Tips on How to Play Piano
The piano is not only one of the most highly respected musical instruments, but the most versatile. Violins are terrific for classically composed music, not so terrific for rock. Saxophone is great for jazz, but has a diminished role in rock. Piano can commonly be found in rock, blues, classical, and in countless genres in between. Plus, with modern synthesizers and keyboard effects, being able to manipulate a keyboard enables you to play and endless amount of other instruments! There are dozens of great instruction manuals you can read, but read here for some really useful tips on how to play piano.
Before you learn about technique, learn what the notes are. You’ll see that there are twelve different notes, and each one is identified by its relation to the adjacent black coloured key. Look at an actual keyboard, or a picture of one, and you’ll be able to visualize it. It’s essential to know what key is what. When you begin investigating you’ll discover that the notes on the keyboard ascend alphabetically, A through G. The white keys are named after a singular letter, whereas the notes in between, the black keys, have a name borrowed from the adjacent white keys. The idea is that as you move to the right the notes ascend in pitch, and they get lower as you move to the left. Get this overall bearing first before moving on.
After you take some time to learn the names of the notes, you can begin to learn some theory. For whatever reason, the word ‘theory’ evokes fear in students the way ‘dentist’ does in children! Theory is simply the way notes fit together. The rules are simpler than you might expect, and actually, of all the instruments its easiest to see how this works on a piano since the notes are arranged perfectly in ascending order. This is why it’s a very good idea for musicians to learn piano first. Learning a major scale enables you to see where the notes in chords come from. This is essential knowledge! Learn how to make a major scale, and then learn how certain notes can be combined to form chords. Once you know how to play a few chords you’ll be able to mess around with some songs.
Like any musical instrument, technique is essential. It’ll help to ask a friend who plays a thing or two, little pointers to help you stay away from bad habits and adopt those that are good. The most troubling thing students experience is playing with their weaker hand. This is natural, but despite how difficult it seems at first, it is possible! The great Glenn Gould believed having a weaker hand was undemocratic. Asymmetry will reduce in time, as will the command you have with weaker fingers. You’ll also learn which fingers to use in scales and chords and how to go on extended runs where you dash across the length of the keyboard.
If you’re musical and dedicated, try the above advice. Otherwise, it never hurts to have a teacher!
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