Hands Up! The Biggest Mistake Beginner Pianists Make
March 21, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
The weary teacher often wishes she could make this demand at the point of a pistol, and thus insure results. The continual repetition of “hands up,” “wrists up,” is exhausting. Yet pupils do not realize the importance of this injunction. They continue to play with their wrists sagging below the keyboard, which not only presents a poor appearance but makes the playing weak.
The wrist should be held in a level line with the elbow and middle knuckles, for ordinary playing. Sometimes it should be raised higher when much force is required, and sometimes dropped to mellow the tone, as in chords. But the “standard” position is the level one.
Time after time, I have come across pianists who cannot read music well and rely on memorization to save them. Do you admire pianists who can just pick up any piece of sheet music and play without stumbling? If you want to take your sight reading to the next level then check out the piano course "Mastering The Art Of Piano Sight Reading!"
Learning Beginner Piano Basics
February 18, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Have you often dreamed of playing the piano, but feel it is a dream out of your reach? I was exactly like you before I stumbled upon some basic piano lessons which totally transformed my view. Not only did I learn to play the piano, but it had a true impact on my life.
Right from my very first lesson, the way I viewed the piano changed. I realized suddenly that the keys on the piano make a pattern and that pattern allows the keys to be separated into sections. When you break the piano down in such a manner it suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting or confusing. I never realized that the keys could be looked at individually rather than as a collective group.
It all started with simple lessons in material I already had before me. I realized that it was quite fun to try out the new ideas presented in each lesson and later on even tested myself to see how much I had improved. I learned to practice playing and writing notes, clapping rhythms, and eventually stringing together melodies. The more I practiced these things the more improvement I could hear. Read more
Fingerings For Major Piano Scales
February 10, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Correct fingering is very important. The following fingerings are for the left and right hand only when playing major scales.
When playing a major scale, always put the 5 finger from your left hand on the first note of the scale. The same rule applies for the 1 finger with the right hand.
If you were playing a C major scale (with both hands) the above picture illustrates the correct position for each hand. That is, by starting with your 5 finger on your left hand and your 1 finger on your right hand.
Right-Handed Scale Fingerings For Major Keys:
Left-Handed Scale Fingerings For Major Keys:
How to Read the Finger Charts:
Example #1: If you wanted to play an F Major Scale with your right hand, you would start with your 1 finger ending with your 4 finger.
Example #2: If you wanted to play a B Major Scale with your left hand, you would start with your 4 finger ending with your 1 finger.
For even more in-depth training on correct piano fingerings, check out the impressive 300-page Hear and Play piano course at the link below…
Learn Major Piano Scales
February 8, 2010 by Ryan Edward · 2 Comments
Major scales play a major role in the principles and techniques that you are going to learn through your piano lessons. For example, one of my favorite techniques is to take a one-fingered melody and replace it with full-sounding chords.
However, in order to successfully master this technique (quickly and efficiently), you will have to know all 12 keys. Keep in mind that this is not a matter of memorizing 12 different major scales, but understanding the theory in how major scales are created so that when necessary, you can quickly play any given scale.
We will be using a concept known as the “Circle of Fifths” to learn all 12 Major Scales.
Two Rules To Learning All 12 Major Scales!
As stated earlier, the goal of these lessons is to make every rule, technique, and principle as easy to understand as possible. Therefore, I have chosen to introduce to you a few rules that will simplify the process of learning all 12 major scales. I also encourage you to practice these scales often, as you will soon memorize them. (However, memorization is not required).
It is also important that you note the order in which we will learn each major scale.
We will be learning the scales in a counter-clockwise order. That is, from C to F to Bb, and so on … I find it much easier for students to learn the major scales using the chart counter clock-wise versus starting clockwise. Let’s get started!
Major Scale Techniques
To explain these two rules, we will start with the major scale that we already know …
The whole point of these two rules is to rely on one scale to form another. For example, the next scale to be learned on the Circle of Fifths charts is the F Major Scale …
So then, the problem is turning a C Major Scale into an F Major Scale. How do we do it? There are two steps which will enable us to perform this simple task:
Step #1:
Identify the seventh degree (note) of the current scale and lower it by one half step.
Step #2:
After lowering the 7th note of the scale one half step, change the starting and ending note to the next scale on the chart …
In this case, we have lowered the 7th note of a C Major Scale and wish to play an F Major Scale. Therefore, all we must do is start and end on F instead of C.
Explanation of Two Steps
By lowering the seventh note of the C major scale (or any scale from which you want to form the next scale), we are no longer playing a C major scale. In actuality, we are playing a C Mixolydian Scale (you will learn different modes of a scale later). In addition, when lowering the seventh degree of C major, we are playing the same exact notes of the F major scale. That is, the only note difference between C major and F major is the [B->Bb]. That is why they are neighboring keys on the “Circle of Fifths” chart. Keep in mind that simply lowering the seventh note does not complete the process of changing from one scale to another. The process is only complete when the scale is played starting and ending on the first note of the new scale.
Summarization
Step One
We started with a C Major Scale …
We identified the seventh note of the scale and lowered it one half step …
Step Two
We played the same scale (in step one) starting and ending on F (instead of C) …
F Major Scale
This concludes our lesson on major scales for today. This lesson doesn’t even include half the information that Hear and Play’s 300-page piano course covers on major scales. If you are serious about taking your piano playing to the next level than I highly recommend that you check it out … Click HERE Now For More Information.
Learn Piano Sharps & Flats
February 6, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Now that you’ve had some experience with the white keys of the piano, we will introduce the black keys…
If you’ve had any music experience or have been around musicians, you’ve definitely heard the words, “sharp” or “flat.” These terms are the names given to the black keys of the piano.
