Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

6262 Piano for Beginners Piano for Beginners

Playing the piano

S

cales are an important part of learning to

play piano both in terms of understanding

written music and for technical

improvement. Reading musical notation

is often referred to as music theory, which is like

learning the language of music. Scales are a vital

part of music theory, just as grammar is necessary

for speaking. As you learn to play scales you will start

to understand many aspects of musical theory.

Practising scales regularly will improve the fluidity

of your playing and help your fingers to become

more adept to this new activity. Scales are great

for developing co-ordination between the hands

and are also ideal for introducing a variety of what

pianists refer to as fingering patterns. Fingerings are

marked as little numbers above the notes in piano

music and are there to guide you as to which finger

to use for the given note.

The C major scale is the perfect place to start as it

contains only the white keys of the piano and forms

the basis for all other scales. Major scales have a

happy or cheerful sound, unlike minor scales which

sound distinctly sad. The C major scale begins on

the note C, ascends up the keyboard eight notes

to the next C, then descends back down to the

C you started on. As you will discover, all scales

are essentially a pattern of notes that ascend the

keyboard, then descend back down again.

The C major scale

This is a great first step for beginners because it forms

the foundation for learning scales

Fingering patterns Commit these to memory as they will appear often

Scale fingerings

You only have five fingers, so you will run

out pretty quickly when playing an 8-note

scale! Fingering patterns show you which

fingers to use when playing your scales

Finishing off

Once you have tucked your thumb, you will have

all your fingers at your disposal again which means

you can now ascend uninterrupted to the top

Trick y tuck s

For the fourth note of the scale

you will need to tuck your

thumb underneath your middle

finger so that you have enough

fingers left to finish the scale

The right hand

A common pattern for a right-hand scale is

to start with the thumb, follow on with the

next note played by the index finger and

then a third note with the middle finger

“Practising scales regularly will improve the

fluidity of your playing and help your fingers

become more adept”

Top tip

Learn your

finger numbers

In piano theory the thumbs are

labelled as number 1, index finger

is 2, middle finger is 3, ring finger is

4 and your little finger is number 5.

Learn this to ease your progress!

The correct finger patterns are

essential if you want to play

scales quickly.

Audio file

Listen to the audio files

and follow along on your

own keyboard

Give it a try