Mr. Zach's Starter Classes and Lessons

Song 1: Hot Cross Buns, OUCH!
(in Exact-Notes)

For Young Beginners (Ages 3-10)

Now it's time to get your buns off the couch,
And get ready to play Hot Cross Buns, OUCH!

Get your kid and keyboard ready to try Song #1!

Make sure your keys are labeled and your child is ready to PLAY ALONG! (Don't just sit and watch; Learning works about 5x better when you actively participate!)

After the lesson, practice until they can play it 3x on their own without mistakes! (No hints, parents!) Give rounds of applause or high-fives for each correct performance!

Good luck, have fun, and don't get burnt!!!

Song 2: Au Claire De La Lune
(in Standard Notation)

Recommended for Ages 7-12

This little tune is a song about the moon,
Originally French, called "Au Claire De La Lune!"

Same instructions as Hot Cross Buns, OUCH! (Play along, no hints, high-fives...)

But in THIS song, we'll learn with standard notation in ALL letters in Step 1, then only SOME letters in Step 2, and finally NO letters in Step 3!

Think you can make it all the way to step 3?
If you think you can, just say "Oui, oui!"
("Oui, oui" means "Yes, yes!") Now try it and see!

Background Invincible Theme

from Music of Mario!

Let's-a try-a Super Mario! (Most students ages 8+ can learn this song in their first week!)

BUT: You have to play FAST or you won't be INVINCIBLE!

Play along with this lesson and yellow glowing stars just MIGHT form a protective barrier around you!

MAYBE. Play it and find out!

The song-a below-a is just Step One of FOUR-A...
Ask-a real nice and I might add some MORE-a!

Calm 1

from Music of Minecraft

The background music in Minecraft is surprisingly calm... like this one, called "Calm 1."

This piece is a bit further down on the list because it features a lot of sharps. In fact, it's ALL on black keys! But with easy-to-read notes (and labels on your keys), it's usually pretty easy - even for beginners!

So if your kids are frozen on repeat from Let it Go, help them let it go and calm down by learning Calm 1 from Minecraft!

The Imperial March
(Darth Vader's Theme)

from Star Wars! Battle Across the Universe

Get out your green (or red) lightsaber as you learn this delightful tune useful for (Sith) graduation ceremonies, (Sith) weddings, and, yes, even (Sith) funerals...

Or for whenever someone very, very important walks in the room. Like your sister....

Or FATHER....!

Prelude in C Major

from The Well-Tempered Clavier

Beginners ages 10+ to Adult

Time to get SERIOUS: This course will introduce you to the most enjoyable beginner classical pieces of all-time, and also reveal the symbolism Bach secretly wove into his music to visually illustrate the book of Genesis. Seriously.

This is literally the music studied by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Stravinsky, and more...

This music is the reason Western music exists as it does today.

This lesson shows you how it all begins. Try it!

Moonlight Sonata: 1st Movement,

by Luigi Van Beethoven

Yes, that ^ says "Luigi." This piece was originally published in Italy as Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia (Sonata Like a Fantasy) under the name LUIGI Van Beethoven. How cool is that?! 

That's not all you'll learn in this piece... The story goes that Beethoven told his friend it's supposed to sound "like a nocturnal scene, with mournful spirit calling out from the distance..."

AND... it uses ancient Roman musical symbols by St. Augustine that go all the way bach to the 5th century A.D.; symbols that tell a deeper story of sin, and a warning to either REPENT or - suffer the consequences...

How is this possible? Well, that's what the course is for. But for fun, try the first lesson here!

Für Elise

In Memory, April 27, 1810
- L.V. Beethoven

The top of this page started so nice! How did we get here, to another piece about woe and despair?!

Well, I didn't write the piece; I just teach it: "For Elise."

When someone writes "In memory," they mean someone died. And it appears someone DID die: Her identity is unknown, but her name was "Elise."

And, using the symbolism Beethoven learned from St. Augustine's De Musica and Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Beethoven tells a story with his piece, of the beautiful life - and tragic death - of his beloved Elise!