How to Play the Piano

The piano is one of the most popular instruments because of its ease in learning and versatility. It is used as an accompaniment for other instruments or for singers. The tone is amazing, and the type of music you can use it to play is endless. It is also an important foundation for all musicians, even if their "main" instrument is not piano.

Interest If you are a child interested in learning, speak to your parents and ask them if they can buy you a piano. Keep in mind that pianos can be very expensive, so they may be hesitant and require you to prove your dedication to play piano first. Or you can buy a keyboard if you're low on space. Before buying a piano, make certain your are willing to practice thirty or more minutes each day. If you're not--then save yourself (or your parents) the expense of buying the piano and paying for the lessons.

Lessons Once you have a piano or keyboard, the next step is to arrange for music lessons. Look for a teacher who is in the National Teachers Association or who has other accreditations. Ask other piano students who their teachers are--and whether their teachers are "good." Ask "why" other students think their teachers are good teachers because sometimes a student likes his or her teacher for the wrong reasons. For example, if your friend likes his teacher because "she doesn't make me work very hard," steer away from that teacher.

Lessons Well Spent Once you've started taking lessons, make certain your teacher is including time spent learning chords, theory, and improvisation, not just learning pieces by note. Understand that in learning the piano, you are also learning the language and history of music. It takes time and effort to learn this "foreign language" and musical understanding means more than just playing a few pieces well. True mastery of music is a lifelong process. It takes many years to become a good musician.

Commitment Remember your commitment to practice every day for at least thirty minutes or more. Your fingers will "rust" if you do not play for even a week. At first, practicing might be a pain and you might get very frustrated. As your skills grow, you will become facile and playing piano will become pure enjoyment. It's best to warm up at the beginning of every practice session with scales, warm-up exercises,and relatively easy pieces. These will stretch your fingers and hands and help you play with your hands relaxed. (When you play, you should be able to see your finger bones move. Let your hand just hang and move only your fingers.)

When Practicng When your teacher asks you to learn a hard piece, remember that it's worth the effort and will make you a much better piano player. While there are many ways to practice, here's a good one for beginners. First try to sightread the piece without worrying if you make mistakes. Then practice each hand independently. Break the music into segments and learn the right hand part. Learn segment by segment, then connect them together. Once you've mastered the right hand play through the entire piece. If you make a mistake start over from the beginning. This might try your patience a bit but it will enable you to get through the entire piece flawlessly. Once you've mastered the right hand, repeat the process with the left hand. Then, repeat the process again, this time for both hands.

A New Piece Take a new piece apart, by learning one or two measures at a time, and going over it again and again. The next day do the same thing with a few other measures, and then include the last measures and play them all, together. By practicing this way, you can spend quality time listening to how they sound, and making sure your fingers know where to go and when. Never learn an entire piece all at once.

Mistakes Try not to "learn" your mistakes. Playing the piano is an automatic process like walking (you don't think about each step you take, you just walk). Because of this, past mistakes have a tendency to come back when you play the piece later on. To avoid this, do the following: When you are learning a new piece, break it down into simple parts that you can practice without making a lot of mistakes. And play slowly. For example, practice each hand separately. After you have determined the fingering you are going to follow, play both hands together in short sections.
Eventually put the sections together. Do not try to play at normal speed until you are secure in your fingering and notes. Then increase the speed gradually. Play the piece over and over until you memorize it and you can play fluently.

Improvisation Improvise and think notes. "Thinking notes" means that you know every single note that you're playing. While that sounds easy, it can be very hard. Play a piece that you have memorized and can play very well. Now, name every note that you played without looking at piano. Then, take a melody you've heard on TV or somewhere else and try to play it using your ear. Learn to know all the notes that you're playing. While playing by ear is good, it's a lot better if you know every note that you play.

Tips

Play pieces that you enjoy playing or pieces that you know well!

Never give up. The fingering, speed, and chords in some pieces may be frustrating and difficult, but push through it. If you get frustrated, step away from the piano for a few minutes until you are ready to play again.

The more you practice, the better you will perform.

If you're at a recital and your hands shake wildly, sit on your hands for a few minutes before you go out to play. It calms them down.

Find the right teacher! Your relationship with your teacher can affect the way you feel about practicing, so arrange for a trial period of a few weeks to find out if there's a good fit. Parents, especially--pay attention!

If you are shy, practice playing in front of your family and friends. They will enjoy it and in time, so will you.

Learning music theory is fun and is the best way to become a great musician, whether you want to play classical, jazz or pop.

Always follow the fingering on the piece (although there are certain exceptions). While some of the finger positions may feel awkward at first, following them will help you play more smoothly because you won't have to adjust your hand position because you cannot reach the next note.

Practice sight reading; it's an important skill. It will help you master a piece faster and give you more time to work.

Hand and body posture are very important. Slouching gives a bad impression and having a bad hand posture will be counter-productive to your practice. Keep your wrists loose and your hands flexible. Keep your fingers at a natural curve, as if you were typing. This gives you more power in your finger strokes.

Listen to your notes and tune your ears to the keys' pitches. This is needed on some advanced piano tests and will allow you to impress your friends by playing blindfolded!

Don't be afraid to really hammer out those notes in that triple forte section (fff). Just make sure you don't slip on the notes. Put some passion into it! Any kind of music is worthy of your passion.

Do not keep your foot on the sustaining pedal; it blurs your chords together and makes them sound "muddy."

It is better to play too slowly than to play too fastly when you are performing. Play evenly and with a great deal of care in your touch and you will sound professional.

Keep a regular, steady rhythm when you are playing. Just playing rhythmically makes a piece sound a lot better. Consider buying a metronome to help with this.
Play simple pieces by ear and make your own arrangements of them. This will help you to become less dependent on written music. When you are playing by ear, keep going! Do not start sections of the piece over again. If you miss a chord one time, you can practice so that you'll play it the next time. The main thing is to overcome repetition and hesitation and learn to play a piece through smoothly when you are performing it.

