Solo lab

Original etudes for piano — two-hand colour, contrary motion, odd meters, and independence. No quoted solos. No artist names. Keys light with Play. Paths A–C build the language; Path D is the advanced ladder. One note chart + Play per card.

Key transposes the chart; keys still light. Note chart matches what Play sounds. Watch the keyboard glow. Sit tall; wrists soft. Pair with Hanon · Drills · Exercises.
Ready

Path A · Two-hand colours

Rolls, thirds, octaves, call/response between registers. Sing the top line; keep the bottom honest.

A1 · Am triad roll

Your job: Roll Am chord tones low→high with one hand (or LH), then reverse. Even fingers; no accents by accident.


      

A2 · Same-key flurry

Your job: Repeated-note flurry on one pitch (legato finger change). Land on the target and hold.


      

A3 · Thirds climb

Your job: Root+third (or fifth) blocks climbing chromatically. Both notes equal weight.


      

A4 · Keyboard octave stabs

Your job: Octaves on 1 and 3. Firm but not harsh; release cleanly.


      

A5 · Pedal colour → clear answer

Your job: Soft overlapping colour tones, then a clear single-line answer that lands.


      

A6 · Register leap

Your job: Low sustain → high answer. Leave air; eyes move before the hand.


      

A7 · Call / response (LH · RH)

Your job: Bars 1–2: LH stabs. Bars 3–4: RH run. Trade roles next loop.


      

A8 · Piano tremolo seed

Your job: Same pitch, fast even finger exchanges. Then leap to the fifth and hold.


      

A9 · Em keyboard showcase

Your job: Same roll idea as A1, moved to Em. Sing the top of the roll.


      

A10 · Mini two-hand form

Your job: Continuous etude — rolls → flurry → climb → colour → silence.


      

Path B · Meter & polyphony

Odd meters, dense arps, polymeter. Even fingers beat flashy tempo.

B1 · 7/8 keyboard pocket (3+2+2)

Your job: Accent every group “1”. Count out loud; wrists stay quiet.


      

B2 · 5/4 keyboard arp walk

Your job: Five quarters up the chord tones, then reverse. Own the long bar.


      

B3 · 9/8 keyboard cell (2+2+2+3)

Your job: Accents on 1 of each group. Let the final 3 breathe.


      

B4 · 11/8 keyboard vamp (3+3+3+2)

Your job: Three groups of 3, then a short 2. Keep the last 2 crisp under quiet wrists.


      

B5 · Dense keyboard arps · Am–G–F–E

Your job: One bar each. Chord tone on beat 1 every bar — don’t blur the harmony.


      

B6 · Keyboard chord-tone targeting · G–Em–C–D

Your job: Root on 1; light fill; anticipate next root on & of 4. Sing the targets.


      

B7 · 3-against-4 keyboard phrase

Your job: Click in 4; finger attacks every 3 eighths; resolve together.


      

B8 · 5-against-4 keyboard accents

Your job: Click in 4; accent every 5 eighths under quiet wrists. Meet on bar 5 beat 1.


      

B9 · Keyboard sequence (down a third)

Your job: 4-note cell, repeat starting a third lower, twice more. Even fingers through the sequence.


      

B10 · Keyboard feel shift

Your job: 2 bars half-time, 2 bars double-time. Touch stays consistent through the gear change.


      

Path C · Piano etudes

Longer forms. Match Play, then rewrite pitches keeping the form and hand roles.

C1 · Two-hand sonata sketch

Your job: A A B A′ — rolls, leap, colour, return. Keep hand roles clear.


      

C2 · Progressive piano suite

Your job: Odd meter → dense arps → lock. One take with clear hand roles.


      

C3 · Two-hand mash

Your job: Chordal intro → 5/4 → climb → poly cool-down between registers.


      

Path D · Advanced independence

Hard ladder — climb in order. Quiet shoulders; loud clarity.

D1 · 16th ladder (evenness or nothing)

Your job: Strict sixteenth grid in a five-finger position. If any note rushes, drop 8 BPM.


      

D2 · Crossing-hand blizzard

Your job: Adjacent-note zig-zag (or hand crosses). No accidental accents; no tense wrists.


      

D3 · Keyboard wide-span

Your job: One continuous arpeggio across the range — up then down. No hesitation at the turn.


      

D4 · Register teleport

Your job: New position every quarter. Land silent, then speak. Eyes ahead of the hands.


      

D5 · Two voices (held + moving)

Your job: Sustain a low drone while a high line moves in sixteenths. Both voices honest.


      

D6 · 13/8 keyboard denseness (3+3+3+2+2)

Your job: Accent every group “1”. Sixteenths on the last two cells. Count until boring.


      

D7 · Semitone keyboard engine

Your job: 4-note cell, repeat starting one semitone lower, eight times. No tempo sag.


      

D8 · Nested keyboard poly (3 / 4 / 5)

Your job: Click in 4. Accents every 3 eighths for 2 bars, then every 5 for 2 bars, then resolve.


      

D9 · Independence endurance wall

Your job: Ladder → cross → span → sequence without stopping. Quiet shoulders or you failed.


      

D10 · Capstone · Independence form

Your job: Teleport → two-voice → 13/8 → semitone → poly cool-down → silence. One clean take.


      

Same lab, other rooms

The same lab, tuned to another instrument: Bass · Guitar · Ukulele

Text twin: solo-lab.md