Getting started
does require patience but by taking a practical
approach to learning, you’ll be able to pick it up in
no time.
You’ll notice that notes on sheet music appear
along five horizontal lines, which have four spaces
in between. This is called a stave or staff. On sheet
music where two hands are required to play, two
staves will be present. The top stave features a treble
clef, which looks like a very ornate G. This represents
the high keys, to be played with your right hand.
The bottom stave features a bass clef, which
appears almost like a backwards C; this represents
the low keys that are played with your left hand.
Every space and line on the stave represents a note
on the keyboard.
Get to grips with reading the top stave first as
you’ll find most beginner-level sheet music primarily
uses your right hand. Notes appear along the top
stave in succession with Middle C and D positioned
below the bottom line. The notes that sit on top of
the five lines are as follows, E, G, B, D, F, which can
be remembered as Every Good Boy Deserves Food.
The notes in between the lines spell out ‘face’: F, A,
C, E. The bottom stave, however, is different, with
the notes on top of the lines, G, B, D, F, A – Good
Boys Deserve Food Always and those in between, A,
C, E, G can be remembered as All Cows Eat Grass.
Run through them regularly and over time they
will become second nature. You’ll soon find that
you no longer need sheet music that has the letter
markings on the notes.Practice and playing
Practice is key to mastering any musical instrument
and so it’s important to dedicate a set amount of
time a week to doing so. Be firm with yourself and
don’t get disheartened if progress is a little slow at
first. Taking at least a couple of hours out a week to
practise your scales and a particular song will help
you improve dramatically. Consider playing the
piano with others too; it will give you more of an
incentive to get better.
Once you begin to feel more confident in your
piano-playing abilities, look into joining a band or
playing music with a small group of friends. Having
others around who are musically minded will inspire
and encourage you to focus on developing your
own skills. Learning a song with a group of people
means you’ll also get more support, advice and help
when it comes to reading the music, timings and
getting a good rhythm.
As the piano has an abundance of keys it can also
be played by two people simultaneously, known as
a piano duet. To do this, one person will need to be
positioned on the left-hand side of the keyboard to
play the low notes; they are known as the Secondo
(second). The other person should be positioned to
the right-hand side of the keyboard to play the high
notes, known as the Primo (first). Specially printed
sheet music can be purchased so that both the
Primo and Secondo can play together. It’s a fantastic
way to practise, have fun and develop your skills.Electronic keyboards are affordable, portable and offer some
great digital features that are beginner friendlyKeyboards
Most budding pianists will learn the basics of
piano playing on a keyboard. They’re not only
the most affordable option if you’re looking to
buy new, but they’re also much smaller than
an acoustic or digital piano so don’t require as
much space. They’re designed to be lightweight
and portable, so you can also set them up easily
if you’re practising on the go or going round a
friend’s house.You’ll also find they offer some fantastic
electronic features, including demo modes,
sound effects and the ability to replicate other
instruments. In addition to this, most keyboards
come with a headphone jack, which is great if
you want to practise in private. They differ to
acoustic and digital pianos as they don’t offer
as many octaves or weighted keys and sound
quality is not as impressive.Volume control
Unlike an acoustic piano whereby the
harder you press the key, the louder
the sound, on a keyboard you need
to adjust volume manually on the
interface. You can, however, purchase
specialist volume pedals that enable
you to adjust volume with your feet
while you playSpeakers
Like a digital piano,
a keyboard has
speakers; however,
these aren’t likely
to be of the same
quality. If you don’t
like the sound out
of the speakers,
you should be able
to connect your
headphones up to
your keyboard