In addition to studying traditional chord relationships (harmony), take a class in composition and listen to as much music as you can. Community colleges offer excellent instruction in music theory, history, and composition. Playing with other people in ensembles is also an excellent idea.

Get used to the idea that some of the pianos you will be playing will not sound that good or be in perfect tune. This is one of the hazards of being a piano player--you can't carry your favorite instrument with you. Try to make the best of things when you are playing an inferior instrument. A good pianist can usually make a bad piano sound reasonably good--although some pianos are in such bad condition that you should feel free to say that you cannot play that piano.

If you want to correctly use the sustain pedal, play a chord, then before you play your next chord, quickly lift up the sustain pedal and put it back down. Whenever you change chords or play notes from a different chord, "reset" the sustain pedal.

For Medium/Advanced players, try playing through that new piece using the chords written above the grand staff. Use your left hand to play octaves and your right hand to play the chord. Start off using the first inversion of every chord, then for a challenge, limit yourself to using only one octave and trying out different inversions of chords.

Don't slack off. Sometimes it may become tedious, but keep practicing.
Don't be nervous at recitals. Just play your piece. Don't worry about how you look. Pay attention to the thing that really counts -- how the music sounds!

How to Add Piano Chords to any Melody

Chords can come unexpectedly and rapidly and most of them are indeed complicated to pronounce or intimidating to most people. The sad part is that this is often not true. Chords are really fun and usually add color and expression to everything.

If there are two hands doing different things (usually) th left hand is taking care of the chords. For experimentation purrposes or for coordination development or what is also known in some songs is that the right hand takes care of the chords.
If chords are known, most common chord progressions can be used for a wide range of songs. I-V (the first major or minor chord and the fifth major chord of the scale) are used. So if I was in the scale or key of c, m chords would be c major (or minor) and G major.
When playing chords with the melody for just one hand, it is necessary to consider that chords are highly dependant on what melody notes are being used and so a fine understanding of theory is needed. Generally, if for example the notes of the melody are (on the key of c) g, f, e or d, and the left hand is on the fifth chord, the notes b, d, g, or f can be used interchangeably. Chord inversions are used when the chords on the song do not change. Thus, depending on what notes are used (g or a) then the second inversion of the c chord would accompany this group. If the notes are b thorugh d, then the fundamental or root position of the chord is used. If, however, the higher notes (e, f, or sometimes g) are used, the first inversion is played.

How to Write a Song for Piano

Play around on a piano. Use different chords and find a correct rhythm. If you don't want a completely accurate composition, create a song randomly without a firm beat. If you do want a rhythm, you are better off using a metronome, these can keep you too the correct beat whilst telling you what the time is.


Create a blank music score by just using a ruler. Draw five lines, then another set of five lines below for your left hand. If you download it or draw it. Your score should look like the image provided.
Play slowly the piece of music you have played on your piano again, and write down each note on the score. A standard one beat note should look like the image provided.
If you play to the left of the middle C, these notes will go in your bass clef, this is the bottom set of lines that begins with the C looking shape.
If you play to the Right of the Middle C, they will go on your treble clef lines.
The length of notes are written differently, and need concentration, but once you have got the hang of it, it'll become easy. A Link for lengths of notes is in the Tips box.

Tips

listen to a song that you like and steal one or two chords out of this if you can't think of your own chords. for exmaple, my fave song is boulevard of broken dreams, i want to take the the first chord out of the chorus, and find some other songs with chords that i like. get the point?

be creative

Try not to clash notes together if you are writing a song that will have words, such as for a band. If it supposed to be a death song that an emo would make up, make it clash. it adds a sense of "this is so bad sounding that it sounds like people dying" if you are an emo, as said before, you may want to take this route.

Make a beginning part, then a second part that is alost completely different but has the same feel about it, chorus, and a bridge (turning point) the order of these things should go as so... 1st...chorus...2nd...chorus...bridge...chorus (on some occasions you may want to use the chorus twic in the very end after the bridge.)

How to Write a Good Piece of Music for Piano

Many people know how to read musical notation, less know how to write music and very few know exactly how exactly to get inspired and compose original, nice music.

Sit down at the piano. You wont get anywhere at all by sitting with a blank page in front of you.
Play around with chords or melodies, if you heard a piece or progression of chords that you liked play them by ear on the piano (or for those who cannot do that, look them up in a book or on the net).
Fiddle around until inspiration strikes (If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. Or if you don’t think that that will work, redefine success!)
Play around with your idea until it totally forms.
Write it down. This may be harder than you think, don’t rush.
Revise it like you would if you were writing an article.
Publish it or whatever you want to do with it.

Use pencil when first writing it
Play your piece for many people before you write it down. Don't distress if you cant come up with anything at first.

Things You'll Need
Yourself
A very good imagination
A piano
Blank sheet music
A sharpened pencil
Patience

How to Write Interesting Songs for Piano

If you search WikiHow, you will find plenty of pages related to the topic "How to write songs" and "How to write songs for piano". However, most of these simply tell you to put aurally pleasing chords and melody lines together, and to write the notes down on a stave. These tell you nothing about how to find your aurally pleasing chords, etc. That is the purpose of this page. (This page can work for any other instrument, but primarliy for the piano.)

First of all, a lot of guides (and for that matter, people) will tell you that in order to compose effectively, you need to have a rough knowledge of theory, i.e. scales, chords, musical notation, etc. This is not always the case. For example, some artist have been composing since they were young, and could not read musical notation until a much later age. As long as you have a good feel for the music, and know what do do with your hands, then the sky's the limit.
you might like not knowing anything about notes and scales, because when you noodle around with a guitar, there are no harmonic boundaries. you are free to experiment. Judge for yourself.

Decide whether you're going to begin with lyrics or begin with piano. most people like to begin with the lyrics because then you feel as if you know what kind of mood you want the music to have. But lots of people work the other way around, so choose yourself.

Think of something that has inspired/angered/elevated you. you might want to write about something that you feel passionately about, otherwise your lyrics will have very little impact.

