Showing posts with label piano notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piano notes. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Piano Sheet Music Unraveled



On one of our old entries, we discussed already the piano sheet music. It was all about the Clefs, piano accidentals and time signatures. If you missed it then clickà HERE.


But in this entry we’ll tackle something you always see in a piano sheet music. Some may see it as unique drawings or codes but they’re actually musical symbols. These musical symbols determine something on what you play in a piano sheet music. It is called piano notes.


Piano notes have different beats or counts. It tells how long you will play a certain note. Piano notes are always together with time signatures. They both determine how you play a certain piano sheet music. But in this entry let’s familiarize ourselves on what each easy piano notes beat have.


A whole note or also called a semibreve means you have a piano note will have 4 beats.

A dotted half note or a dotted minim will have 2 beats.


While a crochet or a quarter note will have one beat.


There is also the eight note or a quaver. It means a piano note will have a half beat.



So there you have it. Without these piano notes that determine the beat or pulse of the music, we will be lost while piano playing so be thankful. Understand them because once you do, piano sight reading will be a breeze.


Keep it tune for more free online piano lessons. Get the best out of technology.


Sunday, 1 April 2012

Reading the Piano


One of the basic steps in your piano lessons is how to read the piano.

Learning and understanding how to read the piano and the easy piano notes are vital keys for success in any piano lessons whether it’s private or online piano lessons.

We’ll start with something simple. Let’s review the piano keys.

The piano keys are the white and black keys in a piano or a keyboard. By hammering or pressing or stroking down your fingers you will be able to create sound. These sounds are definite and exact in terms of reading it. For example, no matter where you play the key C in the piano it will always be a C, be it a lower C or a high C.

The black keys are often called as ebony while white keys are called ivories.

Common pianos have 88 keys. Grand and upright pianos are mostly available in 88 keys. There are other piano and keyboards that have lesser keys. Keyboards are known for having only 76 keys or 69 keys.

Having lesser keys limits what you play on the piano.

If you take a closer look at the image above, you’ll notice that it follows a certain pattern. This pattern is definite and it never changes whichever piano or keyboard you play.

The pattern as it follows: 5 white keys and 7 black keys. This makes up an octave. A piano with 88 keys usually have 7 octave and extra 4 keys.

These piano keys have a designated easy piano notes on each. It’s easy to remember on each octave because it will never change.

It is as follows; A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

There is no H on the piano. When you stop at G just go back to A.

Monday, 20 February 2012

Piano Lessons: Online or Offline


There are many ways to learn how to play the piano. You can either choose private piano lessons or self-learning through online piano lessons or piano dvds.
Both different methods of piano lessons have its pros and cons. In this entry, let’s try to differentiate them and see which piano lessons suit you.
Private Piano Lessons
Having private piano lessons are perfect for toddlers and kids. It teaches them the essential and basics of piano playing. Teaching piano students at home help both the teacher and the student to focus on the piano lessons. Also learning this way allows the student to ask questions regarding the lessons. Piano beginners can easily understand the lessons because it is real and on the spot.
Although that is said, there are a lot of disadvantages with private piano lessons. First are the distractions. Lessons done at home can be distracted even by just a simple phone call or a dog barking. Another thing, with private piano lessons you could either study at home (with more distractions such as television) or at your piano teacher’s home (less distraction, boring experience).
Another downside of private piano lesson is if you are already an adult. Of course no adult would want to be taught piano sheet music like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. Too childish. Also private piano lessons can be really expensive. It’s almost $100 per month. You can buy groceries with that already.

