Lessons 101–120
Piano Unit 6
Lesson 101 B Major & Minor Improvisation
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the B major and B minor pentascales
- Practice these new pentascales with 2 new improvisations accompanied by Mr. Hoffman
Lesson 102 Honeybee
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the German folksong "Honeybee"
- Dynamic symbols: mezzo forte, mezzo piano
- Review D.C. al fine and slurs
Lesson 103 Honeybee: Left Hand
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the left hand part for "Honeybee"
- Review B major pentascale
- Review similar and contrary motion
Lesson 104 Melodic Dictation
What You’ll Learn
- Develop ear skills by dictating simple melodies on the staff
Lesson 105 B-flat Major & Minor Pentascale
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the B-flat major and minor pentascale
- How to play the I, IV, and V7 chords in B-flat major and minor
- New term: parallel minor
Lesson 106 Sight Reading Challenge (Unit 6)
What You’ll Learn
- Practice your sight reading skills with Mr. Hoffman's Unit 6 Sight Reading Challenge!
Lesson 107 Kye Kye Kule
What You’ll Learn
- How to play a traditional call and response song from Ghana "Kye Kye Kule"
- New symbol: accent
- New term: syncopation
Lesson 108 Syncopation
What You’ll Learn
- Practice performing syncopated rhythms while counting the subdivided beat
Lesson 109 Dynamics (Unit 6)
What You’ll Learn
- Terminology and symbols for all the dynamic levels used in music
- New terms: diminuendo, decrescendo, pianissimo, fortissimo
Lesson 110 F-sharp Major & Minor Pentascales
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the F-sharp major & minor pentascales
- Review enharmonics by respelling the F-sharp major pentascale as G-flat major
Lesson 111 Harvest Dance (2020 version)
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the A section of "Harvest Dance," an original piece composed by Mr. Hoffman
- New term: Question & Answer phrases
Lesson 112 Harvest Dance: B Section (2020 version)
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the B section and final A section of "Harvest Dance"
- Review: fermata, fortissimo, pianissimo, accent
Lesson 113 Improvising with Phrases
What You’ll Learn
- Practice improvising using question and answer phrases
Lesson 114 Circle of 5ths Challenge
What You’ll Learn
- Learn the meaning of the ‘Circle of 5ths’
- Review all 24 major and minor pentascales
- Learn how to take the Circle of 5ths Challenge!
Lesson 115 Happy Birthday to You
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the melody for "Happy Birthday to You"
- Learn an advanced fingering technique: finger cross-over
- New terms: pick-up note, downbeat
Lesson 116 Happy Birthday to You: Accompaniment
What You’ll Learn
- How to improvise an accompaniment for "Happy Birthday to You" by reading the chord symbols from a lead sheet
Lesson 117 Pick-up Notes
What You’ll Learn
- Practice counting pick-up notes in various situations, including multi-beat and partial-beat pick-ups
- Review: pick-up notes, pick-up beats, downbeats
- New term: anacrusis
Lesson 118 Vivace by Cornelius Gurlitt (Unit 6)
What You’ll Learn
- How to play "Vivace" by Cornelius Gurlitt
- New term: vivace
- Review articulation: accent
Lesson 119 Vivace: Hands Together (Unit 6)
What You’ll Learn
- How to play "Vivace" hands together
- How to use slow metronome practice to master a fast piece
Lesson 120 Improvisation in A Blues
What You’ll Learn
- How to play the blues pentascale in the key of A
- Practice "jamming" with Mr. Hoffman using the blues