Zeta began to play "Chimes" again. We are attempting to create a "repertoire" of music so that she will be able to play without a book should she be asked to play the piano at any given time. We continued memorizing "Air" by Haydn. Since we only had 30 minutes the time went quickly. We continued learning whatever the new easy piece was. We recalled what a "sharp" was and its effect on a note/key. When we were about to play a new piece of music that had one sharp in the key signature area we explained it by playing the scale that pertained to that key signature. I showed Zeta how the "Circle of Fifths" worked without using that term. I played each scale in order and showed her the pattern that would make each scale, its triad and eventually its key signature easy to learn and understand. What makes it so much fun to teach Zeta is that she is a student who pays attention, focuses very well and enjoys achieving. She could take an hour a day and not tire out.

Zeta started the lesson by requesting to play "Chimes" by memory. I asked her to play for someone at home, a mini-recital; recitals are great to teach grace under pressure; we did several new songs and reached the middle of the book; Zeta accepted the challenge of not writing the finger numbers on her easy pieces today and focused on recognizing whether a note was going straight up or down, skipping up or down; the C triad has been outlined so that when she sees the block she will not think of them as individual notes, rather as the C triad; we then turned our attention to ear training; there are 13 different intervals (an interval is the distance between two notes) - Zeta was introduced to 11 of the 13, she mastered 9; the average number of mastered intervals on the first day is five, Zeta reached 11 - obviously she shows a strength in the area of having a good ear; this will come in handy when she hears a song on the radio that she wants to learn on her own.

Zeta reviewed all the easy pieces we did last week. We made sure she knew that the brain is a computer without a delete button, therefore, playing slowly so as not to make a mistake was the topic of the day. Zeta continued to do the fingering for each piece. This is really a good exercise since one must make sure they understand going either straight up or down, and skipping notes. We emphasized the C triad since it is repeated often in the book. I like to make a box around the triads in Root position. This exposes the simplicity of theory and compresses information instead of playing note, note, note, note. We talked about the importance of memorization so as to being prepared to have a something memorized should a person have a piano in their home. We eventually reached the song "Chimes". I told her that that song was one in five pieces in the book that I recommend memorizing. We went beyond "Chimes". She completed it and then asked if we could go back and memorize it. When we were working on "Chimes" we played the pedal that allows the sound of the note to continue - the sostenudo pedal. We opened up the piano so that she could see the technology of the dampers on the keys are lifted so as to allow the vibrations to continue. Zeta learned to memorize "Chimes" by giving her a simple story to help her remember which keys to play. This is not the usual manner in which to memorize a piece of music, however, for an initial memorization piece with a minimal knowledge of theory, it is a better route. Zeta memorized it. She learned the power of five. It takes five perfect attempts to finally create muscle memory. Also, the need for focus and concentration is needed so as not to become over confident in one's success after three attempts. Zeta seemed to very pleased with her success. We also exposed Zeta to the Blues scale as a "coming attractions".

Zeta received her new book. She plans to leave it at the school where she states she will practice. Practicing four or more times will ensure that she will make progress. Four times alone will just make sure that she does not forget what she learned. Three times or less will mean that she will forget what or how to do something. Zeta had a fascination today concerning where the actual middle of the piano was located. Each of the pieces we did involved Middle C. Upon researching the middle of the piano via counting to key 44 - there are 88 keys - we discovered that the middle of the piano does not correlate with the location of Middle C on the Grand Staff. We reviewed past lessons before embarking on more easy pieces. At one point Zeta wanted to write the fingering of the notes. Before doing so she did very well however, it is difficult in the beginning to identify whether the next note is going up, down or skipping and matching the correct finger. It a fine idea to allow her to write the fingering to see if she would correctly identify the proper fingering. She was successful. Hope that gave her the confidence she needed. She covered the proper way to hold our fingers - curved - our wrists and forearms - up and a little to the outside - and our sitting position - at the edge of our seat. We are not supposed to be comfortable. On the contrary we are to be "on our toes". Zeta knew the C Scale with the proper fingering, however we needed to learn to "cross under the thumb". She did it correctly on the very next try. We discussed what the criteria was to earn a "check mark" for each piece - perfect notes, rhythm, tempo and fingering. This we hope will help her with self-critique. I gave her a glimpse of what we will cover in the very near future. It is all easy, there are just so many areas to cover. I asked Zeta to review the music we covered because, yes, she did it correctly however, I want her to play it about five times so that her experience is not so strained. Muscle memory is the goal. Also, l let Zeta know that even though it looks like I'm a music teacher my main focus is to teach resiliency. Practice makes perfect is necessary for success in any field of endeavor.

