One of my favorite ways to introduce composition and improvisation in piano lessons is to pair it with the concepts that are already being introduced in the student's method books. Rather than following the order of songs in Forrest Kinney's Create First books from start to finish, I prefer to choose songs that specifically relate to the lesson book concepts. My plans that correlate with Piano Adventures Book 1 are listed below. I recently posted free lesson plans for the other Piano Adventures and Piano Pronto method books with creative activities related to the concept of each piece.
Creativity with Legato/Staccato
- Watch Create First Hot Sands/Cool Waters Duet and Solo Videos to hear examples of staccato (hot sand) and legato (cool water). Then create your own song on the black keys that includes both staccato and legato sections.
Creativity with Treble FACE
- Compose your own “Happy Pine” lively melody that includes just the notes F-A-C-E in any order/octave.
Creativity with C Pentascale
- Watch Create First New Day, New Way Solo and Duet. Then create your own melodies using the notes from the C pentascale.
Creativity with Intervals
- 2nd-Watch Create First Shark Music Solo and Duet. Then create your own shark music that includes some dissonant seconds (E and F together?).
- 3rd-Watch Create First 2 Taking the Path I Love Solo and Duet. Then create your own piece that uses 3rds in the right hand.
- 3rd-Watch Create First 2 This Will Pass Solo and Duet. Then create your own piece that uses 3rds in the left hand.
- 4th- Watch Create First Improv 42 Private Music Solo or Duet. Then create your own music that includes harmonic 4ths.
- 4th-Watch Create First Pagoda Solo and Duet or Private Music Solo and Duet. Create your own melodies using harmonic 4ths.
- Runaway Rabbit-Watch Creature Sounds by Wynn Ann Rossi. Choose a creature and make up your own song or begin the Animal Menagerie Composing Project.
- 5th-Watch Create First 2 Garden Solo or Cathedral Solo and Duet. Then Create your own music using Harmonic 5ths.
- 5th-Watch Create First 2 Sharing Solo and Duet . Then create your own song using 5ths.
- 5th- Watch Create First 1 Kyoto Duet and Solo. Can you play 5ths in the Left hand while making melodies with E, F, A, B and D
Creativity with Sharps and Flats
- Watch Create First Arabian Nights Duet and Solo. Create melodies with white keys +G#.
- Watch Create First Easy Going Duet and Solo or Cool Duet and Solo. Then create your own music using the blues scale.
- Watch Create First Don’t Give Up Duet and Solo. Then create your own melodies using the E-flat blues scale (black keys + A natural).
Syncopated Rhythm (Boogie on Broadway)
- Listen to the syncopated rhythms of Create First Bueno! Duet and Solo. Can you create melodies with the a minor scale (a,b,c,d,e) that have a syncopated rhythm.
Creativity with Pentascales and Chords
- Can you create your own variation as you play melodies using the C scale (C,D,E,F,G) in the right hand along with the first line of the left hand of Scarecrow Song?
- Creative Challenge: Create your own jazzy song that uses the same chords and rhythm as Jazzy Joe but has a different melody using notes from the C scale.
- Improvise Melodies using the notes from the G major pentascale in any order as you play along with one of these backing tracks from BenSound.com: Acoustic Breeze, Freedom
- Listen to Adventure Challenge in C Major. Play the warmup as written. Then improvise as you play backing tracks from Bensound.com or Musicclock in the key of the scale. (Key of C: Hey! A New Beginning, Buddy, Tenderness, Once Again, Retro Soul, A Day to Remember, Ukulele, Little Idea,)
- Improvise Melodies using the notes from the D major scale in any order as you play along with one of these backing tracks. Going Higher, Clear Day, Perception or Pop and Rock
- Improvise Melodies using the notes from the A major scale in any order as you play along with one of these backing tracks. Cute, Funny Song, Pop and Rock
- Improvise Melodies using the notes from the E major scale in any order as you play along with one of these backing tracks: Memories, A Better World, Adventure, Sweet
- Improvise Melodies using the notes from the B major scale in any order as you play along with one of these backing tracks. Sunny, Inspire
More Creative Piano Teaching Ideas
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