Actually, each black key has two different names. However, only one name can be used at a time. So then, the question is: “How do I know when to call a black key a sharp or a flat?”
The answer is very simple: Sharp is the name given to the black key directly to the right of a white key while Flat is the name given to the black key directly to the left of a white key.
Below is an example of “sharps” and “flats” …
Notice the black key directly to the right of C: It can either be labeled as C Sharp (because it is to the right of C) or D Flat (because it is to the left of D).
To recap, if you are referring to the note directly to the right of C, you would use C Sharp … but if you are referring to the note directly to the left of D, you would use D Flat. (Please keep in mind that C Sharp and D Flat share the same key and sound exactly the same.)
Using “#” and “b“
Sharps are notated with the symbol, #, while Flats are noted with the symbol, b.
Note that the sharp names for the three-grouped black keys above are: F#, G#, and A#. Why? Because one key is directly to the right of F, one is directly to the right of G and one is directly to the right of A. Contrary, the flat names for the three-grouped black keys are: Gb, Ab, and Bb. This is because Gb is directly to the left of G, Ab is directly to the left of A, and Bb is directly to the left of B.
Here is a chart to help you understand the flat / sharp relationship:
Written Piano Music And Rhythm
January 7, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Do you play piano? If so, do you know about rhythm? If you do, you know that you can improvise with rhythm as long as you are somewhat expert at playing the piano. It’s the same with singing. Singing, too, can be improvised simply by holding some notes out longer and making others shorter — and no one has to tell you how to do it. You just know how.
To learn a song you don’t know yet, it’s useful to use written music and play it as written first so that you understand the rhythm. If you’re playing in an ensemble or group and the group is playing from sheet music, you’ll do better if you play from sheet music as well because you will stay in time with them.
The first thing you learn about rhythm is the time signature. The time signature is directly to the right of the treble and bass clefs on a music staff. If the time signature changes while the piece is in progress, the composer puts a different time signature at that point where the rhythm is about to change. Read more
The Lines and the Spaces in Piano Music
January 2, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Your first experience with playing music from written notations will come as soon as you learn the notes. The first thing you have to do is to learn about the lines and the spaces of the staffs. On the diagram below, the notes used are all quarter notes. That refers to the rhythm of the notes which will be discussed later. The purpose of this diagram is to show you the notes as they are positioned on the staff.
If you look just at the actual lines of the staff, you will see that they are, going up, E-G-B-D-F. Some people remember this with little sayings, like “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” There are memory tricks for all the lines and spaces on both staffs. For the spaces of the treble clef, you will notice that the letters of the notes spell F-A-C-E.
Now, you can relate the notes on the page to the keys on the keyboard. Remember where the middle C is? The C on the left of the diagram above depicts middle C. The middle C is shown on an added line below the treble clef or above the bass clef. Using middle C as a reference point and your new knowledge of the letters that go with the notes, try to look at each note and then play the key it refers to.
Take the music you have at hand, and try to pick out a few notes on the piano from the treble clef. You might even be able to play a melody line by using this method. This will only get you started. However, every time you can have the satisfying experience of playing music, you should take it. The feeling will carry you on to want to learn more. Read more
Tips For Reading Piano Music
January 1, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
With just a little success behind you, you can tackle the task of learning to read music. Of course there are a number of successful musicians that aren’t able to read music. They can simply listen to a song and play it by ear. They are able to make improvisations on simple things to deliver elaborate variations of well known songs. These musicians seem to know their instruments just as well as a singer knows his or her own voice.
You might be the type of person that can do that. You will learn more a little later about chords and improvisation. However, if you are just learning about the piano, it’s very likely that you will get more help from written music. Further, when you learn how to read music you will open a new world for yourself. You will be able to play songs that you have never heard before. Not only will you be able to play this music, but you can repeat your performance anytime you want to because the sheet music guides you note for note.
There is a great deal to learn. You will have to find out how each note is depicted. You will have to know what the staffs are that the notes are written on and what they look like. You will have to learn how rhythm, sharps, and flats are represented. Once you learn these basics, you can start to build on the knowledge. Read more
What Are Piano Scales?
December 22, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
A scale on the piano consists of the eight notes that lay between one note and the same note but an entire octave higher. The scales are all different. There are minor scales as well as major scales. The more upbeat and lighter sounding scales are known as the major scales. The more melancholy or deep and gloomy sounding scales are what people refer to as the minor scales.
Practicing keying scales is very important as the muscles in your hand must form a memory of where the keys are in relation to each other. As you spend some time practicing your scales you will find that your fingers seem to move on their own as they have developed a pattern and are following suit. As your eyes move across the sheet music or as you play back a favorite song or tune in your head, you will find that your fingers are moving right along, almost without any thought on your part at all.
Anytime you mention scales you will most certainly also mention keys. When a pianist hears the word keys, they think of either the ivory or wood keys on the keyboard or quite possibly the keys that a melody or scale is being played in. Read more
Getting A Feel For The Piano Keys
December 22, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
When you start playing the piano, one of the first things you have to consider is where to place your hands. All you have to do is look at the keys positioned in t he center of the keyboard. These are your nine home keys and where your starting position begins.
Yes, we understand most of you have 10 fingers, but the thumbs rest together on the middle C. It’s not a difficult task either. In fact, if you look close enough at the black key/white key pattern, the middle C is easy to spot. When you look at the center, find the area where there are two white keys together.
In the front of each key is either a letter or number. The letter C is placed on the area where your thumbs rest and every key after that goes up in numbers. So your index fingers will rest on the 2s, middle fingers on 3s, rings on 4, and pinkies on the 5s. Read more
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