How to Play Piano

Description

Illustrated with charts and diagrams throughout, this guide teaches the fundamentals of piano--from buying a piano and understanding its mechanisms to reading music and playing chords A practical, easy-to-understand book for everyone who wants to play the piano. It is for the absolute beginner - and for those who once started to play and would like to take up the piano again. Everything is explained in easy stages. With this book it is possible to have fun playing the piano even if the person has no previous knowledge of music. There are over 30 well-known and entertaining tunes to play, and many helpful hints about the instrument. There is advice on buying a piano, taking care of a piano and much more. Learning to play the piano has never been easier. With easy-to-follow illustrations and fun practice pieces, this comprehensive step-by-step guide will have students well on your way to playing the music of your choice-even if they've never played a musical instrument. How to Play Piano covers basics like: - Choosing the right piano - Reading music - Positioning fingers properly - Playing chords and runs of notes - Developing effective practice techniques and much more - Practice pieces range from "Ode to Joy" and "Yellow Rose of Texas" to "Yankee Doodle," making learning simple, fast and enjoyable. Introduction 7 About the Piano 8 How a piano works 10 Checking your piano 12 Having your piano tuned 13 Finding a good piano tuner 13 Taking care of your piano 14 The best place for your piano 16 Moving a piano 16 Buying a piano 17 Starting to play 23 Playing with a beat 27 Starting to play tunes 28 Playing with all your fingers 31 Training your fingers 32 How to practise 35 Starting to read music 36 Starting to play chords 43 More about music — Time Signatures 46 — Dotted Notes 46 — Tied Notes and Slurs 47 More interesting left-hand parts 48 Rests 54 More notes to play 56 Are you playing correctly? 57 Notes for both hands 58 More advanced music — Eighth Notes and Sixteenth Notes 62 — Dotted Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes 62 — Eighth Note and Sixteenth Note Rests 63 Playing runs of notes 70 Notes on the Black Keys — Sharps ( ♯ ) 76 — Flats ( ♭ ) 80 Natural Signs ( ♮ ) 81 Music in different Keys — Key Signatures 86 How to become a better pianist 96 Learning to play new music 99 How to read Sheet Music 100 Playing to an audience 102 Note Directory 103 Music in this book 104