Two-Hand Coordination Exercises 1

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Instructor

Jonny May

Course Type

Course

Skill Level

Beginner

Intermediate

Duration

02:01:09

Getting your two hands to play different things at the same time is one of the biggest challenges for new pianists, and one of the most exciting skills to unlock. This course gives you 36 exercises designed to help your hands line up naturally, so playing with both hands starts to feel easy instead of awkward.

Every exercise uses the same simple chord pattern, which Jonny calls Pop Chord Progression #1. It’s used in hundreds of popular songs, so as you practice each rhythm, you’re also learning patterns you can use in real music. You’ll start with slow, steady rhythms in your right hand, then gradually speed things up with shorter notes and broken chords, a great pattern for playing with other musicians.

Next, you’ll explore fun rhythms in your left hand, including off-beat patterns that give music its catchy, toe-tapping feel. Then you’ll switch roles, keeping a steady beat in your left hand while your right hand plays a variety of rhythms. You’ll finish with triplets, a rhythm that groups notes in threes for a rolling, flowing sound. Sheet music is included, and when you’re ready for more, check out Part 2 here.

Course Objectives

Develop two-hand coordination through 36 progressive rhythm exercises
Practice pulse patterns in half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and broken eighth notes
Explore left-hand rhythms, including syncopation and counter-melodies
Play a variety of right-hand rhythms over a steady left-hand pulse, including triplets
Apply every rhythm to Pop Chord Progression #1, used in hundreds of popular songs

Learning Focus

Chords
Exercises
Rhythm
Technique

Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

R Griffiths verified

Challenging but fundamental stepping stone for learning how to operate your two hands independently!

Excellent instruction with clear demonstrations and tips. Really enjoyed it and saw significant progress in my ability to control my two hands using different processing threads in my brain! I want to eventually be able to play blues and boogie woogie so this is essential!

Thomas Monaco verified

Great for first timers or as a skills review.

If this is new material for the student, it’s a treasure trove of skills that will apply to so much playing down the road. Much of it I could play by ear but it was great work to dissect the LH & RH rhythms into their respective beat patterns. Also there were several new patterns that were somewhat tricky to get at first, which means I’m learning something new, which is fantastic. Can you play RH half-note triplets over LH quarter notes without hearing it first? If so, maybe move on. If not, then you’ll get a lot out of this course.

Steven Kaiser verified

Left Hand Knows What the Right Hand Is Doing!

Hands Down (and Coordinated), this is, without exaggeration, the best course that I have completed so far at PWJ! Until joining PWJ, I had been teaching myself from Piano Course Books. Never once, were there any exercises like these Coordination Exercises. These Exercises, in my opinion, are the missing link in the process of learning the piano. The ability to freely play syncopated rhythms in both hands is setting me free! I have completed the course and as the result of multiple passes through the Rhythm Exercises, I can now confidently play about 2/3 of these rhythms and now I feel that I am firmly on my way to becoming a complete pianist. Thank you Jonny! Great Stuff as always!!

Nancy Thomas verified

Challenging but fun

Loved learning rhythms. I’m still not as fast as you (fyi) I’m 69. But I kept doing it until I was smooth at every one even the triplets!

Ernie Cruz verified

Rhythmic Fun for Both Hands

Great lessons for building rhythmic chops in each hand.

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