Technique is a part of our program from the very first lesson. Our progression goes like this:
- Find all the groups of 2 and 3 black keys
- Find all the C’s, G’s, D’s, A’s, E’s, B’s, F’s, C’s (Learn the white keys around groups of 2 black keys, then groups of 3, before progressing to this Circle of 5ths order.)
- Learn and memorize the C 5-Finger Pattern in Parts 1-5
- Learn and memorize all major 5-Finger Patterns in four groups
- Learn to play all 5-Finger Patterns in the Circle of 5ths
- Learn to play all minor 5-Finger Patterns in the Circle of 5ths
- Pre-scale exercises
- Major & minor scales & arpeggios
- Blues scales & modes
5-Finger Patterns — also called “pentascales” — are extremely useful to the beginning pianist. Learn these, memorize them, and play them every day, until you know them as well as your own name, address, and phone number. After you learn the 12 Major Pentascales, it’s easy to learn the minor ones, as all you’ll need to do is subtract a half step from the 3rd degree (play the key nearest to the left of the 3rd note).
I prefer my students to learn these kinesthetically , rather than adding the additional complication of reading sheet music. This also allows my students to begin learning these at an earlier stage. We begin learning the C Major pentascale during the first 3-5 months at the piano for students age 6-9 and after about a month for older students.
I teach the first 5-Finger Pattern, C Major, in five parts. Young students will take a few months to go through the five parts, and we don’t do Part 5 and start on other keys until they finish the primer level. Playing six notes at once poses a problem for little hands. Older students will go through the five parts quickly and can start learning all the keys much sooner.
The five parts are:
- Pentascale up and down, RH only
- Pentascale up and down, RH, then LH, adding an arpeggio at the end
- Pentascale only up and down, hands together
- Pentascale plus arpeggio, hands together
- Pentascle, arpeggio, and triad, hands together
I’m including two printouts in this post: one printout of the 5-Finger Patterns in parts, and one of the 5-Finger Patterns in different keys. Note: The checkmarks in the second printout exist to mark off exercises that have been learned and memorized. Either place a checkmark there or a sticker.
