Children’s Piano (Beginner) Course Overview

Students will learn to read music and play a variety of short pieces while developing rhythm, keyboard skills, coordination, listening, and musical expression.

Regular practice between classes helps students reinforce what they are learning and become more comfortable playing the piano.

The learning objectives below show how skills are developed and built upon throughout the class. Teachers may adjust pacing based on the number of class meetings and the needs of each group.

Getting Comfortable at the Piano

• Balanced sitting position, relaxed hand shape, and finger numbers
• Right and left hands, high and low sounds, and groups of two and three black keys
• Keeping a steady beat and playing simple rhythms, including quarter notes
• Playing short pieces using black keys
• Listening activities and creating short musical ideas with teacher guidance

Beginning to Read and Play

• The musical alphabet, A–G, and locating notes on the keyboard
• Half notes and whole notes
• C position, a basic five-finger hand position
• Beginning coordination between the hands
• Recognizing whether music moves higher, lower, or one note at a time
• Playing short pieces that combine rhythm and note reading

Building Skills and Musical Expression

• The grand staff, treble and bass clefs, and Middle C
• Reading and playing short, unfamiliar musical examples
• Continued rhythm work
• Playing simple pieces using both hands
• Exploring loud and soft dynamics and musical expression
• Preparing a few short pieces to share in class

The skills developed in this beginner class are reinforced and expanded in Piano (Continuing Beginner), where students continue using the Piano Adventures Primer Level Lesson and Theory Books and learn additional pieces.