How to Play the Piano ( Part 3 : Developing Your Skills )
1, Study sheet music.
The language of sheet music notation may seem difficult at first, but
with a teacher or good guidebook and some practice, most people pick up
the basics of it in just a few weeks. Being able to read sheet music
opens up a whole world of compositions for you to learn and practice.
Again, reading sheet music is a fairly involved procedure that won't be
reviewed in full here; however, the very basics have been outlined below
as a reference.
- Music notes are represented by filled-in or empty oval marks (called
heads), with or without other marks (stems, which are straight lines,
and hooks, which come off of stems) on a set of horizontal lines called a
staff that starts at a particular note, which must be memorized based on the clef, or symbol, at the front of the staff.
- Different styles of note represent different lengths. A hollow head without a stem is a whole note; a filled-in head with a stem and a hook is an eighth note, which lasts one-eighth as long as a whole note. Your teacher or guidebook can explain all the different notes in greater detail.
- Each note is placed from left to right in chronological order, and from high to low based on how high or low on the instrument it is. Notes placed along the same vertical line are meant to be played together.
- To add structure and regularity, the notes are divided into measures or bars, which are noted by vertical lines through the staff. Each bar is to be played in the same length of time; thus, a few long notes or many shorter notes may fit into any given bar, but they must always add up to the same total.
- Two numbers next to the clef at the start of the music make up the time signature. A time signature shows how many of what length of note are to be played per bar. The common 4/4 time signature, for example, indicates that four quarter notes are to be played per bar.
- There are special symbols for pauses in play, called “rests.” Rests are written into bars and read just like notes.
2. Practice using your hands independently. Many piano
compositions require you to play one rhythm with one hand, and another
with the other hand. In particular, your left hand will generally be
playing low, backing notes, while your right hand picks out a higher
melody. Like patting your head while you rub your stomach, this
technique takes a little time to pick up. Practice by playing a melody
with your right hand, and playing whole note harmonies with your left.
(It is important to note that this technique won't work well for more
advanced pieces)
3. Practice moving your hands.
Eventually, you'll have to leave the middle C area of the keyboard and
venture out towards the edges. Get used to the idea by sometimes playing
your practice drills an octave lower or higher than normal. Sit as
normal, and don't scoot down the bench – in a concert, you wouldn't have
time to scoot from the low end to the high end. Instead, lean your
torso slightly sideways (without bending your back or twisting), and
stretch or contract your arms to reach the notes.
- Try changing positions on the fly. Play something simple, like a scale or arpeggio, from a lower position than usual, and jump your hands up to continue it through a second octave. If you start with your left hand, let it cross lightly over your right and hold position above the proper keys just before you need it for the second octave. As you play those notes, draw your right hand back to its higher position as well.
4 Learn to use the pedals.
Long before the electric guitar, pianos were using effects pedals to
change the sound quality of the music coming from the strings. There are
two or three pedals on most modern pianos, each of which has an
important function. In classical compositions, special notation is used
to show you when and how to use which pedal. Your piano teacher can
explain them to you.
- The soft pedal (also called "una corda") is usually on the left. It softens not only the volume, but also the tone color of the note being played. The soft pedal is used extensively in Beethoven's compositions, among others.
- The sustaining pedal is on the right. It lifts the dampening elements off of the strings, allowing notes to ring, resonate, and blend much more easily. Clever use of the sustaining pedal can connect harmonies and notes in interesting and emotionally evocative ways, and it is commonly seen in compositions dating from the Romantics of the 19th century onward.
- The third, central pedal is usually the sostenuto pedal if found on a grand piano. The sostenuto sustains notes, but only holds down the current note being played. On an upright piano, it's likely that the central pedal (when there is one) selectively holds down certain notes, normally in the lower register.
5. Practice more.
The piano is one of the most difficult instruments to master, but also
one of the most rewarding: the sound it makes is distinctive and
impressive, and the skills required to play it well transfer easily to
any of a number of other instruments. The key to getting good at playing
the piano is to practice as much as possible, whenever possible. Plan
to devote at least half an hour every day to playing it; if you can
spend an hour or more, that's even better. Even if you feel as though
you're making no headway, practice will eventually lead to improvement.
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