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2010/09/05

How To Play Piano For Beginners

Learning how to play the piano can be an extremely rewarding experience and can help you better appreciate all forms of music. This guide is designed to teach you the basics of how to play the piano.

How To Play Piano For Beginners (And Save $500 In Lessons)

Introduction

  • The Piano is one of the most widely used instruments in western music because of its versatility and the fact that it can be used in so many different musical contexts. Besides being used as a solo instrument, the piano can be used as an accompaniment to other instruments, a tool for composition and practice, and as an aid in learning the basics of musical notation. Even if you are already proficient at another instrument, learning how to play the piano can help broaden your musical knowledge and increase your enjoyment of all of your musical endeavors. The steps in this guide are designed to help you learn the basics of playing the piano.

Buying A Piano


  • If you don't already own a piano (or have access to one), you will need to purchase one. See Mahalo's guide to Pianos for helpful links and resources on buying a piano. Because a high quality grand piano can often cost thousands of dollars, you may want to instead consider buying an Electronic Keyboard, a Midi Keyboard Controller or even an inexpensive Upright piano. While they may not give you the best "Sound", they are good for the beginning student in that they are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and (in the case of the keyboards) even portable. Some local retailers may even offer rental pianos for students who can't afford to buy a piano, but who still want to practice on the real thing. Whatever type of piano you choose to learn on, make sure that it is in good working condition and that all of the notes play true. Here are a few additional resources for how to buy a piano or keyboard:
  1. WikiHow: How to Buy a Piano
  2. Piano World: A Guide to Piano Buying
  3. Serve.com: Should I Rent or Buy a Piano?
  4. OnlyPiano.com: Buying a Piano: The Big Issues

Lesson 1: Piano Basics

  • Before we begin to play, you should start to become familiar with some of the basic parts of the piano that you will be using and the terms that we use to describe them. For now, don't worry about the mechanical aspects of the piano (i.e. the strings, hammers and soundboard) that physically produce the sound.

Parts

  • Keyboard: On a normal piano, the keyboard refers to the horizontal row of keys that the player uses in order to produce sound. A full-sized keyboard typically has 88 keys (52 white notes and 36 black notes) consisting of seven octaves plus a minor third. The keyboard is usually protected by a closable lid that folds down over the keyboard when the piano is not being used.
  • Keys: Keys are the individual units that a player must press down on in order to play a note. They are lined up horizontally along the keyboard and consist of both white and black keys. Up until the 1950's, the white piano keys were generally made from ivory (thus the saying "Tickling the Ivories") and the black keys from ebony. Due to the protections surrounding the endangered species that produce ivory, most keys these days are made from plastic.
  • Pedals: Most full-sized pianos have three pedals at their base that are used in order to alter the action, sustain, and tonal quality of the notes that are played. (From left to right) The Soft Pedal (or Una Corda) shifts the action on the keyboard slightly to the right, softening the tonal quality of the note. The Sostenuto (or middle pedal) sustains only those notes that have been hit while the pedal is pressed down. The Sustain Pedal is the most commonly used pedal and serves to sustain all of the strings on the piano by removing the dampers that inhibit vibration. The sustain pedal is often used to help pianists achieve a legato.
  • Music Rack: Used to hold your sheet music, instruction manual, or any other type of learning tool. You may want to print out certain parts of this guide so that you can refer to them while you practice.
  • Piano Bench: Pretty self-explanatory. You sit on it while you play the piano.

Terms

  • Pitch: The term pitch usually refers to how high or low a note sounds. This is determined by the frequency of the soundwave that is produced when the note is struck. Notes with a higher frequency produce a higher sound, while lower frequency notes have a lower sound. The piano keyboard is set up with the lowest sounding note on the far left hand side. As you move right, each key has a slightly higher pitch than the one before, with the highest note at the far right of the keyboard.
  • Octave: In music, the term octave refers to the interval of twelve keys between two notes with the same musical value. Notes that are one octave apart generally sound the same to the human ear, even though they have different overall frequencies. There are seven octaves on a normal piano keyboard, meaning that each of the 7 note values (A - G) can be found in seven different places on the keyboard.

Lesson 2: Learning Notes

  • Each of the keys on the piano corresponds to a specific note value. In order to learn the piano, you will need to know how to identify and determine the note value of each of the keys on the keyboard. Luckily, the piano is set up so that if you know the patterns that occur throughout the keyboard, you should have no problem finding the value of each note. The most basic distinction between the keys (you should be able to tell just by looking) is that some are black and some are white.

