The House That Rocks
PianoBook 1
Read it. Play it. Make it yours.
This book belongs to
First edition · Online and print
How this book works
For students, families, and teachers
Most piano books teach you to read music. This one does that too. But every unit also asks you to play with a band and to make up music of your own. That is how real musicians learn.
Using the online book
Hear the whole song with the band. The measure you're on lights up.
The band counts you in. Then you play the melody.
Start slow. Move the slider up when it feels easy.
The round button in the corner. Pick a speed, a sound, and 2, 3, or 4 beats.
Tap any note or piano key to hear it.
Tap the star when you've learned a song. It saves on this device.
For families: practice 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Short and steady beats long and rare. Ask your child to play you one song this week. Then ask them to play you something they made up.
You don't need to be perfect. You need to keep playing.
My Progress Chart
. Tap a song to go there.
★Warm-Up
1Smooth & Short
2Home Base on the Staff
3Your First Chord
4Steps, Skips & Leaps
5Landmarks, Pedal & 8va
6The Quiet Beats
7Black-Key Moves
8Home and Away
9New Home in G
10Showcase Night
✓At the back
Hands on Home Base
Your starting spot for most of this book
Learn it
Find Middle C. Put your right-hand thumb on it. Put your left-hand pinky on the C just below. Each finger gets its own key. Tap the keys to hear them.
Play it
Play up and say the note names out loud. Right hand first, then left hand.
Same five notes. Two hands. That's Home Base.
Music Symbols Review
Notes, rests, and the staff. Tap any note to hear it.
Notes
Rests
The staff
♩ = 80
Tempo mark80 beats in one minute. Try it on the metronome.Music Symbols Review
How to play the notes. You'll use all of these in this book.
Smooth, short, strong
Loud and soft
p
pianoSoft.mp
mezzo pianoMedium soft.mf
mezzo forteMedium loud.f
forteLoud.Speed and other signs
rit.
RitardandoSlow down little by little.Band Room
Open the metronome (round button in the corner). Set it to 80 and pick Drum beat. Clap quarter notes and count 1, 2, 3, 4. Then clap eighth notes: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Musicians count. Every time.
Play it
Red chord letters are for the teacher, a guitar player, or the Band Room track. Students just play the notes.
Band Room
Press Play along. You'll hear four wood-block clicks. That's the count-in: 1, 2, 3, 4. Start playing right after the fourth click.
Listen first. Then come in together.
Smooth & Short
Unit 1 · Legato and staccato
Learn it
Legato means smooth. Connect the notes, like singing in one long breath. A curved line called a slur tells you to play legato.
Staccato means short. Bounce off each key, like dribbling a basketball. A dot over or under the note means staccato.
Play it
Play it
The last note of each line is long. Hold it for all 4 counts.
Band Room
This is a rock beat. The snare hits on beats 2 and 4. Your staccato pops should land right with the drums.
A band is only as tight as its timing. Lock in.
Learn it
3/4 time means 3 beats in each measure. Count 1, 2, 3. It feels like a waltz: strong, light, light.
Play it
Learn it
A repeat sign means go back and play that part again. Look for the two dots. They face the music you repeat.
Play it
Play measures 1–4 twice. Then keep going.
Your Turn
Build a song. Write a 4-measure song on the staff below.
- Use only Home Base notes: C, D, E, F, G.
- Make measures 1 and 2 smooth. Draw a slur.
- Make measures 3 and 4 short. Add staccato dots.
- End on C. It sounds like home.
My song is called:
Jam it: press the button. The band plays C, then G, over and over. Make up music with your right hand on Home Base. Short and bouncy first. Then smooth.
No wrong notes here. Just listen and play.
Check it
1. Smooth or short?
2. Smooth or short?
3. In 3/4 time, each measure has…
4. This sign means…
Home Base on the Staff
Unit 2 · Three C's and the grand staff
Learn it
The grand staff is two staffs joined by a brace. The treble clef is for higher notes, usually the right hand. The bass clef is for lower notes, usually the left hand. Find these three C's:
Play it
Learn it
Dynamics tell you how loud or soft to play. They come from Italian words.
Play it
Learn it
A tie joins two of the same note. Play the first one and hold it through the second. Don't play it again.
Half note tied to a whole note = 6 beats.
Play it
Your left hand is the echo. Play it soft, like the sound bouncing back.
Band Room
Listening game. Play Five Friends with the band three times. First with drums only (turn Bass off). Then bass only. Then both. What does the bass player do when the chord changes?
Good players listen more than they play.
Your Turn
Call and echo. Write a 2-measure call for your right hand. Then write the echo for your left hand, lower and softer.
