Spinning Song: Hands Together

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph
Hoffman
and today we're learning the left hand
part for "Spinning Song".
Let's take a look at the score to get started.
All right,
since we're learning the left hand part today,
we're going to be focusing on the
bass clef part, this bottom staff.
Now, taking a look at the first note can you
tell me what letter name we're starting on?
You'll recall this is one of our guide notes.
If you count one, two, three spaces down in bass clef, that is bass C.
So we begin on bass C using finger 5,
and it's a whole note. Whenever you see
this empty circle shape
without a stem, that's a whole note which gets 4 beats.
I'm actually going to write in the counts 1 2 3 4, and since we're in 4/4 time,
that fills up a full measure. So, we have this whole note which takes up the whole measure,
then we get a bar line, which brings us to our next
measure and another group of 4 beats.
1 2 3 4
Now, can you figure out what letter name we're playing next here in the left hand part?
If you said G you're correct.
The way I would figure that out is I notice oh, here's the bass F line and it's a step above that.
Or, you could have thought oh, it's a double skip
above C, which you know is G. A fifth above C is G.
Or DO to SO.
Now looking
ahead, what else do you see?
Can you say the letter names of these following notes?
Try saying it with me. We have another C,
then what?
G
And what do you have here?
If you said C you're correct, and
G again. Then what about these two?
If you said C and G you're correct. Again, it's just going back and forth between C and G, ending on a C.
Now, the only change you might notice are
these two notes in this measure we have half notes.
How many beats does a half
note get?
It gets 2 beats.
So this half note
would get beats 1 and 2,
and this half note would get beats 3 and 4.
and then we'd finish out with this whole note, which gets of course 4 beats.
So, let's try clapping this last line.
The rhythm of the left hand part while we count the
beat out loud.
Ready, go: 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Great, now let's try and play it.
Alright, since this is my middle C, I'm coming
down here to base C.
You can go ahead and find base C on your piano, and let's put left hand finger 5 on base C.
Now, we're going to count the beat out loud
while we play the notes.
Remember, we just have C and G to worry about
so you can really focus on the counting.
Please count out loud as we play. 1 2
ready, go,
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Great.
Now, can you press pause and please
try that one more time on your own.
Make sure you count out loud, then press play
to go on.
Great, now we need to start getting used to how the two hands will fit together and how that will sound.
So what I'd like
you to do, you're in charge of the left hand.
I will play both hands so you hear
how it fits together.
Again, you just play the left hand and count the beat,
and
let's hear how the two hands are going to fit together.
I'll count 4 beats to get us started.
1 2 3 4
Great, now let's have you change jobs and
this time you're just going to play the right hand part.
So place your right hand
finger 1 on treble C.
Remember, no hand is in this middle C position.
Our hands
are a little bit farther apart than usual.
So place your right hand up here
in treble C,
and count the beat out loud while you play.
1 2, right hand go,
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
2 3 4
Great.
Now, you're ready to try
this hands together.
The trickiest part is the last two measures, so let's look
at how that works.
Remember, the left hand's playing half
notes.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
And then finishes with a whole note,
but let's focus just on this penultimate measure, this second-to-last measure.
The right hand goes 1 2 3 4
and the left hand goes 1 2 3 4
Now, the first time you put these hands together it's going to feel like, ah that's really hard!
so go really slow: 1 2 3 4
I just do that 50, 100, 1000 times. However many times you need to make that feel comfortable. 1 2 3 4
So they play together on beat 1, then the
right hand plays, then they play together on beat 3,
then the right hand plays 1 2 3 4
Try just that measure on your own, many,
many times until you feel comfortable,
then press play to go on.
Super! you made it through.
Now, let's try adding that last note. So we have: 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Try just those two ...