Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Beginners Guide To Playing The Piano
Beginners Guide To Playing The Piano
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Why Play the Piano?......................................................................3 Chapter 2 Looking at the Piano......................................................................4 Chapter 3 The Home Keys and to !...........................................................4 Chapter 4 What re "#ales? .........................................................................$ Chapter % &eading '(si#) *ntrod(#tion.........................................................+ Chapter , The Lines and the "pa#es.............................................................1Chapter $ Written Piano '(si# and &hythm................................................12 Chapter . Personal "tory) Learning Piano /asi#s........................................14 Chapter + Keys and Key "ignat(res.............................................................1% Chapter 1- !et *t Together 0ith Chords......................................................1, Chapter 11 The /ig 1ake and *mpro2isation................................................1. Chapter 12 "ight3&eading Written '(si#....................................................2Chapter 13 '(si# Terminology 4or /eginners.............................................22 Chapter 14 1inding and Choosing '(si# to Play.........................................24 Chapter 1% Pra#ti#ing on 5o(r 60n............................................................2% Chapter 1, The "mall "potlight) Playing 4or 1riends and 1amily...............2, Chapter 1$ Playing 4or P(7li# 82ents...........................................................2$ Chapter 1. Personal "tory) Ho0 Playing the Piano /e#ame 'y 6##(pation2. Chapter 1+ Tips 4or /eginning Piano Players..............................................2+ Chapter 2- Lessons and Piano Tea#hers......................................................3Chapter 21 Con#l(sion) 8n9oyment That Lasts a Li4etime..........................31
7 : !ig"re A
&
The middle &% where you will put your thumbs% is marked with a &. The keys with numbers under them are where you put your "ingers. The twos are "or the index "ingers o" your le"t and right hand% the threes are "or your middle "ingers% the "ours are "or your ring "ingers% and the "i es are "or your little "ingers. Place your "ingers on the @ome 0eys o" your piano keyboard. Play to the right up the keyboard "rom your right thumb to your right little "inger. 4ow play down the keyboard "rom your le"t thumb to your le"t little "inger. You can e en play a "ew songs with your hands in the @ome 0eys position. Try to pick out a song you know well. <or example% you can play 1ary @ad a 3ittle 3amb with the right hand when it is in the @ome 0eys position. Try to use your memory o" the sounds to choose the right keys. =@int: start with your right middle "inger.> 4ow% try using the @ome 0eys "or a re"erence point. Put your "ingers on the @ome 0eys again. 3ook up the keyboard% to the right% "or the next pattern that looks #ust like the @ome 0eys. You know where middle & is 2 now try to "ind the & o" the next octa e
up. 3ook "rom middle & to the & abo e middle &. This is how you will gauge your place on the keyboard. !n the beginning% you should always take a long look at the keyboard when you sit down to play. )nce you can recogni$e the home keys% you can begin any song "rom that re"erence point. /hen you ha e learned more% you will take one glance at middle & and know exactly where to put your "ingers no matter where they should go up or down the keyboard. 4ext you need to learn the names o" the keys% + through G. You know where middle & is now. -tart two white keys below that and you will be at +. (ach white key up% or to the right% goes up a letter in the alphabet until you come to G. Then% it starts o er at +. There"ore% the middle "inger o" your le"t hand is resting on the + in the @ome 0eys position. +s you go to the right% you will reach G by the time you get to the little "inger o" your right hand. -o% what are the black keys "orB They are #ust as important. They represent the sharps or "lats. !nterestingly enough% the same key can be either a sharp or a "lat. /hen you go up "rom a white key% the black key is a sharp% and when you go down "rom a white key% the black key is a "lat. To try an example% go again to middle &. Go up to the black key to the right o" middle &. This is & sharp. 4ow% mo e one white key up% to the index "inger o" your right hand. This is a '. Go to the black key to the le"t o" '. This is ' "lat. +ma$ing% isn,t itB & sharp and ' "lat are both represented by the same key on the piano. +s you learn more% you will disco er that both the black keys and the white keys are e?ually important in piano music. There would be "ew opportunities to ha e hal" steps on the piano without black keys% and most songs ha e some hal" steps in them. +lso% there are many instances where the black keys are some o" the main keys in the predominant scale being used.
