How to Learn the Basics of Playing the Piano Keyboard

Learning the piano keyboard is fairly simple.

Learning the basics of playing the piano keyboard is not as hard as you might think. The piano is arranged in a series of notes that follow specific patterns. Once you learn these patterns, as well as some basic playing techniques, you will have the building blocks necessary to begin creating music on this instrument. Learning to play individual notes, as well as chords (combinations of notes) will help you master simple songs in no time.

Things You'll Need

• Piano

Instructions

Technique

1. Sit on a piano bench or stool with your back erect and your feet on the floor. Leave about 10 inches of space between your body and the piano keyboard.

2. Curve your fingers and try playing several random keys, one at a time. Use the pads of your fingers to press the keys down. Lift your finger off the key in a spring-like motion after you strike a note. Try playing soft, loud, long and short notes.

3. Keep your wrists and fingers relaxed as you play. You don't want your hands to be floppy, but you don't want too much tension in your arms, hands or fingers either.

Note Identification

1. Locate middle C on the piano keyboard by looking for a set of two black keys in the center of the piano. The white key that lies to the left of this pair of black keys is middle C.

2. Play the other white keys, as they relate to middle C. The next white keys are D, E, F, G, A and B. After that, you find another C, and the pattern repeats itself. The notes A through G are repeated throughout the entire piano.

3. Play the black keys and learn their names. The black keys are named according to the white keys that they are next to. A black key that is to the left of a white key is its "flat" (noted "b"), and a black key that is to the right of a white key is its "sharp" (#). Therefore, black keys can have two names, depending on the key of the song. The black keys are A#/Bb, C#/Db, D#/Eb, F#/Gb and G#/Ab.

4. Play individual notes with your right hand in order to play a melody of a song. For instance, you can play "Hot Cross Buns" by playing the following notes:

   E--D--C------

   E--D--C------

   C-C-C-C D-D-D-D

   E--D--C------

5. Play chords to make songs fuller sounding. A basic chord is formed by three notes: the root, the third and the fifth. The root note is the same as the name of the chord. The third is four half-steps up from the root, and the fifth is three half steps up from the third. A half-step is the distance from one note to the next, including all white and black keys. For instance, to play a C chord, you would play a C note, an E note (four half steps from C) and a G note (three half steps from E). Chords are often played in the left hand as melody is played in the right.

References

• Zebra Keys: Lessons