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The 16 lessons in Unit 6 are designed to be taken over the course of 6-8 weeks.
Some of the pieces will be challenging, allow extra time to continue practicing these. You can add on by
continuing the next lesson concurrently.

Unit 6
Lesson Date Started Practice Tally Date Finished Notes:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Daily practice is an important component in learning a new skill.

To develop co-ordination and automaticity, you must work at the piano keyboard on a daily
basis. This is especially important for adult learners, as brain plasticity is developed with
deliberate, reinforced, focused, habitual practice.

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 40 Piece Challenge and Repertoire List

1 26
2 27
3 28
4 29
5 30
6 31
7 32
8 33
9 34
10 35
11 36
12 37
13 38
14 39
15 40
16
17 Repertoire
18 1
19 2
20 3
21 4
22 5
23 6
24 7
25 8

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 Circle of 5ths

ORDER OF SHARPS: F# C# G# D# A# E# B#

ORDER OF FLATS: B E A D G C F
Examine the circle of 5ths. Can you find these 2 series on the circle?
Look at the 2 series, can what do you notice about how the letters from each
series compare to each other?

This chart will be useful when working in different keys. Circle the key when
you learn a new piece using that key. Our first key will be F.

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Unit 6 - Lesson 1 Key Signatures: F Major PianoVideoLessons.com

In lesson 2, we will be learning to play Lullaby by Brahms. The

arrangement we will be learning will be based on the F Major scale. We can
say it is in the Key of F Major. F major uses the note B flat.

Writing flats or sharps repeatedly in music can cause the music to become
cluttered. So, composers developed a method for alerting musicians to
remember the flats or sharps for a key by placing at the start of the music in
the Key Signature. As shown here:

 Locate and circle F Major on your Circle of 5ths chart.

The best way to approach a piece that is written with a key signature is to
1. Identify the key by examining the key signature.
2. Do warm up drills in that key. We can play the F Major Pentascale, F
Major Scale and Diatonic Chords in the Key of F. This will prepare our
mind for playing in the key of F Major.
3. Scan the music and locate all of the B’s in the score, so that we can
know where they are and they will not surprise us while we are playing.

F Major Pentascale:

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 1 Key Signatures: F Major PianoVideoLessons.com

F Major Scale:

Tip: Place temporary stickers on the B’s on your keyboard to target these notes.

RH: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4
LH: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1

You can use any fingering that feels good, but generally we will avoid extra
finger turns and also avoid playing thumbs on black keys.

Here the diatonic chords are written using the Key Signature for F Major, can
you locate all of the B flats that you will need to play?
They will be on treble clef line 3 as well as in the highest space note in this passage.
And in bass clef on line 2 and the space above the A line.
(We will learn to name the high notes above the staff in lesson 6. For now, read these chords
by intervals.)

I have shaded the B flats in blue on the next page, so you can see them visually.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 1 Key Signatures: F Major PianoVideoLessons.com

Once you have familiarized yourself with the look and feel of F Major, spend
some time grooving into the feeling of F Major. Play until you lose yourself in
there somewhere! Enjoy it. Have some fun with this and tomorrow we’ll
learn the Brahms Lullaby.

Let’s do a little slow improvisation over this simple LH bass pattern. This
pattern is based on chords from the Key of F Major. (The middle note of each
chord is left out, leaving the shell of a 5th.)

Learn this left hand pattern well, memorize it, and then begin with RH by gently
playing long notes in the F major pentascale pattern, start with just a couple and
gradually expand your note range. If a note sounds unsettled, move 1 step away
and you will usually resolve it.
+Practice some older pieces today as well. Begin to build a REPERTOIRE LIST.
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 2 Brahms Lullaby PianoVideoLessons.com

Since this piece is in F Major, we will not play any B naturals, we will only play
B flats.
Begin by locating all of the B’s in this piece. They will be played as B’s.

How many RH B’s can you see?___ how many LH B’s? ____

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Continue to review your F Major drills and improvisation in F Major in the days
to come.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 2 Brahms Lullaby PianoVideoLessons.com

Practice:
1. Examine the left hand. Can you name all of the chords? Remember that
B’s are flat!
2. All of the chords are in Root position except 1, can you locate it?
3. Count to 3 and tap the rhythm of your RH.
4. Count to 3 out loud and tap both hands.
5. Practice the left hand, play the chords as written and also in blocked form.
6. Practice the RH silently working out the fingerings, use intervals to guide
your choices for any fingers that are not indicated.
7. Divide the piece into sections 4 measures or shorter. For each section:
a) Scan the section for B’s. Make a mental note that they will be flat.
b) Play the RH while counting to 3, watch the fingerings and the flats!
c) Play the LH while counting to 3, be on the lookout for flats and fingering,
make sure you catch the 2nd inversion triad in measure 14!
d) Play HT while counting to 3, watch the fingerings!
8. Practice the entire piece, slowly. It’s a slow piece!
9. Determine where the difficult parts are for you in this piece, and drill them
slowly and with ease. Make them your best friends!

