Keyboard Magic – Keyboard Magic: Pupil's Book

IntroductionWelcome to Keyboard Magic. The electronic keyboard is a fun instrument to learn with all its different ‘voices’ (sounds), rhythm styles and accompaniments. Using this book, you will be playing pieces and sounding like a rock band or club DJ before very long!

You will learn many keyboard-playing skills, including how to play melodies with your right hand and trigger accompaniments with your left hand. You will also explore different keyboard functions, like Fill, Intro and Sync start, to make your performances even more impressive.

This book is aimed at the complete beginner and you don’t need to be able to read music or have played any instruments before to use it. The specially-designed notation is easy to follow and there are audio demos of all the pieces to support you. We have also included fun Body beats, warm-ups, games and Try this activities to help develop your skills. You can use any keyboard that offers a range of voices and an auto-accompaniment function (single-finger and fingered chords) to play the pieces in Keyboard Magic. Suggestions for voices and styles to use are given for every piece; if your keyboard does not have a particular voice or style, select something similar. Likewise, if the functions of your keyboard work slightly differently to the instructions, have a play around and adapt as needed.

A separate teacher’s edition is available, offering access to additional resources, including video demos, teaching tips and staff notation for those who prefer it. ISBN: 978-0-00-852521-7.

Take every opportunity to explore your keyboard and get creative with your choices of voice and style. Good luck and enjoy your music-making!

Use the link below to access the printable scores, teaching tips and whiteboard eBook with audio and video demonstrations: collins.co.uk/keyboardmagicSB/download

First published 2022

Published by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd The News Building 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

HarperCollinsPublishers

1st Floor Watermarque Building Ringsend Road Dublin 4, Ireland www.collins.co.uk

© 2022 HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-0-00-852522-4

Printed by Ashford Colour Press. Cover design by Ken Vail Graphic Design. Cover keyboard graphic by lumyai l sweet/ Shutterstock.

Book Design by Fresh Lemon Australia. Edited by Emily Wilson. Recorded by Christopher Hussey.

MAGIC

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – photographic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior permission in writing of the publishers. This book is produced from independently certified FSC™ paper to ensure responsible forest management.

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Keyboard notefinder

Electronic keyboards come in different sizes, but the notes are arranged in the same way.

The white notes are given the letter names A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and this pattern is repeated across the whole keyboard.

Notice that the black notes form a pattern – they are grouped in twos and threes.

Middle C is a note near the middle of your keyboard – if you are using a 61-note or 49-note keyboard, this will be the third C from the bottom.

notes get higher in pitch

Middle C 49-note 61-note 76-note 88-note (full size piano keyboard)

Explore

Count all the notes (black and white) on your keyboard. How many notes do you have?

Can you find Middle C on your keyboard?

Can you find another C higher than Middle C?

Can you find the next C down below Middle C?

Notefinder game

Challenge a friend to find and play a particular note, and then play a higher or lower note.

For example: “Can you find an E? Now can you find a B that is higher?”

The

Copycat game

Choose someone to clap the pulse or beat it on a drum throughout. Everyone else stomps lightly on counts 1 and 3. Choose a caller to say and clap the rhythm of a tasty crocodile meal during two groups of four counts (for example, “U-ni-corn sand-wich-es”); everyone else claps back in the following two groups of four counts. Continue as a call and response game with different callers.

UNIT 1

Explore

Switch Power on. Adjust Master volume to suitable level.

Fruit salad

Count aloud and clap the pulse • Clap the pulse and chant the lyrics

Play

note one-beat note three-beat note 03

Choose any note on your keyboard and play the rhythm shown by the grey blocks using one finger of your right hand, chanting the lyrics in time.

Explore

Learn how to select a voice. Can you find a Synth voice on your keyboard?

Press Start to hear a rhythmic backing, then Stop to end. Can you set the tempo to 80 beats per minute (bpm)?

Select a different rhythmic backing from your style bank. Can you find an 8-beat pop style?

Play

Using your Synth voice and 8-beat pop rhythm style, play Fruit salad:

• Press Start with your left hand (or left-hand player if sharing a keyboard)

• Count two groups of four beats aloud, then play the melody with your right hand (or right-hand player)

• Press Stop with your left hand (or left-hand player)

Try this

Create your own tropical fruit lyrics and compose a rhythm to play them with on your keyboard.

Choose any two neighbouring black notes or white notes on your keyboard. Using fingers 2 and 3, practise alternating between the pair of notes. Use finger 3 for the higher note and finger 2 for the lower note. Can you make up a little riff using these two notes?

Workout

Choose any two neighbouring white notes • Play them with your right-hand fingers 2 and 3 Select Synth bass voice • Practise playing the melody, chanting or singing as you play

Play

Select Funk style and set tempo to 90 bpm:

• Count two groups of four after pressing Start (left hand)

• Play the melody twice (right hand)

• Press Stop (left hand) to end

Secret agents

Choose two neighbouring white notes without a black note in between them. Select Power brass voice • Practise the melody using RH (right hand) fingers 2 and 3, chanting or singing as you play

ing se - ly, don’t or Spy - so cret - they munch crunch. finger 3 don’t play on these beats start with finger 2

Do you recognise the rhythm of Secret agents?

Select style and set tempo, then play with rhythmic backing. Count two groups of four after pressing Start and play twice through before pressing Stop

Copycat game

Play the copycat game on page 5 again, but this time play the rhythm of your favourite food on your keyboard, using two neighbouring notes and RH fingers 2 and 3.

Choose a style and try it with a rhythmic backing. Can you experiment with a faster or slower tempo?

Try this

06

Create an ensemble performance of Secret agents in two or three parts. Part 1: Part 2: play the melody using these notes: play the rhythm on this note:

8-BEAT ROCK, 100 BPM POWER BRASS 05