Welcome to the wonderful world of music. As you begin reading this mini-course on music, it’s fun to realize that you’re also participating in a very important cultural aspect of the world that has been around for centuries. Did you know that pianos have been around in some form for over 500 years? Some of the earliest instruments of this type were created in the late medieval period and were called clavichords. They had a very light metallic sound because the small hand pounded ‘hammers’ were made of a very light metal-like material. These hammers struck strings of different lengths to create different pitches or pitches. The next cousin of the harpsichord was the harpsichord invented by Cristofori in Italy around AD 1450. C. This keyboard instrument had a mechanism called a plecktrum that ‘plucked’ the strings and produced a slightly louder sound than its predecessor. Whether you’re playing an acoustic instrument, which is the closest Related to the story just mentioned, or an electronic keyboard, you are now participating in a centuries-old musical art form.
SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS: PIANO OR KEYBOARD?
Does it matter if you apply the information in this course to a keyboard or a piano? Certainly not. The only real difference is that a full-size piano has 88 keys (counting the black and white keys). Keyboards come in several different sizes. Some have 60 keys, some even less. There are also 88-key electronic keyboards and digital pianos that produce highly realistic acoustic sounds. Whatever the size of your instrument, remember that the LAYOUT of the keys and the ORDER of the KEY NAMES is the same on both instruments. Rest assured that your basic knowledge of music fundamentals can be done very effectively whether on a keyboard or a piano.
musical terms
Begin your musical study by becoming familiar with these very important musical terms:
BAR LINE – A vertical line that separates notes into groups
DOUBLE BAR LINE: a set of two (2) vertical lines representing the end of a piece of music
REPEAT SIGN: A double bar with a colon at the end of a section or piece of music indicating that that section will be played twice.
MEASURE – The distance between two barlines.
TREBLE CLEF: The S-shaped symbol that represents notes played with the right hand. This is also known as the G clef since this inner curve of the symbol rests on the G line.
BASS CLEF – The inverted C-shaped symbol that represents notes played with the left hand. This clef is also known as the F clef, since the two points next to the clef encircle the F line.
PERSONAL – The five lines and the four spaces of the treble and bass clefs.
QUARTER NOTE – Musical symbol with a solid note head and stem that receives a sound count.
QUARTER BREAK – Musical symbol resembling a side W that gets a bead of silence.
MIDDLE NOTE – Musical symbol with a hollow note head and a stem that receives two beats of sound.
HALF REST – Solid half block sitting on the third line of the staff that receives two beats of silence.
HALF NOTE WITH DOT – Musical symbol with a hollow note head, a dot and a stem that obtains three beats of sound.
WHOLE NOTE – Musical symbol that resembles a circle on the staff that receives four beats of sound.
WHOLE REST – Solid half block hanging from the second line on the staff that receives four beats of silence.
CHORD – Two or more notes played at the same time.
LOCKED CHORD – Two or more notes of the same chord played at the same time.
BROKEN CHORD – Two or more notes of the same chord played in sequence.
INTERVAL – The distance between two notes on the musical staff.
fingering – refers to which finger number is used to play a particular note (see chapter two: fingering)
CURVED FINGER – Refers to playing with a rounded finger and on the tip of each finger. This is the best finger position for piano or keyboard playing because it develops finger strength and independence.
INTRODUCTION TO WHITE KEYS
Only seven (7) letter names are used on the piano: ABCDEF G. It is interesting to note here that no matter what instrument you play, be it piano, tuba, or violin, ONLY the above seven letter names are used in the entire kingdom. of the music! There are two very easy ways to visualize and remember the names of the white keys on your piano and keyboard. Remember, the note names on an electronic keyboard are the same as on an acoustic piano.
CDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFGAB CDEFGAB
Understand that ‘CDE’ note groups always lie directly below the group of two quarter notes. The name of the letter ‘D’ in the white key is always located directly between the two groups of black key notes. ANY GROUP OF TWO BLACK NOTES on the piano is named after the letter ‘D’ as the white key located between them.
KEYBOARD EXERCISE:
Go to your keyboard NOW and start playing all CDE groups from the lowest (bottom left) to the highest (top right) on your keyboard. Say C – D – E as you play each key. The F – G – A – B note groups above are found directly below each group of three quarter notes on any piano or keyboard. Simply locate any group of three black notes on your piano or keyboard and notice that the white FGAB keys are located directly below them. Directly outside of the three quarter note groups is ‘F’ on the left side of the three quarter note group and ‘B’ on the right side of the three quarter note group. Just fill in the outer ‘F’ and ‘B’ with G and A and you’re done!
KEYBOARD EXERCISE:
Go to your piano or keyboard NOW and find all the white FGAG keys under each group of three black notes. As above, play slowly and evenly by saying the letter names while playing the FGAB groups from the bottom of your piano or keyboard (lower left) to the top of your piano or keyboard (upper right). Congratulations! Now you know ALL the names of the white keys on the piano!
NAMES OF THE NOTES IN THE TREBLE AND BASS CLEF
Both the treble and bass clef have five lines and four spaces. Learning the actual note names of each line and space (the spaces between each line) is very simple. Memorize the sentences below for the treble clef line and space notes: Treble clef line notes (starting from the bottom line and working your way up) EGBDF Every Good Boy Does Fine (the first letter of each word helps you remember the order of the notes)
Treble clef space notes (starting from the first space and working up): FACE Remember that the spaces in the treble clef make up the word ‘FACE’.
The bass clef line and space notes are as follows: Bass clef line notes: GBDFA Great Big Dogs Fight Animals Bass clef space notes: ACEG All Cars Eat Gas
Now you know all the names of the white keys on your piano or keyboard. You have also learned the actual names of the letters on each line and space in the treble and bass clefs. You are now on your way to the next level of piano education. Be sure to memorize the above information, and you’ll be ready to start learning to read music notation on the piano or keyboard.