The White Keys

  • The white keys cover the entire length of the keyboard and represent all of the natural notes on the piano. These notes are represented by the first 7 letters of the alphabet (A - G). Lets take a quick look at the white keys. Notice how the pattern repeats every 7 letters.


  • Because the black keys are grouped together in alternating pairs of twos and threes, they can be a useful tool for finding specific notes. Take a minute and find all of the groups of 2 or 3 black keys that can be found on the keyboard.


  • Using these groups, we can quickly identify where each of the notes are. For example, the C note can always be found to the left of a group of 2 black keys. Middle C (so called because it is around the middle of the keyboard and is often used as an orientation device) is always the 4th C from the left.


  • Here is how to find the other notes on the keyboard:
  1. The D note can be found in the middle of the group of 2 black keys.
  2. The E note can be found to the right of the group of 2 black keys.
  3. The F note can be found to the left of the group of 3 black keys.
  4. The G note can be found in between the 1st and 2nd black keys within the 3 black key group.
  5. The A note can be found in between the 2nd and 3rd black keys within the 3 black key group.
  6. The B note can be found to the right of the group of 3 black keys.

Practice Lesson: Take a few minutes and practice finding each note everywhere it is found on the keyboard (Find all of the A's, all of the B's, all of the C's, etc.) Once you have done this a few times, try doing it without looking at this guide for help.

The Black Keys

  • The black keys can be seen along the top of the keyboard and are found in groups of 2 or 3. Learning the note value of the black keys is a little more difficult than the white keys because the black keys can be labeled in two different ways. Black keys take their names from the white keys that surround them and can be labeled with either a # (Sharp - meaning that the key is a half-step higher than the white note to its left) or a b (Flat - meaning the key is a half-step lower than the white note to its right). Here is how the black keys are labeled:



  • In order to determine the value of a specific black key, you need only to look at the two white notes that surround it. For instance, if you are trying to determine the value of the first black key in the group of two, simply identify the white notes that fall on either side. In this case they would be C and D. Because the black key is a half-step higher than the C, it can be labeled a C#. And, because it is a half-step lower than the D, it can also be labeled as a Db.


Practice Lesson: Go through and determine the 2 different names of each of the black notes (without using the diagram above). After you've done that, go back and find every time that each note can be found on the keyboard (Find all of the A#/Bb's, all of the F#/Gb's, all of the G#/Ab's, etc.)

Lesson 3: Learning Chords

  • Now that we've learned how to identify all of the notes on the keyboard, we can begin to start putting them together in order to make chords. For those that are unfamiliar, a chord is a combination of two or more notes that are played simultaneously. Chords produce a fuller, more complex sound and form the basis of countless songs in every genre. Although there are hundreds of possible chords that can be played on the piano, we will start by learning the most basic chords in music: The Major Chords.
  • Although full chords are normally played with the left hand (while the right hand plays the melody), you should be able to play each of the chords with both hands. In this section we will go over the correct fingering positions for each of the major chords. In order to better read the diagrams, we will assign a number to each of your fingers. When reading the diagram, your thumb will be referred to as 1, your index finger as 2, your middle finger as 3, your ring finger as 4, and your pinky as 5.

A Major

A Major Chord
A Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the A
  2. Put your middle finger on the C#
  3. Put your thumb on the E
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the A
  2. Put your middle finger on the C#
  3. Put your pinky finger on the E


B Major

B Major Chord
B Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the B
  2. Put your middle finger on the D#
  3. Put your index finger on the F#
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the B
  2. Put your index finger on the D#
  3. Put your middle finger on the F#


C Major

C Major Chord
C Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the C
  2. Put your middle finger on the E
  3. Put your thumb on the G
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the C
  2. Put your middle finger on the E
  3. Put your pinky finger on the G


D Major

D Major Chord
D Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the D
  2. Put your middle finger on the F#
  3. Put your thumb on the A
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the D
  2. Put your middle finger on the F#
  3. Put your pinky on the A


E Major

E Major Chord
E Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the E
  2. Put your middle finger on the G#
  3. Put your thumb on the B
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the E
  2. Put your middle finger on the G#
  3. Put your pinky finger on the B


F Major

F Major Chord
F Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the F
  2. Put your middle finger on the A
  3. Put your thumb on the C
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the F
  2. Put your middle finger on the A
  3. Put your pinky finger on the C


G Major

G Major Chord
G Major Chord
  • Left Hand:
  1. Put your pinky finger on the G
  2. Put your middle finger on the B
  3. Put your thumb on the D
  • Right Hand:
  1. Put your thumb on the G
  2. Put your middle finger on the B
  3. Put your pinky finger on the D


Practice Lesson: Take 10 - 15 minutes with each chord and make sure that you can play them solidly with both hands. Once you are comfortable making each chord shape, try finding them in the different positions up and down the keyboard. Since there are 7 octaves on a keyboard, you should be able to make each chord in 7 different places.


