Piano Lessons

Free piano lessons online music notes on how to learn to play the piano by Play Piano Now

• This report includes:
• “How to Read Music Notation in Just 30 Minutes”, which contains everything you need to know about reading music notation to get you started playing the keyboard, organ or piano the ‘fun’ way by using our user friendly courseware!
• You do not have to learn everything in this report in order to start playing the piano or keyboard. Learn piano the fun way! This report will help the beginner get familiar with the layout of the keyboard, how to locate middle C, etc.
• Discussion and demo on ‘Piano Chords’ at PlayPianoNow.com
• Courseware descriptions and recommedations based on your level of piano experience. Answers the question, “Where do I start after I finish the following 30 minute course?”
• Contact information.

Produced by New American School of American Music

How

to

Read

Music

Notation

I N J UST

30 M INUTES !

1. MELODIES

The first thing to learn about reading music is that you can ignore most of the information

thats written on the page. The only part you really need to learn is called the “treble

clef.” This is the symbol for treble clef:

The bass clef is for classical

pianists only. It is totally useless for our purposes. At least for now.

The notes

placed within the treble clef represent the melody of the song. You will

only need to play one note at a time when you read music. On the piano you play the

melody with the right hand.

The notes written on the lines and spaces of the treble clef tell you two things about them:

1) Their pitch (how high or low)

2) Their duration (how long theyre held)

Facing the keyboard, as you go left the notes become lower in pitch, and to the right

they become higher. Well learn the specifics of how the note symbols reveal pitch and

duration shortly.

2. THE PIANO

KEYBOARD

A typical piano has 88 keys total (including all white keys and black keys). Most electronic

keyboards and organ manuals have fewer. However, there are only twelve different

notesseven white and five blackon the keyboard. This twelve note pattern repeats several times up and down the piano keyboard.

In our culture the white notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet:

A B C D E F G

You can learn to recognize all the notes by sight by looking at their patterns relative to the

black keys. Notice the black keys are arranged in patterns of two and three. The piano universe

tends to revolve around the C note which you can identify as the white key found just to the left of a grouping of two black notes. A full-sized piano keyboard has eight Cs. The C closest to

the center of the keyboard is called middle C. Learn to identify this note quickly.

Once you find C you can easily figure out the names of the other white notes, because they

follow alphabetically. The white key to the immediate right of any C is called D. The one to

its left is called B. However, since there are only seven different white notes in music, after G the

next note is A again. This patternA through Grepeats several times the entire length of

the keyboard.

Memorize these seven different white notes by name, and learn to identify them on the

keyboard without hesitation.

3. THE STAFF

This is called the treble clef staff:

Written on it are the notes of a

songs melody. Notice this staff has five lines and thus four spaces. The lines and spaces

all have letter names, corresponding to the notes on the keyboard. From bottom to top

the five lines are named EGBDF and the four spaces are named FACE. Thus, by alternating

and combining the lines and the spaces, youll get EFGABCDEF. A note (dot) on the

staff takes on the name of the line or space upon which it is placed and represents the

corresponding musical note on the keyboard. Thus, these notes on the staff

correspond to these keys on the keyboard:

Memorize the names of the lines and spaces of the written staff. Learn to correlate

these notes with the keys on the piano.

Sometimes we need to add little lines above or below the staff to indicate notes that fall above

or below the notes of the staff. This is middle C, for example:

4. SHARPS AND

FLATS

Sooner or later you will need to learn the black keys (sharps and flats) on the keyboard.

Every black key has both a sharp ( # ) name and a flat ( b ). You must learn them both

ways. This is what they look like on the keyboard:

AS SHARPS: C# D# F# G# A#

AS FLATS: Db Eb Gb Ab Bb

And this is what they look like on paper:

SHARPS

FLATS

Notice that every black key is named after one of the seven white keysA through G. An

easy way to learn the sharps and flats is to remember sharp means higher and flat

means lower . Thus, F# is the black key that is immediately higher than the white key F . This

same note could be called Gb because it is at the same time immediately lower than the

white key G.

Memorize the sharps and flats both as they

appear on the keyboard and as they appear

in music notation.

5. NOTE DURATION

There is more to a melody than the pitch of the notes involved. Each note, in addition to

having a certain pitch, has a specific duration. Learning the system of counting note values

(duration) is traditionally a tedious and time consuming task. But its a task you can avoid

for the most part if you play melodies that are already familiar to you. If you can clap the

rhythm of a song, you dont need to count it. In

terms of note duration in popular music, being

approximate is usually sufficient. But just for the record, these are the note values (dura-tion)

of the most common notes.

This is a whole note .

It usually gets four beats (foot taps). It is held twice as long as a half note .

The

is twice as long as a quarter note ,

which in turn is held twice as long as an eighth note

, which in turn is held twice as long as a sixteenth note .

Groups of eighth notes can look like this .

A group of four sixteenth notes can look like this.

Thus, in terms of time values

The stems of the notes can go up or down; it makes little difference.

One more thing. A dot after a note increases its value by half again.

Practice the following melodies, observing how this note value system works.

6. SONGS

Heres your chance to take what youve learned so far and try playing a couple of familiar melodies. Use only your right hand.

Skip to My Lou

Jingle Bells

7. TAKE THE NEXT

STEP

Now that youve learned how to read a simple right hand melody line, youre ready to start

our workshop-to-go programs so you can learn ‘piano chords’. Adding chords to your melodies makes the music complete, and learning chords is easier than you might imagine.

Since 1982 we have specialized in providing the finest possible instruction in all aspects of

pop piano. We offer home study courseware to make piano

playing a reality for you.

If “Blues Piano” is your calling, then take a look at our new video, “How to Play Blatantly Basic Blues” , recommended by Access Blues Magazine, Piano & Keyboard Magazine, Music Journal and others.

