The sooner you understand the basics of notation for both hands, the better. With this video you will have a good starting point for reading the notes of the bass clef, which is usually used for the left hand notes.

This is a useful part of understanding different musical styles and rhythms. With this video you will learn how to play with swung rhythms. Also you will learn what triplets are and how to play them.

Very often people tell me they find the left hand more difficult (of course, generally most people are right handed, which reinforces this idea). Yet it doesn't need to be like this. I am left handed myself, and I never found this a disadvantage to playing right hand piano passages. Be confident when following this lesson, and you'll probably find it just as easy as the right hand piece.

Very quickly you should get used to the fact that there's always more to learn. Any honest musician will tell you they still have more to learn than they have learned so far. So start out with that spirit and avoid getting stuck with a limited mindset. Nothing slows progress more than clinging onto what you've already learned as if there's nothing more to learn. So by the end of this lesson you will have mastered your second right hand piece, and also learned a new kind of note and new time signature!

Remember that skills need to develop alongside each other. Just as pitch and rhythm are both necessary, so is the use of both right and left hands. You will be performing your second left hand piece by the end of this lesson.

Many people find playing hands together quite a big leap when learning the piano. Coordination is something which can be learned and developed with practise, so don't give up! I introduce this hands together piece by video, teach you to play it, and show how piano notation is written on the 'grand stave'. You will also get a PDF of the piece to download and use in your practise.

You're really getting into this now! By learning and achieving success in your second hands together piece, you will prove to yourself that the sky's the limit and you really can do this!

Many people still have reservations about scales, whether from bad experiences of not understanding them, or from bad teaching methods trying to inflict scales onto them like a punishment. Nothing could be further from the truth, as scales are the important building blocks of most of the music which we know and love - from classical pieces to country, folk, rock n roll and modern pop and dance music. In fact, whatever style of music you like, I'd be surprised if the creators of the music hadn't used scale knowledge in one form or another. By the end of this video and PDF lecture you will be able to play the scale of C Major with left hand and right hand separately. I will encourage you to try playing it hands together, although this may take a little longer for some people.

Some important skills to learn here, including moving to different positions on the keyboard, playing the scale of C major within the piece, and stretching an octave.

An often overlooked part of music theory in the early stages of learning, which really helps you understand how music works, is the importance of intervals (the distance between notes). Tones and semitones are the first intervals to learn, and by the end of this lecture you will understand exactly what they are and how to use them.

Just as we did with the pieces we learned, we now develop the learning of scales by learning another one. Like all learning, we create the foundation and then build on it with more knowledge and skills. In music education, it is a firm grasp of these skills which allows for creativity to flow, so the sooner we have them then the sooner we can enjoy where they lead us. By the end of this lecture you will be playing the scale of G Major and understanding the basics of what it is and how it works.

In this piece, we learn more about harmony and begin to play some simple chords. By the end of this lesson you will be playing 'Brother John', hands together, including left hand chords. There is a lesson about dynamics in this piece too. Also, you will understand what all this means!

This short video introduces you to the concept of keys, and explains what they are. It is good preparation for the the next piece you'll be playing.

Not all teachers explain what intervals are very early on, but I think it's really important to understand the basics at this stage, so here you will learn something useful.

This is a lively, fun tune which many people will have heard before. This arrangement is in the key of G major, and also uses the interval of a 4th, which puts some of your new knowledge from the previous two videos into action straight away!

This piece is also in the key of G major. Furthermore it uses chords in this key and also the interval of a 6th.

A continuation of the major scales we have learned so far, this lecture brings more knowledge including what 'flats' are and how to play the scales of F Major and D Major. By the end of this video and PDF lesson you will know all the major scales needed for the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) grade 1 syllabus, which continues to be a world-leader in music education.

Here we play in the key of F major, and also learn two more dynamic signs. There is also a stretch for both left and right hand positions.

I thought about just giving you the basic 'natural minor' scales for grade 1 level here, which are all you actually need if you wanted to take the grade 1 exam, but I wanted to give you more. After all, you can always rewatch the video lecture and keep the PDF documents for when you're ready. The fact is there are three different kinds of minor scale, and I give you an overview and lesson on the first two kinds of minor scale here. Don't be overwhelmed by this prospect, as you have time to learn at your own pace. I simply want to make sure you are well-equipped to progress well later on. By the end of this lecture you will have a beginning knowledge of minor scales, and will be able to play the 'natural minor' and 'harmonic minor' scales which are needed at grade 1 level (A minor and D minor).

There are so many musical styles to explore, so I wanted to give you a fun blues arrangement to have a go at. The left hand has to work hard here, with finger crosses and lots of moves. Also the hand co-ordination when playing both parts might take some practise - but it will be worth it!

This is a lively, fun and challenging piece, with a few moves to learn and some new chords too. Also, it's in the key of D minor, giving an interesting sound!

This is a great tune, which most people recognise. I have created this simple arrangement as a bonus for you, which hopefully will be manageable for you when you follow the video carefully. There are a couple of new left hand chords too, which might need some work. You also have the PDF with this piece, as with all the pieces, with some useful finger numbers for those right hand moves!

Congratulations for reaching the end of this course! You have done well to follow everything, as there is quite a lot here for a beginner to learn. Of course, there may still be a lot of work to do on some of the pieces. Everyone is a bit different in how they learn, and some of the techniques will be easy for some people but more difficult for others. The important thing is that if you're struggling with something then you keep working on it. You can go back over the videos you need for more help. Also, make sure you take the short quiz now to check what you have learned and if there's anything you need to revisit. There are a few more teaching points in the quiz, too. Enjoy your continuing piano learning and please contact me or leave a review if you have anything to say at this point. Look out for future courses from me too!

All the best!
Simon.