beginner's pop piano lessons

[pianomankris]

Hi guys

OK so the common topic raised in the keyboard section seems to be regarding playing pop piano.

So i'm going to start a little thread on how best to learn pop piano.

PS keyboardists can (and should) learn this also.

If anyone has any questions regarding the info posted here, then by all means raise the issues. There will probably be a few people having the same troubles, so don't be afraid to ask anything, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.





Lesson 1 - basic chords

When beginning to learn piano, we usually learn what are called the 'basic close-voiced' chords.

What these are is simply playing 1 3 5 in the RH.

With the left hand, we put it in the same position as the RH, only an octave lower e.g. if your RH begins with 1 on C, then your LH should begin with your pinky on C.

This way, both hands would be sitting on the notes C D E F G

We do this for all chords e.g. if we begin the RH on F, the LH should also begin on F.




OK, so the RH plays 1 3 5 - the LH plays only 5 and 1.

In simple terms, the LH misses out the middle note (the 3) because notes close together don't sound good in the low end of the piano.

 

[pianomankris]

The Basic Chords

The three easiest chords to play on the piano are C, F, and G (PS if a chord doesn't say anything after it, then it is a 'major' chord. So, if someone says 'play a G', this means the same as 'play a G major')



To play C, F, and G, we just play 1 3 5 in the RH starting on the relative note e.g. for G, put the RH thumb on G, then play 1 3 5.



So, if we do this on C, we should be playing the notes C E G.
If we do this on F, we should be playing the notes F A C.
If we do this on G, we should be playing G B D.

The LH will play the same notes, only not the middle one.

So, for C, the LH plays C and G
For G, the LH plays G and D
For F, the LH plays F and C.




Where to play the chords

As a general rule, the RH should always be the hand closest to middle C.

For C major, this is easy, as the RH begins on middle C.

For F major, the RH would start below middle C - as a result, your RH pinky should be on middle C.

For G major, you should also begin below middle C. If you do this, your RH pinky should be on D above middle C.

 

[pianomankris]

Chord Progressions

We call playing a few chords playing a 'chord progression' ('progression' as in progress - to move from one thing to something new).


Here are some chord progressions to try:


1) C F G C

2) C G F C

3) G F C G

4) G C F G

5) F C G F

6) F G C F




Try playing these with a metronome, holding each chord for 4 beats.

PS feel free to use the pedal - this will make the changes smoother.


Once you can manage the above, try it again, but this time, hold the LH for 4 beats, and play the RH chord 4 times as one beat notes (e.g. 4 crotchets in the RH, and a semibreve in the LH).


And an even more advanced way is to play the RH as arpeggios (arpeggio = the notes of a chord played one at a time). To do this, play the LH on beat 1 (both LH notes played together), then play the RH chord one note at a time, going 1 3 5 . Each note should last one beat.
(what you end up with is LH on beat 1, RH 1 on beat 2, RH 3 on beat 3, and RH 5 on beat 4)


PS I hope that makes sense - it is much easier to show this than it is to write it



That should be enough for week 1 of lessons.



Any questions, just fire away

 

[pf]

pianomankris, this is pretty useful to get a beginner started. Good work!

 

[pianomankris]

I forgot to add that the first lesson is assuming you know the letter names of the keys (e.g. where C is), and understand basic rhythm.


If not, then you will have to learn where the keys are.




The Musical Alphabet

First things first, say the alphabet out loud, up to G.

Now, imagine that the letters up to G are on a wheel, like a clock (i'd draw this here but don't know how to lol). Start on any letter (e.g. 'D'), and go all the way round, and finish on the same letter.

So, you would end up saying: D E F G A B C D

Make sure you finish on the note you started on.


Do the same exercise, only go backwards e.g. if we began on F and did this, we would get F E D C B A G F.



A lot of people have difficulty in music with passages that go down the way. This is partly because the alphabet has to be thought of backwards when playing a descending passage.

If you can think of the alphabet backwards as fast as you can think of the alphabet forwards, then it will make playing/reading much easier.


If you are good at the above exercise, then try going forwards or backwards, skipping a note. If you do this, you will have to go round the circle twice.

If we started on A and skipped notes, we would get: A C E G B D F A.


If we started on E and went backwards skipping notes, we would get: E C A F D B G E.


The final way can be very tricky to begin with, but after even only a few weeks practise, it becomes very natural, and makes life a lot easier.