Watch out for plagarizing, whether it's intentional or not. Plagarizing is probable; it happens to the best of us. However, it's also illegal (as well as being generally frowned upon). So if you find that what you've written sounds very similar to something else, make sure that you hide it well. Change the melody, rhythm, pitch, whatever you want. I wouldn't recommend removing it though. The way I see it, there are only so many notes available, and if you plagarize someone else's combination along the way, so be it. Just make sure that not many people notice.
"Talent borrows, genius steals"

How to Utilize Your Synthesizer

If you have bought your $1000 shiny brand-new KORG and then think that you paid this much just for the preset sounds, then you should take a closer look! All synths are made to manipulate sound itself and the possibilites of them are endless. Here's how you can create the sound that you have imagined!

Steps

Go to the sound that is closest to your desired sound. Listen for interesting effects and do not worry about the basis sound.(It has a French Horn sound, but it has a great forte-piano that you love.)
Find the basic editing area of the synth and look for the oscillator editing areas.
Change the samples given to the sample or basis sound you desire.
Find the filters and change them. Take note that this is where you can change the start time, loudest point and how it decays.
Find the LFO and change the waveform.
Find the arpeggiator and change it to a preset arpeggio or make your own.
Find the FX and find the ones you desire.

My tips

Manipulating sound is based on experimentation. You can read the manual to grasp the knowledge of your keyboard, but you must be the one to change each parameter.
Don't give up on this! It may seem to take forever to change and edit your keyboard to get the sounds you want, but it's all based on how bad you need and want the sound.
Read some of your manual. These steps are very brief and depending on the synth, there could be more or less functions on your keyboard.

Take note that this was based on the KORG Triton LE 61 Key Music Workstation. You may need to look in your manual to find these things that I am talking because they may have different names than above.
Remember that depending on what synth you have, that if you save the program to save it onto a sound you do not care for or a new program. If you save it over the original, the deletion of the old could be permanent.

How to Use Piano Foot Pedals

Once you learn the basics of the keyboard,and the basic techniques of playing the piano, the next step is to learn how and when to use the Piano Foot pedals, so as to add depth and feelings to any piano piece.There are three pedals on the piano: the sustain pedal on the right, played with the right foot; the soft pedal on the left, played with the left foot; and the sostenuto pedal in the middle, played with the left foot.

The pedals are played with your foot; the sustain with your right, soft with left. The middle pedal, although rarely used, replaces the function of the sustain pedal once in a while, so it would be played with the right foot.

Place your foot flat on the floor when progressing through long passages without any pedal usage. If you find it hard to do this,move you seat back slightly to make yourself more comfortable (but not to far out).
When a pedal is meant to be played, place the heel of your foot on the ground directly in front of the pedal.
Pivot downwards, pressing down the pedal with the ball of your foot.
Your heel should never leave the ground while depressing a pedal.


The sustain pedal is the most often used pedal. It releases the strings of the dampers, felt-covered pieces of wood that deaden a string's vibration. muffled by the felt.
The soft pedal enhances soft passages. The soft pedal does not mean you should play loudly when depressing it so that the sound is soft.
The middle pedal, called sostenuto, is rarely used, but is indicated in music with clear instructions. This pedal keeps the dampers up that were raised when it was depressed, enabling staccato play independent of the sustained note.

Tips
Most piano pieces, including the classics, only require use of the sustain pedal, but the soft pedal is used occasionally.
Not all pianos have three pedals since the sostenuto is seldom used. That does not mean the piano is inferior or should not be used or purchased.
Never randomly use the pedal by going up and down on it because the music will sound choppy, instead of smooth.
Experiment with the pedals. Play a scale, and be aware of how you are using the pedal. Listen to the sound and how the pedal effects it.
The more you experiment with the pedal usage, the better you will become using it and enhancing your piece of music.
During practice time, include practicing with and without the pedal, holding it down and raising it, to get the desired effect.
Remember, after you get used to using the pedal, songs will sound unfulfilled without the pedal, so its important to know how to use the pedal properly.

How to Tune a Piano

Are you a piano player or teacher who dislikes the unnecessary expense of hiring a piano tuner and feels that you could do it yourself with a little training? Well this is your lucky day. All you need are the right tools, a piano and patience,

Buy tools. Tuning tools are hard to find, especially if you are accustomed to shopping at local retail locations. eBay is a reliable place for tuning tools.

Choose a tuning lever and try to find one with a star tip as opposed to a square tip. This will give you some extra flexibility.

Set aside a couple of hours. Depending on the out-of-tuneness of your piano, this could take awhile.

Remove every item between you and your tuning pegs.

Block off the outside strings of your starting octave octave: F below middle-C up to E above middle-C-

Notice three strings for each of the keys in that octave. Block off the outside strings of each of those keys with the temperament strip. You will need a flat-head screwdriver to stuff the strip between the strings. F up to E

Tips

a tuning lever (AKA tuning hammer)
A=440 tuning fork
felt temperament strip (preferably tapered)
2 rubber mutes

Warnings

A piano is a fine and delicate instrument that should be tuned about twice a year. There is more to tuning than just following these instructions. It would be advisable to seek the services of a professional piano tuner to make sure that the tone is of good quality and sound.

How to Teach Yourself to Play the Piano

To learn the piano without a teacher (I.e by ear) will require a strong musical ear and patience...
First of all, you obviously need a piano, or a place with a piano that you are free to use in spare time for a few hours a week at least.
Make sure the piano is reasonably tuned (most pianos are kept in tune).
To learn to play the piano well on your own, the best possible first step is to learn your basic scales, most importantly the Major and Minor pentatonic. This doesn't require a teacher as the internet is full of information and resources for musical scales - just google it! ;)
It is important to learn these scales first - if you wish to play basic piano songs - and know what key the song is in. Nine times out of ten the notes will be in the scale of that key.
To learn your own favourite songs, just listen by ear and work out the right notes, once you have the melody down you can usually work out the chords using notes from the melody. If you can read music, resources can be found on the internet.
This is basically the furthest you can go on your own, but just by simply practicing your scales and training your ear, you can play anything if you put enough time into it.

