I wanted to summarise everything covered so far in Simply Piano to understand what I have actually learned in the last 3 years. So here it is…
Simply Piano Courses Syllabus Summary
Piano Basics
First 4 notes C, D, E, F with right hand. Finger numbers.
Essentials I
C Position, First 5 notes with left hand. Right and left hand coordination
Rhythm: quarter, half, 8th notes & rest
Right hand 2nd and 3rd intervals
Essentials II
Note A – extended pinky 5 and thumb 1.
5th intervals
F position. First full octave range (covered by C + F positions)
Essentials III
C major scale, dotted quarter note rhythm intro
Introduction to sharps and flats (accidentals)
Classical I
Classical pieces Spring, Minute in G, Sonate 11, New World Symphony, Zarathustra
Intro to Classical Musical Periods
Theory 101
Basic notation, rhythm, harmony, steps & half steps, intervals & chord basics
Intermediate I
D position, common left hand intervals, crossing over thumb technique
Rhythm: Quarter dotted note, Syncopation intro (1+2+3+4+)
Intermediate II
Extended C position, Switching between C, D & F positions
Intro to ties
Intermediate III
Extended F & D positions, Switching between extended positions
C Scale
Intermediate IV
G Position, High C Position – Shifting to all positions
D & G scales
Pop Chords I
First four chords C, G, D, Em – See table with all chords learned + suggested fingers.
Chord Styling I
New chord Am
Style pattern 1: root then 3&5 together
Style pattern 2: LH Bass note joining right hand full chord on every other beat
Pop Chords II
New chords F, Dm
Chord Styling II
Rock pattern
Ballad pattern
Chord Styling III
Alternating Bass style
Further work on Ballad Pattern
Mixing up chord styles in the same song
Pop Chords III
New chords E, A & Bm
Lead Sheet I, II & III
Chords on the left hand and melody with the right hand, with increasing complexity and shifting positions.
Lead Sheet I: Left Hand Chords C, G, F, Am Right hand in C Position – after Essentials III & Chord Styling I
| C – C E G 5 3 1 |
G – B D G 5 3 1 |
F – C F A 5 2 1 |
Am – C E A 5 3 1 |
Lead Sheet II: Left Hand Chords D, Em, Dm – Right hand in C & F positions – after Int II & Chord Styling III
| D – D F# G 5 3 1 |
Em – E G B 5 3 1 |
Dm – D F G 5 3 1 |
Lead Sheet III: Left Hand Chords A, Bm – Right hand shifting between more positions – after Int IV & Pop Chords III
| A – C# E A 5 3 1 |
Bm – B D F# 5 3 1 |
Next chords courses require knowledge of 10 Chords – Must have completed Pop Chords I, II, III
Blues Chords I
New chords G7, C7, D7
Swing Pattern, 12 Bar Blues in G
| G7 G – B F G 1 1 4 5 |
C7 C – Bb E G 5 1 3 5 |
D7 D – C F# A 4 1 3 5 |
12 Bar Blues in G
G7 C7 G7 G7
C7 C7 G7 G7
D7 C7 G7 D7
Jazz Chords I
New chords Dm7, Cmaj7, Am7
Jazz Pattern; 2,5,1 & turnaround chord progressions.
| Dm7 D – C F A 4 1 3 5 |
Cmaj7 C – B E G 5 1 3 5 |
Am7 A – C E G 1 1 3 5 |
ii V I chord progression (2, 5, 1 i.e. Dm, G, C in the key of C)
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 -> jazz version
Turnaround chord progression
I vi ii V (1, 6, 2, 5 i.e. C, Am, Dm, G in the key of C)
Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G7
Jazz Chords II
Seven new chords! E7, Em7, F7, Fmaj7, Gmaj7, A7, Bdim (six 7th chords + one diminished chord)
Jazz Waltz pattern, Minor 2, 5, 1 chord progression
| E7 E / D G# B 3 1 3 5 |
Em7 E / D G B 3 1 3 5 |
F7 F / C Eb A 2 1 2 5 |
Fmaj7 F / C E A 2 1 2 5 |
| Gmaj7 G / B D F# G+Bm 1 1 2 4 |
A7 A / C# E G 1 1 2 4 |
Bdim B / B D F 5 1 2 4 |
ii V i chord progression (Minor 2, 5, 1 i.e. Bdim, E7, Am in the key of Am)
Bdim E7 Am
Slash Chords I
Regular chords with different base notes. Notation F/C means F chord with C note, F over C. On this course the chord is played with RH and note is played with LH.
