Lesson 44

Focus: 2/4 Time and Sixteenth Notes


Piano lessons on keyboard with music notes

 

The first lesson in book four marks the beginning of week 44, where you'll be introduced to the 2/4 time signature by way of "Tinker Polka." Duane explains how the time signature works, where the stresses are and how to count it before taking you through the piece hands alone, focusing on the staccato and legato phrasing. You'll then be introduced to sixteenth notes, the shortest note value you've worked with this far. You'll learn what they are, how to count them and how to find them in a piece of music, putting your new knowledge to the test in an exercise designed to practice your sixteenth note skills. After showing you a few arrangement techniques that work especially well with sixteenth notes, Duane guides you through "Arkansas Traveler," a song that includes not only sixteenth notes, but also 2/4 time. While arranging, Duane will also show you how to execute chromatic runs.

 

The lesson then moves into the fourth supplementary book and a song to practice 2/4 time with eight notes. Duane reviews how to use form to analyze and understand a song before taking you through the piece and its arrangement, which includes syncopation, twangs, half-step slides and a descending bass.

 

After playing as written the last song, "Billy Boy," (which again features 2/4 time), Duane shows you how to transpose, or change the key, of a song. Using scale degrees and intervals, he walks you through the process of a transposition, then experiments with some arrangement possibilities for the transposed material.

 

Review by Mollie Wells

 


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Piano lessons on keyboard with music notes
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