For the Beginner
Are you just starting out at the piano? Let me introduce you
to the piano keyboard.
Know Your Notes By Name
Notes on the piano are named after the first seven letters of
the alphabet:
A - B - C - D - E - F - G
After G, the notes names start again at A. These same notes
just repeat up and down the piano. They sound very much
alike only "higher" or "lower" from each other. The distance
of eight notes is called an Octave.
The above keyboard names the white keys which are called
natural notes. The keyboard below names the black notes
which are either sharps or flats.
These are the sharp notes
Sharp notes are marked by a Sharp sign (#) before the note.
A Sharp note is higher than the natural note with the same
name. The sharp note above C is called C Sharp and is
written C# and so on.
These are the flat notes
Flat notes are marked by a Flat sign (b) before the note. A
Flat note is lower than the natural note with the same name.
The Flat below E is called E Flat (Eb).
You will notice that all black notes have two names. They can
either be a sharp or a flat depending upon what key the song
is written in. This is called Enharmonic which means you
have the same pitch, but a different spelling. For example, C#
is enharmonic with Db. It is the same note, but a different
name. Notes are given different names for good reasons.
Sometimes it is easier to read and write music with Sharps. At
other times, it is easier with Flats.
The first step in learning how to chord songs is to know your
notes by name. Take a look now at your piano and see if you
can name all the white and black notes.
Time Signatures
The next step in learning to play the piano is to understand
time signatures. All music is written in a particular time
signature. In written music, these are the most common:
Are you just starting out at the piano? Let me introduce you
to the piano keyboard.
Know Your Notes By Name
Notes on the piano are named after the first seven letters of
the alphabet:
A - B - C - D - E - F - G
After G, the notes names start again at A. These same notes
just repeat up and down the piano. They sound very much
alike only "higher" or "lower" from each other. The distance
of eight notes is called an Octave.
The above keyboard names the white keys which are called
natural notes. The keyboard below names the black notes
which are either sharps or flats.
These are the sharp notes
Sharp notes are marked by a Sharp sign (#) before the note.
A Sharp note is higher than the natural note with the same
name. The sharp note above C is called C Sharp and is
written C# and so on.
These are the flat notes
Flat notes are marked by a Flat sign (b) before the note. A
Flat note is lower than the natural note with the same name.
The Flat below E is called E Flat (Eb).
You will notice that all black notes have two names. They can
either be a sharp or a flat depending upon what key the song
is written in. This is called Enharmonic which means you
have the same pitch, but a different spelling. For example, C#
is enharmonic with Db. It is the same note, but a different
name. Notes are given different names for good reasons.
Sometimes it is easier to read and write music with Sharps. At
other times, it is easier with Flats.
The first step in learning how to chord songs is to know your
notes by name. Take a look now at your piano and see if you
can name all the white and black notes.
Time Signatures
The next step in learning to play the piano is to understand
time signatures. All music is written in a particular time
signature. In written music, these are the most common:
Free Piano Lessons
The top number tells you how many beats are in each measure.
The bottom number tells you which note will receive one beat.
So in the 4/4 time, there are four beats in each measure and the
quarter note gets one beat. 2/4 time means there are 2 beats in
each measure, the quarter note gets one beat. In 3/4 time there
are 3 beats in each measure and the quarter note gets one beat.
By far, the two most common are the 4/4 and the 3/4. Amazing
Grace is written in 3/4 time. Jesus Loves Me is written in 4/4
time. Pictured below is what whole notes, half notes, quarter
notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes would look like in
printed or scored music:
The bottom number tells you which note will receive one beat.
So in the 4/4 time, there are four beats in each measure and the
quarter note gets one beat. 2/4 time means there are 2 beats in
each measure, the quarter note gets one beat. In 3/4 time there
are 3 beats in each measure and the quarter note gets one beat.
By far, the two most common are the 4/4 and the 3/4. Amazing
Grace is written in 3/4 time. Jesus Loves Me is written in 4/4
time. Pictured below is what whole notes, half notes, quarter
notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes would look like in
printed or scored music:
| The standard note is the quarter note, which lasts for one beat. Next is the half note, which last for 2 beats.The whole note lasts for 4 beats. To fill up a 4 beat measure, it would take 8 eighth notes and sixteen sixteenth notes. I teach music by the chordal method, not be reading the music. However, it is still very important that you know what time signature the song is written in. You will not be reading notes, but reading from chord charts. Therefore, you have to keep up with your own counting based on the time signature of the song. This is not as hard as it may sound. When I am in doubt as to how long to hold out a chord, I just simply put a little number over the chord to remind me of the beats to hold for it. I wanted you to see what the notes actually look like because sometimes we are reading chord charts that have the lead melody line written out and those notes would be on there. Key Signatures All music is written in some key signature. There are twelve possible key signatures corresponding to the twelve different notes on the piano. Below is a list of all twelve key signatures with their number of sharps or flats: Key C (no sharps or flats) G (1 sharp) F# D (2 sharps) F#, C# A (3 sharps) F#, C#, G# E (4 sharps) F#, C#, G#, D# B (5 sharps) F#, C#, G#, D#, A# Gb (6 flats) Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb Db (5 flats) Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb Ab (4 flats) Bb, Eb, Ab, Db Eb (3 flats) Bb, Eb, Ab Bb (2 flats) Bb, Eb F (1 flat) Bb clickhere to continue lesson |
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