INTRODUCTION

Progressive Beginner Piano assumes you have no prior knowledge of music or playing the piano. This book will show you:

• How to play over 25 songs, across a range of two octaves.
• Major, Minor and Seventh chords.
• 12 Bar Blues and Turnaround progressions.

This book also features a chord chart section featuring over 50 different chords. After completing this book you will have a solid understanding of the piano and be ready for further study on specific styles of playing, e.g., Rock, Blues, etc. All piano players should know all of the information contained in this book. The best and fastest way to learn is to use this book in conjunction with:

• Buying sheet music and song books of your favorite recording artists and learning to play their songs.
• Practicing and playing with other musicians. You will be surprised how good a basic piano/drums/bass/guitar combination can sound even when playing easy music.
• Learning by listening to your favorite recordings.

Approach to Practice

It is important to have a correct approach to practice. You will benefit more from several short practices (e.g., 15-30 minutes per day) than one or two long sessions per week. This is especially so in the early stages, because of the basic nature of the material being studied.

In a practice session you should divide your time evenly between the study of new material and the revision of past work. It is a common mistake for semi-advanced students to practice only the pieces they can already play well. Although this is more enjoyable, it is not a very satisfactory method of practice. You should also try to correct mistakes and experiment with new ideas. It is the author’s belief that the guidance of an experienced teacher will be an invaluable aid in your progress.

Piano Technique

How to Sit At The Piano

Photo 1

Sit up straight and relaxed. If your piano seat can move up or down, adjust it to a comfortable height, as shown in photo 1.

Hand Shape

Photo 2

Always curve your fingers. This helps keep your fingers at the same level, as shown in photo 2.

Photo 3

When you play the keys on the piano, use the tips of your fingers, and the side of your thumb, as in photo 3.

The Piano Keyboard

Music Notes

There are only seven letters used for notes in music. They are:

 

These notes are known as the musical alphabet. They are the names of the white keys on the keyboard.

The black keys always appear in groups of two or three. The C note is a white key. It is always on the left hand side of a group of two black keys. Find all the C notes on your piano.

How to Find Middle C

The first note you will learn to play is Middle C. Middle C is the note in the middle of the piano keyboard.

Play middle C with the thumb of your right hand.

Fingering

Each finger has its own number. The thumb of each hand is counted as the first finger and has the number 1.

Where required, the fingering to use will be shown next to the note in the music notation.

How to Read Music

The Staff or Stave

There are five lines used in music notation called the staff or stave. Music notes are written in the spaces and on the lines of the staff.

Treble Clef

This symbol is called a treble clef.

Treble Staff

A staff with a treble clef written on it is called a treble staff.

Bass Clef

This symbol is called a bass clef.

Bass Staff

A staff with a bass clef written on it is called a bass staff.

High notes are written on the treble staff, and are usually played with your right hand. Low notes are written on the bass staff, and are usually played with your left hand.

The Grand Staff

When the treble and bass staves are joined together by a line and a bracket, they are called a grand staff. Piano music is written on the grand staff. Notes written on the treble clef are played on the right hand side of keyboard while notes written on the bass clef are played on the left hand side of the keyboard.

Notes on the Grand Staff

Piano music notes are written in the spaces and on the lines of the grand staff.

• To remember the notes on the lines of the treble staff, say Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit
• The notes in the spaces of the treble staff spell the word FACE
• To remember the notes on the lines of the bass staff, say Good Boys Deserve Fruit Always
• To remember the notes in the spaces of the bass staff, say All Cows Eat Grass

The Quarter Note

This is a musical note called a quarter note. A quarter note lasts for one beat.

Music is divided into bars (sometimes called measures) by bar lines. In this example there are two bars of music.

The Four Four Time Signature

The two pairs of numbers after the clefs are called the time signature. This is called the four four time signature. It tells you there are four beats in each bar. There are four quarter notes in a bar of * time.

Note and Rest Values

Here are some other notes commonly found in music notation, along with their corresponding rest values. There are many other types of time signatures, note and rest values used in music that you will learn as you progress.

Using a Metronome

A metronome is a device that plays a continuous beat. It is used to help control your timing so that you do not rush or slow down. The beat is heard as a ticking or beeping sound and the speed can be adjusted. The speed of the beat, which is called the tempo, is measured in beats per minute (BPM).

The accompanying photo shows a mechanical metronome and an electronic metronome.

Music is commonly written with a tempo mark to indicate what speed the piece should be played. For example, 60 BPM is represented as 3 = 60. If learning a piece at the written tempo is difficult, try lowering the BPM of the metronome (slowing it down) until you can play evenly and in time. Then gradually speed up the metronome until you can play it at the correct speed.