Self-Learning Piano Lessons
If you don’t have enough time to commit on private piano lessons or don’t have enough money for private piano lessons then there is always an alternative. You can always try self-learning piano lessons trough some modern methods. When you’re already a grown-up these adult piano lessons for beginners will be you solutions.
One of the best things you can try is online piano lessons. A lot of people and companies are now posting free online piano lessons everywhere on the internet. You can always try YouTube piano videos for starters. Or websites that offers free online piano lessons. No matter where you go online piano lessons are a sure hit. It’s free, easy to understand and you can control anytime you take the lessons.
Maybe you want something more reliable, then you can try buying or borrowing from libraries piano dvds. Piano dvds are available on Amazon or on websites that offers piano lessons. You’re just going to pay extra for lifelong piano lessons on your own home.
You can also try piano lesson books. It also has extensive explanations of the lesson without the visual aid which is in most cases very important.
Or you can try something you can always listen or watch wherever you are, PODCASTS. Yes, the great invention of ITunes can now be used as an easier way of learning free piano lessons. Piano podcasts can be played anywhere using your iPhone or iPod devices or even on your own computer.
Conclusion
So what’s the verdict? If you have the time and the money and a quiet place to learn, you can always try private piano lessons.
But if you are an adult already with no free time and enough money for private piano lesson, you can always go for self-learn piano lessons. Same results minus the expense, the pressure and the money.
Learn by yourself! It’s easier and cheaper. Online piano lessons are a great answer to adult piano lessons for beginners and toddlers’ first easy piano notes.

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Easy Steps to Compose your Own Piano Music


Want to compose your own piano music but don’t know here to start? Then no more worries. By just following these simple steps I prepared for you can ensure a breezy and fun ways of composing your own piano music.
Even though you only have beginner piano lessons or still taking them, the basic knowledge of the piano chords and the music are the main keys on composing your own piano music.
Step 1
Piano lessons. I might have mentioned before about not much piano lessons but getting at least the basic piano chords and the music theory can be advantageous to anyone. Piano Chords are basically the building blocks of sounds in music. Everything that’s in C Chord will always be the same with other sometimes just in a higher note or octave.

Did you know that a lot of songs are made from the C Major Scale or the C Chord? It’s because that the C Major Scale is the easiest scale to work with.

Step 2
Your left hand does the piano chords or other piano chords progressions and runs while the right hand balances it with the main melody of the music. Remember that not all piano chords will sound good at some certain melodies.
Step 3
Where will you start? Some pianists and composers prefer to start off with the piano chords then add the melody after. To some pianists it works but in most cases, it causes more confusion. So if this is you first time composing your own piano music, then you can try using easy piano notes first then add the appropriate piano chords.
Step 4
Okay, so you’re going to use the C Major, I usually consist of the piano notes G and C as the melody. You can try doing some runs and chord progressions or broken chords to create the beat and the speed you want to create. Just experiment and try as many patterns as you can just make sure it still fits for the earlier melody you created.
Step 5
You can try different piano chords that still has the same mood that may eventually lead up to a whole song. You can start your music at the intro or the chorus or the verses.
Step 6
It’s alright to repeat some piano chords that you’ve already set just make sure that the next one will be a little different than the first pattern so you won’t bored your listeners.
Step 7
Transfer it! You can now try putting it in a piano sheet music. Although this step can be set aside for later if you’re music theory isn’t still broad enough or if you are piano beginner.

Easy right! If you’re still confused you can watch this video on how to compose piano music using piano chords and other more tips to help you compose you own music.


Saturday, 14 January 2012

Quick Tips to Sight Read Music


Are you an adult piano beginner or a parent giving your kids easy piano lessons? Then probably you both are having some trouble with sight reading music.
It’s not that rare for people to have some problems with piano sight reading. Training your mind and fingers to read piano sheet music is difficult especially for a beginner.
I often see people asking for piano sheet music for beginners with letters. I guess by having that you can easily learn a new piano sheet music. But honestly by doing so you are actually learning less than you thought you’ll learn. You become very dependent to the letters instead of reading the notes.
So here is my advice. Learn the music theory and piano sight reading. Note values can be expressed by letters that’s why they’re musical notes. Piano sheet music for beginners with letters is very rare. Most of this piano sheet music may be self-published by a pianist or hand-written by a piano teacher then scanned and shared. So you probably only have a 5% chance of getting one online.
If you’re a total newbie, I suggest you take beginner piano lessons, and learn easy piano notes first. Learning them slowly will actually help you sight read music better. For more retention of the musical notes, you can try doing piano finger exercises and reading easy piano sheet music first. Even if you’re an adult piano beginner it’s pretty music the basics for a total newbie.
And lastly, practice. The more you practice the faster you learn and understand it. Learning how to play the piano is like learning a new language. You won’t learn or understand it overnight. Practice it and you’ll be playing like a pro.