Piano Time 1 (Third Edition)

PAULINE HALL

THIRD EDITION

Illustrations by Rosie Brooks

Consultants: Janet Bullard and Jeanette Gallant

Play-along audio tracks are available on major streaming platforms or to

download from a companion website: www.oup.com/pianotime1

For online perusal only

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, England

This collection © Oxford University Press 1983, 2004, and 2024.

Unless marked otherwise, all pieces are by Pauline Hall. All pieces are © Oxford University Press.

Unauthorized arrangement or photocopying of this copyright material is ILLEGAL.

Pauline Hall has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and

Each composer has asserted his/her right under the Copyright, Designs and

Impression: 1

ISBN: 978–0–19–357281–2

Music and text origination by Julia Bovee

Printed in Great Britain

Starting out

Return to these pages for reference as you progress through the opening pages of the book.

Getting around the piano

Here is a picture of the keys of the piano:

A B C D E F G

The black keys are grouped in twos and threes.

Find and play all the groups of three black keys. Now find and play all the groups of two black keys.

Play all the white keys. How many are there on your piano? ……………………………………………

The white keys are: A B C D E F G

C is an important note which sits to the left of the group of two black keys.

Find all the Cs on the piano

The C in the middle of the keyboard is called middle C.

C

Find all the Ds. Quickly hop on to each one with one finger.

Find all the Es, Fs, and Gs. Now find the As and Bs.

Musical words

With one finger play these words:

DAD AGE BEAD FACE EGG CABBAGE

Can you think of any more words you can play?


Find your way

C

This way is down or low

Play some low notes with your left hand.

This way is up or high

Play some high notes with your right hand.

2

Piano Time 1.indd 2 14/05/2024 16:03:53

Notes

Music has a steady beat or count like the tick of a clock.

h or H

q or Q

Musical signs

This is a 2-count note called a minim (or half-note)

This is a 1-count note called a crotchet (or quarter-note)

Piano music is written on two ladders called staves.

The right-hand ladder is shown by the squiggly treble clef sign: &

The left-hand ladder is shown by the squiggly bass clef sign: ?

Music is divided into bars (or measures) by barlines:

bar

bar

Double barline

at the end of

a piece.

There are two numbers on each stave at the beginning of a piece of music. The top number tells

you how many to count in each bar. Always count steadily as you play.

Notes are placed on the stave ‘on a line’ or ‘in a space’.

This is a line note:

This is a space note:

It sits on the ladder with a line It sits in a space

going through its middle

between two lines

Fingers and thumbs

thumbs are numbered 1


fingers are numbered 2, 3, 4, 5

left hand Write the numbers beside each finger and thumb. right hand

When playing, shape your hand like a bridge, with your fingers curved and on their tips.

Your thumb is part of the bridge, so let it lie on the key. Never let your fingers flatten out.

Here is a picture of how your hands should look:

3

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First note: middle C

Right-hand middle C sits on its

own line below the ladder, like this:

Left-hand middle C sits on its

own line above the ladder, like this:

C

C

Play middle C with your thumbs.

Clap this rhythm counting ‘1, 2, 3, 4’:

A right-hand tune

A left-hand march

Now both hands play a tune for middle C.

Left and right

Happy hand


Duet part

4

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New right-hand notes: D and E

Use fingers 1, 2, and 3 for C, D, and E.

A walking tune

Make your fingers walk, so that the sounds make a smooth tune, with no gaps between the notes.

w is a 4-count note called a semibreve (or whole note).

Clap this rhythm counting ‘1, 2, 3, 4’:

See-saw

Find all the Ds and Es on the piano.

Sing along

C D E

C D


Kristina Arakelyan

E

5

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New left-hand notes: B and A

Use fingers 1, 2, and 3 for C, B, and A.

A

B

C

C B A

B is up at the top of the ladder, above the top line. A has the top line running through it.

A-B-C

Easy does it!

When you play next-door notes, use next-door fingers.

When you miss a note, miss a finger.

Skip a note

Two’s company


The top number at the start of the piece is 2, so count ‘1, 2’ before you play this duet.

Duet part

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A new kind of note

h. is a 3-count note. It is called a dotted minim (or dotted half-note).

