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jocarra — Introduction to Piano I
Published: 2011-10-28 23:35:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 2777; Favourites: 66; Downloads: 69
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Description
Introduction to PianoThis tutorial is designed for beginners interested in learning to play piano and/or read music. It is not designed to replace the knowledge and instruction one would receive from a piano teacher.
Part I covers what you should look for in a keyboard for those without a piano, how to navigate, name, and memorize the keys of a piano, what the pedals of a piano do, and provides some basic finger exercises and posture recommendations.
Part II covers the basics of reading music, including both treble and bass clefs, note values, accidentals, key signatures, and time signatures.
Part I --> [link]
Part IIa --> [link]
Part IIb --> [link]
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I have several years' formal classical training in piano and musical theory under the Royal Conservatory of Music, although I have not completed my ARCT (I had to focus on getting my B.Sc. instead). However, I'm interested in teaching music at beginning and intermediate levels, and have a little teaching experience.
Please let me know if you spot any errors or points needing clarification, or if you have any additional questions
Feedback is appreciated!
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Comments: 78
Oh man... the last thing I see is posture. In my personal opinion, that is THE most important thing for playing an instrument. Now most people get really, Really... REALLY uptight on how your posture should be, I agree that a good posture is a good thing, but also something comfortable that doesn't hinder playing. I used to play a baritone (euphonium) and a good upper posture was essential for being able to take in lots of air to sustain notes well. Now that I play electric bass and electric guitar, I find a posture that doesn't hinder my arms and is relaxing, while keeping my back straight (very, very important) is just as good.
Anyways><;;; back onto the Piano subject, I can't wait to actually get a keyboard, but I has no money T__T but I will definitely study the next session for treble cleff learning since I already know bass from playing the baritone. Great into and can't wait to look at the rest ^w^
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"In my personal opinion, that is THE most important thing for playing an instrument."
It's a lot different for non-breath-related instruments and singers - posture is super important. It's... much more arguable for pianists - the points that are most important that I could recall, I put down, and the rest is really comfort and what works for the individual.
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Yeah true, I don't know, I guess it's just an old habit dying very hard after 6 or 7 years of playing, and because of the style of music I play on my guitars I guess it doesn't really matter, nor am I "practicing what I preach." So... I don't know it just seems important to keep your back muscles trained up in general so you won't have back problems down the road, I can understand go all out on performances, but it should also be a good practice to keep your back trained/straight though. Like I said, haven't played piano, but I've wanted to, and plan on it.
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But yeah, you'll see some professional pianists super-hunched over, or moving all around, or sitting completely still and straight-backed. It varies so much :b But yeah, in general, not just for instruments, it's good to have good posture :b
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Will probably use this at some point. I like the extra bits about what to look for in the instrument cause it's far more important than one may think.
I played Cello for 5 years and then tried to pick up the guitar and it threw me for a loop. I was only familiar with Base clef from the cello and lets just say things are much more complicated when using both. Will be interested in seeing the next part.
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"I like the extra bits about what to look for in the instrument cause it's far more important than one may think. "
Yeah, it's something neglected by a lot of people, especially first-time aspiring musicians who don't know anything yet and haven't necessarily done their research. I tried to explain why the different aspects were important, because it may vary from person to person, y'know? Like, for me, weighted keys are really important, but if a person just plans on having fun on their keyboard, and not "LEARNING PIANO" then it's not such a big deal.
Heh, yeah, learning new clefs can be such a pain! I was lucky starting off with piano, because you learn the two main ones and get them out of the way :b Now, alto and tenor clefs? Blegh!
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I was just waiting for something like that.
It's kind of hard to teach yourself how to play the piano.
And that really helps. Thanks.
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I'll hopefully be uploading the next part on how to read music in a few days
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Interesting topic to make into a tutorial! I know a good amount of basics, but this had info that was new to me about the instrument itself. I think I'll stick to one gigantic expensive instrument for now though and keep playing harp XD
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Haha, yeah. Harp's pretty cool, besides, and a lot more unique than piano - bloody-well anyone plays piano :b
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which I think is incredibly silly because pianos and harps cost about the same, and use MANY similar techniques. hell, some people an even open up a grand piano and pluck it EXACTLY the same way you would a harp. srsly, harp is really just a vertical piano without keys.
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*chuckles* Yeah, I'll always sort of imagined it like that. I just find it more difficult to "navigate" because I'm used to following the pattern of black and white keys, and I'm not familiar with harp's :c
Maybe people pick piano because it's more versatile? Every music student who wants a B.Sc. in music apparently (in Canada, anyway) is required to at least have Grade 6 RCM in piano, even if their specialization is with a different instrument.
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yeah, piano is used in so many more genres of music than harp, even if it is essentially the same style of composition required. the harp is *capable* of doing piano work, but the quality of sound is not popular for most things.
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I know Casey would really like to get a really nice Celtic harp. I think it's kind of neglected for how nice an instrument it is. It's probably because it's a little more "exotic" and harder to find in stores, but also expensive - it's hard to just pick a good one up for fun, y'know?
