ASSIGNMENT GOALS

1. Be able to identify and play the letter-names and solfége syllables on the keyboard.

2. Compose your own piece using the musical alphabet moving forward, backward and repeating.

Let’s Review:

Letter-names and solfége syllables moving FORWARD and BACKWARD:

A B C D E F G — A G F E D C B A

La Ti Do Ré Mi Fa Sol — La Sol Fa Mi Ré Do Ti La

If you can’t speak the letter-names and solfége syllables forward and backward easily (from ANY starting point), go back and practice more until you can.

Let’s Learn:

This is the KEYBOARD!

1) On a modern acoustic piano, the keyboard normally has 88 black and white keys.

2) As you move up the keyboard (moving to the right) the sounds become higher in pitch.

3) As you move down the keyboard (moving to the left) the sounds become lower in pitch.

Notice how the black keys are grouped. Do you see the patterns?

Let’s Learn!

Letter-names and solfége syllables on the keyboard:

Remember the musical alphabet that you can now speak forward and backward?

Here it is matched with each WHITE KEY on the keyboard!

If you can easily locate all letter-names and syllables on the keyboard without any help, you can skip this next section.

Let’s start by learning three landmark names.

F / Fa is located just to the left of the THREE SETS

Find all of them on your keyboard

C / Do is located just to the left of the TWO SETS

Find all of them on your keyboard

G / Sol is located between the first and second black keys of the THREE SETS (to the right of F / Fa)

Find all of them on your keyboard

Just like the letter-names and syllables, the notes move forward / up the keyboard (to the right) and backward / down (to the left).

Remember that when notes move forward (to the right) the sound becomes higher. When the notes move backward (to the left) the sounds become lower.

Say and play the notes above moving up the keyboard.

Say and play the notes above moving down the keyboard.

If you know these three landmark letter-names and syllables, you can find the rest of the names by going forward and backward from each of them.

And the other two:

Let’s Practice

1) With your LEFT HAND, rounded finger 3, say and play A / La on all parts of the keyboard

2) With your RIGHT HAND, rounded finger 3, say and play B / Si-Ti on all parts of the keyboard

3) With your LEFT HAND, rounded finger 3, say and play D / Ré on all parts of the keyboard

4) With your RIGHT HAND, rounded finger 3, say and play E / Mi on all parts of the keyboard

Let’s Compose

1) Using your Newzik app or downloading the PDF below, compose your own piece using the musical alphabet.