This book is dedicated to Ada and Lily Mae.May your lives be filled with music.

Special thanks to my husband, James Rapson, for being the sous chef of this project, and for his

boundless love and support, and to Hannah Glynn, a Big Little Wizard in the making.

© 2018 by Arika Rapson. All rights reserved. The material in this book may not be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the author.

Illustrations by Margit van der Zwan www.margitvanderzwan.com

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I: Getting Started: The ABC’s of Playing Piano Page 1 How Piano Music is Written 2 Notes of the Grand Staff 3 Note Values 4 How Music is Organized 5 How to Play Songs in This Book

Part II: Activities & Songs

7 Activities For Getting Started (Units 1-5) 8 Activities For Songs #1-3 9 Song #1 “Sloth on C” 10 Song #2 “Superstar Rabbit” 11 Song #3 “Clouds Go By” 12 Activities For Songs #4-6 13 Song #4 “Up the Hill” 14 Song #5 “The Butterfly” 15 Song #6 “Mister Sun is Shining” 16 Activities for Songs #7-9 17 Song #7 “Ants are Marching” 18 Song #8 “The Funny Fox” 20 Song #9 “The Singing Squirrel” 21 Activities for Songs #10-12 22 Song #10 “Little Black Lamb” 24 Song #11 “Silly-Willy Spider” 26 Song #12 “Raindrops Fall” 28 Certificate

IntroductionDoes your child love music? Some kids show an interest in playing the piano/keyboard

at an early age, but it’s challenging for them to practice on their own if they’re still

learning to read. Having a parent or other important adults at the their side as they’re

getting started can make all the difference.

I am an award-winning composer and have been teaching piano since the late ‘90s. I

designed My First Songs for Piano to help parents get their kids off to a running start,

whether or not they have any background in music!

The first few pages contain all of the basics in getting started. Throughout the book,

there are numerous ideas for activities you can do with your child to help them learn to

play the piano. And of course, the book also contains their very first songs for piano!

What’s more, there is an entire video series that goes with the book that is available for

free on YouTube. Find the links to these videos at www.myfirstsongsforpiano.com. The

total amount of material is the equivalent of 4-5 months of piano lessons. The book can

either be used in conjunction with the video series or independently, depending on what

works best for you and your child.

It is my hope that My First Songs for Piano will be just what you need to get your child

launched on a fabulous musical journey!

Warmly, Arika Rapson

Part OneGetting Started:

The ABC’s of Playing Piano

How Piano Music is WrittenThe Musical Alphabet: Music uses the notes A through G. The lowest white note on the piano is A. The next one up is B, and so on. After G, it starts over again at A, but this time it’s a higher A. As you go up the keyboard, the notes get higher and higher.

Staffs: Piano music uses two staffs. Each staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces. Each hand gets its own staff, as shown here:

When the two staffs are joined together as above, we call it the Grand Staff. Onthe next page, you’ll see the Grand Staff with all the notes on it.

Treble Clef: Whenever you see this symbol, it means to use your right hand. The higher notes go on the staff with the treble clef.

Bass Clef: Whenever you see this symbol, it means to use your left hand. The lower notes go on the staff with the bass clef.

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Note ValuesHow long do you hold each note?

= 1 beat

= 2 beats

= 4 beats

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How Music is Organized

Measure: Music uses measures to organize the beats. A measure is a certain number of beats grouped together.

Barline: When reading music, you will see a line dividing the measures. We call this line a barline.

Time Signature : This is what tells us how many beats are in each measure. It is found at the beginning of each song. In this book, every song has 4 beats per measure.

-This 4 on top means there are 4 beats per measure.

-This 4 on bottom tells us what kind of note gets the beat (4 stands for 1/4 note).

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How to Play Songs in This BookIn this book, both hands will play the notes C-D-E-F-G.Your fingers will stay in the same position for the whole book, with each finger staying on the same note for each song.

Ready position: To get ready to play songs in this book, first find Middle C on your keyboard (the closest C to the middle of the keyboard), and put your right thumb on top of it (finger 1). Then place finger 2 on D, 3 on E, 4 on F, and 5 on G.

For the left hand, find the C that is to the left of Middle C (see bottom image below). Place your left pinky (finger 5) on that C, which is called Bass Clef C. Now place finger 4 on D, 3 on E, 2 on F, and 1 on G.

Remember— you always want to play the right note with the right finger, so check regularly to make sure each finger is where it is supposed to be!

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Part TwoActivities & Songs

Activities for Getting StartedHere are some ideas for activities you can do to reinforce the

ideas introduced in this series. Practice makes perfect!

Exploring the Keyboard - At the piano/keyboard, practice making the following sounds: • Long / short • Black notes / white notes • Loud / soft • High / Low

(See Video #1)

Finger Numbers - Trace hands and label finger numbers. (See Page 5 and Video #2)

Feeling the Beat - Put on music that is fun to dance or clap to. Try feeling the beat by clapping, tapping feet, moving the head, the whole body, etc. (See Video #3)

The Musical Alphabet - Play the lowest note on the piano and say “A”. Go all the way up the keyboard naming each note:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C…

(See Video #4)

Grand Staff - Make your own Grand Staff by copying the one on Page 2. (See Video #4)

Middle C - Find Middle C every time you sit at the piano!

