PIano ABC's Level Three-B

In the Piano ABC's Level Three books, students learn the relative major and minor keys together with a "hands-on" format that helps students easily remember how to derive major keys from the key signature and minor keys from the major key. (One can also derive minor keys from the key signature, but the author chose to initially not bog students down with too much information.) Thus, this system which is introduced in Level Three-A is continued throughout Level Three-B. Throughout Levels Three-A and Three-B there is one consistent system for determining the sharp keys and another consistent system for determining the flat keys. Students are introduced to what might be called "photographic negative keys." For instance, D major is compared to D flat major with illustrations showing that the natural notes of the first become the flats of the other, and the sharped notes of the first key become the natural notes of the second key. This is just one more aid to confident learning of theory information the facilitates successful reading and playing in a key. Increasingly complex rhythms are studied and played. Level Three-B also presents a rather lengthy theme with variations similar to many of the Classical period; and there is a gently modern piece, "The Daisy Chain" that has alternating meters of 6/8 and 3/4. Perhaps one of the most exciting pieces is "Kinetic Games" written in 10/8 but interspersed throughout with one or two shifting meters in 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, 9/8 or 11/8." The pages entitled "All the Flats" and "The Flat Facts" as well as "All the Sharps" and "The Sharp Facts" provide, first by writing then by reciting as they are playing, a unique "hands-on" opportunity to solidify their acquisition of this important information. To unlock note reading doors and windows, the student is taught easy mnemonic devices to remember all ledger line notes above and below the Grand Staff. These are presented in the Level Three-A book and reviewed in Level Three-B. A variety of more sophisticated pieces encourages sensitive listening and playing. Students should be playing much of the standard literature at this point in their progress, yet teachers may find that except in the case of those composers who organized their works with didactical intent, the majority of pieces available favor three or fewer sharps or flats. Therefore, pieces in major and minor keys extending from no sharps or flats to five sharps or flats are included in the Level Three books to give opportunities to play in these keys. 126 pages.