How To Play Keyboard Piano

Best Keyboard Piano Songs

Now that you have completed your first seven beginner piano lessons, you probably want to learn more so you can start playing songs right away. It is best to start out with simple songs, and every piano teacher will have you playing things like Mary Had a Little Lamb, no matter how old you are. Be patient, because these simple songs will start you on the path to where you really want to be. Lets take a look at some of the best piano songs for beginners.

Let Go Of Unnecessary Tension

Center the piano bench to the width of the keyboard. The bench must face the piano squarely. Sit toward the front half of the bench. Relax your feet and keep them flat on the ground from heel to toe. Keep your weight centered on your buttocks. Relax your shoulders and arms, keep your back straight, and sit so that you can smoothly move everything up to your fingertips.

Choosing Your Learning Pathway

Once youve selected your instrument, its time to start learning for real. As you sort through your options, remember theres no one right answer!

In fact, even the best option for you will be imperfect. So lets survey your choices together and evaluate the pros and cons of each one.

The following list provides you with a range of options, ordered by their degree of traditional or technological elements.

The first set, DIY, features options that use neither technology nor an instructor.

The second set, Traditional, features options guided by an instructor without technology.

The third set, Technological, features options which utilize technology without an instructor.

The final set, Hybrid, features a hybrid option that pairs an instructor and technology together.

Self-Teaching, Do-It-Yourself Methods

A Hybrid Method

• Taking private lessons online

At a glance, which of these options seems best for you? Not sure? Then lets take a closer look.

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Making Music On A Keyboard

Time Signatures In Music Examples

Take a look at some examples of rhythmic divisions in 4/4:

• 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 = 1

• 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 = 1

• 1/16 + 1/16 + 1/16 + 1/16 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/4 + 1/4 = 1

As you can see, basically any combination of notes is conceivable as long as they add up to a length of 1.

So, thats it for the moment. You can be proud of yourself because now you already know all the essential tools for reading and playing music.

We will therefore use these tools in the next lesson. In later lessons you will get to know the concept of key which, together with the concept of time signature, is essential for playing a piece. For the moment we want to remind you of all the tools you have learned so far.

Recap

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Positioning Yourself To Play Keyboard

Sitting on the front half of the bench will allow you to move freely. This will also create the correct distance from the keyboard. Place your feet flat on the floor, remembering that only a small portion of your knees should be under the keyboard. This should give you the right distance to play comfortably. It may take a while to adjust to this positioning, but keep practicing as it will give you the best posture for playing.

General best practice is to sit at around middle C . Depending on your keyboard, there will either be fewer keys, or more keys, but finding the middle C should be relatively easy to do. Well talk more about the musical alphabet in a moment.

What Are Minor Piano Chords

Minor chords, like major chords, contain three basic keyboard notes, a root note, third, and fifth. To play a minor chord, select any root note, then count three half-steps up to the third. From the third, count two whole-steps to find the fifth.

Minor chords are also very common in rock and pop music. Comfortably Numb is an example of a rock song that begins with a minor chord. Most rock and pop songs use a mixture of major and minor piano chords.

The third interval in a minor chord is called a minor third. The fifth interval in a minor chord is the same as in a major chord, the interval of a perfect fifth.

Common minor piano chords include:

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Motivational Tips When Practicing Becomes Difficult

If you should have any problems maintaining such a high level of motivation, here are 3 tips for you, which should put you back on track:

Learning Note Values On The Piano

You have already made great progress in learning the piano and speaking the language of music a language that all people can understand. It reaches directly into the heart of the human being and has its own special meaning for everyone. With the help of music, you can relieve stress or express something for which you cannot find words. Its both an art form and a way of thinking. Music is a form of mathematics and also a science. By making music together you learn to work with others and to achieve a shared creative goal. Performing in front of an audience helps to reduce inhibitions when giving a presentation to a group of people.

Now, the time has come to get to know the concepts of beats and bars. You can already name every note on the piano, and you know its location on the keyboard.You know the white keys and black keys now we want to learn where the notes are placed in time so we can make music together!

To make music, instead of just playing notes in random order, you need a kind of map that shows you which note is to be played when and for how long. Reading music sheets is similar to reading a hiking map. The hiking map shows the destination, the route you need to take, where you can rest, and for how long, in order to reach your destination in time. In the music, the sequence of notes provides the route the bars and beats tell you where in time the notes are to be played.

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Cover: If youre planning to commute with your keyboard, a keyboard cover can help protect your instrument from scratches and any damage that might occur, whether its sitting in the back of your car on the way to a lesson or a show, or you just want to keep it safe from spills at home. Some models come with covers, but you may need to purchase one on your own.

Music Holder or Music Rest: If youre just starting to learn the piano, youll want to make sure that you can easily read your sheet music or lesson books and that you can prop them up with a music stand. Most digital pianos, including some of our picks in this guide, feature a built-in stand. We think its a useful attachment if included, but its not a make-or-break accessory.

Keyboard Stand: Where are you going to keep your keyboard? If its not on a table, youll probably need a stand to set it on when playing. Many beginner keyboards are sold along with stands, but if yours doesnt include one, theyre easy to find and set up with most brands instruments a foldable, X-shaped design will be able to easily hold up your keyboard and break down when youre hitting the road.