Clap this rhythm counting ‘1, 2, 3’:

Now clap this rhythm, saying the words:

Happy waltz

A waltz is a dance in 3-time. Count ‘1, 2, 3’ as you play.

Evening tune

This can be played as a duet.


Pauline Hall

Duet part

7

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New right-hand notes: F and G

Play F and G with fingers 4 and 5.

C D E F G

F

G

Upstairs, downstairs

A strange meeting

Make the words ‘go away!’ sound as if you mean it.

> an accent, means give the note some extra force.


Lightly row

8

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New left-hand notes: G and F

Play G and F with fingers 4 and 5.

Tunes for G and F

See a pin

Two important new signs

C B A G F


F

G

means ‘loudly’. It’s short for forte, which in Italian means ‘loud’.

means ‘quietly’. It’s short for piano, which in Italian means ‘quiet’.

Loud and soft

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Rests

A rest is a silent count. Each note has its own rest sign.

This is a rest worth q or one count.

This is a rest worth h or two counts.

It balances on the third line.

This is a rest worth w or four counts. It hangs down from

the fourth line. It is also used for a whole bar’s rest.

In the next tune, say ‘ssh!’ on all the rests.

Just resting

Rain


Look—hands together!

Make your fingers ‘walk’ smoothly.

10

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Midnight feast

Pauline Hall

Sleepy swan

This piece starts on the last beat of the bar. Count ‘1, 2, 3’ before starting.

Kristina Arakelyan


There are only three beats in the last bar. They balance the first bar where there is only one beat.

When the tune goes from one hand to the other it must sound absolutely smooth with no break.

11

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P U

Z

Z

L

E

P

A

G

E

Score one point for each correct answer.

1. How many counts or beats does each note get? Write the number underneath each one.

w h q h.

H Q w H.

……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ………

/8

2. Write the names of the notes below each one.

……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ………

3. Write and name these notes.

……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ……… ………

4. Put the barlines in. Be careful!

a)

b)

5. What does mean? ………………………………

6. What does mean? ………………………………

7. What words do these notes spell?


/8

/9

/4

/4

/2

………… ………… ………… ………… ……………………………

over 35 20–35 under 20

/5

12

Well done! Not bad! Have another go

Total /40

Piano Time 1.indd 12 14/05/2024 16:04:04

Tie

When two notes on the same line or in the same space are joined like this

note is held on for its value instead of being played again.

They look as if they were tied together with a piece of string.

, the second

1, 2 + 1, 2 1, 2 + 1 1, 2, 3 + 1, 2, 3

Look out for the tied notes in the next piece.

Conversation

Alan Bullard


Listening games

1. Play any note in the middle of the piano. Sing or hum it. Did your note match exactly? Try some

more notes!

2. Play two notes together, not too far away from each other (perhaps middle C and G).

Sing or hum the higher one—that’s easy!

Sing or hum the lower one—more tricky!

Practise doing this. You’ll get better, and it will train you to listen more accurately.

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Legato and staccato

Legato

Legato means ‘smoothly’. Play the notes grouped by the curved line without any gaps in

between them.

Swing tune

These curved lines also indicate a ‘phrase mark’. The notes grouped together over or under the

curved line belong together in a musical sentence.

Staccato

A dot placed over or under a note like this Q . or this q. makes it short and jumpy.

Your wrist must feel quite loose, so that your hand can spring back after each note.

Pretend that you are bouncing a ball.

Right hand:

Left hand:

The frog


Hop it!

14

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Au clair de la lune

Before you play any piece with your hands together, first practise each hand on its own. This makes

it much easier.

French folk-tune

means ‘moderately loud’. The Italian term is mezzo forte.

means ‘moderately soft’. The Italian term is mezzo piano.

If you should meet a crocodile

Pauline Hall

The ‘gulp’ note is a low C. It is the second one below middle C.

(fortissimo) means ‘very loud’.


15

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Two new signs

= getting gradually louder. Sometimes composers use the word crescendo or cresc.

= getting gradually softer. Sometimes composers use the word diminuendo or dim.

Marching past

Merry-go-round


Alan Bullard

Pauline Hall

16

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The black keys

Now it’s time to play the black keys!

Play some of the black keys, up and down the piano.

Keep your hands forward and curved over the notes.

Did you notice that the black keys are grouped in twos and threes?

Your own tune

You can make up your own tunes using only the black keys.

