Accent: This means exactly what the word indicates.  If a note has an accent sign over it, often expressed as >, or sometimes as a v, then that note will be played with a little more force than the the rest of the melodic line.

Accidental: An accidental describes any symbol used to raise or lower a specific note.  This can be a sharp #, or a flat b, or a natural sign which is a little like the sharp sign.  A sharp raises a note by one semitone.  A flat lowers a note by one semitone.  And a natural brings removes any sharp or flat sign which might have gone before.  A natural sign also indicates that the note will ignore the key signature, playing a ‘straight’ note which ignores the key signature.
Acciacatura: This is an ornament, or embellishment on a note.  Acciacatura is a graceful embellishment which was popular in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s time.  It can be found also in the music of Mozart and other Classical composers.

Adagio: An Adagio is a slow piece of music.  The term ‘Adagio’ will be written at the top of the piece on the left hand side.  Sometimes ‘Adagio’ describes a slow movement of a sequence, or it can describe an actual composition, for example Barber’s  beautiful ‘Adagio For Strings’.  This moves slowly, beautifully and expressively, and the title ‘Adagio’ suits it admirably.  An Adagio is generally slower than ‘Andante’, but not as slow as ‘Largo’, which means very slow. The degree of slowness would be:  Largo – slow and heavy; Adagio – moderately slow; and Andante – slowish but lightly-moving.

Ad. lib: This is Latin for ad libitum. It  gives freedom to the performer, letting him or her decide exactly how a piece, or passage,  will be performed.  Ad. lib. indicates that everything will be at the performer’s discretion.  Ad. lib. means that the performer can choose his or her own tempo, or time, and can use rubato, a loose giving and taking of the time, and decide whether or not other instruments will join in at that point.

Appogiatura: This is another type of embellishment which is often used in piano music of the Classical era.

Aria:  This means ‘air’, which is another term for song, or tune.  An Aria is to be found most commonly in the Italian Operas.  Sometimes  the lovely Aria tunes from  Italian Operas are transcribed for piano.

Bagatelle: A short piece of music, usually for piano.  The word is French, meaning ‘trifle’, or something of little importance.  However, Beethoven wrote twenty six Bagatelles for Piano.
Ballade: This word, spelled with an ‘e’ on the end to differentiate it from the vocal term ‘Ballad’,  describes a simple piece of instrumental music which often suggests a narrative.    Chopin wrote four Ballades for piano which are said to have been inspired by the Polish poet Mickiewicz.
Ballade is also a term used to describe  a form of medieval poetry and music: It has also been applied loosely to certain polyphonic works such as some composed by Machaut.
Barcarolle: This term means ‘boating song’.  It is usually in 6/8 time, which has a lilting, swaying, soothing rhythm.  Barcarolles were favourites in Venice, and were associated with the Venetian Gondoliers who paddled the wealthy about Venice.  The most well-known Barcarolle is the one from ‘The Tales Of Hoffmann’, by Offenbach.
Berceuse:  This comes, again, from the French.  A Berceuse is  a pretty and sweet-sounding  instrumental piece, like a lullaby, a cradle song.
Bolero:  This term comes from the Spanish. It describes a  lively and dynamic Spanish dance which  is usually accompanied by castanets, guitar, and the voices of the dancers.   The Bolero has a distinctive rhythm which incorporates a triplet figure on the second half of the first beat of the bar. (A triplet figure is  a group of three notes, usually played to the time of one beat, or one half beat)  Ravel (1875-1937), a composer who was born in the Pyranees but brought up in Paris,  wrote a famous ‘Bolero’ in 1928:  This is not a true bolero in the traditional Spanish sense.   Ravel used the  rhythmic elements of the traditional  Spanish Bolero to create very sensuous orchestral music for a  ballet which he entitled “Bolero”.
Capriccio: This is an Italian and French term.  Caprice is the English term. A Caprice, or Capriccio, is  a light, playful piece written in free-form, I.e, with no specific  composition formula.
A Capriccio or Caprice was also a  specific style of keyboard composition of the 17th Century, lively and written in Fugal style.

Clef: In piano music, we use the Treble Clef and the Bass Clef.  The Clef indicates where exactly on the piano the notes on the Stave will be played.  Treble Clef works best for the right hand, using mainly all the notes to the right of Middle C, going upwards to the highest note in the treble.  The Bass Clef generally works best for the left hand on the piano, using mostly all keys to the left of Middle C, down to the very bottom bass notes.

Playing the piano really becomes fun, when you learn how to build your own chords.  You can accompany yourself singing a bluesey song such as “Jelly Roll Blues”, or accompany another vocalist on a folksey tune like “Banks of the Ohio”, which also uses the Blues Chords.

You can play Blues Chords on Piano or Guitar. Blues Chords are the easiest chords to learn, because there are  just three basic Blues Chords.

The blues chordal structure characteristically uses three basic chords which are built on I, IV and V of the scale. Roman numerals are often used in Blues Music to define the first degree, the fourth degree, and the fifth degree of any scale.  In fact, Classical Music, Jazz, and Pop Music also use this Roman numerical system to talk about chords.  Usually, the name of the Chord is written down on the music for you to see, but sometimes, just the Roman numerals are used:  I,  IV,  V.

The theoretical terms for these degrees of the scale are:

I – Primary;  IV – Subdominant; V – Dominant.

