Welcome to Piano Exploration 1

The publishing of our own piano method book is a great personal moment for myself and the studio. This book is the culmination of many years of experimentation and co-operative work among staff at our studio. This book can be used with the audio tapes, which gives further information of performance and orchestral backgrounds so the student may play along. Included in the book are ear-training, sight-reading and written exercises.

The ear-training exercises consist of the following examples:

High or Low: in this test, the teacher plays two notes and the student must guess which note is higher or lower;

How Many Notes: here the teacher plays either one note or two simultaneously, and the student must guess which the teacher did;

Mix-Ups: the teacher will play a 'mix-up' of the notes and the student must write down the order which they were played in;

C or D: the teacher will play either of the notes and the student must guess which;

What Rhythms: the teacher will clap one of the given rhythms and the student must guess which;

Major or Minor: the teacher will play either a major or minor triad, and the student will guess which;

Sharp or Flat: the teacher will play a white key note and then play it again either sharp or flat, the student must guess which;

Intervals: the teacher will play one of the given intervals and the student will guess which one was played.

The sight-reading exercises typically consist of a staff of music for each hand to read separately and a rhythmic pattern to be clapped aloud.

The written exercises vary greatly, but all aim to reinforce the ideas learned in the lessons and employ those learned in the past.

Many thanks to Chris Meyer for countless ideas and editing, Mahindan Kanakaratnam for great illustrations and creativity and the studio staff for much helpful input for this revised edition. We hope you enjoy this book and it helps you discover the infinite joys of the musical language and the piano.

James Carswell, MusBac., BaEd., A.R.C.T.
President Carswell Studios

Lesson 1	Lesson 2	Lesson 10

Copyright © 1999 by Carswell Music Studios. All rights reserved.
Revised: March, 2004.