Notes at the Piano

OK - so now we can learn where the notes are on the piano.

Look at the sequence of black keys. You will see that they are grouped in 3's and 2's. For just now, we won't play the black keys, but we use them to work out what alphabet letter each white key is.

The first note we normally learn is C. C is the white key to the left of the two black keys

You can use this way of thinking to work out where all the other notes are e.g. D is the white key in the middle of the two black keys.


Try to learn each note individually, and try to avoid the temptation to work everything out from C. Many people do this, and they 'count up' from C. This is a big problem - especially when going down the way, instead of up. This is also where the alphabet exercise helps.




Middle C

Middle C is the pianist's favourite note. He will use this note when he goes to a new piano, or when he plays concerts etc etc

He uses this note to make sure he is playing on the right place on the piano e.g. not too high, not too low.

We now know where C is (the white key to the left of the two black keys) - what we need to do now is to discover where middle C is.

As you can probably imagine, it is the C in the middle of the piano

The easy way to find it is to look for the brand/make of the piano that is on the underside of the lid, and middle C should sit under it. Historically, this was one reason for putting the name on the underside of the lid.

On an electric piano, it will be C closest to the LCD display.


Middle C is where you will put your RH when you play the C major chord from earlier in the lesson.

 

[pianomankris]

PS any piano teachers/tutors can feel free to use this info as lesson material.



PPS if there are any teachers out there who are having difficulty teaching a specific aspect of piano playing, then just bring up the topic here, and we can work through how best to 'solve' the problem. This will also help the beginners by showing them that they are not alone in the struggles they may be having.


OK so get cracking - this has to be learned fully by next week

 

[pianomankris]

- curiosity - has anyone found any use with this?

It's too much time to write this out if no-one is using it.

If anyone has used it, then let me know.

Cheers

Kris

 

[gackto]

- curiosity - has anyone found any use with this?

It's too much time to write this out if no-one is using it.

If anyone has used it, then let me know.

Cheers

Kris

Hi Pianomankris, it really good piece of info... esp for beginners like me!!

Thanks!

would love it if there are more of these!

 

[pianomankris]

No worries

Thanks for the feedback

I'm off to France over Christmas, so i'll write more in a week or two

)

 

[CliftonSantiago]

Hey knock it off pianomankris, this is priveleged information, you're costing us lessons ;-)

 

[savagemp5]

I think these information are all over the place, i mean the internet

 

[[vogue]angel]

nice one kris. Really helpful information. I hope there will be a series on jazz n blues piano too

 

[Gates]

It would be better if there's an instructional video to help.

I got alittle bit confused while reading. Haha.

 

[siaoboy]

Good stuff. Thanks

 

[pianomankris]

Hi guys

Thanks for the feedback

Merry Christmas also to everyone I hope everyone had/is having a good time

OK, i'm not at home just now so i'll post a short message and write more soon.



As a quick reply:

savagemp5 - yes, i'm sure the info presented here is all over the net. But that's precisely the problem - that it is all over the net. Far better it being in one place that softies can easily reference, and far better it being presented in an organised and coherent manner, a manner that hopefully all who practise what i'm writing will learn from.

Please remember that this info is designed to help those starting out who may, for example, be struggling to pay for lessons. I'm trying to give the best possible info for such a circumstance.

You are free to create your own thread if you feel the info presented is not suitable for situations such as the one I mentioned.

The thread is about creating opportunity for those who wish for such opportunity. Please don't think i'm writing the info here in order to boost my own stature - I have no need or desire to do so. The thread is designed with the sole purpse being to help others.



Gates - do please say exactly what it is that is confusing you, as others may be having the same problems in understanding the info presented as you are having.

RE posting videos - the Scottish accent isn't the easiest accent to understand trust me - it's better I just write the info and answer any questions that may arise in due course.



vogue_angel - Jazz coming soon Hopefully this stuff will help you in teaching others the same things (am I correct in thinking you help others out at the piano?).

Thanks guys.

 

[pf]

hey pianomankris, I'm sure this is useful stuff to beginners. SOFT doesn't require people to sign up before they can read the content. So, you're helping some people who are yet to be SOFT members out there.

 

[piano_ex]

Good Work!!! =)

 

[[vogue]angel]

yup. Ur spot on man.

 

[pf]

hey pianomankris, care to share tips on memorising chord spellings?

 

[SomethingNew]

im waiting patiently for your ever so useful lessons thank you for the good work haha