass staff. ee 54321 Li PE Notes REPEATED on ‘same line of space: REPEAT same key. Noles stepping DOWN to next space or line: ‘step DOWN to next white Key, Notes stepping UP. to next space or line: step UP to next white key. eM 3 KES eae tee a | — = * ohRain, Rain!The Treble Staff The Tone BIAEE 5 incicsted inn, se eae This sign came t : y yy the sign: oe from the letter G: Y }|o This is the G line. The clef sign curls around the G line. By moving up or down from this G, you can name any note on the treble staff. #g my of G, down, down, down, up, up, G G, down, down, to c. Tee 1 2 a 5 i a RH 5avepoy sone TTI 12345 LRH S vossa ey hap - py song! Play and sing a - longi When you're sad it makes you glad to play this hap - py songl DUET PARTThe Grand Siaff The BASS STAFF and TREBLE STAFF together make the GRAND STAFF. A short line is used in between them for MIDDLE C. 5 long lines for the TREBLE STAFF. The GRAND STAFF has: 4 1 short line for MIDDLE C (added only when needed). 5 long lines for the BASS STAFF. The complete MUSICAL ALPHABET can be written 3 times on the GRAND STAFF: Low If MIDDLE 1 if HIGH ‘The TREBLE and BASS staffs are joined together with a BRACE: IMPORTANT: Only LH & RH C D E F G need be learned now.C Position Grand Staff [Pe ee ea RH1 2 3 4 § | | WHE 4321 FOR THE REST OF THIS BOOK: Notes BELOW the Notes in the TREBLE STAFF 6 Notes ABOVE or ON the middle middle line have will be played with RH. line have stems pointing DOWN. __stems pointing UP. Notes in the BASS STAFF 5: will be played with LH. “Position C” [That's “PO - SI - TION DOWN to mid - dleMeasuring Distances in Music Distances from one note to another are measured in INTERVALS, called 2nds, 3rds, etc. FT The distance from any white key to the next white key, up or down, is called a 2nd. 2nds are written LINE-SPACE or SPACE-LINE. Play, saying “UP a 2nd,” etc. Upa Upa Downa Downa Upa Upa Downa Downa 2nd 2nd 2nd and 42nd, 2nd 4 2nd 5 C POSITION mene 64321 4h ae Just a Second! Moderately fast RH 1 Mf Sit “a sec-ond, | just a sec-ond, | just a sec-ond, | just a _sec- ond! i j E rn -y Sf tts second, | just second, | het a see cond! |Now I'm read - y! LHSC POSITION 4. Clap (or tap) the following rhythm. mn Py Sailing Moderately fast 1. Come, come, come = tothe seal 2. Sea - gulls ‘ound us will play. RH 1 nf LH DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.)os 4. Clap (or tap) the following rhythm. ‘A CURVED LINE over DIFFERENT NOTES 2. Clap ONCE for each note, counting aloud. is called a SLUR. It means play LEGATO (smoothly connected). 3 J J SLURS mean play LEGATO. > Slurs often divide the music into PHRASES. A PHRASE is a musical thought or sentence. C POSITION waning wen GANT Bian ano" it et Moderately slow RH 3 DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.)To play LEGATO correctly, one finger must TIED NOTES Sener TUS ae ere ee oa ‘When notes on the SAME LINE or SPACE are joined. This piece will make it easy for you to learn bya curved line, we call them TIED NOTES. to play LEGATO. The key is held down for the COMBINED VALUES PLAY SLOWLY! CONNECT SMOOTHLY! eect LISTEN CAREFULLY! J COUNT: “1 Balloons Moderately slow 1.Soar - ing smooth - ly sail 2. Glid - ing glim - mer on Prioat - ing like Bright - ‘ning the DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.)ae When you skip a white key, the interval is a rd. ‘SPACE-SPACE. Play, saying “UP a 3rd,” etc. Upa Upa Downa Downa Upa Upa Downa Downa Sd Grd rd rd 4 8G 4 HG Sd Sr Who’s on Third? Moderately fast 1 mf ey — aa Who's on third? Who's on third? Who's on third? Tell _me! Tell mel Who's on third? Who's on third? Who's on third? I'd like to know! mf *Mexican Hat Dance Happily Play tho fa - mous | Hat Dance the fa - mous_| Hat Play it now for Its such fun to DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.)24 More about Intervals When notes are played separately they make a MELODY. : We call the intervals between melody notes ss MELODIC INTERVALS. 1. Play these MELODIC 2nds & 3rds. Listen to the sound of each interval. mf Lend “3rd r2nd5 -3rd5 When notes are played together they make HARMONY. We call the intervals between these notes HARMONIC INTERVALS. 