What if by the end of 2025 all of your students could do 1-4-5 cadences in all major keys?
What if it were easy? Or, at least easier.
Each month this year, I will be posting a different piece of music in all 12 keys. These pieces are chosen and designed for teaching and learning. But, they have to be enjoyable for students and give them a sense of accomplishment when they have learned them.
The goal is to get students playing more and, getting really comfortable on the keys. Honestly, I am using these with 100% of my students and myself and we have all noticed differences in our piano fluency. These ideas have taken time to build, but the difference in this crop of students is amazing. And, every lesson is amazing, even if the student hasn't had time to prepare as well as they would like.
January 2025 is When the Saints go Marching in.
You can download the file here:
To go with the January Circle of 5ths Challenge, you can download the circle. This is also part of this year's project. I'm doing a different circle of each month. Each month will be themed, as you can see, January is Snowballs and Coal. I got 12 sided dice for all of my students, and they roll the die to see which key they will play the challenge piece in.
Download the Snowball and Coal Circles here:
The key finder cards I use to make the January challenge easier are the note name card, the 5 note scale card and the 1-4-5 cadence cards. It has been fun to watch my student go from being reliant on the cards in the beginning, to mastering the ideas and not needing them later on. The process takes time, but by the end of the year, the confidence levels of playing everywhere are really high.
There's no such thing as cheating in piano. Right?
There are layers of learning in this piece, and it builds skills in surprising ways. I can't wait to hear how it works with your students!
Happy Playing!