Practice Your Coordination Between Left And Right Hand

Another important study for anyone wishing to learn how to play the keyboard is the study of coordination between hands. Normally people only show motor skills with only one hand . However, for keyboard playing one must develop this skill for both hands. On many occasions, you will need to play a tune with your right hand while you play different notes or chords with your left hand. Sometimes there can even be variations in the rhythm that each of the hands can make!

For development of this technique, it is important to invest in high-quality materials. One of these materials is a book by Carl Czerny, which is widely used in thousands of music conservatories. This book brings a collection of exercises, ranging from starter levels through to really advanced levels. The exercises are for the development of coordination, speed, and passage of notes between fingers.

Please follow the keyboard lesson below if you want to start carrying out some of these exercises for coordination between the hands:

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Following Videos And Tutorials

Learning keyboard or piano skills this way resembles standardized online classes, but it differs due to a more bare-bones approach. Rather than offering a multifaceted toolset, this approach centers exclusively on sequential, prerecorded video presentations.

If you prefer online video learning, but you also prefer a simplified approach without the bells and whistles, then consider this learning path. If you do, you will encounter a variety of options.

To be sure, you will find many free options for learning keyboard skills on . As you would expect, teaching quality will range from terrible to excellent.

To learn basic piano theory and keyboard skills, the Piano Keyboard Guide is promising.

The video instructor, Mantius Cazaubon, also offers an array of focused keyboard classes at Udemy for as little as $18 per class. You will find other worthwhile video-learning options at Udemy as well.

Before you commit to a free YouTube or paid Udemy track, you should explore your options at Lynda.com as well.

This is a growing, professional video-training treasure trove provided by LinkedIn Learning offering a promising set of options. To sign on, you must subscribe for as little as $25 per month.

Beyond this, other independent options include sites like Piano in 21 Days and Playground Sessions, and the list is growing every day.

Playground Sessions platform has been around for more than 7 years, and today its one of the most reputable piano learning software out there.

How To Find Note F

Okay, here’s one final tip before you’re ready to start playing the keyboard. As with the C note, it’s important you learn the F note.

The positioning is relatively easy to remember, as the note F is always before a group of three black keys. Find and play each F note on the keyboard to become familiar with it.

As with the C note, each F is an octave apart .

In this way, you can continue to memorize the positions of the entire musical alphabet. If you want to earn extra points at this stage, try finding all the As, Bs, Ds, Es, and Gs, on the keyboard as well.

You dont need to do this before moving onto the next step, but its fun and easy to do. Give it a try, and test your knowledge.

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Get A Piano/find Yourself A Keyboard

The obvious first step is to acquire a piano for yourself. Set a budget, do your research on different types of pianos, and look online and in your community for deals.

Some things to consider:

Many music stores rent keyboards. If you want to rent before youre sure the piano/keyboard is right for you, this might be a good place to start.

If any of your friends or family are involved in the music world, reach out. They may know someone dying to sell an old instrument that isnt getting used for half what it would cost coming out of a box.

If youre unable to find a piano, a keyboard is a great alternative. Theyre affordable, never go out of tune and have lots of sounds and features that can enhance your music. Not to mention, theyre a lot easier to move around and dont take up much space. A learning keyboard is a great tool for a beginner. These specialty instruments light up in a specific order to help you learn songs more quickly. Typically, they come with books and videos that will help you learn musical notation. You can always start out on a keyboard and then upgrade to a piano.

Keyboards generally cost less than pianos do. On the plus side, keyboards never go out of tune and take up much less space than a piano will. Wherein, acoustic pianos typically range in price from $2,000 to $10,000 or more for some high-quality concert grand pianos.

Enrolling In Standardized Online Courses

We live in a world of proliferating online education. To learn new things, we no longer need to attend a brick-and-mortar classroom. We can log on to our computers to receive our education instead. These innovations extend to learning keyboard skills.

Piano for All is one such online venue. This innovative platform is designed to take complete beginners to an intermediate level faster than any other method.

For a one-time payment of $79, you receive 9 e-books, 500 audio files, 200 video lessons, email support, and lifetime updates.

The videos are especially helpful because they show you what it looks to play the music you are learning, using visuals of both real hands on the keyboard and colored keys for the notes you play.

Ultimately, this program teaches you to play in an improvisational way . It does not teach you to tackle pure sight-reading . But if improvising is your goal and you are a visual and audible learner, then Piano for All may prove significantly more helpful than reading a printed book on music theory.

For a more comprehensive approach which focuses on traditional piano playing, I recommend the reputable online platform Zebra Keys.

This free resource offers an extensive array of step-by-step pre-recorded video lessons with a human instructor sitting at a keyboard. Some videos also include helpful, graphical visuals for how to play chords, scales and specific songs.

Practice makes perfect, and no curriculum can do your practice for you.

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What Is The Best Free Piano App

There are a lot of different piano apps available for free on the App Store. So, which one is the best?

One of the best free piano apps is the Magic Piano app by Smule. This app has a ton of features, including the ability to play duets with other people, record your performances, and listen to others performances.

Another great free piano app is the Simply Piano app by JoyTunes. This app helps you learn how to play the piano with lessons and exercises. It also has a performance mode where you can record your performances and share them with others.

If youre looking for a free piano app with a lot of features, the Magic Piano app by Smule or the Simply Piano app by JoyTunes are both great options.

Common Piano Chords Chart

When it comes to playing the piano, pianists have thousands of chords to select from, with some chords being more popular than others. Check out some of the most common chords in the piano chord chart below, or keep reading to find out more about piano chords.

The most common piano chords include:

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