Learning the Piano

The lengthy and tedious hours spent studying music notation seem to deter most people from learning to play the piano. But despite what it might seem like, learning the piano is not as difficult as it first appears. All you have to do is maintain a good outlook and forbid any unfavorable thoughts from entering your mind. Follow the straightforward procedure described below to find your passion and get to work.

Make an effort to purchase a piano. Make sure you have reliable access to a nice piano whether you buy one or rent one. Make sure that the piano is examined and tuned by an expert. Get a suitable chair for sitting and a bench for placing the piano; ensure that the accessories put you at a height and posture that are ideal for playing the piano. Get music books that are easy to play that have simple beginner songs. Consider getting a metronome, this is the equipment that ticks like a clock to help you keep up with the rhythm and tempo (Enoch 42).

2) Set the Ideal Posture

The correct posture while playing the piano includes sitting with the books on the piano sill above the keyboard. Point your arms parallel to the floor towards the sill and rest your fingers on the keys. Ensure that your upper body and shoulders are relaxed to avoid straining. Ensure that your feet are resting flat on the ground with at distance that is comfortably apart. The back should be straight while sitting. The correct posture ensures that you do not get tired in the process (Enoch 45)

3) Check the Hand Position

While seated on the keyboard center ensure that each of the ten fingers is resting at a white key. Put the right thumb to the left of a group of two black keys and rest it on a white key in the middle of the keyboard. This is called the C note. The rest of the right hand fingers rest on the D, E, F, and the G white keys. The left hand goes through the same pattern only reversed one octave down. The pinky left rest on key C and the thumb on G. Keys A and B are left between the thumbs, both keys are white. In the center of the keyboard, there is the C note which anchors the right thumb, thus, is always referred to as “middle”. Most beginners mark the middle C with a sticker or a tape (Enoch 50).

4) Basic Theory and Technique

Learn the keyboard. The keyboard of a piano is repeated across several octaves from top to bottom. This means that the notes do not vary in pitch, but they change from left to right. The chromatic scale of the piano has twelve notes. Five black key notes denoted by C-sharp/D-flat, F-sharp/G-Flat, D-sharp/E-flat, G-sharp/A-flat, and A-sharp/B-flat and the white notes which are seven in number namely A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The piano is very versatile instrument because it is tuned for all the minor and major keys by the use of equal temperature tuning. Double checking a piano tuning is done by playing the different octaves through pairs of the same note, if the sound is not identical, they need retuning because one or both are flat or sharp. Play some notes by beginning with the middle C. Firmly and gently push a key down to produce a note. Play some scale by beginning with the Pinky C. Play each white key in order from left to right. Learn about harmony. Do frequently practice to help in perfection, get a good book to help up with advanced instructions, or watch online classes via platforms, such as YouTube, to help polish the skills.

Works Cited

Enoch, Yvonne. Group piano-teaching. Oxford University Press, 1974.