Pedal Bass – chord progression with same bass note. i.e. LH is on C bass, right hand shifts between C, F, C chords. Pedal bass on C, A, E, D exercises.
Moving Bass – RH plays same chord, i.e. G, LH moves between bass notes, i.e. G, F# and E. The notation would be G, G/F#, G/E. Moving Bass G, Am and A variations exercises
Chord Inversions – i.e. C (C E G) chord on RH with C as bass note on LH. C chord with E bass = C/E. C chord with G bass = C/G. The bass note is any of the notes in the chord being played with RH. Chord Inversions C, F, Em, G, Am, D, Dm and E exercises.
Arpeggios I
Arpeggio is a broken chord with notes played one by one, i.e. The Alberti Bass.
Right-Hand inversions music sheet in Play for practice.
Upwards arpeggio pattern + sheet music in Play for practice. i.e. C E G + inversions. C, F, G exercises and adding left hand bass.
Gmaj7 chord (see Jazz Chords II) played arpeggiated
Up and down arpeggio pattern RH – C E G E C
Left hand intervals C, G/B, Am, F.
Pre-Advanced I
Intro to keys, and key Signatures G, D & F
F Scale – Rhythm: 16th notes
Pre-Advanced II
Left hand development with Triads (C, F, G) – I just called LH Am, Dm, G (inversion D G B), C
Oompah(Swing bass) – Are you Lonesome Tonight? and Alberti Bass – Amelie’s Theme
Pre-Advanced III
Triplets – Rhythm: 1/8th note swing
Position free playing
Major & Minor scales practice
Optional Songs:
After Int IV: Für Elise, Bohemian Rhapsody,
Taste of Bach I (Minuet in G and Arioso),
Taste of Bach II (Minuet in Gm and Air On The G String)
After Pre-Advanced I: The Entertainer, Turkish March
After Arpeggios I: Someone Like You
Chords Learned + Suggested fingerings LH / RH
| Am A / C E A 1 1 2 5 LH / RH |
Am7 A / C E G 1 1 3 5 |
A A / C# E A) 1 1 2 5 |
A7 A / C# E G 1 1 2 4 |
LH Am – C E A 5 3 1 LH A – C# E A |
| Bm B / B D F# 5 1 2 4 |
Bdim B / B D F 5 1 2 4 |
Bb Bb / Bb D F 5 1 2 4 |
LH Bm – B D F# 5 3 1 |
|
| C C / C E G 5 1 3 5 |
Cmaj7 C / B E G 5 1 3 5 |
C7 C / Bb E G 5 1 3 5 |
LH C – C E G 5 3 1 |
|
| D D / D F# A 4 1 3 5 |
Dm D / D F A 4 1 3 5 |
D7 D / C F# A 4 1 3 5 |
Dm7 D / C F A 4 1 3 5 |
LH D – D F# A 5 3 1 LH Dm – D F A |
| E E / E G# B 3 1 3 5 |
Em E / E G B 3 1 3 5 |
E7 E / D G# B 3 1 3 5 |
Em7 E / D G B 3 1 3 5 |
LH Em – E G B _______ 5 3 1 |
| F F / C F A 2 1 3 5 |
F7 F / C Eb A 2 1 2 5 |
Fmaj7 F / C E A 2 1 2 5 |
Fm F / C E Ab 2 1 2 5 |
LH F – C F A 5 2 1 |
| G G / B D G 1 1 2 5 |
Gm G / D G Bb 1 1 3 5 |
Gmaj7 G / B D F# ______ 1 1 2 4 |
G7 G / B F G 1 1 4 5 |
LH G – B D G 5 2 1 |