Now, find other C’s on the keyboard. Remember, there will always be two black notes to the right of the C. (See Video #5)

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Activities for Songs 1-3Count and Clap - Before playing a new song, always practice clapping and counting out the rhythm first as demonstrated in the videos for each song. Refer to Page 3 for note values. As you clap, count “1” for quarter notes, “1-2” for half notes, and “1-2-3-4” for whole notes.

Checking Fingers - Start out each new song by making sure fingers are in the correct position. For convenience, the following diagram can be found at the top left of each song in the book:

Start with the right hand: First put your right thumb on Middle C and get the rest of those fingers in place. Now with your left hand, get your left pinky on the C below Middle C and get the rest of those fingers in place. Make a game of seeing how quickly your fingers can get into the “ready” position.

Higher or Lower - Get out the Grand Staff that you made, or refer to the one on Page 2. Find Middle C. Then point to other notes and figure out if they are lower or higher (below or above) Middle C.

Variation: Point to notes on the Grand Staff and figure out if the note is on the Treble Clef (higher notes) or Bass Clef (lower notes). Then figure out if the note would be played with the right hand (Treble Clef) or the left hand (Bass Clef). (see Page 1)

Finding Middle C and Treble D - Turn to the song Superstar Rabbit on Page 10. Do you see any Middle C’s? How many times is Middle C in this song? Now do the same for the Treble D’s (the D right after Middle C).

Answers: 8, 5

This can be done with other songs in the book too, as well as with Bass Clef C and D.

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Activities for Songs 4-6Count and Clap - Before playing a new song, always practice clapping and counting out the rhythm first as demonstrated in the videos for each song. Refer to Page 3 for note values. As you clap, count “1” for quarter notes, “1-2” for half notes, and “1-2-3-4” for whole notes.

Label Notes - Before playing a song for the first time, point to each note and name it out loud and/or write in the note name under the note, as demonstrated in the videos.

Creative Rhythm - Get out a blank piece of paper. Write out any combination of quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes. Then clap and count out what you have written. (see Page 3)

Bass Clef G - Turn to Page 14 (The Butterfly). The left hand only plays Bass Clef G.

Is Bass Clef G a line note or a space note? Answer: A space note

What space is Bass Clef G on? Answer: 4, or the top space

In which measures do you see Bass Clef G? Answer: Measures 1, 3, 8

Now look at the next song on Page 15 (Mister Sun is Shining). Are there any Bass Clef G’s in that song? Answer: Yes, 1

Turn to other songs in the book and see how many Bass Clef G’s you can find!

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Activities for Songs 7-9Count and Clap - Continue to practice clapping and counting out the rhythm first as demonstrated in the videos for each song.

Finding E - Treble E is the bottom line note on the Treble Clef. Turn to Page 17 (Ants Are Marching). Count how many Treble E’s there are. Answer: 9 Bass Clef E is the third space note from the bottom on the Bass Clef. How many Bass Clef E’s are there in Ants Are Marching? Answer: 5 Hint: The first one is in Measure 5 on the word “go”.

You can do the same activities by counting the Treble E’s and Bass Clef E’s in The Funny Fox and The Singing Squirrel on Pages 18-20! (see Video #12)

*Remember, if you have trouble finding notes, you can always find C first and count up from there (C-D-E…).

Finding F - Treble F is the bottom, or first, space note on the Treble Clef. Turn to Page 17 (Ants Are Marching). Count how many Treble F’s there are. Answer: 6 Bass Clef F is the fourth line note starting from the bottom on the Bass Clef. Turn to Page 17 (Ants Are Marching). Count how many Bass Clef F’s there are. Answer: 2 (Hint: The first one is in Measure 6 on the word “not”).

You can do the same activities by counting the Treble F’s and Bass Clef F’s in The Funny Fox and The Singing Squirrel on Pages 18-20! (see Video #12)

Flashcards - Buy or make your own flashcards. Make a flashcard for each note you have learned - Middle C-G and Bass Clef C-G. (see Video #14)

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Activities for Songs 10-12Count and Clap - Continue to practice clapping and counting out the rhythm first as

demonstrated in the videos for each song.

Little Black Lamb - Turn to Page 22. What note does it start on? How many times does the right hand play that note? Answer: Treble E, 11,

In which measures are there repeated notes? Answer: Measures 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 14

Silly Willy Spider - Turn to Page 24. What is the first note? Answer: Middle C

Is the next note lower, higher, or does it repeat? Answer: Repeat

Keep going note by note and figure out if the next note is lower, higher, or if it repeats.

Raindrops Fall - Turn to Page 26. Look in the Treble Clef. How many notes are on line 1 (the bottom line)? Space one? How many notes are on line 2? Answers: 5, 3, 3

In the Bass Clef, which note is on space 4? What finger plays that note? Answers: G, 1 (thumb)

Memorize and Share - What was your favorite song in the whole book? Work on memorizing that song. When you’re ready, do a special performance of it for family, friends, etc. - your own personal recital!

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