How to Play The Piano

A Story by Blake Kairos

Music is cool I guess

The piano is a timeless classic, a prime example of exquisite sophistication in character. With many icons, old and new, making their name known with this instrument, others, like yourself, get inspired to take up this great challenge. Regardless of their attempts to master the ‘King of Keyboards’, they would get discouraged after relentless results of failure and cease their journey into the astonishingly invaluable universe of music. With a declining amount of people going into music, this phenomenon challenges the future of musical prosperity. Yet, I stand believing there is still hope. The piano may be tricky to master, but it is a simple task to learn the fundamentals. The first step: Don’t give up!

A piano works in the manner that when you press a key on a keyboard, a cloth mallet, called a hammer, strikes a string, triggering the vibration and noise. Each individual key is connected to a hammer which hits its own string, causing a wide range of sound to be available on this instrument. At the left hand side are the low notes, and on the right you get higher notes. As you travel right or left, one key at a time, the rise or fall between singular keys will be small.

As you can tell by looking at the layout of keys, there is a pattern of alternating white and black: a set of three white notes with two black notes, and a set of four white notes with three black notes. The white notes are named after the alphabet, A through G, being only seven white notes in each repetition of the pattern. These repetitions are called octaves.

Before you start practicing, you should identify what is known as ‘middle C’. A ‘C’ is the first white key in the set of three white keys. The ‘middle C’ is simply the ‘C’ that is in the middle of the keyboard. Place your right hand on the keyboard, thumb over the ‘C’. Each other finger should cover its own individual white key. Don’t hold your hand flat; curve your fingers so that only the tips are touching the keys. Hold your wrist up, but keep it relaxed, similar to how you would type on a computer keyboard. Your palm should be raised above your thumb.

One beginning technique is playing the pentatonic scale. This is called that because it only consists of five notes, hence, penta-. Press each key with each finger slowly, not moving your hand or wrist position. These notes you are playing, as you can guess from the pattern of the alphabet, are ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’, and ‘G’. Move your fingers independently, try to not rock your wrist as you move up and down these five notes. When you feel comfortable with this form, try going faster, remembering to keep a loose wrist. You can try this with your left hand, putting your pinky on the ‘C’ and using the same technique. For a challenge, try alternating the notes, from ‘C’ to ‘E’, ‘D’ to ‘F’, ‘E’ to ‘G’, ‘F’ to ‘D’, and finally ‘E’ to ‘C’. This technique will help you to develop dexterity and fluidity which is fundamental in more complicated pieces.

Here comes a slightly tricky part�" the black keys. Black keys are betwixt every white note, except between the ‘B’ and ‘C’, and the ‘E’ and ‘F’. They are known as sharps (written #), or flats (written ♭). If the black note is directly higher, or more right, of the white key, it is known as sharp; if it is lower, or more left, it is flat. Now, you may wonder, how does that work, since every black key is lower and higher than the white notes surrounding it? Here’s an example: The black key above ‘C’ is known as ‘C#’. However, the same note is below ‘D’, now known as ‘D♭’ This concept of keys having multiple names is known as enharmonics, and applies to every black key.

Now you know everything you need to start ripping away at a piano. Don’t worry about being ‘good’ at first. It’s okay to sound like you’re touching an instrument for the first time when it’s your first time touching it. Also, don’t bother learning to read sheet music and memorizing music right now. Play around with the different sounds, remembering to keep good technique. As you play around, try listening to your favorite song and play the vocal line by matching the pitch. This may be hard for some people, but with practice, anyone can master it. And remember, most importantly: Don’t give up!