How To Play Piano
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So, you want to learn how to play piano?
It is never too late to begin, and weve got you covered with everything you need to know about playing piano as a beginner right here!
In this guide, you will learn:
- Proper piano posture
- The keyboard and the musical alphabet
- Five finger scales / left and right hand
- How to read music
So, lets get started!
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/the Alphabet Song
In case you havent already noticed, these two songs are basically the same but with more or fewer notes. Therefore, if you learn one, you will also know the other. I know these are little kids songs, but learning them helps you to know the basics, so, these are great songs to start you off on your musical journey. Its very easy to learn, and its probably already stamped in your head.
Practice With A Friend
Some people have that awesome talent of perfect pitch. This means they’re able to name or sing a given musical note without a reference point. Some people are born with perfect pitch, though this is rare. Listening skills can always be trained and improved. Even if you don’t master perfect pitch, you can still be a very good musician.
Even practicing songs helps you boost your listening skills. But if you really want to put them to the test, try this entertaining challenge:
Ask a friend or a member of your family to play two notes, one after another, on the piano. Then, it’s your turn to tell if the second note was higher or lower than the first one. At the beginning, ask them to play should play notes that aren’t too close together. After a few rounds, they can increase the level of difficulty. Of course, you’re not allowed to look at the piano during the game. Even if the person you’re practicing with doesn’t play an instrument, you can take turns. If they enjoy the exercise too, you can challenge each other!
After some time, try to work out which octave the second note was played in. You can then take things to the next level by trying to work out how many tones separate the first note from the second. This exercise is a fun and challenging way to enhance your listening skills. And great listening skills are exactly what you need to play your favorite songs by ear.
Start learning piano today
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What Is The Virtual Piano
A virtual piano keyboard is perfect when there isn’t a real piano or a keyboard at home or when your piano or keyboard isn’t next to a computer. The online piano keyboard simulates a real piano keyboard with 7 1/4 octaves of 88 keys , a sustain pedal, ABC or DoReMe letter notes representation, a Metronome, zoom-in, and a full-screen mode.
Picking Up Piano Learning As An Adult
The most difficult part of learning to play the piano as an adult is simply time management. Children are often perceived to learn faster, which is not true, it is just that children dont have responsibilities that adults do, or the fatigue of work, bills, or complex adult life. Skoove solves this problem by making sure that you have access to all of the information, lessons, and song catalogue at any time that is convenient for you you dont have to work with a teachers schedule, or travel time to a music school. Your lessons take place when youre ready, at your location, with the same high quality as in person lessons.
Find out more about learning to play the piano as an adult.
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Bars And Tempo In Practice
As you already know, the time signature determines how many beats of a certain note value fit in a bar. Now you are ready to learn about the tempo, in other words how fast or how slow you should play. Listen to the audio sample.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to the audio instead.
You can hear the tempo of the piece shown:
The tempo is expressed in beats per minute every click you hear represents one beat. It clicks once per second, i.e. the tempo of this song is 60 beats per minute or 60 BPM
The bar number 4/4 tells you that the length of each bar must be four quarter notes long. The tempo tells you how fast the quarter notes should be played in time. Listen to the sound sample:
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to the audio instead.
Exercise: Follow the click sound carefully each click corresponds to a quarter note. You can tap your thigh with every click sound with your hand, moving your eyes from one quarter note to the next to the end. Then you can start all over again.
Please repeat this exercise for at least 3 minutes to get a good feeling for the tempo of the beat.
Congratulations!
Do you know what you just did? You just learned to read notes and translate them into music. So far, you have only tapped the notes on your thighs, but soon you will play your first pieces on the piano!
Time to call your friends, parents or loved ones and tell them that you have learned to read music!
Chapter : Basic Skills
The piano keyboard may look dizzying with its vast array of keys . But once you understand the patterns that make it work, its actually quite simple.
How to Find Middle C
Take a look at your keyboard. Notice the black keyssee how there are sets of two and sets of three? Well use these sets of twos and threes to find Middle C.
Middle C is the first note youll learn on the piano. Its smack dab in the middle of the keyboard, usually where the brand name of the piano is.
