January 30, 2026


     15:41 -- David will be doing his first online lesson in piano next week.  He has been practising his first half-scale in C major, hands separately, legato, staccato, at a moderate tempo.  Once he can play these exercises correctly, he will be able to teach confidently the local children who are interested in learning piano.  In this way those who live in remote areas of the world can get an easy start in music study.  

February 8, 2026

     15:17 -- David performed his scale exercises successfully.  He played C D E F G, up and down, right hand and left hand separately, legato and staccato, four half-scales in all, in quarter-notes, at a tempo of one hundred quarter-notes per minute.  The next step in this kind of exercise is to begin a similar scale beginning on G: "G a b c d".  I showed him how to do that, and he will demonstrate his ability next week.  We also introduced an ear-test called 'clap-back'.  I announced the time signature, four-four time, and played a short melody twice and David was asked to clap the rhythm of what he heard, or tap, or speak it.  This is what I played: G F E . | FE DC B . ||  He tapped the rhythm correctly.  Next week, we'll try something in three-four time.  We will also introduce a sight-reading exercise to train the eye to understand music notation.