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Partners at Sea

Lesson Book page 27

let's get started

1. Point to the notes while I play. Watch out! It's pretty wavy on this boat.
2. Where are the notes stepping down? Stepping up? Where do they repeat? Where do the notes step up and down?
3. Put your LH thumb on a lower C and play five notes down. Your left hand is now over a different five-finger scale.
4. Let's try the piece. Which hand begins? This time I'll point to the notes while you play.

A five-finger scale can begin on any white key.

explore and create

• Drifting Apart

  Try playing the right hand one octave higher. Keep your left hand in the low octave.

• Slow Rowboat

  Let's take a slow row so that we can see all the scenery. I'll come along with the duet.

• Motor Boat

  Let's put a motor on this boat and take a zippy ride together across the lake.

• Motor Trouble

  Listen as we play. My motor might develop trouble and slow down. See if you can follow me. Or I might rev the engine and speed up. Can you hang in there and follow my boat? (See video)

• You're the Captain

  You can manage the motor boat. Let's see if I can follow you. (See video)

partner pages

Theory

p. 15 Middle C Position

• Complete the keyboard and then step up and down the pyramid.

Technique & Artistry

p. 15 Going to the South Pole

• Now, with LH, let's take a snow journey on white keys down to the South Pole.
• Sink deep in the snow for the notes, then tromp steadily for the notes.
• For the snowball note, watch your thumb, then shift quickly to the next key.
• Play an octave higher with the student to model a round hand shape. On each note, check for round snowball hands before starting the next pattern.
• Play with a duet.

Performance

p. 10 A Song About Cats

• Student circles all the repeated notes.
• Find three measures that are just like measures 1-3.
• Play. Can you keep your eyes on the notes and never look at your hands?

pedagogy pointers

This is the first piece in which the left hand steps down from C to F. Thus the left hand is over a different five-finger scale than the right. Once more care is taken to ensure that the student doesn't get "locked into hand positions".

Playing the hands one octave apart helps the student maintain a more natural and relaxed position at the keyboard.

accompaniments on disk

• CD Tracks 26-27
• MIDI File 13

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see it in action

Teaching Video 26

We're off on an exciting boat ride. The notes change direction more frequently, making waves on the page and in the hand, so it's good to check out the movements before playing. We don't want the boat crashing in the waves!

But then the motor on the boat starts to stall, and the ride slows down until we rev up the engine again. Both Vivian and Tatiana have fun with flexing the tempo, either as a passenger in the boat, or as the driver. This kind of ear-training requires very sensitive listening. Bon voyage!

Ask Yourself

• When Vivian first tries the piece, there are certain hesitations and errors. Why do these occur where they do?
• When Vivian and Tatiana control the speed, each has the most fun doing what?

Dial-up users: Click to play with RealPlayer (low quality)