Lessons 1–20

Piano Unit 1

Lesson 1 First Song

Video Lesson
13:29
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
8 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to find high and low notes on your piano
  • Pattern of 2 and 3 black keys
  • How to play your first song on the piano

Lesson 2 Improvisation with Hot Cross Buns

Video Lesson
8:47
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
3 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Tips for your first improvisation on the piano with a jazz-style backing track

Lesson 3 Musical Alphabet

Video Lesson
8:44
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
6 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Basics of the Musical Alphabet

Lesson 4 Finding C, D, & E on the Piano

Video Lesson
10:32
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
5 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to identify the keys C, D, and E on the piano

Lesson 5 Piano Posture & D Journey

Video Lesson, Part 1
14:06
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
8 tasks
Video Lesson, Part 2
9:23

What You’ll Learn

  • A 4-step Checklist for excellent piano posture to complete at the start of each practice session
  • Counting a steady beat
  • How to play "D Journey" while applying principles of great piano posture

Lesson 6 C Boogie

Video Lesson
7:49
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
10 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Review how to find C on the piano
  • Review Piano Posture Checklist and apply to playing "C Boogie"

Lesson 7 Finding F & G on the Piano

Video Lesson
7:32
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
8 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to locate and identify the keys F and G on the piano

Lesson 8 Five Woodpeckers

Video Lesson
11:38
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
10 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to play ‘Five Woodpeckers’ using either the right hand, left hand, or both

Lesson 9 Rhythm Dictation: Hot Cross Buns

Video Lesson
11:54
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
8 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • The meaning of beat and rhythm
  • The sound and symbol for quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes
  • How to dictate the rhythm of a familiar song: ‘Hot Cross Buns’

Lesson 10 Frog in the Middle

Video Lesson
10:52
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
11 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to play ‘Frog in the Middle’ on the piano
  • How to sing and play the pattern do-mi-so

Lesson 11 Finding A & B on the Piano

Video Lesson
9:27
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
7 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to find A and B on the piano
  • The end of the Piano Street story

Lesson 12 Rhythm Composition

Video Lesson
10:33
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
11 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to compose your own rhythm and melody using quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests

Lesson 13 Chocolate

Video Lesson, Part 1
12:05
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
12 tasks
Video Lesson, Part 2
7:30

What You’ll Learn

  • How to play ‘Chocolate’ in the C major pentascale
  • Learn the first five notes of the solfege scale: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So

Lesson 14 D Major Pentascale

Video Lesson
11:35
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
9 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to transpose to the D major pentascale
  • Half step and whole step

Lesson 15 Rhythm Dictation: Frog in the Middle

Video Lesson
6:09
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
4 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to dictate the rhythm of ‘Frog in the Middle’
  • Review quarter notes, quarter rests and eighth notes

Lesson 16 Finger Numbers

Video Lesson
6:49
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
9 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Finger number system for pianists
  • Finger number mystery challenge

Lesson 17 Listen for Bells

Video Lesson
10:26
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
11 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Learn how to play the song ‘Listen for Bells’ in the D major pentascale

Lesson 18 Half Notes

Video Lesson
9:10
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
6 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • New rhythm: Half Note - what it means and how it works
  • Dictate the rhythm of the song "Chocolate."
  • Review all rhythms learned so far: Quarter Note, Quarter Rest, Eighth Notes

Lesson 19 Improvisation with Listen for Bells

Video Lesson
4:55
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
7 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • How to improvise your own music using the D major pentascale with a musical accompaniment played by Mr. Hoffman

Lesson 20 Frog in the Middle: Adding Chords

Video Lesson
12:48
Illustration of Hoffman Academy practice task cards, which look like colored note cards.
Practice Session
7 tasks

What You’ll Learn

  • Definition of a chord and how to play 2-note chords properly
  • Play ‘Frog in the Middle’ with your right hand while the left hand plays 2-note chords