2. Play these HARMONIC 2nds & rds. Listen to the sound of each interval. 2 a i i mf (end) — (Brd) (2nd) (Brd) anfRESTS are signs of SILENCE. This is a QUARTER REST. Itmeans REST FOR THE VALUE of a QUARTER NOTE. 1. Clap (or tap) the following rhythm. 2. Clap ONCE for each note, counting aloud. 3. Do not clap for the REST! eo Pees Rock Song Brightly 4 Finok is mi-[o - Rock shar -| mon 2. Rock with the fight Rock with the left vi I 2 ow Rock is mel -| 0 - diel fs har -|mon - i! Rock with the —_| right hand! with the | left hand! DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher.) BH LH pepe Tip? pepe Pepe pare PATE PIPE PFIn ROCKETS, harmonic intervals (2nds & 3rds) are played by the left hand in the last two measures of each line. Play the harmonic intervals softer than the melody. The melody must always be clearly heard! Rockets Moderately fast Fa gon Rock - ets go up, and they land on the. me Rock - ets will trav - el to oth - er worlds soon! IMPORTANT! Play ROCKETS again, playing the second line 1 octave (8 notes) higher. The rests at the end of the first line give you time to move your hands to the new position!Sea Divers In this piece, harmonic intervals are played by the right hand in the last two measures of each line. Play the harmonic intervals softer than the melody, so the melody can always be clearly heard! Moderately slow 5 i 2 3 1 mf Down in the © - cean the sea div = ers 90. May - be — they'll find oman - y reas - ures be - low! IMPORTANT! Play SEA DIVERS again, playing the second line 1 octave lower!(a When you skip 2 white keys, the interval is a 4th. 4ths are written LINE-SPACE or SPACI Play, saying “UP a 4th,” etc. upa Upa — Downa Upa Downa.-Upa = Downa 4th 4in 4th 4th 4th ath 4th nq 2m"s ay Hl 5 2 1 é 3 Play a Fourth Moderately fast 1d z os mf 2 i fe 7? . Play a fourth and | then a third. That's the best | ev - er heard. mf Se = 2 = pS z 2 - ——— 5a Play them with the oth - er hand, Youre the great -est inthe land! DUET PART (Student plays 1 octave higher:) RH wr igeBefore playing hands together in both pieces: ey 1. Play the left hand. Name each harmonic interval. id 2. Play the right hand. Name each melodic interval. ceaas > Old Uncle Bill Be Moderately fast 1.0ld Un - dle Bill lived on a hill, 21 love old Bill; fl al - ways will, 5 4 SP 1 7 2 3 it he’s not ~— gone, He lives there stil rm bet he's stil up on that hill 4 3 4 4 “mrs Thisis a WHOLE REST. It means REST FOR THE VALUE of a WHOLE NOTE or any WHOLE MEASURE. Love Somebody Merrily 1 SP eee ho4 4 2 3 4 a 88 S both timesa When you skip 3 white keys, the interval is a 5th. Play, saying “UP a 5th,” etc. Upa Downa Upa Down a 5th sith 15 5th My Fifth ez, Ludwig van Beethoven Seriously 1 Pris 5 . may - be youve31 The Donkey Before playing hands together, play LH alone, naming each harmonic interval. Brightly 1 Prwoct -ly sings the at the break of is what hell -| haw, hee - haw, hee = TEACHER'S NOTE: THE DONKEY may be played as a ROUND for two or three pianos. The second piano begins after the first has played 4 measures. The third piano begins after the second has played 4Playing in G Position Play and say the note names. “Position G” clea esis Dasa DC B A* Gee, 1 like “po - si- tion Gr 5 “6 A BoC D CG B A® Gee, its eas -y — youll a - gree!Jingle Bells! POSITION Merrily 3 e Fup 2 ye vam Oh, what fun | oe | Jin = gle, bells! Jin = gle, bells! Oh, what fun DUET PART bra Jin = gle, bells! one -horse 0 - pen sleigh! sleightINCOMPLETE MEASURE Some pieces begin with an INCOMPLETE MEASURE. The first measure in this piece has only 3 counts. The missing count is found in the last measure. When you repeat the whole piece, you will have one whole measure of 4 counts when you play the last measure plus the first measure, eee er Se saree isle = This is a HALF REST. Itmeans REST FOR THE VALUE of a HALF NOTE. | | sel A Friend Like You Before playing hands together, play the LH alone, naming each harmonic interval. Moderately slow 1. A fiend tke you is hard to find. 2. Where could | find a friend like you? 5 mf You're al-ways true, You're al- ways kind. A friend so kind, So good, so true. >~