First clap and say these words:

Then put three fingers of your left hand on the three black keys just below middle C, and two

fingers of your right hand on the two black keys just above middle C.

Now play ‘Twinkling stars’ using the keys in any order you like. End on the lowest black key.

Semitones


The distance from one key to the next is a small step, called a semitone.

With one finger hop up all the next-door keys, both black and white. Follow the arrows on the picture.

Did you notice the places where there were no black-key steps?

17

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Sharps

This is a sharp sign # . When it is placed before a note, it means that the note is raised a semitone,

and you must play the note a small step up to the right.

This is F# :

F sharp

F sharp

Play all the F# s on the piano.

See how quickly you can find these notes on the keyboard:

C C# E G G# D D# F F#

A sharp sign turns all the following notes on the same line or space within the same bar into sharps too.

Sleepy tune

Welsh lullaby

Duet part for Welsh lullaby

F#

(pianissimo) means ‘very soft’.


The bumble bee

Pauline Hall

18

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Upon Paul’s steeple

How many F# s are there in this piece? ………………

Pauline Hall

Make sure the tune sounds absolutely smooth

when it goes from one hand to the other.

Look sharp

Can you spot the C# in this piece?


David Blackwell

19

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Flats

This is a flat sign b . When it is placed before a note, it means that the note is lowered a semitone,

and you must play the note a small step down to the left.

This is Bb :

B flat B flat

Play all the Bb s on the piano.

See how quickly you can find these notes on the keyboard:

G Bb D E Eb A Ab F

Aunt Dinah

Watch that flat

Bb

Here is a trick to catch you out:

Find F# . Now find G b .

Did you notice something?

Find Bb and A# .


American folksong

Careful! A flat sign turns all the following notes on the same line or space within the same bar into

flats too. The sign lasts for a whole bar.

20

Piano Time 1.indd 20 14/05/2024 16:04:11

Two new signs

c 4 means Common Time = Allegro means ‘brisk and lively’

Music box

There is a different flat in the next piece: Eb . How many are there? …………………

Try playing ‘Music box’ with ordinary Es instead of Eb s and see what difference it makes.

Duet part

Sunshine and showers

Kristina Arakelyan


Pauline Hall

21

Piano Time 1.indd 21 14/05/2024 16:04:12

New left-hand notes: C, D, and E

You already know F and G:

C D E F G

Middle

C D E F G C

Up to this point your thumbs have always been on middle C, but now your hands will need to move

position. To play these new notes, start with the fifth finger of your left hand on the C below middle C.

Tunes for C, D, E

A cello tune for left hand

Count 3 in a bar. Make this piece sound like a cello playing.

Pauline Hall

Rocking horse


Pauline Hall

Pauline Hall

22

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Chords

When two or more notes are played together, this is called a chord.

Play this exercise for the right hand:

Now play these chords:

Play this exercise for the left hand:

And play these chords:

Celebrate that you can play chords with this fanfare!

Fanfare

Green gravel

English folksong


Do you remember what this

sign means?

………………………………

23

Piano Time 1.indd 23 14/05/2024 16:04:13

P U

Z

Z

L

E

P

A

G

E

Score one point for each correct answer.

1. Write the names of the notes below each one.

…… …… …… …… …… …… …… …… …… ……

/10

2. What do these signs mean?

………………………

………………………

………………………

#

………………………

……………………… b ………………………

………………………

………………………

q. ……………………… > ………………………

3. How many counts in these rests?

……… ……… ………

4. Draw a line from the note names to their keys on this picture.

A

F# G

D


C

Bb

Eb

/10

/3

/7

over 27 15–27 under 15

Well done! Not bad! Have another go

Total /30

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Quavers

e this is a quaver (or eighth-note). It is worth half a crotchet (or quarter-note), so that:

e + e = q

Two quavers usually join hands like this: qa az

Clap this rhythm, and then play it on one note:

Before you play the next tune, clap this and say the words:

Michael Finnigan


Trad.

25

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Naturals

This is a natural sign n . When it is placed before a note, it means you must play the ‘ordinary’ note.

It changes a sharp or flat note back again.

Jingle, bells

F sharp F natural (ordinary F)

Look out for the natural sign in the left hand—put a circle round it.

