Finding your Tempo

One of the hardest things to practice at home by yourself is keeping a steady tempo.  You slow down for the hard parts, you rush through the easy parts.  I get it!  However, your first step to playing a piece at one tempo, is to find the tempo of your hardest passage.  Figure out how fast you're able to comfortably play that, and then start the piece in that tempo.

Here is an example of Adrian playing her toughest passage, and then starting her piece in that tempo. I bet her Sonatina is going to sound so steady in lesson next week!

Beethoven Sonatina LH, Suzuki Book 2

At this point in music study, the melody of a new piece is very easy for a student to pick up.  I always get them started with the LH so that they feel comfortable moving on with the piece.  After the slide up into the black keys in m. 1-2 of this Sonatina, it is measures 3-4 that pose the bigger difficulty.

The top line of the LH chords is going to be legato, while the bottom line needs to lift in order to repeat the same note.  Here is how it is done:

Melody, Suzuki Book 2

Melody, while simple in sound, has its moments of complication!

Measures 7-8 and measures 11-12 have finger switches and movement that takes practice!

The finger switch in measure 8 is the one that students forgo quickly, which causes a tense stretch between fingers 3 and 4.  The last three beats of measure 8 should be practiced on their own first.

Measures 7-8:

The finger switch in measure 11 insures that the melodic line will remain legato.  It feels symmetrical in the hands since the LH is also inching down the keyboard by placing the thumb on treble G.

Measures 11-12:

And there you have it!

Grouping and Gestures

Once a student has learned how to distinctly play each key, the next step is to learn how to group them together to make a fluid phrase!

Suzuki students learn this in Honeybee.  Here is an example of a student practicing two groups of four notes by using a gesture to keep them controlled and even.


This is best taught by rote as groupings is pretty personal in terms of style and is not indicated in the score.

Little Waltz - RH B section

By Book 3, Suzuki students are very comfortable with larger gestures to create groupings of notes.  After all, they've been doing it easily since Little Playmates in Book 1!

Little Waltz though, has a B section that is often awkward for students who approach it in the same manner as the A section.

Practicing the gestures that will group these notes together will make the section much more fluid:

Minuet in G minor, RH B section

One of the things your child cannot learn from just listening to the CD is how to use proper and efficient fingering.  For this, you'll have to open the book!  In Minuet in G minor, there are some fingering options that you might see in your book and I propose the following, based on what my students have used to get the best results.

We are, of course looking at the B section, measures 9 - 16.  The A section is quite easily learned by ear.

Minuet 1 LH B section

Very similar to the first line of the A section, the B section LH of Minuet 1 poses some difficult at times  in coordination.  The octave figure in measure 18 is very similar to the one in the A section, but teachers the student how to do the same thing in a different key.  Measure 20 is essentially the reversal of measure 18.

Here is how it would look to play this line:

Kuhlau Movement 1 opening - Suzuki Book 3

Sometimes all you need to do is listen to the CD.  If that isn't the case though, it helps to count and clap something, or see how two hands are coordinated together.  The opening of the Kuhlau Sonatina is sometimes one of those spots.

Here is a video of the first two measures - first the LH alone, and then the two hands together if listening to the CD is just not enough for you!

Short Story - B section HT

Sometimes this passage of LH scales and RH chords comes naturally to a student, and sometimes one has trouble figuring out how exactly they fit together.  And then there is the tricky business of making the beautiful sweeping B section line up with measure 15, which you have worked so hard on already!

Just take a breath, listen to the CD and let your hands try it out.  If that doesn't work, here is a quick clip that might help you out if you can't remember how it worked in your lesson this past week!

The C Chord Progression

As you may well know, chords provide the basis of harmonic support for a melody and much of the "background" (or often in beginning music - the left hand).  This harmonic support is comprised of a progression of chords in one form or another.  Many of you will already be comfortable with the alberti bass pattern of playing chords.  (5-1-3-1)

Below is a chord progression in C in blocked form.  (That means, all the notes of the chord are played at once.)  The chord progression is I-IV-I-V-V7-I, which in the key of C is C-F-C-G-G7-C.




The chord progression should be practiced slowly, with even tone and a flexible wrist.

The C Arpeggio

In order to play much of Suzuki Book 2 and any early intermediate literature, a student needs to be able to play an arpeggio with ease.  An arpeggio outlines a triad and provides both melody and harmony in a quick, easy, and charming way to a lot of piano music.

Small hands need to be careful though, not to have an excess of stretching.  The arm should support the hand, which should support the fingers, which should all be carried along to each note.

Below is an example of a child learning the C arpeggio.  The notes are C-E-G-C with fingering for the right hand being 1-2-3-5 (coming back down with the same notes and respective fingerings).

Theme, LH alternate legato-fingering, Suzuki Book 3

When the A section material returns in the second half of the Suzuki Book 3 version of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony Theme, you may want to play it with the same type of legato fingering you used in the A section.  It requires switching from fingers 4 to 5 on the bass notes.  Here is a quick look at what you can do to make it smooth and easy:

Happy Farmer, Left Hand, A1 Section, Suzuki Book 2

The Left Hand of Happy Farmer is usually very easy to learn.  A combination of arpeggios and by-ear trial-and-error gets the bulk of it done in minutes.  Measure fourteen though, is typically pretty daunting for students who become intimidated with that harmonic sixth that includes a Bflat.

From the C and the A in measure 13 though, the student's hand is already in the shape of a sixth.  Have them identify the two harmonic intervals in measure 14 followed by the single landmark note before showing them how it is done.

What a fun piece to play!

Short Story, Left Hand - Suzuki Book 2

Short Story is easy for the left hand, isn't it?  It is just chords we've mostly played before and scales, right?  Yup!  Until measure 15.  I know you can read these notes.... the first one is above or below middle C??

But, just to make things a little easier, here is a video that shows measures 14 - 16 played with the correct fingering.  (Fingering is getting more and more important as your pieces get more and more interesting!)

When you start to look at the right hand in this spot, it is important to notice what notes stay the same and what notes are different.
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Minuet 1, Left Hand - Suzuki Book 2

Confused by the strange notation in the second measure of the left hand in Minuet 1?  It's no biggie!  Your thumb will hold that dotted half note for the entire three beats while you play the rest of the measure!

Like this!

The rest is easy.  Don't forget the f sharps!