How To PLAY The Piano Correctly – Free Lessons For Beginners

How to play the pianoLearning to play the piano is a long, arduous journey. However, the rewards are well worth it. There are plenty of ways to learn the piano, with some that are more expensive and effective than others. Still, the basics of the piano remain the same. 

This article’s goal is to help anyone who wants to learn the piano to start their lessons. We will supply easy, basic lessons for complete beginners as well as a few tips on how they can improve their progress with their chosen instrument.

Piano for Beginners

It is never too late to play the piano. Whether you are young or young at heart, you can begin to learn how to play this beautiful instrument at any time. However, we have to face the fact that getting piano lessons can take a toll on your budget, even those that are for beginners.

That is why we would like to give you these quick lessons on piano basics! Let us get started.

Piano Basics 1: Octaves

The easiest way to learn the piano is by breaking it into smaller chunks. Do not get the sledgehammer yet! Instead, observe your piano keys. Take a look at this image below:

How to play

If you look at your entire keyboard, you will see this recurring pattern: two black keys surrounded by three white keys and then three black keys surrounded by four white keys. Each group of these 12-keys is called an octave. If you have a standard 88-key keyboard, this pattern repeats seven times. 

Why is it called an octave, you may ask? 

It is actually fairly simple! Try playing the white keys of the entire set from the first to the last. When you reach the end, go a little extra by playing the first key of the next set. Notice anything? That is right! This is your Do-Re-Mi or, as we call it, the Solfeggio (1). 

Just like in Julie Andrews’ The Sound of Music, starting at Do and continuing up the scale will lead you back to Do. These eight notes are what make an octave.

Piano Basics 2: Middle C

Now that you know how to group an octave, it is much easier for you to find notes. The reason behind this is because just like how the pattern of keys repeats throughout the entire keyboard, so do the notes for each key. 

Middle CI

f you have a standard 88-key keyboard, the Middle C is the 24th key on your keyboard starting from left to right. If you would like to count by octaves, it is usually the fourth octave from the left.

Piano Basics 3: Notes

Now that we know how to find the Middle C, it is time for us to name the rest of the keys in this 12-key pattern.

Notes

The beginning of an octave is marked by the key that looks like an L. This key is called C. After C, you have the notes D, E, F, G, A, and B for the white keys. The black keys are the flats and sharps of these natural notes. 

Piano Basics 4: Finger Numbers

Because you will be playing music written on a grand staff, this means you will be playing both low and high pitch notes. Often, your right hand will play the melody or the high pitched notes while your left hand plays the accompaniment or the low pitched notes. An easy way to practice getting used to this is by numbering your fingers.

Hands 123For finger numbers, your thumbs are number one, your index fingers are two, your middle fingers are three, your ring fingers are four and finally, your pinky fingers are five. 

Piano Basics 5: Scales

Now that you have numbered your fingers, you are ready to play scales. Remember that once you play, all five fingers should be on the keys and you must use all of them to play up or down the scales. 

ScalesBefore playing, take a look at this image. Notice how the high pitched notes on the treble clef staff played by your right hand and the low pitched notes on the bass clef staff played by your left meet in the Middle C? Sometimes these two clefs on the grand staff can interact. The point of interaction is Middle C.

Now, let us try and play some scales. Put both of your hands on the keyboard and use this image as a guide while you play up the scale. Go slow at first. 

By the time you reach F, you will realize soon that you do not have enough fingers for this! Here is something that you can use to solve this problem. 

Use the “thumb tuck”! The “thumb tuck” technique is when you tuck your thumb under the palm of your hands so you can use it to press the next note while freeing the rest of your fingers to play the others after it. Try it! Once you reach F, use your thumb to press on G and you will notice that it is much easier to play the last three notes.

Final Words

There you have it! Now you know the very basics of how to play the piano.

Remember that these are only basic lessons and that there is much more you can do to expand your knowledge and bring your learning to the next level. Whether you choose to self-study using books or piano learning apps, take private lessons, or even take a top online piano course, just remember to practice!

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge