Keys & Harmony

Week 1: Introduction to Harmony and the Piano

• Piano Basics: Overview of the keyboard, hand positioning, and posture.

• Harmony Notation: Introduction to musical notation (treble and bass clefs), recognizing intervals, and basic harmonic concepts.

• Practical Exercise: Simple finger exercises and recognizing basic intervals on the piano.

• Vocal Focus: Introduction to pitch and harmony in singing.

Week 2: Major Scales and Chords

• Piano: Learning the C major scale and how to build major chords.

• Harmony: Introduction to the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chords and their harmonic function.

• Practical Exercise: Practice building and playing major chords on the piano.

• Vocal Focus: Singing along to simple major chord progressions.

Week 3: Minor Scales and Chords

• Piano: Introduction to minor scales (starting with A minor) and minor chord construction.

• Harmony: Exploring the harmonic differences between major and minor.

• Practical Exercise: Play simple songs using both major and minor chords.

• Vocal Focus: Understanding minor harmonies in singing and practice singing minor scales.

Week 4: Melodic Harmony and Simple Progressions

• Piano: Playing basic chord progressions (I-IV-V) in both major and minor.

• Harmony: Introduction to melodic harmony and voice leading.

• Practical Exercise: Harmonizing simple melodies on the piano.

• Vocal Focus: Singing and harmonizing over simple progressions (I-IV-V).

Week 5: Inversions and Expanding Harmony

• Piano: Introduction to chord inversions and how to play them on the piano.

• Harmony: Understanding inversions in harmonic structures and expanding chord progressions.

• Practical Exercise: Practice using inversions in chord progressions.

• Vocal Focus: Singing and harmonizing using inversions.

Week 6: Diminished and Augmented Chords

• Piano: Introduction to diminished and augmented chords.

• Harmony: Exploring the role of diminished and augmented chords in harmonic progression.

• Practical Exercise: Incorporating diminished and augmented chords into basic progressions.

• Vocal Focus: Singing and harmonizing with diminished and augmented chords.

Week 7: Harmonizing Melodies

• Piano: Learning to harmonize simple melodies on the piano.

• Harmony: Introduction to harmonizing a melody using both diatonic and chromatic chords.

• Practical Exercise: Harmonizing a simple melody with varying chord choices.

• Vocal Focus: Group singing exercises focusing on harmonizing with a lead vocal.

Week 8: Putting It All Together

• Piano: Play and harmonize a complete song using all the chords and progressions learned.

• Harmony: Final overview of harmonic concepts and their practical applications.

• Practical Exercise: Harmonize a chosen piece (either a simple song or melody).

• Vocal Focus: Perform vocal harmonies with piano accompaniment.

Course Features:

• Piano and Vocal Practice: Each week, students will engage in exercises that combine piano playing and vocal harmony practice.

• Harmony Notation: Focused lessons on reading and applying harmony notation throughout the course.

• Practical Application: Weekly assignments to practice at home, blending piano skills and harmonic understanding.