John Thompson's Easy Piano Course 3

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Features: The book begins by emphasizing that musical phrases should be the unit of focus, rather than individual notes. This is extremely important. Teachers should draw students' attention to the fact that playing each phrase with different musical treatments (according to personal understanding of the piece) is one of the fundamental techniques of piano performance. Touching the keys, undoubtedly, is a crucial aspect of piano playing. The arrangement of examples such as staccato, legato, and ties in this book follows a progressive and logical order. To develop various touch methods comprehensively, the author's "Hanon Exercises" serves as an invaluable guide. Currently, this book is used by most piano teachers and music schools as one of the standard teaching materials.
Scales and Chords After learning about semitones and whole tones, the next step is the construction of scales, along with examples where scales are used as melodies and accompaniment patterns. Then, small pieces composed of chords through vertical combination and broken forms introduce students to triads and their inversions. Seventh chords (and their inversions) are not analyzed from a harmonic perspective but are simply taught as a chord type. Students should memorize this chord because it frequently appears in music at this stage.
Range In terms of key signatures, this book only uses keys with up to three flats and three sharps. The remaining key signatures will be introduced in proper sequence in the fourth volume. A list of the scales and chords used in this book is provided on page 44 for reference. A compilation of musical terms and expressive marks (with abbreviations and explanations) can be found on page 46.
The final few lessons of this book introduce 6/8 time, a new meter so far encountered. Like the other volumes of this course, the lessons in this book are specifically designed for short-term training programs for contemporary students.