Minor Chords

  • While playing the various major chords, you may have noticed that the sound they produce has a "Happy" or "Upbeat" quality. This is one of the main characteristics of the Major chord family. The counterpoint to the major chords are the minor chords. Minor chords generally have a "Dark", "Moody" or even "Sad" quality and are often used to evoke these types of emotions. In order to increase your versatility and understanding of the piano, it is important that you know how to make the minor chord shapes as well. But don't worry. If you have a good grasp of the major chords, you should have no problem playing their minor counterparts. Here's How:
How to make a minor chord - Drop the middle note a 1/2 step
How to make a minor chord - Drop the middle note a 1/2 step


  • In order to produce a minor chord, all you need to do is to take the middle note of a major chord and lower it by one half-step (the key directly to the left - whether it's a white key or a black key). For example, since a C major chord is made by playing the notes C, E and G, you would simply take the E (the middle note) and lower it by a half-step. Since the key directly to the left of the E is a D# (or Eb), all you would is play the D# instead of the E.



  • The same process that we used to create a C minor chord can be applied to all of the major chords. Simply drop the middle note a half-step and you have your minor chord. So, in order to make a G minor chord you would play G, A# and D. For a D minor, it would be D, F and A. An E minor chord would be E, G and B. And so on...

Practice Lesson: Take a few minutes to practice forming the corresponding minor chords for each of the 7 major chords we've discussed. Once you're comfortable making the minor chord shapes, practice moving from the major to the minor version of each chord. Also, take notice of how the major and minor variations of each chord sound different.

Other Chords

  • The chords that we've discussed so far are by no means all of the chords that can be played on the piano. There are also diminished chords, augmented chords, suspended chords and a number of more complex chord types that piano players can use to add flair and excitement to their playing. But since this is a guide for beginning piano players, we won't go into all of those just yet. If you do come across a chord that we haven't discussed so far, you can refer to this handy Chord Finder into order to find the correct notes to play and fingering to use.

Lesson 4: Learning Scales

  • Once you have mastered all of the chord structures that we have discussed so far, you are ready to start playing scales. A scale is a group of musical notes that are played in either a descending or ascending order. Scales are based around a specific root note (i.e. A, B C, etc.) and form the basis for songs and improvisation around that note. To put it in context, a piano chord is simply three of the notes in a particular scale played together. Although there are many different types of scales - much like chords - in this lesson we will concentrate exclusively on how to play the major scale of each note.
How to construct a major scale
How to construct a major scale
  • No matter what root note you start on, the major scale of that note is always constructed in the same way. Here is how you play a major scale:
  1. Start by playing the root note
  2. Move up a whole step and play that note
  3. Move up a whole step and play that note
  4. Move up a half-step and play that note
  5. Move up a whole step and play that note
  6. Move up a whole step and play that note
  7. Move up a whole step and play that note
  8. Move up a half-step and play that note.

Note: A half-step means that you play the key directly adjacent (whether its a black or a white key), while a whole step means that you move up two notes, rather than one.

  • Now we will go over the major scales for each of the 7 notes we've discussed so far. When reading the diagrams, take note of how the root note is labeled with an R. Also, since the major scale can be played up and down the keyboard, each of the scales have been repeated twice. Here we go:
A Major Scale
A Major Scale

A Major Scale

  1. Play an A
  2. Move up a whole step and play a B
  3. Move up a whole step and play a C#
  4. Move up a half-step and play a D
  5. Move up a whole step and play an E
  6. Move up a whole step and play an F#
  7. Move up a whole step and play a G#
  8. Move up a half-step and play an A


B Major Scale
B Major Scale

B Major Scale

  1. Play a B
  2. Move up a whole step and play a C#
  3. Move up a whole step and play a D#
  4. Move up a half-step and play an E
  5. Move up a whole step and play an F#
  6. Move up a whole step and play a G#
  7. Move up a whole step and play an A#
  8. Move up a half-step and play a B


C Major Scale
C Major Scale

C Major Scale

  1. Play a C
  2. Move up a whole step and play a D
  3. Move up a whole step and play an E
  4. Move up a half-step and play an F
  5. Move up a whole step and play an G
  6. Move up a whole step and play an A
  7. Move up a whole step and play a B
  8. Move up a half-step and play a C