Don't stress out, remember its just fun that way you will stay more interested.
It is a lot easier if you already play a melodic instrument, as you will have a familiar view on musical notes and will be able to work with your other instrument(s) for a guideline.
Practice scales as much as possible, as they are the basis of every song, and will greatly improve the speed of your finger movement.
As tempting as it can be, try to play without the sustain pedal pushed down as it will sound clearer and you will be able to hear your mistakes more. This can help you to improve a lot.

If you want to play piano as a career or seriously wish to go further into your playing, it is highly recommended that you do get a teacher, without one you will pick up many bad habits that will take years to unlearn, as with any instrument! It is very difficult to obtain a profession or high grade without an appropriate teacher/tutor.

How to Teach Piano

If you love music and want to spread your knowledge, perhaps you should consider becoming a piano teacher. Here's a step-by-step guide to starting as a new piano teacher.

Understand and be able to play piano yourself. You need to have piano experience before becoming a teacher. Most teachers have learned their craft thoroughly and enjoy it.
Decide how many lessons you want to teach each week, how much you will charge, and how long each lesson will be. Most lessons are 30 minutes long, especially for beginning players. Find out what other piano teachers in your area are charging. As a new teacher, your rate should be lower than theirs. Many starting teachers begin with a low rate of $10 per lesson and raise their rate every two-three years by a few dollars. When you're deciding how many lessons and when you want to teach each week, remember the time commitments of your students. Are they still in school? College students? Are they working a 9-5 job? You'll have to work around their schedules too. Remember to leave time your lunch or dinner break.

Decide where you will have your lessons. You could have them at your house, at your student's house, or at another site, such as a music store or community center. Make sure there is a piano and a chair for you and your student. It should be clean, easy to work in, and easy to get to for you and your students.
Find students. Advertise in the newspaper, hand out fliers in your neighborhood, and tell everyone you know. If your city has a community center, ask if they have a music program that you could be part of. It would give you more credibility. Music stores are good places to find aspiring students. Ask if they have a place, such as bulletin board, window, or desk, where you could hang a flier.

Plan out your lessons. Once you have a student and the first lesson scheduled, plan out what you will teach your student at the first lesson. Introduce yourself and ask the student some basic questions about themselves. Find out if they have ever played piano before and how much they know. You could ask them to play a simple song for you. Do they have any goals or songs that they're working on? Why do they want to learn to play piano? What kind of music do they like? You may want to find out when the lesson is scheduled if your student is new to the piano so you can recommend books for them to buy before the lesson. Alfred Piano Course books are an excellent series for learning the basics, but there are many other series to choose from. As the teacher, you should be familiar with the books.

Some teachers buy the books for the students (the student pays for the books at the first lesson) so that they can play through the songs themselves and be able to give the student helpful hints, skip songs that doesn't agree with your teaching principles or other things.

Have your first lesson. Learn from them and change how you're teaching for each student. Teach on the level of the pupil. Base your lesson off them. Go their speed. They're paying for the lessons. You want them to understand why the reason behind various music techniques. Start with what they know and build off it.
Encourage your students often. Tell them when they've improved and what they do well. Offer constructive criticism only.

If you don't buy piano books for your student, be sure to recommend titles that they should purchase. To a beginner, all books look the same, just in different colors.
Be patient with your student. Some people require more instructions while others understand with a simple sentence.
Try not to bore your student with talking, but get to know them. Start the lesson with a "How was your week? Did the practising go well?" They'll be able to tell you right off about the spots that had them screaming with frustration and you'll know why they practised the amount they did. If their grandma died and they had to ship off to Antarctica for the funeral, they probably didn't get much chance to practise. If so, turn the lesson into a "How to Practise Effectively." Show them your tips for learning a song quickly and have them show you how they do their practicing.
Find interesting songs for your students. There are many many many piano books in different genres for all different levels. If they enjoy the songs, they'll want to practise more.
Teach your students the tricks and tips that helped you become a better pianist.

Don't pretend to be something you're not. Professional piano teachers have at least a bachelor's degree in piano with coursework in piano pedagogy. A professional should know how to sequence and teach musical concepts and how to develop the technical ability and structure of the hands as they grow.
If a student has learned everything that you can teach them, don't hang onto them. Let go of your student and tell them to find a more advanced teacher. You will be able to find another student to fill their spot.
Students may not want to practice. If they consistently come to lessons every week having not, or barely, looked at their songs since the last lesson, you should remind them that they won't improve their playing unless they practise between lessons. With younger students, try to get the parents to help. Make a practise calendar for them to fill out and have a parent initial every week. Be aware that not all students are honest.

Do not push students to practise boring songs longer than necessary. Many beginners have quit because they were forced to play simple songs fifty times over for thirty minutes each day.

How to Quit Your Piano Lessons?

Mentally state the Reason. Why do you want to quit? Are you tied up with School? Are you financially in debt? Make sure that your reason is legitimate and that quitting is no other option. Saying "'Coz I don't like practicing" will make you sound like a fool and your teacher will be glad having you gone.
Rehearse your Speech. Make sure you know what you are going to say before you tell your teacher. Making it up as you go along will make you less articulate.
Tell your Teacher you're quitting. Bring this issue up at the beginning or end of your lesson. Stating that you are quitting right after you've finished playing "Moonlight Sonata" is a bad time to bring this up.

Add that this is temporary (unless you know for sure that it is not) and will return to him/her again at a later date or another teacher. Totally giving up is a waste of your time and talent.
If your teacher is a bad one, it is perfectly okay to quit. If you're 16 and have been playing for 3 years and has you practicing level 2 songs, you definitely need to quit.
If it's because of money problems, don't be afraid to state that it is. Otherwise, your teacher will think it was her/his fault!

How to Practice Sight Reading Piano Music

Assuming that you already have basic knowledge of playing the piano, and are learning how to sight read the music sheet a few hints on how to learn to read might help. Just like in typing, playing the piano requires that you do not look down at your hands, and that reading the notes, becomes as second nature, as reading words in a book!

