Alfred's Adult Piano Lesson 10
Level 1 - The Whole Note
Alfred's Adult Piano Lesson 10 is for you if you're learning piano using the Alfred's Adult All-in-One Course, Book 1. For personal use only!
The All-in-One course from Alfred's covers learning to read music, music theory, technique, and various styles of piano music including blues, jazz, classical, and pop.
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Alfred's Adult Piano Lesson 10
The Whole Note
Page 17
You've learned about:
- Quarter Notes (1 beat)
- Half Notes (2 beats)
The whole note has 4 beats, and it's represented by a hollow oval. You hold down a note and count 1 - 2 - 3 - 4.
If reading finger numbers and counting beats is slightly confusing, you can use a phrase to help you remember. I like "whole - note - four - beats!" better.
The exercise at the top of the page is a simple clapping exercise, or you can tap on a tabletop or your lap. Count out loud!!
Alfred's Adult Piano Lesson 10
Aura Lee
If you have the CD that came with the book, pop it in and have a listen to get a feel for the melody and the rhythm.
Next, do step 1 of the practice directions: clap (or tap) and count the rhythm out loud. Do this a couple of times, so the rhythm is good and solid in your head.
Now, move on to step 2 in the instructions. The first time you do this, don't worry so much about the rhythm. Concentrate on the feeling, and pattern, of your fingers and pushing the notes down. This song is a repetitive pattern, and you want to notice how your hand feels when you play it. Say the finger numbers out loud.
After doing that a couple of times, you can add the rhythm back to the mix, and move on to instruction 3 - play and count. Keep in mind that you are not trying to play anywhere near the tempo on the CD!! Just go as slow as YOU need to. Speed isn't important. Think about each note before you push the key down.
Finally, the most difficult is to play and say the note names. This is harder because you have to keep the rhythm going without counting.
If you find you're having trouble, go back to step 3, rinse, and repeat. :-)
That's about all there is to this page!
Now you've played songs with both hands! Great progress!
After a left-hand review and note naming exercise in our next lesson, we'll be moving on to playing piano hands together!
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