(The 2nd inversion chord is in measure 14. It is F Major with C on the bottom.)

Record this piece on your 40 piece challenge list, and add it to your repertoire if
you want to keep it in your “ready list.”

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 3 Dotted Quarter Note PianoVideoLessons.com

We know from Unit 3 - Lesson 1 that a dot adds time to a note. In fact, it adds
half of the time of the note that it follows.

When a dot follows a quarter note it creates a Dotted Quarter Note.

The dot adds time to the 1 beat note. It adds exactly half of a beat of time:
because the note that the dot is following is a 1 beat note, and half of 1 beat is
one half beat.

Dotted
Quarter = quarter + eighth

1.5 beats 1beat + .5 beat

This adds some interesting options for rhythms in music.

The most common way that a dotted half note is used is with an eighth note
following it. We have also seen this rhythm in unit 5 in many of the familiar tunes we learned using
lead sheets.

This grouping of notes takes 2 beats of time in total.

1.5 beats + .5 beat = 2 beats total.

Now that we know the timing of these notes, let’s practice reading and tapping
them in various rhythm arrangements.

In Lesson 4 we will add this rhythm to our technical practice of B flat major and
in Lesson 5 we will read them while learning the theme from New World
Symphony by Dvorak, from the Second Movement of his Opus 95. You can
hear an orchestra perform it here.

There is also a dotted quarter rest:

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 3 Dotted Quarter Note PianoVideoLessons.com

Tapping Drills:
Count to 4 out loud while tapping or clapping the rhythm:

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Unit 6 - Lesson 4 Key of B Major PianoVideoLessons.com
In preparation for playing Dvorak’s From the New World, let’s learn the notes
and keyboard geography for the key of B Major. It has 2 flats: B and E

 Locate and circle B Major on your Circle of 5ths chart.

Find the B and the E in pentascale position. Your RH thumb will play on a
black key.

B Major Scale:

Standard Fingering:
RH: 4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4
. LH: 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3

Diatonic Chords in BMajor.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 4 Key of B Major PianoVideoLessons.com
And now we can improvise in B flat Major, this one adds the dotted quarter
rhythms into the LH chords for your improv!

Do you recognize this chord progression?

 Continue to review your B Major drills and improvisation in B Major as you

learn to play From the New World.

 Also, continue to practice any pieces not yet finished as well as any pieces on
your repertoire list.

 There is a technique chart included at the back of this ebook. You can keep
track of your progress and use it for review.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 5 From the New World PianoVideoLessons.com

©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 5 From the New World PianoVideoLessons.com

Practice Steps:

1. Count and Tap the RH rhythm.

2. Count and Tap both hands.

3. Scan the piece for flats. B and E.

4. Look for patterns in the piece, create sections for practice. Complete the
remaining steps for each section:

a) Silently practice your fingerings on a table or the closed lid of your

keyboard. Use the finger numbers given in the music and intervals to guide
your fingering choices. Envision the black keys.
b) Place your hands in the starting position on the keys, locate the placement
of B and E. Play the keys silently - do not press them down, just touch
the tops while planning the flats. Also plan any leaps.

c) Play slowly HS and HT - counting the beats.

d) Locate any difficult sections where you are not able to keep the beat steady.
Isolate them and practice these super-slowly. If you still have trouble,
you are going too fast, or your section is too large.

Once you have learned all of the sections. Play the whole piece
1. Slowly HT.
2. Listen for gentle, flowing notes.
3. Work on trouble spots.
4. Enjoy listening to the music. Relax and listen while you play.
5. Memorize it?
Record this piece on your 40 piece challenge list, and add it to your repertoire if
you want to keep it in your “ready list.”
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 6 Ledger Lines PianoVideoLessons.com

Sometimes we need to play notes that are above or below the range of the staff.
We do this by extending the staff using short lines called ledger lines.

Ledger lines work the same way as the regular lines of the staff. They supply a
location for notes to sit so we can determine whether they move by step or by
skip. As you can see from this example, lines are not written beyond the
number needed to place the note.

On the next pages, practice writing the ledger lines and then point and name the
notes on the page and on the keyboard.

Finally write in the answers for each note. Once you’ve written them in, you
can check your work, and cover your answers for more drill practice at a later
time.

If you would like more note drill practice, including ledger lines, have a look at
the Note Speller For Piano at PianoVideoLessons.com

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 6 Ledger Lines PianoVideoLessons.com

 Draw the 5 notes, and learn their location.

