Luis F.

The basics, such as sitting at the piano correctly, positioning your hands and how to touch the keyboard properly, are often the first steps taken and are important for building on later in lessons. If students are entirely new to music I will also explain how musical notes are written and what each one means in relation to the piano keys. Of course, some actual playing will be involved too and a scale or simple melody is likely to be where you start out.

Students will be able to play scales. You probably learned five finger patterns starting on C, F, and G when you were just starting piano lessons, so by now, you will be able to play full octave scales, at least on the white keys, with your hands together at a consistent tempo. By the time you reach this late intermediate stage, you should also be able to play scales like G flat major, D flat major, etc. You will also be able to play scales in the relative minor key of each item in the circle of fifths. For instance, the relative minor of C Major is A minor-if you’re an intermediate pianist, you probably know that. Hands-together arpeggios also come into play for intermediate pianists. You will be able to play them confidently at a consistent tempo starting on different inversions.