| Name of Student: Nathan North | Name of Tutor | Raffaele Mele | ||||
| Date | Time | Room | ||||
| Aims | To understand more about chord theory. |
| Objectives | We will look at all the chords on the piano, mainly triads to start with and then build on that knowledge. |
| Extension If the learner progresses particularly well they may also be able to: | I will ask the student to bring me a chord progression with more advanced chord voicings and inversions. |
| Time | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 5 mins | The starter activity was a short check in followed by basic scales on the piano. This acted as a warm up while helping me assess Nathan’s current ability, confidence, and previous musical knowledge before moving into the main lesson content. | I will check that Nathan has completed the activity successfully by watching him play and giving feedback straight away. I will ask him to play what he has learned, such as scales or chord progressions, and ask simple questions to see if he understands it. If he can play it correctly and explain what he is doing, this shows he has completed the activity successfully and is ready to move on. | For this part of the lesson, I will need a piano or keyboard for practical playing, along with a chord sheet or lead sheet for reference. |
| Time (approx) | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 10 mins | Play through the major and minor triads Introduce simple chord progressions Show how to expand chords with added notes etc Introduce chord inversions Ask to try improvise a melody | Ask him to demonstrate tasks and observe | A piano and chord sheet |
| Time | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 5 mins | End of the Lesson Recap the At the end of the lesson, I will quickly go over what we did, like chord progressions, inversions, and improvisation. I will then set practice tasks such as practising triads, playing the progression with inversions, and trying out simple improvisation. |
This first lesson is mainly about figuring out what the student already knows and what they’re not sure about yet. Instead of jumping straight into teaching lots of new things, the focus is on going through some basic piano scales to see how comfortable they are. This helps show things like how they use their hands, whether they know the notes, and how confident they feel playing. It also gives a sense of whether they’ve done anything like this before or if it’s completely new to them.
It’s an important starting point because it helps the teacher plan what to do next. By seeing what the student can already do, it’s easier to decide whether to go over the basics again or start introducing new ideas. Using scales is helpful because they’re a simple way to build technique and get used to the piano. This kind of lesson is also about making the student feel relaxed and comfortable, so they’re more willing to try things out and learn without worrying about getting things wrong.
In this short clip, Nathan says that he wants to build a stronger fundamental understanding of the piano. Even though he already has musical experience, he recognises that his knowledge of the instrument itself isn’t as solid as he’d like it to be. This gives a clear direction for future lessons, showing that the focus should be on strengthening core skills and understanding, rather than just playing more advanced material.
Nathan mentions that he wants to learn some nice chord progressions to further build his understanding of the piano, having something under his fingers will really help.
It becomes clear that the student already has a solid understanding of piano basics and is an experienced musician. Because of this, the focus naturally shifts away from simple introductory material and towards something more tailored to his interests. Instead of leading the lesson in a fixed way, I begin by asking him what he wants to get out of learning piano. This helps make the session more relevant to him and gives him a sense of control over his learning, which is especially important for someone who already has musical experience.
Based on this, I introduce the 2–5–1 chord progression as a starting point for improvisation. It’s a simple and widely used pattern, so it works well as an entry point into playing more creatively on the piano. Since he already understands basic theory, this approach allows him to apply what he knows in a practical way, rather than just repeating exercises. The aim here is to move beyond just playing notes and start developing his ability to experiment and express ideas, while still keeping things structured and easy to follow.
In this clip, I ask Nathan to try out the 2–5–1 progression during the lesson so I can support him in real time. This allows me to guide him with fingering, overall technique, and making sure he’s playing the correct chords, while also giving immediate feedback as he plays. This approach is effective because it keeps the learning practical and interactive, rather than just explaining the idea without applying it. By working through it together, I can quickly address any issues and help him build confidence with the progression.
Nathan picks it up quickly and performs it really well, which reinforces that he already has strong musical ability. What stands out is that he naturally begins adding smooth, jazzy melodies over the progression, showing a clear sense of musicality and experience. This suggests that the decision to move on from basic content and introduce something more creative was the right one, as it challenges him while still building on what he already knows. It also links back to his goal of developing a stronger foundation, as he is not only learning the progression itself but also how to use it in a more expressive and musical way.
Right before the end of the lesson, I introduced some simple sight reading to see how Nathan would manage it. As a bass player, he already has some familiarity with the bass clef, so he was able to pick it up quite quickly and did really well with the exercise. This shows that his existing musical knowledge is transferable to piano, which supports his goal of building a stronger overall understanding of the instrument. I also made sure to use positive reinforcement, praising what he did well so he leaves the lesson feeling confident and motivated, which is especially important in a first session. I also told Nathan to practice all the major and minor triads, to really help is understanding of chord theory.
At the start of the next lesson, I asked Nathan whether he had practised all the major and minor triads, which he had, and to a really good standard. I included this check-in at the beginning of the lesson to make sure he had followed through on the work from the previous session and to reinforce the importance of regular practice outside of lessons.
This also allowed me to quickly assess his progress and see how well he had retained the material. His confident response showed that he is engaged and taking his learning seriously, which means we are able to continue building on his existing knowledge rather than revisiting the basics. This helps keep the lessons moving forward at a suitable pace for his ability.
In this clip, we discuss what to focus on next in the session, and I suggest starting with a simple chord progression and gradually developing it into something more interesting and complex. This gives us a practical way to move beyond basic triads and begin exploring how harmony can be expanded and shaped in a more musical way.
I chose this approach because Nathan had previously mentioned that he wanted a better understanding of “cool” or more advanced harmony. By building on a simple progression rather than introducing abstract theory on its own, it creates a direct link between his goal and what we are doing in the lesson. This makes the concept more accessible and helps him immediately hear how small changes can make a progression sound more sophisticated.