 Look for the ACE.
 High C uses 2 ledger lines.
 Point and name the notes, referencing the chart, cover the chart, and write in
your answers.
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 6 Ledger Lines PianoVideoLessons.com

 Draw the 5 notes, and learn their location.

 Look for the ACE.
 Low C uses 2 ledger lines.
 Point and name the notes, referencing the chart, cover the chart, and write in
your answers.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 6 Ledger Lines PianoVideoLessons.com

 Draw the 5 notes, and learn their location.

 (Look for the ACE.)
 Middle C uses 1 ledger line.
 Point and name the notes, referencing the chart, cover the chart, and write in
your answers.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 6 Ledger Lines PianoVideoLessons.com


 Draw the 5 notes, and learn their location.

 (Look for the ACE.)
 Middle C uses 1 ledger line.
 Point and name the notes, referencing the chart, cover the chart, and write in
your answers.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 7 Key of A Minor PianoVideoLessons.com

A Natural Minor Pentascale:

 Locate and circle A Minor on your Circle of 5ths chart.

When we sharpen the 4th note and 7th notes of a minor scale, we get a special
kind of scale called the Hungarian Minor!

A Hungarian Minor Pentascale:

A Natural Minor Scale:

RH: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5
LH: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 7 Key of A Minor PianoVideoLessons.com

A Hungarian Minor Scale:

Suggested Fingering:
RH: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4
LH: 3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3

Diatonic Chords in A Natural Minor

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 7 Key of A Minor PianoVideoLessons.com

 Continue to review your F and B Major drills and improvisation in F and

B Major as you expand to include A Minor..

 Also, continue to practice any pieces not yet finished as well as any pieces on
your repertoire list.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 8 March Slav PianoVideoLessons.com

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Practice:
After playing improv in A Hungarian Minor, you’ve probably got a good sense of
how this piece is going to sound!
1. Locate the notes that use ledger lines, point to each note and name it.
2. Practice the Left hand, it uses mostly 5ths and 6ths. Count to 4.
3. Work out the RH fingerings on a table top or closed piano keyboard, use
intervals to guide your choices.
4. Clap and count the rhythm of the RH.
5. Tap and count the rhythm Hands Together.
6. Working one line at a time, play the music slowly while counting. Work HS
and then HT if necessary.
7. Drill any difficult spots.
8. Practice playing hands together, memorize the music if you can!

Record this piece on your 40 piece challenge list, and add it to your repertoire if
you like.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 9 Ties PianoVideoLessons.com

There are times when we need to hold a note for longer than a measure will allow.
We use a tie to show a note that continues holding. Instead of replaying the
second note, we hold the first note for the length of the second note.

A tie looks a bit like a slur. However, a tie connects only 2 notes, and they are
always exactly the same note.

Ties are not only used over the barline. They can be placed between any 2 notes
that are the same pitch.

How long do each of these ties hold?

Practice clapping and then playing this musical example:

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 10 Key of E minor PianoVideoLessons.com

E Minor Pentascale:

 Locate and circle E Minor on your Circle of 5ths chart.

E Natural Minor Scale:

E Harmonic Minor scale: 7th note raised.

Fingering RH: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5

LH: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1
*Use the same fingering for either natural minor or harmonic minor.

All minor scales can be played in several forms. The Harmonic Minor form is a
very commonly used form of the minor scale. It creates a major triad on the 5th
note of the scale, which is very useful when harmonizing.
We now know 3 types of minor scales: the Natural Minor, Hungarian Minor
and Harmonic Minor forms.
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 10 Key of E minor PianoVideoLessons.com

Diatonic Chords in E Harmonic Minor:

Is this improv in E natural minor or E harmonic minor? How can you tell?

Continue cycling back over past technique and improvisation, as well as

practicing your repertoire pieces.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 11 Moonlight Sonata PianoVideoLessons.com

©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 11 Moonlight Sonata PianoVideoLessons.com

Practice Instructions:
1. Locate the notes that use ledger lines, point to each note and name it.
2. What sharp is in the key signature for E Minor? ___
3. Find all of the F sharps.
4. Find all of the ties. How many beats does each hold for?
5. Working in sections, begin with section A.
a) Work out the RH fingerings on a table top or closed piano keyboard, use
intervals to guide your choices.
b) For measures with eighth notes, clap and count the rhythm of the RH.
Then tap and count the rhythm Hands Together.
c) Play the music slowly while counting. Work HS and then HT if
necessary. Keep your beat slow, so that you are able to relax and observe
the music without watching your hands. Repeat many times, until you
are relaxed into the music and able to listen without worry.
6. Repeat Step 5 for the remaining sections.

Drill any difficult spots.

Practice playing the whole piece, memorize the music if you can!