Find a book of music, other than the ones you are using, at around your skill level, or a little easier. This should be music that you think you would like, but have never heard before. You should find, to start with about 5 pieces.
Sit at the piano, and open the book to the first page. Try to look at the notes,say the notes softly, and understand the piece a little bit without actually playing any part of it. Now, start playing, very slowly, saying the key names in your head as you play and looking at them to see what they look like. It is very important to not stop and restart when you make a mistake. Just keep playing. Look for patterns while you are playing, and always try to read a minimum of one measure ahead.
When you finish one piece, repeat it until you feel comfortable knowing the name of the notes. Remember, its is once again like typing, your mind will tell your fingers where to go, once you practice it often enough.
Continue with the same piece, and when the notes are easy to play, learn the timing of the piece. No piece can sound decent if the timing is incorrect.
Keep practicing in this manner as often as you can. Feel free to go back and study the pieces you played in more depth. The more you practice, the better your sight reading skills will become.

You can, if you do not have a piano nearby, read the music notes, without even playing. Look at their position, and remember what they look like. Get it to memory.
A very good skill when sight reading is recovering from mistakes. You will make them. Don't let them fluster you, just keep playing. It is almost guaranteed that if the listener isn't familiar with the music, and you don't give it away, they'll never know.
One of the hardest parts of sight reading music is getting the rhythm correct. It helps to count out loud, "One and two and three and four and..." Of course the numbers that you count depends on the piece.
It helps to accompany a singer or other instrument while sight reading. This forces you to stay honest.

How to Play the Piano to Amateur Concert Level Status

This is not just about playing the piano, but playing the piano well, to Amateur Concert-Level Status.
Always place your fingers on the keys before you play them. That way you will always know that you're hitting the correct free piano sheet music key. (You don't have time to look at them all when you're playing fast.) It will also ensure that you don't hit the keys too hard, which you should never do.
Either lift the finger from the key (while keeping contact with the keys with the other ones,) and let it drop on the key, or use *slight* arm pressure, with very relaxed fingers to press the keys.
After the key has been pressed, slide the fingers to the right or left. The fingers should not stick, but glide across the keys. That way you don't lose contact with the ivory (as Josef Hofmann said,) and you don't need to look at the keys again to re-set your hands in the proper place.
In places where you need to go a long ways (i.e. 2-3 octaves,) you may need to look at the keys to see where they're at, but still, you must TOUCH the keys first before playing them. This ensures maximum accuracy (very important at high speeds,) a SOFT touch (very important for expression, and not hammering the keys,) and very little effort or work to do for your fingers, which makes it easy to play long, fast passages without mistakes, and without fatigue.

When you're going for accuracy (i.e. no wrong notes,) touch the keys with just the tips of the fingers. It should still be a soft touch, not bony. That will ensure that your finger fits easily into the key without possibly touching the key to either side of it.
Never hammer on the keys. That is the way most amateurs do it, and it sounds horrible, not to mention cause them to hit tons of wrong notes, causes fatigue, makes it harder to memorize pieces, etc.
When you play with a good touch (fingers touching the keys before playing,) your fingers will almost play by themselves, and you can have a good deal of songs memorized simply by touch (as well as by sound, and by chords also,) because the fingers naturally know where to go next.
The best books on playing piano that I've read are Joseph Hofmann's "Piano Playing, with Piano Questions Answered," and Josef Lhevinne's "Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing." Those are worth more than all the "method" books combined.
If you start out with the right technique (playing from the fingers, and touching the keys) you can skip 10 years of practice and mistakes, and get to the more interesting pieces much sooner.
Still repetition does help to make you more consistent. Repetition will help you gain a lot of experience very quickly. The above-mentioned tips are the things you would eventually figure out if you did enough repetition on the piano. So it's good to know them up front, so you can save yourself a lot of wasted time.
Learn songs that you like. You will naturally play the piano better / more musically if you learn songs that you like. But the musicality is pounded out of a lot of young would-be pianists by forcing them into songs that they don't like. Passion and sentimentality is the center of art, and if it's not there, you don't have art.
So if your children are learning the piano, help them find some songs that they would actually ENJOY learning, in addition to what they're already learning. Give them something that they enjoy, and they will keep up with it by themselves.
For the most accurate playing (with the least amount of error,) play mostly with the fingers, raising them and dropping them on the keys, without moving the hand or wrist, or the arm. The fingers, even when they're lifted considerably, may only move about 2 inches from the keys. Whereas even a small movement of the arm may go farther than that, thus considerably increasing the chances for error. Moving the arm also re-shifts your 'base of operations,' making it harder for the fingers to come down on the correct keys.
However, playing with only the fingers all the time may fatigue the fingers, so it must be distributed somewhat with weight from the hand, slight movement from the wrist, weight of the arm (for more fortissimo passages,) and sometimes even movement of the forearm.
Even though you play with the fingers for piano man maximum accuracy and speed, the fingers, hands, wrists, arms and shoulders should never be stiff. They should always be relaxed.
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How to Play the Piano to Amateur Concert Level Status

This is not just about playing the piano, but playing the piano well, to Amateur Concert-Level Status.
Always place your fingers on the keys before you play them. That way you will always know that you're hitting the correct key. (You don't have time to look at them all when you're playing fast.) It will also ensure that you don't hit the keys too hard, which you should never do.
Either lift the finger from the key (while keeping contact with the keys with the other ones,) and let it drop on the key, or use *slight* arm pressure, with very relaxed fingers to press the keys.
After the key has been pressed, slide the fingers to the right or left. The fingers should not stick, but glide across the keys. That way you don't lose contact with the ivory (as Josef Hofmann said,) and you don't need to look at the keys again to re-set your hands in the proper place.
In places where you need to go a long ways (i.e. 2-3 octaves,) you may need to look at the keys to see where they're at, but still, you must TOUCH the keys first before playing them. This ensures maximum accuracy (very important at high speeds,) a SOFT touch (very important for expression, and not hammering the keys,) and very little effort or work to do for your fingers, which makes it easy to play long, fast passages without mistakes, and without fatigue.

