basics for children
According to renowned pianists and pedagogues such as Czerny, Cramer, Wieck and Schmoll, young pianists and beginners are advised to learn how to prelude within the first year of piano instruction, or at the latest, during the early years of study. This section focuses on the basic skills young pianists need for preluding. This is why the examples are suitable for the size of children's hands.
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The following example in C major can be practiced in different ways and in multiple keys. Each time you play it, you can vary different elements, such as the tessitura and direction of the arpeggios or the speed of playing. This gives the prelude an improvisational character right from the start.
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LH
RH
LH
RH
The same can be done with a scale instead of triads:
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1
3
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1
The following example has A minor as its key. Make sure to keep in mind that the minor key has an added leading note.
Each triad has a root position and two inversions, which can be practiced and included as well:
This document gives a full overview of all triads and their corresponding symbols.
The number of chords and keys to be learned depends on the individual’s pace of learning. However, once the basic chords, such as the tonic, subdominant, and dominant are familiar, small experiments can be playfully undertaken, opening up limitless possibilities.
The examples below are taken from Pianoforte Studies (1875) by Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873), with the following advice:
Before the performance of each piece of music, the pupil is advised to improvise a short prelude of a series of chords, or to play a modulation, that is, to modulate from one key into that of the composition about to be played. In order to do this quickly and with ease, it is necessary often to practice, and in every key, the chords here introduced.
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The above examples have an arpeggio as the main element, but other elements such as scales or scale patterns can be used as well, as in the following examples from An Introduction to the Art of Preluding and Extemporizing (1792) by August Friedrich Christoph Kollmann (1756-1829).​
Practicing the basic elements does not have to be done sequentially; a (young) pianist can get started right away with all the different elements: practicing triads, cadences, chord progressions, etc.
In the subsections below these basics skills will be explored one by one.
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Check out some historical examples for children’s hands through this link.
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