Check it
1. Name this note.
2. Name this note.
3. Which is the softest?
4. How many beats do you hold?
Your First Chord
Unit 3 · The C chord
Learn it
A chord is three or more notes played together. The C chord uses C, E, and G. Left hand fingers 5, 3, and 1. Skip a key between each finger.
Play it
Learn it
Blocked chord: all three notes at once. Broken chord: one note at a time.
An accent > means play that note louder than the others. Punch it!
Play it
Play it
Band Room
C is the first chord almost every band learns. Guitar, bass, and keys all play it. When the band plays C, you play C. Now you're part of the band.
Three notes. One sound. Your first chord.
Your Turn
Chord groove. Start the jam. Play a blocked C chord on beat 1 of every measure. Then try it on beats 1 and 3. Then play it broken: C–E–G–E.
Write your favorite chord rhythm here:
Check it
1. How many notes are in the C chord?
2. Blocked or broken?
3. Blocked or broken?
4. The accent mark > means…
Steps, Skips & Leaps
Unit 4 · Intervals: 2nds and 3rds
Learn it
An interval is the distance between two notes. Count the first note as 1.
2nd = step. Line to space, or space to line. Next finger.
3rd = skip. Line to line, or space to space. Skip a finger.
Play it
Play it
Circle every 3rd (skip) in this song. How many did you find?
Band Room
Loop challenge. Turn on Loop and press Play along. Can you play Hopscotch three times in a row without stopping? If you miss a note, keep going. The band won't stop for you.
Mistakes happen. Keep the beat anyway.
Learn it
4th = skip two keys. Line to space, or space to line.
5th = thumb to pinky. Line to line, or space to space.
A fermata means hold this note longer than usual. Wait, then go on.
Play it
Your Turn
Leap song. Write 4 measures for your right hand. Use at least one 2nd, one 3rd, one 4th, and one 5th. Write the interval number above each one.
Check it
Name each interval.
5. A fermata means…
Landmark Notes
Unit 5 · Notes that help you find your way
Learn it
Landmark notes are easy to find. Use them to figure out the notes near them.
- Treble G is on the line the treble clef curls around.
- Bass F is on the line between the two bass clef dots.
- Middle C sits on its own little line between the staffs.
Play it
Learn it
The octave sign 8va means play one octave (8 notes) higher than written. Move your hand up to the next C. Same fingers.
The damper pedal is the pedal on the right. Use your right foot, heel on the floor. It makes notes ring. The line under the music shows when to press it down and let it up.
Play it
Learn it
Crescendo (cresc.) means get louder little by little. The sign opens up.
Diminuendo (dim.) means get softer little by little. The sign closes.
Play it
Band Room
Speed ladder. Pick Lighthouse. Start the speed slider at the slowest number. Play along. Each time you play it well, move the speed up 4. How close can you get to ♩ = 72?
Slow is how you get fast.
Your Turn
Pedal painting. Start the jam. Hold the damper pedal down for each chord. Play Home Base notes slowly, then try them 8va. Listen to them ring together. Lift the pedal when the band changes chords.
Check it
1. Name this landmark.
2. Name this landmark.
3. 8va means…
4. This sign means…
5. Which foot plays the damper pedal?
The Quiet Beats
Unit 6 · Rests
Learn it
A rest means silence. Lift your hand, but keep counting. The band keeps going.
Play it
Play it
A whole rest means rest for the whole measure, even in 3/4 time. In measure 7 you count 1, 2, 3 in total silence. Then the tiger roars.
Band Room
Listen to measure 7 with the band. Everyone stops. A whole band going silent together is one of the most exciting sounds in music.
Silence is part of the song.
Learn it
rit. is short for ritardando. It means slow down little by little. Listen for it at the end of Countdown.
Play it
Your Turn
Rest rhythm. Write a rhythm on one note, like C. Use at least one quarter rest and one half rest. Clap it. Then play it with the jam.
Check it
1. The first symbol is a…
2. How many beats of silence in this measure?
3. A whole rest means…
4. rit. means…
Black-Key Moves
Unit 7 · Half steps, sharps, flats, and naturals
Learn it
A half step is from one key to the very next key, black or white, with no key in between.
A sharp ♯ means play the key a half step higher (to the right). F♯ is the black key just right of F.
A sharp lasts for the whole measure. After the bar line, it's gone.
Play it
Learn it
A flat ♭ means play the key a half step lower (to the left). E♭ is the black key just left of E.
A natural ♮ cancels a sharp or flat. Go back to the white key.