When you're going for accuracy (i.e. no wrong notes,) touch the keys with just the tips of the fingers. It should still be a soft touch, not bony. That will ensure that your finger fits easily into the key without possibly touching the key to either side of it.
Never hammer on the keys. That is the way most amateurs do it, and it sounds horrible, not to mention cause them to hit tons of wrong notes, causes fatigue, makes it harder to memorize pieces, etc.
When you play with a good touch (fingers touching the keys before playing,) your fingers will almost play by themselves, and you can have a good deal of songs memorized simply by touch (as well as by sound, and by chords also,) because the fingers naturally know where to go next.
The best books on playing piano that I've read are Joseph Hofmann's "Piano Playing, with Piano Questions Answered," and Josef Lhevinne's "Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing." Those are worth more than all the "method" books combined.
If you start out with the right technique (playing from the fingers, and touching the keys) you can skip 10 years of practice and mistakes, and get to the more interesting pieces much sooner.
Still repetition does help to make you more consistent. Repetition will help you gain a lot of experience very quickly. The above-mentioned tips are the things you would eventually figure out if you did enough repetition on the piano. So it's good to know them up front, so you can save yourself a lot of wasted time.
Learn songs that you like. You will naturally play the piano better / more musically if you learn songs that you like. But the musicality is pounded out of a lot of young would-be pianists by forcing them into songs that they don't like. Passion and sentimentality is the center of art, and if it's not there, you don't have art.
So if your children are learning the piano, help them find some songs that they would actually ENJOY learning, in addition to what they're already learning. Give them something that they enjoy, and they will keep up with it by themselves.
For the most accurate playing (with the least amount of error,) play mostly with the fingers, raising them and dropping them on the keys, without moving the hand or wrist, or the arm. The fingers, even when they're lifted considerably, may only move about 2 inches from the keys. Whereas even a small movement of the arm may go farther than that, thus considerably increasing the chances for error. Moving the arm also re-shifts your 'base of operations,' making it harder for the fingers to come down on the correct keys.
However, playing with only the fingers all the time may fatigue the fingers, so it must be distributed somewhat with weight from the hand, slight movement from the wrist, weight of the arm (for more fortissimo passages,) and sometimes even movement of the forearm.
Even though you play with the fingers for maximum accuracy and speed, the fingers, hands, wrists, arms and shoulders should never be stiff. They should always be relaxed.

How to Play the Keyboard

Here is a basic outline on how to play a keyboard, in addition to opinions on why you should buy one and how the keyboard measures up to the digital piano. This article will explain how to play the keyboard, how much easier a keyboard is to learn than a piano, and how the keyboard gives you more playing options than similar instruments, like the digital piano. This also tells you about performing in bands or solo.

When first positioning your fingers, please be aware that some sheet music has little numbers, which represent each finger placement next to some black dot notes on the sheet music stave. These are 1= THUMB, 2=INDEX (pointing finger), 3=MIDDLE FINGER, 4=4Th or ring finger, and 5=LITTLE FINGER. This sheet music shows you, by placement of these numbers, which fingers play either the white or the black keys.
Learn how to read sheet music first.
Play a tune on the keyboard in 1 of 2 ways: either play a song you remember "by ear," or follow the sheet music.
Learn to play "by ear." Remembering the sound of a song and finding which notes on the keyboard to press is not easy to do. Here is how you can start.

Sound Colours. Particular songs are closest to one of 12 "sound colours." If you know DO RE ME FAH SOH LA TI DOH or the song "Doe a deer a female deer," then press a C to begin (again see the fingering exercise linked below to find out where this is.) Now sing the next note UP while pressing each WHITE note to the RIGHT of the C on the keyboard. Play the following notes: C= doh D=re E=Me F=Fah G=Sol A=Lah B=Ti C= DOh again. You have just sung or played one of those 12 colours!
Key of C: The entire combination of notes is called the key of C. When your ear is good and practiced, you then begin to recognise some songs on the radio as "fitting" into the Key of C. You will need to know that there are another 12 quite different keys to recognise and that some songs might "fit".
Think of the keyboard as having 3 kinds of "brains," each of which is a type of memory. The first type of brain is called a sound brain, or more commonly known as a tone. This works by storing all the sounds like pianos, strings, flute, and even combines some of these tones to make new ones like "fantasy" or "synthesized " keyboard sounds. A 2nd sound brain is known as the "rhythm brain," called "rhythms" on some keyboards or "styles " on others. Here the keyboard sets off a whole little band of drums, bass guitar, piano and other combinations and allows you to play a right hand melody along with it. The other kind of keyboard brain or memory records what you play. For instance, if you played a left hand Bass guitar part, you could later play accompaniment with that. You could then play something entirely new, like a piano or voice melody, to "fit together" with what you originally recorded.
Decide between keyboards versus digital pianos. Consider the following:

Learning to play the keyboard seems easier than learning to play the piano in some ways. Some beginners find playing a keyboard easier to learn because they can play a larger variety of music, like pop, rock, country and jazz.
Don't confuse a keyboard with a synthesiser or a digital piano. These instruments have different abilities.
Classical music sounds far better played on a piano than a keyboard. A digital piano is comparable to a piano, but doesn't operate like a keyboard. A keyboard is more like a one-man band, and a fun way to learn music as a beginner.
Try taking it up a notch, play in a band. Get a couple of friends who can play drums and a another one who plays guitar. With the instruments, the guitar does chords in C major, the keyboard does the C major scale, and the drums outlines the rhythm patterns.

Try and learn from people who know.
Avoid silly mistakes, especially in performing.
Don't expect to learn overnight. Mozart and Beethoven didn't learn things quickly, so practice.
You can choose any instruments in the keyboard, but the properties of the sound differ to other instruments. Like the tie in in the piano. If you do this when you select the trumpet, the sound will stal forever.

How to Play the Concertina

The Concertina is a free reed instrument with a bellows similar to an accordion. It is smaller, lighter, and a little more difficult to play.

Decide what kind of concertina to play. Anglo-German or English are the two most available.
Procure a concertina. Buy, rent, or borrow one.
Learn about the fingerings for your particular concertina. The website www.concertina.com is a good place to start.
Get a book of simple songs, or even a specific book for your concertina. "Del Rey's Deluxe Concertina Book" is older, widely available, and good for the Anglo concertina. "The Concertina: A Handbook and Tutor for Beginners on the English Concertina" can be found on the concertina.com webpage.
Learn how to use the bellows. Gently pull the bellows or push the bellows while holding down individual buttons. Don't worry about playing specific chords when you start. Concentrate on first making a scale from "C to C". If you aren't able to get the basic 8 note scale, or octave ("oct"=8) you will have a difficult time learning songs.
Learn a few simple songs with melodies that you know in your head. If you can't read music you can learn how to play by ear as well.
Practice. Practice. Practice!
Get a friend who plays the guitar to play chords for you while you play melodies. If you can download sheet music on the internet you can find notes and chords to match. Most songbooks or "fakebooks" have simple melodies with chords.
Study the history of the concertina so that you can be a proud concertina player!
Search YouTube for "concertina". There are quite a few good tutorials there, as well as talented performers to help give you an idea of what can be played.

Search YouTube for "concertina". There are quite a few good tutorials there, as well as talented performers to help give you an idea of what can be played.

There are several types of concertinas, but you'll likely only run across the two major ones: Anglo-German and English. The Anglo concertina plays different notes on push and pull (diatonic, much like a harmonica) whereas an English concertina plays the same notes on push and pull (chromatic, like a piano accordion). The easiest way to tell the two apart from pictures is that the Anglo has a wrist-strap while the English has a thumb strap with a metal "J" at the bottom for the pinky finger.
An Anglo is good for Irish music or folk music, with push/pull on the bellows quickly changing the notes. An English is more versatile having additional buttons for the accidentals (sharps and flats). If you are used to playing accordion or want more choices in the music you play choose an English.
Look through eBay for one on sale, ask your local musicians where you could rent one, or ask if anyone happens to have one from their grandpa in an attic that you might borrow. There are a lot of expensive or antique concertinas out there (1800's-1900's) so don't be dismayed to see concertinas selling in the multiple-thousands of dollars. A good starter instrument should run from $80-$200.
An Anglo will typically have a particular chord associated with it "C/G" or "G/D" for example, and have rows of chords. An English will have columns of buttons, the middle 2 columns are the natural or "white notes", and the outer two columns of buttons are the accidentals. A 30 button English will have some missing places for sharps/flats, whereas a 48 button English should have all 4 columns filled with buttons.
The number one producer of accordions and concertinas in the 21st century is China and you may see die hard concertina players grumbling about the quality of Chinese instruments. Don't get the cheapest one available, but you don't need to spend more than $200 on a starter instrument.
There are some producers of concertinas in the United States and Europe. If you eventually get to the the point where you wish a high quality instrument, seek out one of these manufacturers. These tend to be private individuals making them rather than mass produced, so the quality can be high but also more expensive.
A concertina has about the same range as a violin. Sheet music for the violin is playable on the concertina.
Chords are playable on concertinas, but start with simple melodies first. On an English or Duet concertina just about any major or minor chord can be made, if you are dexterous enough. An Anglo is more limited in that regard.
English concertinas tend to be a little more expensive than Anglos: More reeds and buttons!
Because it is diatonic (different note on push/pull) an Anglo can be more difficult to play for experienced musicians with other instruments. A lot depends on the type of music or sound desired. For more questions ask on a Concertina forum such as at www.concertina.net. Some players prefer one over the other than many players do have strong opinions about their chosen style.

Beware paying high dollar values for "antique" or "vintage" instruments that need repair. Older instruments can have problems with bellows, leaky wax around the reeds, buttons that stick, or other issues that a starting player shouldn't have to deal with it. If you are purchasing a used instrument as a starter be sure you can hold it, play all the notes, that no keys stick, and that the bellows are solid, tight, and leak free. Most newer instruments that are sold on eBay are okay, but likely to be made in China. The older ones sold on eBay for thousands of dollars, and made in 1890, are much like the electric guitars made by Gibson in the 1950's, a 1960's hotrod, or a grand piano. You're wanting to learn how to play, not get the highest quality instrument you can get.
A soft case gig bag is good for taking your concertina around, but when you remove it from the case don't pull it out! Always "pour" your concertina out of any box it is in otherwise you may stress the bellows and could damage your instrument. A hard case for your concertina is a good investment.
Never push or pull the bellows without holding down a button. All concertinas have an air button that allow you to close or open the instrument without making noise.

How to Play the Accordion

The accordion is one of the most interesting instruments, a combination of a piano keyboard, with pull and push to get the sounds out of the according. It takes strength and patience to play, but once you learn, you will enjoy it. This is one instrument that can easily be taken with you to all party functions...and makes a great accompaniment for sing-a-longs.

Stand behind the accordion so that the piano keys are on your right, facing away from you. Slip your arms into each strap so that the accordion is well supported on each shoulder.Once you are wearing the accordion, slip your left hand underneath the smaller strap on the left side of the accordion. Now you are in position to play
Undo the safety buckles (one on top and one on the bottom). Do not push or pull on the accordion yet.
While pressing down a key on the piano keyboard let the accordion fall open, supporting it with your left hand. (The right side of the accordion does not move).

It is possible to play music and even perform knowing this much. If you ever had piano lessons as a kid and you know your way around the keyboard you are ready to go. Try playing without looking down at your right hand. From this angle it doesn't help much to look anyway, so try to get comfortable with playing by feel, sort of like typing without looking at your fingers.

Feel under your left hand, the bass and chord buttons are organized in rows parallel to the floor. Find the bass C button. It will have a slight indentation and will be on the second row from the bellows. Some models have multiple buttons with indentations. If yours is one of them, the C is located in the middle of the bass panel, again, on the second row from the bellows.
Hold down this button, play a C scale with the right hand. You'll notice that the accordion falls open much quicker than before and ultimately you will have to push with the left hand to continue to play. After some practice this will become second nature. Eventually, you won't have to think about pushing or pulling at all.
Understand that the bass and chord functions in the left hand are a bit more complicated and require a simple knowledge of chord structure and theory.

The rows of buttons move up in fifths and down in fourths. This makes it simple to play a song with a 1-4-5 progression. For example, F and G are the buttons directly below and above (respectively) the middle-C button.There are six buttons in each row. Each row of buttons contains, in order: the third, the root, the root chord with the fifth in the base, a minor third chord, a dominant seventh chord and a diminished chord.

Play around with these until you get comfortable with each key, their respective chords and moving from row to row. Listen to different styles of accordion music to hear how the left hand is played. For instance in a waltz it is common to alternate (in the key of C) between C and G on the down beats with the two upbeats being on the C chord button with G in the root (the button immediately following middle C).

How to Play Piano in Less Than One Hour

If you're looking for a way to quickly play the piano, you're going to love this. Most of you already know that the quickest way to play the piano is by learning chords.
Learn the chords. There are triads, seventh chords, diminished chords and thousands more.
Remember that there are closed position chords and the open position chord. With this chord you will be able to create your own music in less than an hour!
Become a piano player immediately, and enjoy playing your favorite songs. Start out with open position chords, you'll immediately sound like a professional!
Try the seventh chord because it's a modern sounding chord:
All this means is that the seventh note of the scale is used, along with regular triad notes to give it a more contemporary sound.
Jazz musicians use it all the time.
It covers more than 2 octaves of the keyboard, giving you a very nice "open" sound. If you love contemporary stylings, you'll be playing them in no time with it.
Last but not least, you use both hands right away to create with! In fact, the chord is so wide open that you can literally create music without moving your hands around at all.

While you might be able to easily and quickly play a song, you are not learning about piano techniques, scales, or chord study. You will not be a real pianist, but you will enjoy playing songs and having fun.
Any method that does not have your hands moving around, is not teaching how to play piano. The beauty of playing this instrument, is how nimble your fingers become, by learning scales, and moving your hands up and out, fast and quickly.

Remember, that anything worth learning, takes time. If you wish to really become a pianist, play the classics, enjoy performing and understanding music and how chords are created, it is suggested you take piano lessons, and learn by a master teacher.

How to Play Fur Elise

"Für Elise" is the popular name of "Bagatelle in A minor", one of the most famous solo piano pieces, by Ludwig van Beethoven. It seems that everyone who learns how to play the piano always plays this piece. It sounds extremely impressive when played, but many musicians are tired of it because it is played much too frequently, learned by almost every classical music student, and often played poorly.
Get the sheet music for Für Elise.
It begins in 3/8 time with a right-hand theme accompanied by arpeggios in the left hand; the harmonies used are A minor and E major.
Learn that the next section maintains the same texture, but broadens the harmony to include C major, which is A minor's relative major, and G major, C major's dominant key.
Notice that a faster section follows, written in the key of F major, then a few bars in C major. This section is one that many pianists, who easily play the opening, are forced to either skip, or spend a lot of time developing the necessary coordination to play. Next the piece moves into D minor with a theme set over a pedal point. After a modulation back to A minor and a gauntlet of arpeggios, the main theme returns, and the piece quietly ends in its starting key of A minor, with an authentic cadence.
Start out by playing through the piece with just your right hand then once you have that down, play through the piece with you left hand.
Practice playing it with both hands. It probably won't sound very good the first time you play it, but keep practicing and you'll get it. Practice it slowly; never rush when learning.
Add in dynamics, musicianship, and you passion (which should be evident) to the mix.
The tempo of the piece is Poco Moto, which means with a little motion. This means you need to play it with a little speed and you need to keep the piece moving.
Don't be intimidated by the sixteenth notes or the sixteenth note triplets. They seem fast at first glance, but because of the time signature, they are more like eighth notes (to a quarter note).
It has never been known who Elise was, whom the piece was dedicated to. One theory is that Elise was a name generally used to describe a sweetheart and this was written to all and for all sweethearts. It might have been the love for a woman that inspired him to write this piece without them ever meeting but it is left entirely to the imagination.

How to Play Blues Piano Music

It may surprise you but, few pianists know how to successfully execute a simple blues on the piano. Given the hundreds of different chord variations in a 12-bar blues it's no wonder that many don't know which to choose so they simply avoid the whole process altogether.

Here are a few simple rules to follow when learning to play blues on the piano.
Most music that you hear is based on chord progressions and the blues is no different. So let's start with a basic 12-bar blues chord progression which would look like this in the key of F;
| F7 | | | | Bb7 | | F7 | | C7 | Bb7 | F7 | |
Now, I've already mentioned that there are hundreds of different variations of the blues so let's now show you the most common jazz blues progression. Overall it's the same progression with a few extra chords thrown in to make it sound more interesting;
| F7 | Bb7 | F7 | | Bb7 | Bo7 | F7 | A-7b5 D7b9 | G-7 | C7 | F7 | G-7 C7|
You will notice a couple of things about this progression. First is the A-7b5 D7b9 in the 8th bar before the G minor seventh chord. This is simple a minor II V put in front of the G minor chord to give it forward movement. Then you will see another II V at the end which takes us back to the top of the piece, again giving it that forward movement.
This jazz blues progression is the most common progression you will see and will serve you well in any music jam situation.
So, once you've mastered this progression it would be nice to learn how to solo over top. That's where things get a bit tricky. If you're just learning, my advice is to learn a simple blues scale which can be played over the entire progression.
A blues scale is made up of only 6 notes and here it is in the key of F;
F Ab Bb B C Eb and back to F.
Now, the fingering for this scale from bottom to top would be 1 3 4 1 2 4 5. And, of course if you kept going up to the next octave you would need to substitute 5th finger with 1.
This scale works so well on a blues progression it can become a bit monotonous. Therefore, I suggest you learn how to play some other types of scales during the II V's such as a dorian and mixolydian.