Naturally talented

J. Pierpont


David Blackwell

26

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Rainbow jumps

These two pieces use a higher C (one octave above middle C) in the right hand and a lower C (two

octaves below middle C) in the left hand. You’ll be introduced to these notes later in the book, but for

now enjoy exploring the Cs on the keyboard!

In this piece the left hand crosses over the right, and the right hand crosses over the left. Make the

moving hand swing in a curve like a rainbow as it moves up and down.

Pauline Hall

Sailors’ hornpipe

This must sound very cheerful and breezy.

Four quavers can be grouped together as qa aza aza az

Pauline Hall


27

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New left-hand note: D above middle C

These are the same notes as:

middle C D middle C D

A tune for Cs and Ds

Play D with your thumb and middle C with your second finger.

New right-hand note: A

C D E F G A

Homework hopes

C D E F G


A

Climbing to A

28

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Evening melody

Reena Esmail

Hummingbird Hover

William Chapman Nyaho


29

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Intervals

An interval is the distance from one note to another. They all sound different.

Count up the number of note-names (including the lowest and highest) to find the interval.

C D = 2nd C (D) E = 3rd C (D E) F = 4th C (D E F) G = 5th

Play these and listen carefully to their sounds.

Look back at the right-hand chord at the start of ‘Evening melody’ on page 29.

What interval does your right hand play? …………………………………………

Play these intervals:

Put your right thumb on G and play a 2nd

Put your right thumb on E and play a 4th

Put your right thumb on C and play a 5th

Spot the interval!

In this next piece write the interval in the boxes above and below the chords.

David Blackwell


rall. is short for rallentando and means ‘gradually getting slower’.

30

Piano Time 1.indd 30 14/05/2024 16:04:21

New right-hand notes: B, C, and D

You already know G and A:

Middle

C

G

A

B

C

D

G A B C D

Play G with your thumb.

A tune for new notes

Copycat


31

Piano Time 1.indd 31 14/05/2024 16:04:21

Echoes

Alan Bullard

Shepherds’ hey

32

English country dance


Piano Time 1.indd 32 14/05/2024 16:04:23

Under the bridge

To get around the notes on the piano you will need to tuck your thumb under your fingers.

Make a nice curved bridge with your 3rd finger and swing your thumb under and back.

Now try the same with your left hand:

Thumb on the move

Practise swinging your thumb under the bridge in this tune.

Scale of C

David Blackwell

You’re now ready to play the scale of C, one octave. On the way down in the right hand, and on

the way up in the left, swing your 3rd finger over your thumb.

Right hand:

Left hand:


33

Piano Time 1.indd 33 14/05/2024 16:04:24

A tricky trick

Practise this carefully, so you can play legato in one hand and staccato in the other.

Pauline Hall

Hallowe’en march

The melody is in the left hand in this piece, so practise that hand on its own before adding the right hand.

Pauline Hall


Do you remember what these mean? dim. ………………………… …………………………

34

Piano Time 1.indd 34 14/05/2024 16:04:24

Keys

We often say that a piece is ‘in the key of C’, or G, or F. This means that C or G or F is the

‘home-note’ or ‘key-note’ of the piece. Pieces usually end on their key-note. To make them sound

right, different keys need different sharps or flats.

Be a musical detective

In the next tunes the key-note in the last bar is missing. Play each tune and play the note you think

it should end on. Then write the note on the stave and put its name in the box.

Key signature

This tune is

in the key of

It needs an F # .

This tune is

in the key of

It needs a Bb .

This tune is

in the key of

It doesn’t need

any sharp or flats.

To show what key a piece is in, and instead of writing the sharps or flats beside the notes,

composers usually write them at the beginning of the piece like this:

all Fs are F sharps

all Bs are B flats

This piece is in the key of G. Did you remember to play F# s?


This piece is in the key of F. How many times did you play Bb ?