You can play a scale anywhere on the piano. *ust pick a note to start on. !t does not matter whether it is a white key or a black key. Ese the gi en se?uence o" steps and hal" steps to go "rom there up an eight note scale. You can e en start "rom the le"t o" the keyboard and continue the scale all the way to the right. /ith a little practice% you will be pro"icient at playing ma#or scales.
'
<
&
'
<
!" you look #ust at the actual lines o" the sta""% you will see that they are% going up% (-GB-'-<. -ome people remember this with little sayings% like C( ery Good Boy 'oes <ine.D There are memory tricks "or all the lines and spaces on both sta""s. <or the spaces o" the treble cle"% you will notice that the letters o" the notes spell <-+-&-(. 4ow% you can relate the notes on the page to the keys on the keyboard. .emember where the middle & isB The & on the le"t o" the diagram abo e depicts middle &. The middle & is shown on an added line below the treble cle" or abo e the bass cle". Esing middle & as a re"erence point and your new knowledge o" the letters that go with the notes% try to look at each note and then play the key it re"ers to. Take the music you ha e at hand% and try to pick out a "ew notes on the piano "rom the treble cle". You might e en be able to play a melody line by using this method. This will only get you started. @owe er% e ery time you can ha e the satis"ying experience o" playing music% you should take it. The "eeling will carry you on to want to learn more. There are more notes to learn on the bass cle". + diagram o" the bass cle" with the notes on the lines and spaces is shown below.
Bass G !ig"re C
&
'
<
&
)n this diagram% the middle & is shown on the "ar right% which would be the end o" this short piece o" music. The lines o" the bass cle" are G-B-'-<-+. 1any people turn the treble cle" saying around and use the saying CGood Boys 'o <ine +lways.D The spaces are +-&-(-G. )ne popular mnemonic de ice "or this is% C+ll &ows (at Grass.D <eel "ree to make up anything that will help you to remember. /rite your sayings down and memori$e them. +nother thing to learn is the notation "or sharps and "lats. This is the sign "or a sharp: F. !t is placed to the le"t o" the note. The "lat is a totally di""erent sign. !t looks something like a small letter b that has been s?uee$ed until the circle looks almost like a hal" o" a heart shape. !t is also put on the le"t side o" a note. 3ook through your printed music "or any sharps and "lats you might recogni$e. 'o not worry about the rhythm at this point. Take your written music and play as many notes as you can "rom it. -ay the note names as you play at "irst. This will get you in the habit o" thinking about the written note as a musical sound with a letter name. +ssociating the three aspects o" a note together will help you become more pro"icient at reading music. Buy some sta"" paper or make your own. You can make sta"" paper by drawing "i e straight hori$ontal lines across the page% lea ing a space% and then drawing "i e more hori$ontal lines. 4ow you can draw some notes to play simple strings o" notes. 'raw a note by making a "illed in circle either on a line or in a space. Then% draw a line up "rom it on the right. 1ake notes on di""erent lines and in di""erent spaces. -et aside your pencil and try playing your notes. You should be able to look at the note you ha e drawn and think o" the letter name and the physical piano key it belongs to. Pretty soon% you will be playing all the notes you can write. !" it comes naturally to you% you might start coming up with music you en#oy listening to as you write your notes. /hen you ha e learned all about the lines and spaces% you will be well on your way to understanding written music. The next step is to understand how chords are written. &hords are notes that are played simultaneously. You will recogni$e chords on the sheet music because they are written in a ertical line. !" they are ?uarter notes% as the notes in the pre ious diagrams are% they will share the line that goes along the side o" the note. There will be more on chords later. <or now% #ust take a look at how they are shown. Try to play some chords as they are on your written music. You may ha e to place one "inger on a note at a time when you are "irst learning% but e entually you will see the chord and your "ingers will go into that position. 'o a little practice with chords and get ready to learn about rhythm.
