Tuesday, April 20, 2010 . 12:19 AM
In this post, I will teach you how to play 4 really simple scales. But they can be ranked in difficulty with the D major scale being the most difficult, followed by F and G and lastly C. You will know why after i taught you these scales. Firstly, the C major scale. Basically its just playing from the middle C to the C on the next octave and back. But its not as easy as you think. In order to play it well, you require fingerings. This set of fingerings can help you in MOST of the scales, not all. Its 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1 for the right hand and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This is for 1 octave only. For 2 octaves or more, replace the 5th finger with the 1st finger for the right hand and just continue with the 4th finger after finishing 1 octave. The C major scale can be seen below.
This is the link to the mary had a little lamb score, as promised in the last post.:)Now, the G major scale. The G major scale is abit different from the C scale. It has a sharp. A sharp is a black key. The sharp that the G major scale has is the F sharp, also known as F#. But the fingerings are the same as C major scale. That makes it fairly easy. The G major scale can be seen below.
After the G major scale, I will teach you the F major scale. This set of scales is abit special in terms of the fingering. All the fingerings will be the same except for the right hand which will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4 for ascending and the descending part will be the opposite. The F major scale also has a flat. A flat is also a black key but its different from a sharp. A sharp is the black key on the right side of the white key and the flat is the black key on the left side of the key. The F major scale can be seen below.
Lastly, I will teach you the D major scale. it is the hardest among the 4 scales as it has 2 sharps but its still manageable. The sharps are C and F. Other than that, everything else is the same. The D major scale can be seen below.
After seeing me teach the scales, is it easy?
http://www.music-for-music-teachers.com/mary-had-a-little-lamb.html
Monday, April 19, 2010 . 11:11 PM
Ok guys, basically, there are a total of 88 keys on the keyboard. In the 88 keys, there are 36 black keys and 52 white keys. If you are thinking "Oh my god" after i have said that, high five, i also thought this way when i first started playing the piano. But after awhile, you will not think of it this way. Actually, if you see the score of a simple piece, you will not use all of the keys. Its crazy if you do. In a basic piece, you will only use 1 octave, rarely 2. Above is a picture of the number of keys in an octave.Seen it? Its easy right? The starting key of an octave C. If you think its A? You're wrong. The order of the keys are C, D, E, F, G, A, B. If you are wondering why there is no H, to tell you the truth, I have no idea too. Just remember the 7 notes and you will know how to play "Mary Had A Little Lamb". Although it sounds lame, its a good start for basics. I will post the link in another post. I have finished the basics with you. Next, I will teach u scales and a little history about piano. So, bye for now!
