Exploring Melody with Both Hands

Within this idea of setting sail and expanding the variety of what we can do, we can now think about both hands being the melody.

We've talked about expanding the melody simply through:

• Extending the way the hand works
• Bringing the fifth finger up
• Bringing the thumb down
• What the other fingers do in between

Both Hands Creating a Phrase

How about thinking of both hands now as the phrase? Both hands creating that phrase.

I recommend that you come to this only after you really feel comfortable with the idea of pulse and then phrase, which we were developing in the first section.

So keep going with that.

Even if you work on this for a couple of days, you're still miles ahead of where you would be following a more traditional route of learning with notation.

If you're using this to develop more exciting skills at the piano, you're still fast-tracking here.

So don't be at all put off by holding back that little bit.

When you feel ready, it would be a great idea to think about both hands creating patterns of notes.

Of course, there's already going to be pulse there, because you now feel comfortable with it. But both hands are giving the phrase.

Demonstration

I'm going to demonstrate this one, going back to the black keys.

And again, you can now be anywhere on the keyboard. Don't worry about notes. Just put the hands wherever they might happen to land.

Here we are:

• I'm going to start with the left hand
• Then the right hand is going to come in
• Both are going to hopefully be doing a note pattern that creates some interest between the hands and a kind of musical conversation between the two.

To start with, I might simply have both hands playing exactly the same beat.

I recommend that as a starter.

You could maybe think about symmetry and just do it again through the physicality of thinking about:

• 1, 2, 3
• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Whatever it might be will already create something quite interesting.

Start within the closed hand position and then begin varying it and extending it, with both hands doing note for note the same.

Once you feel comfortable with that, you can start exploring imitation as another way to really uncover these little musical nuggets.

Setting Sail

This might involve one hand just holding a note while the other does a little note pattern.

Then, the other hand can imitate this note pattern. It doesn't have to be exact, two hands exploring, listening to each other, copying each other, and following the other hand's lead.