Play it
Hear how the song sounds sad with E♭ and happy again with E♮? That's the fix!
Play it
Band Room
This is a 12-bar blues. It's 12 measures long and uses three chords. Rock, jazz, and gospel players all learn it. Your left hand plays the root of each chord, just like a bass player.
Twelve bars. Three chords. A whole world of music.
Your Turn
Blues jam. The band plays a 12-bar blues shuffle. Use only these four notes: C, E♭, E, G. Play short ideas, then rest. Answer yourself. Try sliding finger 3 from E♭ up to E.
Check it
1. A sharp ♯ means…
2. A flat ♭ means…
3. What is the second note?
4. A half step is…
Home and Away
Unit 8 · Tonic, dominant, and the I and V7 chords
Learn it
The tonic is note 1 of the five-finger scale. In C position it's C. It sounds like home.
The dominant is note 5. In C position it's G. It sounds like away, and it wants to go home.
Play it
Your left hand only plays tonic (C) and dominant (G). Write T or D under each left-hand note.
Learn it
The chord built on the tonic is the I chord (say "one chord"). The chord built on the dominant is the V7 chord (say "five-seven chord"). In C, the I chord is your C chord. For the V7 chord, move just two fingers:
- Start on the C chord (5-3-1).
- Pinky (5) moves down a half step to B.
- Finger 2 plays F.
- Thumb stays on G.
Good to know: the full V7 chord has four notes. In Book 1 we play an easy three-note version. You'll learn the full chord later.
Play it
Play it
Band Room
Your left hand is the band's keyboard player now. Turn the bass off and play Rock Steady along with the drums. You are the whole harmony section. When you hear the band switch, you switch.
You're not just playing notes. You're holding the band together.
Your Turn
Chord changes. Start the jam. Play I (C chord) when the band plays C and V7 when it plays G7. Once that's easy, add a right-hand melody from Home Base on top.
Write I or V7 under each measure of your own 4-measure song:
Check it
1. In C position, the tonic is…
2. In C position, the dominant is…
3. Name this chord.
4. Name this chord.
New Home in G
Unit 9 · G position and the G five-finger scale
Learn it
Move both hands to G position. Right thumb on the G above Middle C. Left pinky on the G below Bass C. The G five-finger scale is G, A, B, C, D.
Play it
Learn it
An upbeat (or pick-up) is a note before the first full measure. Road Trip starts on beat 4. Count 1, 2, 3, then play on 4. The last measure is short, so the upbeat and the last measure add up to one full measure.
Play it
Band Room
Press Play along. The band counts only 1, 2, 3. You jump in on 4 with "Let's." Then the drums kick in with you.
Count carefully. Then jump.
Learn it
In G, the I chord is G–B–D. The V7 chord is D7. In your left hand: pinky moves down a half step to F♯, finger 2 plays C, thumb stays on D. Like in C, this is the easy three-note version.
Play it
Learn it
Transpose means play the same song starting on a different note. Your fingers do exactly the same thing. Only your hand position changes.
Your Turn
Move it to G. Play Five Friends and Hopscotch in G position. Use the same finger numbers. Then start the jam and make up your own G-position tune.
Check it
1. In G position, your right thumb plays…
2. The G five-finger scale is…
3. An upbeat is…
4. Transpose means…
Showcase Night
Unit 10 · Get ready for the stage
Learn it
- Walk to the piano. Sit tall. Take one slow breath.
- Find your hand position before you start.
- Count one measure in your head at the right speed.
- If you make a mistake, keep going. The audience wants you to win.
- After the last note, hands in your lap. Stand up and take a bow.
Your Turn
My Own Song. Write an 8-measure song for your showcase. Use at least three things from this book: a slur, staccato, a rest, a chord, a dynamic mark, or a black key. Give it a title and a tempo word.
Title: Tempo:
Try it with the band:
Play it
This song uses almost everything: accents, staccato, a slur, a repeat, chords, a crescendo, and a fermata. Find each one before you play.
Band Room
This is your recital piece. Work it up to full speed with the band. Then play it at Showcase Night.
You started with five notes. Look at you now.
Play it
End the show with this one. The last chord is played 8va with the pedal down. Let it ring. Then take your bow.
The House That Rocks
This certifies that
has completed Piano Book 1, played with the band, written original music, and is ready for the stage.
My Symbol Dictionary
Every symbol in Book 1. The number shows the unit where you learned it.
p · mp · mf · f
DynamicsSoft, medium soft, medium loud, loud. 2rit.
RitardandoSlow down little by little. 6I V7
Chord namesHome chord and away chord. 8♩ = 80
Tempo markBeats per minute. W