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Yeah, it's hard to find a *good* one. There are manufacturers that think that just because there are less parts to it that it should be easy to make and that is such a mistake. And anything worthwhile definitely shows in the price tag unfortunately x.x I think that's what scares people away from learning it most, and that's sad ;_;
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That can be the case with any exotic instrument. Some places will pick up crappy versions and sell them for the novelty, and it's hard to find instruments that are properly representative of what they can really do and what they're really like. Alternatively, sometimes places will ONLY sell the super expensive ones, and no cheaper beginner/intermediate models, and so you can't even try the thing out without shelling out at least $5000 :b (although, to be "fair", $5000 can be considered pretty cheap in the world of musical instruments).
I would totally play a harp if we had one! I also want to get a hurdy gurdy - I think they sound awesome. Bagpipe violins ftw.
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Hell yes, hurdy gurdy! I'd totally play that too^^ curse money and the demand for it in exchange for instruments >
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But yeah, totally dig the oldschool medieval sound of hurdy gurdies. So sexy and awesome. Siiiiiigh...
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In detail, the beautiful, eccentric .. nothing more is needed ..
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I've always WONDERED what all the pedals were! 
I'd like to throw my opinion on posture in on this page - while it's not exactly as relevant to beginners/casual players as it is for serious players/professionals, I still think it ought to be mentioned. While it may or may not cause a major issue in terms of technique, posture can have a huge effect on a player's risk of injury. Practicing in a position that's bad for your hands can put you at risk for RSI/carpal tunnel/tendonitis/whatnot just like typing in a bad position on a computer keyboard.
Mind you, I say this as an oboist which is an ENTIRELY different ballgame XD and again, it's not exactly relevant for someone who's only going to touch the keyboard once every few days. But I do think that it's important enough to mention in passing.
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"This is the damper pedal and you will never use the other two so don't worry about them."
Hahaha, pretty much true. The practice pedal can be pretty useful for, naturally, practicing, though, and not just for practicing quietly. When I was working on articulation, especially with regards to speed, I was instructed to practice with the practice pedal down and "overwork" my fingers - it makes it feel thick and heavy and difficult, but you get used to it, so when you release the practice pedal, it becomes comparatively much easier to play quickly and cleanly.
But yeah, as for the middle pedal, yeah, generally doesn't work unless you have a grand piano :b Even then, it has specific uses and isn't used often. Had to use it once for a performance - basically, needed to play a big bass chord, sustain it with the middle pedal, and then proceed to play a bunch of staccato stuff overtop the sustained bass stuff. Can only do it with the middle pedal.
As for the posture bit, I really included the bits that are most important - the rest is kind of up to interpretation (just watch professional performing pianists - some of them slouch close to the keyboard, others sit straight-backed and never move, some are crazy and move all around the place). Posture is much more important for any kind of blown instrument (for reasons similar to posture and singers).
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So you know how to play piano, my you are a person of many techniques and talents, an here all I saw you was a master of digital art traditional and photography. I have an electric keyboard myself not the classic as you show here but I think this will help all the same. I see this and interesting, thanks for it.
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Awesome, hope it helps
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In i ts own ways yes it does it can be a good reference for keys, so thank you.
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Are you going to cover how to play with both hands at the same time? I also look forward to part two. : )
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I wasn't going to cover actual techniques of how to play, as it's difficult to do without being there to guide the person. However, I can do a section on the process of learning a new piece, which basically boils down to:
i. Read the music, taking note of expected difficult sections, key signature changes, etc.
1) Practice the right hand separately.
2) Practice the left hand separately.
3) Practice both hands together SLOWLY.
4) Gradually bring the piece up to speed.
I have a number of rhythmic patterns that can be practiced to help with certain difficult segments, and things like that, but I can't really cover how to play with both hands on the internet with a student I can't interact with 
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Yeah, that helps in itself actually. Well, looking forward part two. n_n
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I'll see what I can do, though
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Thank you for this! It helps a lot, can't wait for the next part!
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Oh good! I thought this part might be a bit, y'know, "useless," but I figured it might be easy to neglect what kind of instrument to get, or what the different parts actually DO, and no harm really in including it
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they do help a lot, I did not know what the pedals were for before I read this thank you^^
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*chuckles* Yeah, I remember learning what the middle pedal did a few years ago - I had to learn it for a piece I was performing. I was like, "WHAT? This pedal DOES something?" But yeah, apparently only really works properly on grand pianos, which is why it was probably a mystery to me :b
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yeah but I didn't know what ANY of them meant lol, now I do thank you very much. Yeah what is the difference between a grand piano and a regular piano?
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"Regular" pianos (or upright pianos), like mine pictured in the tutorial, are "miniaturized" version of grand pianos, which are the original: [link] - their construction and mechanical operation is slightly different, but in practice, grand pianos are simply larger and louder, and have higher quality sounding bass notes. The long part of a grand piano is the length given to the strings responsible for sounding the bass notes - on baby grands and upright pianos (especially the shorter ones), this length is compromised, so the sound isn't as good.
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ah I got it thank you. You got a grand piano?
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Nope, way too big, and too expensive!
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A new one costs around $10 000-50 000, maybe, on average. You can get cheaper used/damaged ones for around $1000, or fancier/higher quality ones for more around $500 000.
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thats kinda high lol
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Yeeeeaaah. I had a piano teacher who owned five grand pianos - apparently it costs her $1000 a month just to maintain them.
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1000 to maintain all of them? Doesn't sound that bad
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$50 000-$100 000 each, plus 1000$ a MONTH, though. $12 000 a year, every year X_X
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oh. that sounds a little bit worse.. lol
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lol so any other instruments you play?
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Piano and flute (and keyboard/flute-related instruments).
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