Piano Lesson 1

Piano Lesson 1


  1.Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do


  2.Keys of the Piano


  3.Notes and Counts


  4.Finger Exercises










  
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do


Each note is sung higher than the previous note in this fashion


If you have seen the movie “Sound of Music” you know what you are singing. If you don’t, then listen to this.





Keys of the Piano



In music we use only seven alphabets to read music they are A, B, C, D, E, F, G


1.     The keyboard is divided into black and white keys. The black keys appear in sets of two and three.
2.     First we need to find the center of the keyboard. To do that count the number of two black key sets from either side and settle on the center one. If you have two in the center then you can use either.
3.     Now the white key between the set of two black keys is D. The white key before D is C and after D is E.
4.     The white keys below the set of three black keys are F, G, A and B. After B there is again C and so on.




5.     As you move to the left of the Piano the keys have a low pitched sound
6.     As you move to the right side of the piano, the keys get more high pitched.
7.     You can practice Do Re Mi singing by pressing the keys C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C one after the other.


Notes and Counts


Music has a language. It is read in different notes. Notes are just special characters that tell you how long to play the particular note.

1.     Whole note: It gets 4 counts. Means when you play this note then count till four. It looks like this.



2.     Dotted Half Note: It looks like a half note with a dot. It gets 3 counts.




3.     Half Note: It gets 2 counts. It looks like a whole note with a stem facing up or down.



4.     Quarter Note: Looks like a colored half note with the oval darkened in. It gets 1 count.

 


Exercise


Clap and count notes
1.     Whole notes: Clap on one and the count ahead to two three and four.
2.     Dotted half note: Clap on one and count two and three.
3.     Half notes: Clap on one and count till two.
4.     Quarter note: Clap and count on one.


BAR

A bar is a measure of time with respect to beats. The number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning. In the picture below it is 4/4 means there are 4 beats (claps) in 4 seconds.
Clap and count the following:
1.




{Answer: Clap at each note since it’s a quarter note so all get 1 count. So go like One (clap) two (clap) three (clap) four (clap). One (clap) two (clap) three (clap) four (clap)}

2.

3.






Finger Exercises:

While playing on a piano your fingers are numbered as
To play the following place your right hand thumb on middle C and finger 2 on D and RH3 (right hand finger 3) on E, RH 4 on F and RH5 on G
Place LH5 on a C to the left of the middle C. LH 1 should come on G.

First play the following with right hand then the left hand and then both hands. It is a bit difficult at first as our natural instinct is to be symmetric and use both thumbs together instead of thumb of one hand and pinky of the other.





After playing the above play this with your RH1 on C to RH5 on G and LH2 on G


Homework
Practice DoReMi
Learn Piano keys and name of keys
Do finger exercises with claps and counts
Practice Brother John



1 comment: