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 Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto

If you are a proficient pianist who enjoys listening to this difficult but one of the greatest pieces of music composed by Tchaikovsky learn to play it. The tips mentioned can help you tackle this legendary piece of music.

Listen to as many recordings as you can find. Be prepared to gain insight on the style of playing. Don't feel as if you are copying the way professionals play this piece - you will inevitably play passages similar to how they play them. Note: If you do this frequently, you may depend on this method, in other words, playing by ear. This is not professional and is looked down on.
Memorize the piece. (That's right. Do it before you even lay your hands on the keys.) This is very easy to do. Just listen to it and think about how it sounds.
Notice that the opening section is repetitious. Learn how to place your hands correctly and learn about the chords you are playing. Once you can play the notes, moving your hands one octave up becomes easier.
Be aware of when the orchestra has the melody and when you have the melody. As with any piece, you must play so the melody is obvious to the audience.
Understand that Tchaikovsky was a master of harmonics. Take advantage of this. Put some meaning into the main theme (when this applies)!!!!
Practice the octave passages carefully. This means not using 5th fingers on each hand during practice. Steady hand motion will result in perfect octave performance (i.e., the 5th fingers will follow the 1st fingers if the 1st and only the 1st fingers on each hand are practiced). DO NOT practice these at full speed. Your arms will surely become tense very quickly. Practice with a metronome with the notes on the 1st fingers initially. One word for the entire second movement (excluding the prestissimo): dolce!
Perfect the prestissimo in the second movement by using a metronome and tearing each measure apart. This can be very challenging to play at full speed and there is a lot of room for error. Don't practice the dynamics when learning the notes in this section. It will delay your progress. When you can play this part to tempo, incorporate the dynamics.
Notice that in the third movement it is important for the grace notes to be heard in the right hand. Again, hands separately. It will be important to practice your scales and thirds in both hands while preparing to play the third movement since there are a few pages of continuous runs in both hands. It is extremely important to practice these very slowly until you can play them absolutely perfectly. Practicing the runs with both hands simultaneously may be beneficial here.
Take care about the rhythm in the ending passage (the measures where the piano starts with the 8th rest). Buying the Music Minus One disc should help you find out when to come in and practice good timing and flexibility. Be sure to apply your own style of playing here!

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.

Steps

1.Speak to your parents, if you are a child interested in learning, 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. Once you (or your parents) buy one, 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, or been referred to by another student. Lessons should include time spent learning chords, theory and improvisation, not just learning pieces by rote. 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.

2.Understand that you must 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)

3.Remember that when your teacher asks you to learn a hard piece, 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.

4.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 what and where to go. Never learn an entire piece all at once.

5.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 fluidly.

6.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.