One of my students, a six year old boy, is obsessed with Star Wars. In his lesson he asked if he could learn the Star Wars theme.
Well, as chance would have it, I have a Superhero Piano Book with the Star Wars theme in it. Unfortunately it’s still a little too difficult at the moment. So I took the main theme (from the first line) and showed him how to play it with his left hand fingers one to five in C major position and his right hand finger 1 playing the high octave C.
C–G–FEDC’–G-FEDC’–G-FEFD—–
Well he loved it!
A little later in the lesson he tried to play it again but accidentally got himself into F major position. He worked out that the B needed to be a B flat and there he was, transposing!
This student is already familiar with the pentascale patterns in C, D, E, F, G and A majors, thanks to his progress through my Express Yourself Piano Scheme Key Skills. So for homework I set him the task of playing Star Wars in all of those keys.
This week – perfect. He’s completely grasped the concept and can play fluently in any key he likes. It has also strengthened his left hand brilliantly. What a great little activity. I’ve now got all my boys doing it. I wonder if anyone can think of a suitable tune that girls might like. I tried a couple of them on Star Wars and got some raised eyebrows!
Why not make a suggestion?
Helen Russell Music 