Create First! - Part 1

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Series Index

Black Keys: Exploring Sounds, Rhythms and Elements of Musicality

• Sunrise - A piece for beginners. It invites students to explore, move freely, and listen to tones. It doesn’t require a sense of rhythm (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• For the Joy - The first piece in the book to explore playing with a beat (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Don’t Give Up! - An A natural is added to the black keys to create a blues scale. This is played with a strong rock-like beat to develop the ability to play on and then “off” the beat (syncopation) (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Bottom Line Blues - This piece uses the same blues scale to introduce swing rhythm. This consists of playing the first eighth note in a beat longer than the second (click here for duet version or here for solo).

White Keys: Exploring Scales and Modes

• New Day, New Way - The student plays with the first five notes of a C major scale. The harmonies in the accompaniment (which include B-flats and A-flats) are interesting and inviting (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Scales Dream of Melodies - This provides a musical way to introduce the C major scale. Students can learn to play it by creating melodies rather than just playing mechanically (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Glimmer of Hope - This simple piece introduces the A natural minor scale (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Music of the Moment - This piece features both A natural minor and A harmonic minor scales so the student can really hear and feel the difference between them (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Kyoto - This piece explores the haunting sounds of an ancient Japanese scale. In modern musical terms, this scales uses selected notes of the Phrygian mode played on white keys (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Scotland - This introduces the Mixolydian mode on white keys. Later, this is contrasted with the sound of the Dorian mode on white keys (click here for duet version or here for solo).
• Whole Lot of Weirdness - This piece introduces and explores the sounds of the wholetone scale. The sounds are always intriguing (click here for duet version or here for solo)!
• Coming soon: Cool - This introduces the A blues scale (all white keys with one black) and features a familiar and appealing walking bass accompaniment.

Resources and further reading Click here to view introduction to the Create First! series and an index of available pieces. Create First! eBooks All online content and printable downloads for the pieces in this series are included within an Online Academy subscription. A stand-alone eBook version is also available for purchase if you are not a subscriber and wish to obtain this series. Please click here if you would like to purchase the stand-alone eBook version via our store or click here to find out more about subscription options. If you are a teacher and would like to use this material with your students then a studio license eBook option for individual teachers with multiple students can be purchased here.