L4 Piano

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

• Use key vocabulary
• Identify the main idea of a written passage
• Talk about the structure of the piano and other instruments.

1. Complete the Warm Up Exercises
2. Review the Vocabulary Section
3. Watch the Vocabulary Video
4. Play the Vocabulary Game
5. Watch the video about the mechanism of the piano’s work.
6. Read the Reading Comprehension Passage
7. Answer the Reading Comprehension Questions
8. Chit Chat- Talk about what you learned
9. Complete the Homework (Optional)

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Be sure to complete the lesson by following the roadmap:

Piano!

In this lesson, you will learn about an instrument known as the

Warm Up

Do you like it? Have you ever heard of it before? Is there anything special about it?

Discuss the following piece with your mentor.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

To pull something quickly and sharply

Lasting multiple thousands of years

To pluck

Multi-millennia

Vocabulary

A person or thing that came before another

Having a unique quality

Distinctive

Predecessor

In piano, a wooden plate to which the strings are attached

The unique quality of a sound

To guide

Loudness or intensity of a sound

Dynamic

To direct

A bird's feather used for writing or drawing

Timbre

Soundboard

Quill

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Review the vocabulary for this section.

Watch the video to learn new vocabulary!

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Vocabulary Video

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Vocabulary Game

To practice your new vocabulary, play a game:

Topic Video

Watch this video to learn more about the topic.

Can you try to explain in your own words how pianos work? Why is it necessary to fully release the key when playing an upright piano? Before watching this video, how did you think pianos worked?

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Read the text below aloud.

Reading Comprehension

The piano, today most commonly existing in two forms – upright and grand – became the product of a multi-millennia tradition of keyboard instruments. Think of other keyboard instruments that you know. Which of those could be the predecessors of the piano? Well, probably the most famous one is the organ. However, while it may be hard to tell, the organ has a totally different mechanism of sound creation. The piano's sound is created when small hammers strike the strings attached to the soundboard. The organ has neither strings nor hammers — instead, it produces sound by directing air through pipes of varying lengths and diameters. Of note, organs can be so big, they occupy entire buildings!

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Other predecessors of the piano are clavichords and harpsichords. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. This mechanism allows for a remarkably expressive touch, enabling variations in volume and vibrato, though its sound is much quieter compared to the piano or harpsichord. The mechanism of the harpsichords involves quills that pluck the strings in a similar manner to a guitar when keys are pressed. This results in a bright, distinctive sound, but unlike the piano, the harpsichord cannot vary the volume of notes depending on the touch.

Reading Comprehension

Read the text below aloud.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Reading Comprehension

When Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano around the year 1700, he aimed to combine the best characteristics of both the clavichord and the harpsichord. As a result, the piano can produce a louder sound than the clavichord while offering greater dynamic and timbre variation than the harpsichord. Yet, after that, the piano mechanism underwent significant improvements that increased its capabilities even more.

Read the text below aloud.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Reading Comprehension

Probably the most noticeable of such improvements was the introduction of the pedals. They allowed to change the dynamics or increase the duration of the sounds produced. All of this turned the piano into a must-have instrument for many musicians. Due to its keyboard structure and unique mechanical features, it can imitate the sounds of many string instruments and even of the whole orchestra. Because of that, it became the beloved instrument of many classical composers such as Beethoven and Chopin.

Read the text below aloud.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

What are some keyboard instruments mentioned in the text? What is common and different between them?

Why did Bartolomeo Cristofori invent the piano? Which drawbacks of the piano’s predecessors did he try to solve?

What made the piano a popular instrument?

If you could travel back in time, which keyboard instrument would you choose to play: the organ, clavichord, or harpsichord, and why?

Think about the limitations that modern piano has compared to other instruments, for example, violin or flute. Which do you like better?

Reading Comprehension Questions

Answer the questions below.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Chit Chat

Have you ever tried playing the piano or any other musical instrument? What was your experience like?

Do you think playing a musical instrument is more about skill or creativity? Why?

What role do you think pianos have in older music versus modern music?

Is piano a popular instrument in your home country? What other instruments are popular in your home country?

How do you think learning to play a musical instrument could benefit a person's life?

Practice speaking with your mentor.

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Homework

Listen to a piece of piano music and write a brief critique. Describe your impressions of the music, its emotional impact, and any elements that stood out to you.

Prepare interview questions for someone who plays the piano or another musical instrument. Prepare a list of questions (5-10 questions) about their experiences, challenges, and joys of playing music.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Homework

© 2024 For Kids Corp. All Rights Reserved

Quill

A bird's feather used for writing or drawing

To pluck

To pull something quickly and sharply

Predecessor

A person or thing that came before another

Timbre

The unique quality of a sound

Distinctive

Having a unique quality

Dynamic

Loudness or intensity of a sound

To direct

To guide

Multi-millennia

Lasting multiple thousands of years

Soundboard

In piano, a wooden plate to which the strings are attached