Covers basics, chords, scales, improvising and the styles of Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles. Here’s your chance not only to hear the lesson, but to see it too!

This video is for thebeginning through intermediate levels

More than 25,000 adults have successfully completed the basic

piano workshops to go and are making piano playing an important part of their lives.

Many have gone on to the advanced courses as well. Never has something so worthwhile

been so much fun and fulfilling.

All of our courses are satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. VISA and MASTER CARD & Discover Card accepted. You can view our complete catalog on our Web Site, Brief discriptions below.Each course may be purchased seperately

Visit our web site at:

http://www.playpianonow.com

Play Piano Now 2400 Cypress St., Suite 50 PMB# 211 West Monroe, LA 71291 Email address

2001 The New School of American Music

Piano Courseware include

Play Piano Now – Home Page

“Chord Style Piano” (Beginner) A piano workshop to go.–(Courseware includes Stylebook, Audio Cassette This course, along with this report is the FIRST LESSON for the piano and keyboard if you are a NOVICE / BEGINNER, or if you need review. You will learn all of the chords that you will need to and how to use them. Dozens of playing tips with just enough theory. Complete chord charts, all in keyboard diagrams in addition to music notation–plus a Chord Substitute Chart and seven songs. You will learn finger placement on the keyboard, and how the different keys and chords relate to each other. All examples are recorded on cassette tape. All of the other courses are based upon this course.

Basic and essential.

“Continuing Chord Style Piano” Piano Workshop-To-Go continues..(Courseware includes Stylebook, 4 Audio Cassettes with Vinyl Album) PICKS UP WHERE “Chord Style Piano” LEAVES OFF. Reveals some of the best playing techniques of the pros (many of which are closely guarded secrets). The four cassettes are like having four complete programs. Simple Left Hand Variations presents over 20 examples of left hand alternatives. Simple Right Hand Variations reveal dozens of the author’s favorite tricks of the trade for the right hand. Includes four song examples and a chord chart. The Major Chord drills give you practice in learning what you need to know about the most important chords. Use these cassettes with or without a piano. It’s the perfect pump-up for beginning pop piano players who are ready to shatter the barriers of mediocre playing. Get out of that rut, and start sounding like a pro!

Beginning to intermediate.

“How To Play Piano by Ear”Piano Workshop-To-Go! (56 page Stylebook, 5 Cassettes, with Vinyl Album)-Yes, you can play piano (or any chord instrument) without written music. You will learn how to pick out your favorite songs without having to rely on sheet music and how to listen to recordings and imitate what you have heard. You will know how to select the best key, how to change keys in mid-song, know how to use the Circle of Fifths. Clear charts on how Music really works. Satisfaction Guarantee!

Important to know the piano chords first.

“Praise”Stylebook & Audio Cassette)- You will learn about the embellishment of hymns and inspirational music as well as the art of accompaniment, transposing, and inversions. Gospel hymns are used in teaching this style of playing. (Amen, Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee, Kum Ba Ya, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and more). This is a great companion to the “Beginner Style Piano” and “Play Piano by Ear” — Satisfaction Guarantee!

Easy level after “Chord Style”

Deluxe Blues & Boogie Woogie”Piano Workshop to Go! (Stylebook & 2 Audio Cassettes)- Just the beginning for learning many different styles of piano including rock, gospel, jazz,boogie-woogie,and improvising techniques. Highlights include the universal blues chord progression, the six-note blues scale, blues rhythm, seven powerful improvising techinques, eight -to-the-bar left hand Boogie Woogie patterns and how to incorporate blues styles into popular tunes. There are 12 bar blues variations, minor blues, eight bar blues with improvising methods. — Satisfaction Guarantee!

All levels

Intro’s and Endings

Piano Workshop to Go! (Stylebook & Audio Cassette)- You will discover how one chord serves as an intro. Then discover that chord is in any key. You will master arpeggios, chord progression intros, chromatic walk downs, endings to gospel and blues. The PROS all use intros and endings; you can sound like them in a very short time. — Satisfaction Guarantee! —

Intermediate to advanced

“Power Chords”(Stylebook & Audio Cassette)- This course deals with more sophisticated jazz/ballad chords whose lush sounds are woven into much of todays music. Takes a new approach to some of the chords you have learned and “how “and “where” to use them. These chords add POWER to your playing, because it gives you the sound that makes your playing really standout above the rest! You will know about chord voicings, slash chords, sus, dim, and inversions. — Satisfaction Guarantee! —

Intermediate to advanced

“Piano Tricks & Licks”(Single Audio Cassette)- Enhances playing by giving new ideas and fresh inspiration. A well balanced presentation of exercises, chord substitutions, stylings, and a healthy dose of piano players “cheap tricks” to sharpen skills and improve sound and embellish your playing. These Lessons could cost you several hundred dollars, if you could get someone to teach them. — Satisfaction Guarantee! —

Intermediate

“How to Play Blatantly Basic Blues” NEW ITEM (Video)Video Cassette)-Looking for that special sound? Try the blues. It’s easy, fun, and has 1001 applications. This video is the next best thing to having a private blues instructor. Covers basics, cho1rds, scales, improvising and the styles of Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles. Here’s your chance not only to hear the lesson, but to see it too! — Satisfaction Guarantee! —

Beginning through Intermediate levels

Virtual Chords Demo

Play Piano Now distributor for The New School of American Music

Free Piano Music Online Notation Tips on Learning the Piano

Incoming search terms for the article:

• how to read piano notation
• i was here beyonce free piano sheet music
• no air free piano sheet music
• the reason hoobastank piano sheet music free original
• easy piano sheet music free blackbird beatles