Before you jump head first into playing the piano, it’s important to get a better feel of how it works. First off you have to take a look at all the various forms of pianos that are out there. Upright pianos have a certain appeal that offers vertical options that are large, heavy, and even tall. They can be around 36″ to 51″ high. Now, if you’re looking for a shorter version like Spinets, these are 36″ to 39″. Studio vertical pianos are 44″ and higher.
If you have the opportunity to play on a grand piano, you will usually get a better sound and a more responsive touch. Grand pianos are the more horizontal pianos, ranging from 5 to 9 feet in length. In a grand piano, the strings are horizontal. In a vertical piano, the strings are, well, vertical.
When it’s time to play you will see a music rack right in front of you. It might be a fold down option or some actually slide into a slot, but you will find one or the other. Just sit down on the bench that the piano comes with and set your music in the rack. Just remember to sit at a comfortable distance so you can reach both ends of the piano during your play.
If you look below the keys around your feet area will be a set of pedals. No, this isn’t the brake or gas, but they are considered to be used by those more experienced at playing the piano. Beginners need not apply, but the use is for sustaining sound or cutting them short.
The most important part though is the keyboard. You see a variety of white and black keys which run from left to right. Just remember they don’t necessarily alternate white and black throughout the entire keyboard.
If you look closely, you will see that the black and white keys form a pattern that repeats from one end of the keyboard to the other. The pattern consists of 7 white keys and 5 black keys in a particular order. From the beginning of one such set of keys and ending on the beginning of the next set, an interval is formed. Intervals are just the musical distances between two sounds. This particular interval is called an octave.
The keys are lined up on the keyboard in order from the lowest on the left to the highest on the right. Starting at the left and moving to the right, each black or white key is a half step higher in pitch than the key before it. For a full step, it is necessary to go up (or down) two half steps. Try some half steps and some full steps. With a little practice, you should be able to learn the sound of those intervals easily.
It’s recommended that you try other intervals just to hear different sounds. Take a look at the amount of half or full steps you might be taking. Basically just pick out a key and play the next key up in the same position. Eventually you will be able to play those octaves with no problems at all. Remember, this is one of the keys to piano playing.
Learning about the piano is the first step in understanding how to make music. Granted this is only the beginning, but the simple songs will come quickly. It will come down to a little time and effort if you want to get your songs right. However, the first time you start playing all the songs you enjoy, there isn’t a greater feeling in music.
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