What’s New This Month - Jan 2025

These resources are available with the PianoForte printable membership.

Level 1 Repertoire - Little Mouse

This piece is at the same level as My Bike, the second piece in Level 1, and similarly, has four main concepts;

• Solfa So

• Solfa Mi

• Quarter Note/Crotchet

• Half Note Minim

This piece is wonderful for the student who is quite young, or for those who need extra time moving through the early lessons. It’s sweet and fun, and like all the Level 1 pieces, has a teacher accompaniment.

Level 2 Keyboard Geography Game - Piano Key Race

This is a set of flash cards that you can print on a heavy card stock or laminate and cut out. It supports students from Level 2 who are struggling to remember and quickly recognise the name of the piano keys. Shuffle the cards and then the student chooses a card and simply finds and plays the piano keys that correspond to the letters on the cards

Increase this challenge by:

Having them play each card forward and backward

Time them to see how many cards they can play in one minute

Use the metronome to increase the speed of each card

Play repeated keys in different octaves

Play each key with alternating hands / fingers

Level 2 Middle C Worksheets - Dogs and Cats

This is a collection of two cute worksheets to help students recognise where Middle C is on the grand stave. For a slightly more advanced student, it’s a wonderful chance to reinforce the concept of ledger lines and why not all notes with ledger lines are Middle C.

These worksheets ask the students to colour the animal where there is a Middle C. However, these worksheets can be made more complex by having them also name all the note names in each pattern and colour code the animals based on notes they find in each group.

These are perfect to send home as homework or to quickly do together in the lesson.

Major Scales - Key Signature Flash Cards

Students are usually ready to begin learning scales mid-way through Level 3. The Major Scales book guides them naturally around the Circle of Fifths, always reinforcing the relationship of Tonic and Dominant. These Flash Cards support this process and can be used along the way to drill a student’s memory of each key signature and also help explain how and why the key signatures appear in what order.

When students feel confident playing several different scales they can shuffle the cards and play scales in random orders. These can also be used similarly to drill relative minor scales or transposition.

Beyond Level 3 - Piano Duet The Water is Wide

This is an arrangement of the Scottish folk song also known by the name ‘Waly Waly’ (woe is me). It’s wonderfully suited for the late beginner or very early intermediate students. After students have played a few pieces in the “Beyond Level 3” section, this duet is easily accessible. Both parts, Primo and Secondo, are written at the same level so students can learn both parts and switch for extra challenge.

This piece is wonderfully lyrical and perfect for recital.