Term one arrives like a slow, joyful Sunday: with Scale and Chord Book 1 I coax out warm major scales and sprightly triads, tasting each interval. Using the Piano Adventures ACE pedagogy — ongoing assessment, connected skills practice, and creative extension — we begin with gentle assessment: five-minute warm-up of hands-separate five-note patterns, two-octave C and G scales at comfortable tempo, and simple chord voicings. Twice-weekly focus: technique (10 minutes: relaxed wrist, legato finger replacement), theory (5 minutes: scale degrees and chord symbols), repertoire link (10 minutes: apply scale to a piece), and ear training (5 minutes: sing and identify tonic and dominant). Weekly goal: accurate two-octave scales and clean I–IV–V chord changes.
Term two unfolds like a richer stew: Scale and Chord Book 2 brings minor scales, inversions and rootless voicings. Assessment refines fingerings and tempo control. Each lesson includes technical studies (12 minutes: minor scales, inversions), harmonic lab (8 minutes: four-measure progressions), improvisation (8 minutes: four-bar motifs over chords) and performance prep (7 minutes: polish a short piece). Monthly ACE checkpoint: recorded clip to review tone, balance and rhythmic stability.
Term three is an elegant finale: Book 3 introduces three-octave scales, seventh chords and modulations. Practice is sophisticated but tender: scalable warm-ups, chromatic study, voicing exercises and creative composition tasks. Emphasis on hands-together independence, phrasing, and expressive tempo changes. Term goals: fluency through three octaves, confident seventh-chord transitions, and a short recital piece demonstrating technique and musicality. Throughout, I encourage mindful listening, playful experimentation, and small, delicious victories — the sort that make practicing feel like a treat.
I'll incorporate short videos, personalised fingering notes, and goals charted plainly so you can taste progress. Parents can support by celebrating five-minute wins, offering calm focus time, and attending a cozy end-of-term mini-recital to share the music, and loving applause. always encouraged.