Find a set of two black keys in the middle and play the white key on the very left: this is Middle C!
Remember where Middle C is. Youll use it to orient yourself around the rest of the keyboard.
The Musical Alphabet
Now for your first theory lesson! In music, we name notes after the alphabet. The white key after C is D, the one after is E, and so on. The musical alphabet stops at G, however, so instead of a note called H we just repeat from C again.
If youre wondering what all those black keys are called, theyre half-steps between the white notes and theyre called sharps or flats. Well cover sharps and flats more in the theory section of this guide.
Once you understand the musical alphabet, you can move on to the five-finger scale!
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Easy And Effective Steps To Learn Piano
Learning piano can be quite simple and easy if you follow a basic outline. Following these steps to learn piano will help make sure you make the most of your time.
- Choosing the proper instrument
- Learning useful music theory like rhythm, melody, and dynamics
- Basic piano fundamentals like piano keys, chords, and notes
- And solid technique that includes finger positions and intervals
Additionally, by following a guide you can be sure that you build some sort of cohesive and practical foundation. Check out the steps to learn piano and get started on your piano journey today!
Simply Piano The Ability To Learn At Your Own Pace
The sole objective of Simply Piano is simple, and that is to help the user learn how to play the piano. And the desktop app makes it easy for everyone who uses it. Lessons will only take about five minutes of your time. After that, you can choose to proceed or do the lessons the next day. Its great since youll be able to learn at your own pace.
The kind of lessons you can learn will also depend greatly on your knowledge, experience, and understanding of the instrument. Youll begin with the basics if youre new and more advanced lessons if youre a novice already. Lets now talk about how youll play Simply Piano for PC in the next section.
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How To Learn To Play The Piano
This article was co-authored by Michael Noble, PhD. Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 54,772 times.
Mastering the piano takes even talented musicians many years of study, but you can learn the basics of playing this instrument in a relatively short period of time. Once you have these under your belt, you’ll have to practice for these habits and techniques for them to become second nature. With a little time and effort, before you know it, you’ll be playing with proper posture, hand position, and you’ll be reading music, too.
First Things First: Learn The Exercise
To build speed well be using Hanon No.6. Its one of my favorite exercises.
If you havent seen this one before, spend some time learning the basic pattern and fingering.
Now, the focus will not be on the exercise itself, but those little adjustments to your hands and fingers that you can make to play piano faster.
Because its those little physical changes that end up making the most difference to your skill level over time.
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Playing Chords In Different Inversions
While you dont really need to know about chord inversions in order to play sheet music, its good to learn as much as you can about chords to understand them thoroughly. There are many different possibilities in major chord inversions.
- A root position chord is the normal grouping of the chord for C major, for example, it would be C-E-G
- The first inversion of a chord is one in which the root is not its lowest note. For C major, for example, its first inversion would be E-G-C. Here, the root is shifted to the original third in the root position of the chord.
- The second inversion of a chord is one in which the root is the original fifth of the root position of the chord. For C major, for example, the second inversion is G-C-E.
Practicing playing the major chords in their different inversions can help you to feel more comfortable playing chords, understanding the notes and placing your fingers correctly on the piano.
Piano Accessories And Maintenance
Pianos are pretty self-contained. But you may have a more rewarding experience if you invest in a few accessories.
Piano bench. Unless you plan to use your piano like a standing desk, having something to sit on is a must. While any old chair will work in a bind, a specialized piano bench gives you plenty of space to maneuver your body. Many piano benches are height-adjustable and offer storage, too.
Pedal. If your keyboard doesnt come with a pedal, we highly recommend you invest in one. Pedaling makes a big difference and can even help you sound better when youre first learning a song.
Music stand. Most pianos come with a built-in stand. If yours doesnt, invest in a hardy stand that can hold up sheet music, books, metronomes, and stationery.
Metronome. If you want to bring your playing to the next level, expect to practice with a metronome. You can buy a stand-alone metronome, download an app, or even search Google for metronome and use their free tool.