D Major Scale
D Major Scale

D Major Scale

  1. Play a D
  2. Move up a whole step and play an E
  3. Move up a whole step and play an F#
  4. Move up a half-step and play a G
  5. Move up a whole step and play an A
  6. Move up a whole step and play a B
  7. Move up a whole step and play a C#
  8. Move up a half-step and play a D


E Major Scale
E Major Scale

E Major Scale

  1. Play an E
  2. Move up a whole step and play an F#
  3. Move up a whole step and play an G#
  4. Move up a half-step and play an A
  5. Move up a whole step and play a B
  6. Move up a whole step and play a C#
  7. Move up a whole step and play a D#
  8. Move up a half-step and play an E


F Major Scale
F Major Scale

F Major Scale

  1. Play an F
  2. Move up a whole step and play a G
  3. Move up a whole step and play an A
  4. Move up a half-step and play a Bb
  5. Move up a whole step and play a C
  6. Move up a whole step and play a D
  7. Move up a whole step and play an E
  8. Move up a half-step and play an F


G Major Scale
G Major Scale

G Major Scale

  1. Play a G
  2. Move up a whole step and play an A
  3. Move up a whole step and play a B
  4. Move up a half-step and play a C
  5. Move up a whole step and play a D
  6. Move up a whole step and play an E
  7. Move up a whole step and play an F#
  8. Move up a half-step and play a G

Practice Lesson: Spend 15 minutes practicing each of these scales. Once you are comfortable playing each forward, try reversing their order and playing them backwards from the last note in the scale back to the first. Also, see if you can pick out the notes that are used in the major chord for each root note.


The Minor Scale

  • In order to create the minor scale version of each of these root notes, you simply need to use a different formula for figuring out the pattern of whole and half-steps. While we aren't going to illustrate each specific minor scale, we will go over the steps you will need to figure them out on your own.
How to construct a minor scale
How to construct a minor scale
  • Follow this formula in order to play the minor scale of each note:
  1. Start by playing the root note
  2. Move up a whole step and play that note
  3. Move up a half-step and play that note
  4. Move up a whole step and play that note
  5. Move up a whole step and play that note
  6. Move up a half-step and play that note
  7. Move up a whole step and play that note
  8. Move up a whole step and play that note

Practice Lesson: Take a few minutes and try to figure out the minor version of each scale. You may want to write down which notes to play for each scale. Also, notice how the notes of each minor chord can also be found in their respective scale.


Other Scales

  • Just like chords, there are many different types of scales that we haven't gone over yet. If you do happen to get through all of these lessons and want to practice playing some of the other types of scales, simply check out this handy Scale Finder. Just type in the root note and type of scale you want to play and it will display it for you.

Lesson 5: Playing Simple Songs

  • Now that we've learned some of the basic notes, chords and scales, we can start to work towards playing a few simple songs. Now don't get ahead of yourself by thinking you can start out by playing Mozart, Chopin or, heaven-forbid, even Elton John. We all have to start somewhere, and when you're learning piano for the first time, simpler is better. In this section we will learn a few very simple songs that you can start playing to give you a feel for the piano.

Hot Cross Buns




  • Hot Cross Buns
    Hot Cross Buns


Mary Had A Little Lamb




  • Mary Had A Little Lamb
    Mary Had A Little Lamb


Row, Row, Row Your Boat




  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
    Row, Row, Row Your Boat


  • Ok, I know that these are probably not the most exciting songs for you to learn how to play and that you'll probably get sick of them pretty quick. That's OK. Small steps are good when you are first starting out. Don't worry. With enough practice you'll be playing more complicated songs in no time. Once you've mastered these three songs, you can move onto ones that are a little more difficult. Check out this resource for sheet music and midi files for beginning piano songs.

Lesson 6: Practicing

  • Now that you know some of the basics of playing the piano, it is important that you practice these lessons frequently and thoroughly. As with any instrument, the only way to ensure that you keep getting better at the piano is to play often and to practice what you know.
    Practice Makes Perfect (CC photo by Lo Sanford)
    Practice Makes Perfect (CC photo by Lo Sanford)
    I know that practicing isn't always fun, and can sometimes be quite frustrating. But know this: The more you practice, the better you will get, and the more fun you will have the next time you practice. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your practice sessions:
  1. Stretch your fingers out before playing. You may want to flex your fingers or crack your knuckles, whatever gets them limber and ready to play.
  2. Start your practice session by playing scales. This will help to loosen up your fingers.
  3. Practice every day, even if it's only for a few minutes (although you should try to play for an hour a day).
  4. Try to practice in a room or area that is relatively quiet and free from interruptions.
  5. Take a break every half-hour or so in order to refresh yourself.

Other Piano Practice Resources



Posted by yellowART at 10:59 PM

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