As a practical application of the information already acquired in the division of time into measures, we next pass to the exercise of playing the scales in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time and with the triplets. The scale, the classic type of the melody, lends itself beautifully to these interpretations of various measures. Every one must have passed hours at the piano playing simple scales and finding a delicious variety in the exercise. The do scale itself may be played, for instance, thus:
For the remaining musical pieces, click on the image to hear a midi of the notes played.
or thus:
or thus:
Our little piano may be of use in this exercise; but it is better first to use an exercise more easy for finger movement and for the position of the hand:
. . . . . . .
Children who have succeeded in identifying and dividing the melody into measures and the measure itself into 2, 3, 4, understand very easily the time values of the notes. It is sufficient to let the child hear each exercise first and he will repeat it with precision. Thus all kinds of dry explanation of musical values disappear.