Zeta continued learning the fundamentals. We reviewed the location of the keys and the number assigned to each octave of the piano - "Pizza Delivery" game. We then introduced the necessity to understand the Grand Staff as a road map, including the clef symbols and what they meant. We then introduced the different rhythm symbols. We then explained the Time Signature. Zeta knew what the top number meant and when the lower number was explained as a "symbol" rather than a number, she understood its significance. Then the fingering - "The thumb is one". Finally we applied everything to the first little song - "Birthday Party". We started teaching Zeta the order of thinking necessary to answer the question "Where do I put my hands". Zeta picked it up very easily and we were able to go to the next song before our time was up. It will take time for her to remember all five questions, however, I don't think that will be a roadblock. Most students who pick up the fundamentals as easily as she does, instinctively bypass some of the steps since they are so easy by the next couple of lessons. Zeta will probably receive her own copy of the book by the next lesson.

Zeta stated that she has taken piano in the past, however, she does not remember anything. It is not a problem.

We started from the very beginning with the following: the musical alphabet, how many octaves on the piano, the location of the keys, a review using a particular octave and key, a beginning story of the necessity of the Grand Staff.

We began by introducing one another and discussing our prior piano experience. Zeta was extremely polite and deferential to this instructor. She listened intently and followed modelling techniques exceptionally well. I began with Penta scales and demonstrated the right hand fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 needed to facilitate an octave scale. We discussed how many notes comprised an octave, and Zeta was well aware of the 8 notes that constitute an octave. I showed her Middle C and we proceeded from there. Instead of using a 5-finger scale, I showed Zeta the technique of playing the right-hand pentascale by “tucking the thumb”. This means that she ended the ascending pentascale on her 2nd finger (playing a scale beginning on a white key), thus learning to tuck her thumb under her 3rd finger on the ascent plus swing her 3 finger over on the decent. We practiced this pentascale several times until increased competence was noted. Any variations to expectations were included and interjected with humor so as to encourage her to continue her practice of the scale without undue anxiety. The left hand scale was introduced but will be addressed on a more formal basis in succeeding sessions. Zeta seemed to enjoy the session and made a conscientious effort to follow directives and work on practicing her fingering technique, including lifting her hands while practicing the scales so as to produce clean and clear musical notes. We discussed what a metronome is and how it can set the pace for measured beats. Zeta added that she annoys her brother when she introduces this at home, and we laughed together as she continued to practice. I kept repeating to her that practice makes perfect. It was a fun and productive session.

Christopher and I began learning about the piano. We learned where middle C was, and I taught him how to play "Three Blind Mice" with one finger.

We began by warming up with full octave scales, and a review of basic standard musical notation. We reviewed and played songs using notes A, B, C, D, and E around middle C. We played the songs Birthday Party and Sandman's Near from the book Teaching Little Fingers How to Play.

Ben did very well and even decided to try to rewrite one of the songs to lengthen it and include a melody that he thought would sound good with it.

Ben did a fantastic job and played very well.

We began by warming up with full octave scales, and a review of basic standard musical notation. We reviewed and played songs using notes A, B, C, D, and E around middle C. We added the G note below middle C, and the F note above it, and played the song Baseball Days from the book Teaching Little Fingers How to Play.

Andrew did a fantastic job and played very well.