Record this piece on your 40 piece challenge list, and add it to your repertoire if
you like.

This is a long piece. Allow extra time for learning it!

You may go on to the next lesson, however you should increase the length of
your practice sessions to allow time to continue working on this.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 12 Sixteenth Notes PianoVideoLessons.com

This is a sixteenth note.

It takes 1/16 of a measure in time.

One sixteenth note gets one quarter of 1 beat in time.

This is 4 sixteenth notes, totalling 1 beat in time.

We can call this group of 4 sixteenth notes a ticka-ticka

Here is a chart showing the increasing note values:

The 4 pulses in a group of 4 sixteenth notes are counted: “1 E & a.”

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 12 Sixteenth Notes PianoVideoLessons.com

We can also group 2 sixteenth notes together with an eighth note like this:

We can call this a ti-ticka

This is a ticka-ti.

Let’s practice tapping and counting sixteenth notes.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 13 D Major PianoVideoLessons.com

Let’s get ready for the Pachelbel Canon!

It is in the Key of D Major, so to prepare ourselves for reading in D major we
need to become familiar with the notes!

 Locate and circle D Major on your Circle of 5ths chart.

D Major Pentascale:

D Major Scale:

Fingering: RH 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5
.LH 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1

Diatonic Chords in D Major:

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 13 D Major PianoVideoLessons.com

Can you name the chord numbers for each of these chords in the key of D?
D is the I chord.
A:
Bm:
F#m
G:

Write the chord number under each chord in the passage above.

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 14 Pachelbel Canon PianoVideoLessons.com

Add this piece to your 40 Piece Challenge chart. Mark it with a √ when it is
complete
©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 14 Pachelbel Canon PianoVideoLessons.com

Practice Instructions.

This piece has many sections. You can learn them individually and build the
piece bit by bit. Learn the three LH patterns first. We have already covered
the most difficult one in the improv lesson!

All of the left hand patterns are based on this chord progression:
Chords and chord progressions were covered in detail in Unit 5.

1-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V

The right hand establishes a very simple theme and then creates variations on the
theme for the remainder of the piece. The notes from the theme relate to the
chord notes established in the bass clef. Can you see this connection?
Examine the diatonic chords in D Major to clarify.

Practice this piece in 4 measure sections. You can work hands together right
away on some of the more comfortable sections. And work hands alone if one
of the hands gives you more difficulty with relaxing while you play.

This piece has nine 8-measure sections.

Here’s a chart to keep track of your progress:

Section LH RH HT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 15 3/8 Time PianoVideoLessons.com
Before learning Fur Elise by Beethoven we’re going to learn how to read music
in 3/8 time signature.

3/8 time is a Simple Time Signature. Simple Time means that the beats in the
measures are sub-divided into 2 pulses and are counted that way “1 and 2 and…”.
(There is another type of time signature called Compound Time. This type of time has the beats divided into 3 pulses. “1 and a 2 and a..”)

3/8 works similarly to 3/4. You count 3 beats in each measure. However, the 8 on
the bottom tells us to count eighth notes as 1 count!
In time signatures with a 4 on the bottom, we count quarter notes 1 per beat.

Let’s practice counting in 3/8 time.

Fur Elise is in A minor. Can you tell which form of the A minor scale the
melody uses? (Refer to Lesson 7.) What is the reason for your answer?

Practice the A Minor warm-ups from Lesson 7 before beginning Fur Elise.
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 16 PianoVideoLessons.com

Add this piece to your 40 Piece Challenge chart. Mark it with a √ when it is
complete
©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 - Lesson 16 Fur Elise PianoVideoLessons.com

Practice Notes.

This piece is in Rounded Binary form, which means there are 2 sections, A and B
(binary.). They are performed like this:

AABA. (rounded because the A section comes back around after the B.)

Let’s examine the rhythm first:

Count “1 & 2 & 3 &” while tapping the rhythm.

Next examine the LH.

Discover the chords. If you completed Unit 5 of this course, you will recognize
the LH chord patterns in this piece as 1-5-8 and 1-8-10.

Practice the LH.

The A section contains just 2 chords: A minor chord, E Major Chord.
The B section uses C major chord , G major chord, A minor chord and E octaves.

Learn the RH.

The RH for this piece is very pattern based and repetitive. Break it down into
sections and practice the fingerings first, and then slowly transfer them to the
piano keys.

Hands Together:
Putting the music hands together is a matter of slow practice and analysis.
The hands overlap very little and take turns being highlighted.
Work the music in sections to establish coordination.

Section RH LH HT Drill Sections

A
B

Notes:

©PianoVideoLessons.com
Unit 6 Technique List:

Key Pentascale 8-note Scale Diatonic Chords Improv

F

B

Am

Em

Notes:

©PianoVideoLessons.com