After you finish the lessons on this website, it's time for you to move on to harder concepts. You can do this by completing a piano theory book (just level 1 is fine, unless you plan on exceeding level 1) or by receiving private lessons from a piano instructor. Good luck!
Music actually requires math knowledge, mostly knowledge of fractions. In the image below, you will notice that there are two names for each notes. The first name is the American version, and the second name is the British version. I will only be using the first name. The time signature for the image below is 4/4, so each measure will have four beats of quarter notes. Terms:
Whole Note - Whole notes are as long as four quarter notes, because four quarters is a whole. Since a whole note is as long as four quarter notes, one whole note takes up one measure. Half Note - Half notes are as long as two quarter notes, because two quarters is a half. Since a half note is as long as two quarter notes, two half note take up one measure. Quarter Note - In a 4/4 time signature, a quarter note takes up one beat. Eighth Note - Two eighth notes are as long as one quarter note, because two eighths is a quarter. Since an eighth note is as long as half a quarter note, eight eighth note takes up one measure. Sixteenth Note - Four sixteenth notes are as long as one quarter note, because four sixteenths is a quarter. Since a sixteenth note is as long as a fourth of a quarter note, sixteen sixteenth notes take up one measure. Thirty-second Note - Eight thirty-second notes are as long as one quarter note, because eight thirty- second notes is a quarter. Since a thirty-second note is as long as an eighth of a quarter note, thirty-two thirty-second notes take up one measure. Rests - Rests, like notes, take up a certain number of beats. During a rest, no note is played in that clef. Whole Rest - Whole rests take up four beats, or one measure. Half Rest - Half rests take up two beats, or half of a measure. Quarter Rest - Quarter rests take up one beat, or a fourth of a measure. Eighth Rest - Eighth rests take up half a beat, or an eighth of a measure. Sixteenth Rest - Sixteenth rests take up a fourth of a beat, or a sixteenth of a measure. Thirty-second Rest - Thirty-second rests take up an eighth of a beat, or a thirty-second of a measure. A page of music has many different parts to it. A pianist has to make sure they are reading the notes and symbols correctly while playing the piece with both hands. Reading sheet music, or sight reading, requires both knowledge and skills. Terms: Staff - This is a staff. The staff is where the symbols in music are located on. As you can see, there are two separate bars on the staff. Both bars have a symbol at the far left. Treble Clef - The symbol on the top bar is called a treble clef. Usually, the right hand plays the part of the treble clef, because the notes on the treble clef are higher, or to the right. Base Clef - The symbol on the bottom bar that has a backwards C like shape is called a base clef. Usually, the left hand plays the part of the base clef, because the notes on the base clef are lower, or to the left. Purpose of the clef symbols: The piano's notes repeat itself, so the different clef symbols tells the pianist which note to play, and which part of the piano that note is located in. Key Signature - The key signature tells the pianist which notes on the staff are permanently altered.
For instance, this staff's key signature has F#, C#, and G#. That means, whenever an F, C, or G appears on the staff, the pianist has to play F#, C#, or G#, instead. Those notes are only played in their natural form when a natural sign (♮) is next to the note. ♮- Natural Sign: Play the note as if it is a white note. For instance, if a note is supposed to be a C# (referring to the key signature in the example above) but a natural sign appears before the note, play C (the white key). Bar Lines - Bar lines separate songs into sections so that it's more organized. Normal: Normal bar lines separate measures Double: Double bar lines separate different movements in a song (e.g. separating a sad part from a happy part). Heavy: Indicates that the piece is finished. Measures - Measures are the spaces between each bar line. They contain a certain number of beats, which determines how many notes are allowed in each measure. Each beat has a certain number of beats.The number of beats per measure is determined by the song's time signature. Time Signature - The time signature tells the pianist what beat the song is in. The number on the top determines how many beats each measure contains, and the number on the bottom determines which note receives one beat. If the time signature is 4/4 (referring to the example above), then the song has four beats per measure, and the quarter note receives one beat. Below are a few common time signatures: 3/4: Three beats per measure, quarter note receives one beat 2/2: Two beats per measure, half note receives one beat 6/8: Six beats per measure, eighth note receives one beat The piano has 88 keys, 52 white keys and 36 black keys.The white keys are labeled as C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. As you can see, the piano keeps on repeating with this pattern. The black keys are labeled as letters with a symbol to the right of them, either: # or ♭. The black keys each have two names for them. For instance, C# is the same as D♭.
Terms: White keys - Refers to the white colored keys on the piano; they are labeled as C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. They do not have a # or ♭ next to them. Black keys - There are two names for each black key: # - Sharp: Play the black key adjacent to the indicated white key on the right. For instance, if a sharp (#) appears next to C, then you have to play C#, or the black note to the right of C. ♭ - Flat: Play the black key adjacent to the indicated white key on the left. For instance, if a flat (♭) appears next to D, then you have to play D♭, or the black to the left of D. Half step - The distance between two adjacent notes; this is NOT the distance between two white keys (except for a few exceptions that will be explained below) or two black keys. A half step is the distance between a white key and a black key. Sharps are always a half step above (or to the right of) a white key, and flats are always a half step below (or to the left of) a white key. That is why the name of a sharp is determined by the white key to its left, and the name of a flat determined by the white key to its right. Whole step - A whole step is the distance of two half steps. For example, the distance between C and D is a whole step, because it requires two half steps to get from C to D (C to C# is a half step, and C# to D is another half step). Whole steps are usually the distance between two white or two black keys. The exceptions to that is the distance between E♭ to F, and B♭ to C (the distance between E♭to F and B♭to C is a whole step). Why there is no E#, B#, C♭, or F♭: If you study the labeled keyboard above, you'll notice that there is no E#, B#, C♭, or F♭ labeled on the keyboard. That is because there is no black key between B to C and E to F. However, sometimes a piece of music will have you play E#, B#, C♭, or F♭. Recall the definition of a half step, sharps, and flats. If you observe the keyboard, you will realize that the distance between E to F and B to C is a half step. That means, E# is the half step above E, which is F. So E# is the same as F. The same applies to B#, C♭, and F♭. B# is a half step above B, which is C; C♭is a half step below C, which is B; and F♭is a half step below F, which is E. Remember this: E# is the same as F. B# is the same as C. C♭is the same as B. F♭is the same as E. What you will need:
can change in volume depending on how you play.
Keyboard Theory by Julie McIntosh Johnson.
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IntroThese lessons have basic piano concepts that will help learning how to play much easier. |