Black Notes Songs for Beginners
Reading the black notes is a great way to start for small hands.
Playing up on the black keys helps shape beginners' hands, and songs that are fun to play will induce them to practice lots, hopefully, and strengthen those tiny muscles.
These songs are from my book,
Just the Black Keys
Several of the songs on this page, you can download FREE - please scroll to the bottom of the page to find the links for those ones.
Then, check out this page which features my new book, "JUST THE BLACK KEYS", with 30 songs plus TEACHER ACCOMPANIMENTS!
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Hot Cross Buns and Pizza Please, unlike all the other songs, use just one hand:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Some of my little ones who are starting to read the notes around Middle C want to have a new "black key song" every week.
No parallel fingerings
Be aware that these songs do not have "parallel" fingerings; except for Hot Cross Buns and Pizza Please, all of them place one hand on 3 black keys, and the other on 2 black keys.
Mary Had a Little Lamb is a good next step, after Hot Cross Buns and Pizza Please:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
As I stated above, be aware that none of these songs have "parallel" fingerings; all of them place one hand on 3 black keys, and the other on 2 black keys.
Not so hard once they get the hang of it... now my students, after choosing a song, quickly glance up at the top of the page to see if it's "Grandma's House" or "Dog House" on the right or left, and place their fingers with NO ASSISTANCE from me. WOW.
The secret of hand placement
Below, see what the Dog House and Grandma's House look like.
Here is a pretty two-page song which uses both hands at the same time - not impossible for your little ones!
If you are NEW to this kind of music, please remember: ONLY FINGERS 2, 3, & 4 ("Grandma's House") will be used in one hand, and ONLY FINGERS 2 & 3 (the "Dog House") in the other hand!
A very simple song - but with such clever words. Some of my students know the last line as "celery stewed is more QUIETLY chewed."
Now, a song for Christmas!
"Christmas-time" is pretty easy, and the lyrics - admittedly - pretty obvious! Everything does not have to be a work of art to please young children. ; )
When the notes are stacked over each other as in the last line of "Christmas Time", you know that it's "hands together."
See what one mother did to help her young son sort his hands out for this song; "lime" for Left Hand, and "red" for Right Hand:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Just in time for the Christmas holidays, this song may be familiar already to your students. I like to prepare students for folk or traditional songs by warning them that it might sound "different" from other versions.
In my "Just the Black Keys" book, there is a boogie pattern going on in the accompaniment part (the paperback version of this book is at Amazon):
Because this is a "folk" tune, every region or country where this song is known might use slightly different - or VERY different - notes! This is only half of the piece, but it is probably enough to satisfy your little beginners.
Now here is a song that one only needs to see the title to instantly desire (at least if you are an 8-year-old boy, as I discovered today!):
Obviously, my students are doing UNIT COUNTING with these beginner songs. Notice there are no measure lines.
Sorry! So when they count a quarter note, it is "Tah", or "One." A line of quarter notes might be "One one one one..." Half notes are "one - two," and sometimes "Tah-two." If there is a word, then the word plus "two."
Singing the lyrics is the best
I prefer for them to sing the song lyrics, but also to be able to count the notes. Usually, we will practice a new song with "drumsticks" (pencils) on the piano lid as we sing, alternating hands as the song calls for one hand or the other.
This piece has some sophisticated techniques: the repeat dots at the end of line one, and the two hands playing together in the second line.
I think this Halloween song will be a favorite - we'll see!
Update: "Halloween Monsters" has been HUGELY popular!
Children quickly learn the lyrics and sing along as they play.
Drumming with pencils
I'm having good luck rehearsing these songs with PIANO LID DOWN, using pencils for drumsticks, and just playing right and left, to focus students' attention on the note stem directions...
The note stems point "up" for the "up" hand, and "down" for the "downward" hand. This will stand them in good stead even as they begin reading notes on the staff around Middle C.
Usually just once through is enough tapping - if it's a bit rough, then we do it again, FASTER. Then to the keys themselves.
A very pretty piece
This next piece, Morning Sun Upon the Mountains, has a bit of an old-timey hymn-like flavor. The chords formed by using 2 notes at a time have a happy sound, just like the simple lyrics. This song has two pages!
"Morning Sun" is pretty tricky - but I have a little girl who can't leave it alone, and just keeps improving it every week, without much input from me.
A song about a whale is EASY
Here in Alaska we really do see whales quite a bit. Even so, people in my town may pull over to the side of the road and watch from their cars or trucks when whales are passing down the local waterways.
When their tails come up, you know they are going down for a long dive!
Kids like to play this song about pirates, though initially counting the changing rhythm is a challenge.
The lyrics will help with that problem, as the natural emphasis or stress of each word lends itself well to the rhythm. I like to sing, "Pi-rate!, 2-3-, Pi-rate!-2, a Pi-rate, 2, Be-ware -2-3-4." That is using UNIT counting, of course. A glimpse at the teacher accompaniment would show you the true rhythm.
Like "Morning Sun Upon the Mountains" and "Halloween Monsters," there is a bit of both hands playing at the same time.
In addition, the octava symbol shows up! There is something new to learn here, along with hand coordination.
The teacher accompaniment:
Pizza Night is a short and simple-looking song with two complications: the hands play simultaneously on the last line, and there is a tied note at the end.
Good practice counting the basic notes which beginners are first exposed to!
How to read this song? Point to the stems going up and the stems going down, and help your student interpret the notes.
This song poses a bit of a challenge, because it moves up an octave after just 8 beats. It stays there until the repeat, then drops back down in line one again, and back up after 8 beats, AGAIN.
Where to end? I point to the "Fine", and tell students that means "finish" or "ending."
I haven't put any dynamic markings in this song (or any of the songs) but expressive playing, ritards, and pedalling will make a difference in how musical the pieces sound.
Just for young kids? NO!
Initially, I suspected that the lyrics of these short pieces would only seem interesting to children 4 - 7 years old, but I was so wrong.
I AM SEEING EXCITEMENT and expectation from my students. Almost every week they say, "I want a new song!" and we leaf through the book again.
And children OLDER than my target group like the songs as well, when they are beginners. They pick up the songs so quickly that they enjoy having a new one every lesson.
I think they like that these songs have a VERY SHORT learning curve! In fact, once they understand hand placement, some of the songs can be played instantly. Then they can pay more attention to counting...
Don't forget to check out the list of songs & accompaniments - just the thing to get little ones involved in recitals - in my new book, JUST THE BLACK KEYS!
Below, you can view the list of songs in the Table of Contents.
The links to a few of the black key songs:
Download Hot Cross Buns for black notes for the Left Hand
Download Pizza Please! for the right hand
Download Mary Had a Little Lamb for the black keys
To see more of the Black Key songs, please visit this page, or...
Get "JUST THE BLACK KEYS" DIGITAL DOWNLOAD BOOK, $12.50
GET THE PAPERBACK AT AMAZON...
More songs especially for new beginners:
Black Keys songs - songs set to lyrics and poems, all on black keys!
Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!
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This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
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for little boys or girls.
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Kitana:
Hi! I'm teaching my little brother to play the piano and this is really helpful.
Kim in Washington:
My son is hooked...I've been introducing piano to my son on and off for a year or so, but he's not had much interest. Then I gave him "Monsters Everywhere". He loved playing it with the organ sound on our piano. He memorized it that week and I'm printing off the other Halloween songs to keep him going. I love the detailed instructions on teaching since he is my first student! Thanks so much.
Dana:
That is so neat that your son has experienced the magic and mystery of music through this little song. That is so exciting to me! Thanks for writing, Kim!
About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
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