Recording equipment. Recording and then hearing yourself play can make a big difference in improving your technique. Many keyboards come with built-in recording capability. Otherwise, you may want to invest in a microphone and some software.
Tuning. Acoustic pianos need to be tuned by a professional and this will cost between $100 and $200.
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Easy Songs To Learn On The Piano For Beginners
The following is a list that contains 5 easy songs that beginners can learn to play on the piano, including 3 bonus songs you hear on the radio. You should recognize them as I chose these songs in particular not only because they are easy to learn, but they are also popular as well. It is easier to learn how to play a song that you have heard before.
Just dont be too hasty and dont get discouraged. Contrary to what others may say, nobody, can sit down and play the piano great without first learning and practicing, often easiest with piano lessons. Therefore, dont expect too much when you are just starting out. It takes time even to play decent, but with a little effort, you can do it anyone can, you just have to apply yourself.
Playing With Both Hands
Main article: Play Piano with Both Hands
Lets get one thing out of the way: playing with both hands feels weird. At least at first.
Hand independence is something youll continually work on as a pianist. Even advanced pianists have challenges with hand independence.
The Five-Finger Scale in Both Hands
You already know the five-finger scale. Now lets try playing it with both hands.
When you play the five-finger scale up with both hands, the fingering with look like this:
Right hand: 1-2-3-4-5 Left hand: 5-4-3-2-1
When you play the five-finger scale down with both hands, the fingering will look like this:
Right hand: 5-4-3-2-1 Left hand: 1-2-3-4-5
If this feels easy, try playing loudly in one hand and softly in the other. Then, switch.
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Learning How To Play The Piano: The Basics In 13 Steps
Learn how to play piano with us in only 13 steps for free!In our crash course for beginners we teach you the theoretical basics at home:
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The names of all the notes on the keyboard
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Whole and half notes
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Note values and rests
For a more practical approach, we added lots of illustrations, sheet music to perform, exercises and various quizzes for you.
If you are the visual type you will find everything you need to know in our online piano courses and videos!
Lets go!
Picking The Right Piano For Yourself
Beginners often have a hard time picking the right type of piano because pianos vary in size, price, feel, and purpose. Some can be as large as your living room, and many more can fit on a tiny desk or in a backpack but many students dont understand how these instruments have more in common than not. Unfortunately many types of portable digital pianos cannot be used with online teaching apps, because they dont pair with computers, phones or iPads. The great thing about Skoove as a teaching app is that it can listen to the sounds coming from your acoustic piano or if you have a digital piano, it can hear those notes as well plugged directly into your device. This means that any person living in an apartment, practicing at night, or dealing with noise issues at home can easily practice and learn just as fast.
Make sure you choose the right piano: Digital vs acoustic pianos.
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What Note Does A Trill Start On
This is a very common question and one many students and music enthusiasts are confused about. Here is the simple answer:
Before the 1800s : The trill started on the note above the one indicated by the trill. So for example if the note E was marked by a trill, you would start the trill on note F.
After the 1800s : The trill begins on the same note that is indicated by the trill. So if the note E is marked by a trill, you start the trill on E as well.
How Do You Break Piano Chords
Breaking chords, which is also called an arpeggio, is when you play the notes of a chord in sequential order rather than all at once. To break or arpeggiate a chord, you have to first find the notes of that chord and then play them one-by-one, for instance, a C Major chord consists of C, E, and G.
I almost never use the term, break, in reference to chords because my guitar teacher taught me their traditional name which is arpeggio. That said, I get why someone would use the term but thats neither here nor there.
To put it simply once again, to arpeggiate or break a chord, you just have to figure out what the notes are and then play them one by one. Its up to you if you want to play them in sequential order, but I find that playing arpeggios in 3rds or 5ths is a really cool sound. Its definitely worth trying.
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Play Piano With Two Hands
Now play the same song with two hands, each hand in the same position youve just practiced. The top line here is the right hand and the bottom line is the left hand. Notice that your hands are moving in the same direction the whole time:
RH: 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 5 5 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 2 1
LH: 3 4 5 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 3 1 1 3 4 5 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 5
Now that you have an idea of how to play piano with two hands, we can move on to the next step.
