Learn How To Play The Piano - Part 1

Many people when I talk to them, they always comment about wanting to learn the piano or that they did try playing the piano but it “didn’t work out”. Being a pianist who is currently studying performance and composition I can tell you upfront that learning how to play the piano is not going to be easy. It’s going to take time, effort and deditcation. Learning the piano isn’t just about learning how to press the keys on the piano in a sequential order. Being able to play the piano is about being able to read music, learning proper technique, learning theory and training your ear.

Anyone could follow along to a tutorial of a song and copy the fingering shown. I used to do this: search up a piano song on YouTube then copy exactly what notes to press with what fingers. This is the easy way of learning a song. However, this method does not enable you to progress further and you aren’t really learning how to play the piano, you are learning how to play a song. It also doesn’t let you fully understand what it is you’re playing, but it does force you to memorize which is also a key factor in playing the piano.

Learning the piano or any other instrument is a steep learning curve, but once you have the basics down you will progress faster and it will become easier. The piano has a steep learning curve because there are so many new things for you to become used to. The music on the page itself is practically a new language you are trying to learn, then you have to learn where the notes on the page are on the piano. Your brain needs time to adjust to being in control and being aware of each finger, your hands, your wrist, your arms, your feet, your back. There is a lot to take in as a beginner, so it’s okay if it feels challenging and like you aren’t getting anywhere. Every piano master was once a beginner, and everyone faces the same challenges when they’re first starting out. As long as you are putting in the time and effort, you will learn and progress.

I’ve been thinking of ways of how I can help make learning the piano ‘easy’. Then I laughed to myself. There is no easy way, if it was easy everyone would be playing the piano. But, I can give you tips and recommendations that will make your learning easier and less stressful.

The Beginning

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Forget about theory, technique and all that mumbojumbo. Right now your number 1 priority should be learning how to read music. Treat it as if you were learning a new language that only has 21 words, that isn’t so hard is it? You want to learn how to read neutral notes, sharp notes and flat notes. Don’t look at the rhythms or any other symbols on the page. Just look at the notes. Learning the notes will make it easier when you start learning things on the piano, but trying to learn both things is an overload. I wish someone told me to learn how to read music instead of diving in head first.

There are 2 basic clefs. They differentiate between what hands play what on the piano and where on the piano. These clefs do have a slightly different way of being read, but it’s all the same notes.

• The Treble Stave is for everything above middle C, middle C included.
• The Bass Stave is for everything below middle C , middle C included.
  

There are 7 basic (neutral) note names, but each note can either be flattened or sharpened.

• C, D, E, F, G, A, B
• C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#
• Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb
  ()

• Flattening a note lowers the pitch of the note by a half-step.
• Sharpening the note moves it up in pitch by a half-step.

An easy way to remember the notes on the five lines of music is by using Mnemonics

The Treble Clef

• For the spaces inbetween the lines it spells FACE
• For the lines the phrase Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (EGBDF)

The Bass Clef

• The spaces – All Cows Eat Grass (ACEG)
• The lines – Grizzly Bears Don’t Fly Airplanes (GBDFA)

Remember, that the note names keep repeating in the same order, so you can follow the pattern to find the note name you're trying to read.

Once you become comfortable with reading music it will be easier to associate the notes on the page to the notes on the piano. I recommend spending at least 20mins a day just reading through music. There are even apps that you can download onto your phone that quiz you on your reading. Reading notes in music is called “Sight Reading”.

I recommend Music Tutor Sight Read Lite that you can download in the android app store. Its free! It’s easy to use and it makes it fun learning how to read music. But, reading music as if you were reading a novel works best in my opinion.

I also recommend downloading some of your favorite classical pieces from [http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page] to help keep you interested while you learn how to read note names. Don't be discouraged by how hard the music may look. You're only paying attention to the notes, don't look at the symbols, the rhythms or fancy words.

It took me awhile to be able to read music, I only became music literate a couple of years ago. I printed a ton of music then just penciled in the note names, and over time it became easier and easier to read. Don't give up!

I wish you the best of luck.

~Cherish~

p.s Follow me for the next step to take after you become comfortable at sight reading. ^_^