35

Piano Time 1.indd 35 14/05/2024 16:04:25

Left-hand notes you know

C

D E F G A B C D

Now you can complete the left-hand ladder by adding:

F G A B

Left-hand lines and spaces:

Lines:

G

Grizzly

B

Bears

D

Don’t

F

Fear

A

Anything

Spaces:

Think up your own sentences for the left-hand lines and spaces:

Lines: ………… ………… ………… ………… …………

Spaces: ………… ………… ………… …………

A

All

C

Cows


E

Eat

G

Grass

Piano Time FC

36

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Right-hand notes you know

C D E F G A B C D

Now you can complete the right-hand ladder by adding:

E F G

Right-hand lines and spaces:

Lines:

E

Every

G

Good

B

Boy

D

Deserves

F

Fun

Spaces:

Think up your own sentences for the right-hand lines and spaces:

Lines: ………… ………… ………… ………… …………

Spaces: ………… ………… ………… …………

F A C E


Tiptoe to E-F-G

37

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New right-hand note: B below middle C

38

These are the same notes as:

middle C B middle C B

BBC

Play B with your thumb and middle C with your second finger.

Left and right

Do you remember what c means? If not, turn back to page 21.

The key of G

The following pieces are in the key of G. Remember that the key signature of G has an F# , so watch out

for the F# s in some of these pieces.

Hoe-down


Alan Bullard

Are you still remembering to practise each hand separately?

Piano Time 1.indd 38 14/05/2024 16:04:28

More intervals

Do you remember how we count up the note-names to find the interval? Look back to page 31 if not!

Sixths in step

Practise this exercise to play 6ths and to warm up for ‘Boti Waterfalls’. Keep your wrist loose and

your thumb and 5th finger in the shape of a 6th. After trying your right hand, try an octave lower

with your left hand.

Boti Waterfalls

There are quite a lot of 6ths in this piece—can you find them?

William Chapman Nyaho

C (D E F G) A

= 6th C (D E F G A) B = 7th C (D E F G A B) C = 8th

(or octave)


39

Piano Time 1.indd 39 14/05/2024 16:04:29

The key of F

The pieces on these two pages are all in the key of F. Remember that the key signature of F has a Bb ,

so watch out for the Bb s when playing these pieces.

Hopping along

Alan Bullard


40

Piano Time 1.indd 40 14/05/2024 16:04:30

Quaver rest

This is a quaver or eighth-note rest.

Look out for it in the next piece.

Smiling face

Country dance

Alan Bullard


Alan Bullard

41

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Dotty pages

A dot after a note makes it longer by half:

h. = h + q q. = q + e

Here is a new rhythm which you will often find in music: q.

To find out what it sounds like, clap

this rhythm, counting ‘1 and 2 and’:

e

Then tie the first and second notes, like this:

42

Here is the way to write this rhythm:

Clap this rhythm until it feels comfortable. Try it with your teacher clapping a steady crotchet pulse.

Now try these dotty tunes.

Ladybirds

from The New World Symphony


David Blackwell

Antonín Dvořák

Piano Time 1.indd 42 14/05/2024 16:04:32

Lively day

Alan Bullard

Allegretto means ‘quite quickly but unhurried’.

Sailing along


Alan Bullard

43

Piano Time 1.indd 43 14/05/2024 16:04:33

Scale of G

Play the scale of G, one octave, in both hands. This has the same thumb turn you practised for the

key of C (on page 34).

Right hand:

Left hand:

Race against time

Practise your thumb turns in this piece!

Alan Bullard


44

Piano Time 1.indd 44 14/05/2024 16:04:34

Leger lines

When more notes are needed above or below the staves, extra lines called leger lines are added to

the notes.

Right-hand leger lines

C D E F G A B C D

On the roof top

The bird

Left-hand leger lines

C B A G F E D C

You’ve used the low D and C already.

The mole

U = pause. Hold the note on a little longer.

Deep sea diver


45

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Two duets: secondo (second part)

Play these fun duets with your teacher or a friend.

Dream with me

Reena Esmail

English round dance

Alan Bullard


Da Capo (‘from the head’) means ‘go back to the beginning’ (in this case after the repeat).

Fine (‘end’) means ‘finish here’.

46

Piano Time 1.indd 46 14/05/2024 16:04:35

Two duets: primo (first part)

Dream with me

Reena Esmail

English round dance


Alan Bullard

Da Capo (‘from the head’) means ‘go back to the beginning’ (in this case after the repeat).

Fine (‘end’) means ‘finish here’.

47

Piano Time 1.indd 47 14/05/2024 16:04:35

Fanfare finale

Alan Bullard


48

Piano Time 1.indd 48 14/05/2024 16:04:37

Piano Time 1 (Third Edition)

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