In this clip, I sit at the piano with Nathan and we choose a simple 1–5–6–4 chord progression as a starting point. This gives us a clear and familiar structure to work from before adding any more complexity. Starting simple is important here because it makes it easier to hear and understand any changes we introduce later, rather than overwhelming the progression too quickly.
Before developing the progression further, I go through the C major scale and break down the notes within it, including how extensions like major 7ths fit into the harmony. This helps him understand where “extra” or more colourful notes come from and how they relate back to basic chords. The aim is to give him a clearer theoretical foundation so that when we start making the progression more interesting, he understands why those changes work and how they are built from the scale itself.
After introducing the C major scale and explaining how different chord tones and extensions like major 7ths fit within it, I return to the 1–5–6–4 progression and begin developing it further. I start adding extended chords and small harmonic changes to show how the basic triads can be expanded into richer, more interesting sounds. This helps demonstrate that even simple progressions can be transformed quite significantly with a few adjustments.
The purpose of this is to move Nathan beyond just playing basic triads and to open up more creative possibilities in his playing. By hearing and experimenting with extended harmony in a familiar progression, he can start to understand how these sounds are built and how they can be used in his own practice. This is intended to broaden his musical vocabulary and encourage him to think more creatively, with the longer-term goal of helping him develop ideas that could lead to more original and expressive music.
After demonstrating how the 1–5–6–4 progression can be expanded using extended chords, I ask Nathan to sit and try applying it himself. This step is important because it checks whether he has actually understood the concept, rather than just following along while I play. By giving him space to experiment on his own, I can see how well he is able to recall and apply what was explained.
Nathan does this really well, quickly transferring the idea into his own playing and using the extended harmony confidently. This shows a clear understanding of the concept at the time, and it becomes even more evident in later lessons, where he is able to build on this and use it more naturally in his playing. This reinforces that the decision to move from explanation to independent practice was effective in helping him retain and apply the information.
In the next lesson, Nathan comes back having written his own chord progression, which is a really strong step forward and shows clear progress from the previous session. The progression is well thought out, with interesting harmony and more advanced chord choices, which suggests he has taken on board the idea of moving beyond simple triads and experimenting with sound.
We go through it together at the piano, and I help him identify and understand the chords he has used, since he specifically asked for clarification on this. This turns the exercise into a useful learning opportunity, as he can connect what he has written to the underlying theory. I was genuinely impressed with his creativity and the quality of the progression, as it shows not only understanding but also independent musical thinking.
What stood out in this lesson was how naturally Nathan is starting to apply concepts without being prompted. Instead of just copying ideas, he is now making his own musical decisions and then seeking understanding afterwards, which is a really strong sign of development. This also reinforces the effectiveness of the previous lessons, where we focused on expanding harmony and experimenting with extended chords. It shows that he is not only retaining information but also beginning to use it creatively in his own work.
In this clip, I ask Nathan to sing along to the top line (the melody created by the highest notes) of his own chord progression. The goal here is to shift his focus away from purely playing the chords through muscle memory and instead really listening to what is happening musically. By vocalising the top notes, he has to slow down and think more carefully about the shape of the harmony and how each chord connects to the next.
This approach also helps him develop a stronger awareness of voice leading, particularly how important the top note is in defining the overall sound of a progression. It naturally draws attention to how inversions change the feel and flow of the chords, even when the harmonic structure stays the same. By separating the melody from the physical act of playing, Nathan begins to hear the progression more clearly, which supports a deeper understanding of how harmony and melody work together in effective chord writing.
In this clip, I acknowledge Nathan’s strong progress with theory and chord understanding and decide it is a good point to introduce a simple pop song. The purpose of this shift is to move from isolated harmonic exercises into a more realistic musical context, where he is combining left-hand chords with a right-hand melody. This helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical performance, making the learning feel more complete and musical rather than purely technical.
We start by listening to the song and then looking at a chord sheet together. Nathan plays through the chords while I check they are correct and make sure he understands exactly which chords he is playing. This step is important because it reinforces his harmonic awareness rather than just relying on shapes or patterns. It also connects back to earlier work on triads and extended harmony, now applied in a real song context, which strengthens his overall understanding of how chords function in actual music.
I also introduce the idea of inversions in a practical way, highlighting how keeping chord movement minimal makes playing smoother and more efficient. This links directly back to the earlier focus on building chord vocabulary and expanding harmony, but now shows how that knowledge can be applied in a more functional way. Understanding inversions at this stage is particularly valuable because it supports future improvisation, allowing him to move between chords more fluidly and think less mechanically about root position shapes.
Finally, we explore the melody and how it interacts with the harmony, which helps Nathan see the relationship between the two hands. This is a key step in developing his overall musicianship, as it connects earlier ideas about chord structure, top notes, and voice leading into a full musical texture. Working through the song together in this way is effective because it consolidates everything he has learned so far while also introducing a more enjoyable, real-world playing experience that supports long-term development and creativity at the piano.
To finish off the last lesson, I encourage Nathan to keep working on what he has been doing, as his progress throughout the session has been really strong. He has shown a clear ability to understand and apply new concepts quickly, and the quality of his playing and ideas has improved noticeably. Reinforcing this at the end of the lesson helps consolidate what he has learned and keeps him motivated to continue developing outside of lessons.
For future sessions, the plan is to keep building on this foundation by developing his use of harmony and inversions further, while also continuing to apply these ideas in real musical contexts like songs and improvisation. This will help him become even more fluent at connecting theory with practice, with the long-term aim of improving his confidence in both improvising and creating his own music.