rhythm o" the note alues. !" it is a whole note% clap once and then do not clap again until you ha e tapped your "oot three more times. !" it is two eighth notes% clap once as you put your "oot down and another time as you pick your "oot up. Try clapping out rhythms o" any sheet music you can get your hands on. )"ten there will be more than one simple line o" music% so you must choose to ignore all but one line to begin. &lap out one note at a time% which is the only way you could do it anyway. /hen you are good at clapping out rhythms% go on to playing notes in rhythm. !" you cannot "ind music that is simple enough "or you to understand% make up some o" your own. Ese the sta"" paper you ha e purchased or made. 1ake a :/: time signature and write some measures. 1ake sure you always put in notes that add up to : beats% or one whole note. You can also use rests% which are notations denoting a pause where nothing is played at all on that cle". You can play your composition "rom your sheet. !t may not sound like a song to you% but the rhythm will be interesting i" you ha e used di""erent note alues. !t is "un to make up your own music. You can use this method to practice the particular aspects o" music you are learning. /hen you do% you are not "orced to search "or music that "its the situation. +t the same time% you are practicing coming up with examples o" concepts you are trying to learn. !t trains your mind. +ll along% you can also be testing out what you ha e learned by trying to play parts o" written music that you ha e on hand. !t can all be a part o" the process.
count your steps and hal" steps% you need to account "or the third step being a hal" step lower. There"ore% you would ha e beginning note-step-hal" step-step-step "or the "irst "i e notes. You can continue to learn di""erent chords "or a long time be"ore you will ha e mastered them all. 3earning chords gi es you a way to add "resh new material to your practice and playing. The more you know% the easier it will become "or you to play without written music.
choose chords to go with the melody based on the key% or scale% the melody is in. !" you do not ha e sheet music% these are ways to play without it.
!" you want to play per"ectly "rom the ery "irst sight o" a song% you might as well "orget it unless you are ery experienced or talented. -ight-reading gets you started on the road to learning to play better.
/hen you learn all o" this musical terminology% do not sit back and ignore the rest o" the words and markings you "ind. 0eep learning and you will ne er get bored. There is always more to know.
Chapter 22 'eso"r%es
There are many sources o" in"ormation on piano playing. <or more on the sub#ect% contact the "ollowing sources. )nline Piano .esources /ebsite: http://www.how-to-play-piano.org.uk/ +merican Pianists +ssociation General !n"ormation /ebsite http://www.+mericanPianist.org :6K5 &larendon .oad% -uite K5K !ndianapolis% !4 :6AKJmailto:+P+!n"oLAmericanPianists.org !" you de elop your talent to a pro"essional degree% you might want to contact this organi$ation. !t is dedicated to promoting the careers o" concert-le el classical and #a$$ pianists around the nation% between the ages o" 8J and 5K. 1T4+ 1usic Teachers 4ational +ssociation /ebsite http://www.mtna.org This association is "or certi"ied music teachers and teachers who wish to become certi"ied. !" you are looking "or a certi"ied piano teacher in your area% the association has a teacher "inder that you can use to search their database. Piano 1anu"acturers +ssociation !nternational :KAK 1& (wen -uite 8K7 'allas% TM ;7A::-7K57 Phone =9;A> A55-98K; This organi$ation is a power"ul "orce in regulating the manu"acture and sale o" pianos. !" you ha e a complaint about a decepti e manu"acturer or "aulty instruments% you might contact this association. )therwise% watch maga$ines "or news o" their industry regulation. Piano Technicians Guild :::: <orest + enue 0ansas &ity% 0- 668K6 Phone =985> :5A-99J6 /ebsite http://www.ptg.org This organi$ation is actually "or people who work on pianos. @owe er% their website and resources include in"ormation on e erything "rom how to choose a piano to how to "ind a good technician. The website e en has in"ormation "or pianists themsel es% like how to "ind sheet music and a listing o" piano products. !t is a website that is well worth your time to isit.