In C major, the Tonic Chord, or Chord I means that you will build your chord on the First Degree of the Scale.  This is the Primary Note, note C,  which begins the scale of C Major. The C Major Chord will begin with C.  On top of that, you will build the 3rd and 5th Degree notes, which are E and G.  The full C Major Chord which you will have built will have the notes C,E,G.

The Subdominant Chord, Chord IV, is built on the 4th degree of the scale.  This will begin on F if your song is in C major.  F is the 4th degree of the scale of C, so this note forms the root, the bottom or main note of the IV Chord on F.  Above F you will build notes A and C to form a Major Chord on F.  Your full Chord on F, being the Subdominant or IV Chord in C Major will read:  F, A, C.

The V Chord, the Dominant of the Key, is begun on the 5th degree of the scale.  In C Major, this means that your bottom note, or root note of Chord V will be G, because that is the 5th note of the scale of C Major.  Your G Major Chord, being Chord V of the Scale of C Major, will read:  G, B, D.

So there you have the three basic Blues Chords in C Major:  Chords built on C, F, and G.

You can, of course, build chords on any note of the piano. You can also build chords in any Key, which will fit with the sharps and flats which that key signature has.

Sometimes, even in blues music, another chord may be substituted for the standard one, but generally speaking, you can ‘learn to play the blues’ by using just these chords formed on the 1st, 4th, and 5th degree of the scale.

We have chosen the Key of C Major to illustrate how to build your own blues chords, because, as you will remember, C Major is the only Major key which has NO SHARPS OR FLATS.  This is the easiest of keys to learn, because it uses all white notes of the keyboard.  C Major has a relative minor, A Minor, which also has a key signature with no sharps or flats, but for now, until you get familiar with how Minor Keys work, we will work only in the major Key of C major.

So – now get some practice in forming your blues chords on piano, in the Key of C Major.

To Increase Your Knowledge of the Keys, Play Scales in Different Keys Every Day:  If your understanding of keys and their key signatures is growing, then you will be able to make chords in those keys which you have learned.  Playing scales in the different keys, with their different key signatures, is really the best way for you to become familiar with all the different keys.

Chords Chart of Other Combinations:  These Chords are not so common in Blues Music, but will often see the following more obscure chords in Jazz. Sometimes Popular, Folk or Church Music will use these chords also:

maj. – Major:  1,3,5

min. – Minor:  1,b3,5

dim. – Diminished:  1,b3,5

aug. – Augmented:  1,3,#5

maj7 – Major 7th:  1,3,5,7

dom7 – Dominant 7th:  1,3,5,b7

min7 – Minor 7th:  1,b3,5,b7

min7b5 – Minor 7b5:  1,b3,b5,b7

aug7 – Augmented 7th:  1,3,#5,b7

7sus4:  1,4,5,b7 (‘sus’ means a suspended note:  the 4th in this case)

dim7 – Diminished 7th:  1,b3,b5,bb7

maj6 – Major 6th:  1,3,5,6

maj9 – Major with added 9th:  1,3,5,9, or C,E,G,D. sometimes this is written as Cadd9, meaning add 9th note D above the chord of C Major.

min6 – Minor 6th:  1,b3,5,6

I really do recommend Will Barrow’s DVDs to fast-track your ability to play the Blues.  Actually, whether you want to play Folk, or Church, or Pop music, seeing Will’s visuals and hearing his sound tracks does make learning to play those chords a lot easier.

Whatever you do, enjoy your piano practice.  Cheerio for now,

Kind regards, Bianca Tremelo.

This is comprised of two minor thirds which are built on top of one another. A minor third has exactly three semitones, counting C to C# as ‘one’, C# to D as ‘two’, and D to D# or E flat as ‘three’.  This is the first minor third.

From the E flat, we count up three semitones again which brings us to the note F# or G flat. This is the second minor 3rd, which is built on the E flat of the previous minor third.

Example of a Diminshed Chord: If we use note C as our root note, then

The  last post gave the Key Signatures of all the Major and Minor Scales.  The Key Signature is normally written at the beginning of the scale, although sometimes, the scale is notated without a key signature and the sharps or flats are added individually along the scale as needed.

It can’t be stressed enough that the better you know your scales and their key signatures, the better your playing will become.  Scales are good exercise for the fingers on their own, but knowing the exact amount of sharps or flats in any one key will enhance your musical understanding and your technique no end.

If you endeavour to learn all the scales, inside and out, major and minor, you will be well rewarded.

So that you can learn your scales thoroughly, I would like you to write out all the scales in your manuscript book.

Task Number One:  Use the Key Signatures as given below.  Begin with the Sharps.  Write out every Major Scales which have sharp key signatures, using the given key signatures.  Begin with C Major with no sharps, and work through to the one with 7 sharps.

Task Number Two:  Use the Key Signatures as given below to write out all the Major Scales which use Flats.  Begin with C Major which has no sharps or flats, and work up to the one with 7 flats.

Here is Pianolesson Number Seven.

Today, I am going to give you a Complete List of All the Key Signatures. That is the gist of this lesson – The  Fantastical, Mathematical Logic Behind  Key Signatures.  The whole range of Major and Minor Key Signatures, inclusive of all the Flat Keys and the Sharp Keys will be given here.

My mentor, the extremely learned and expert piano teacher Sister Mary Fidelis from St Joseph’s Convent, New Zealand,  gave me this magic formula many years ago, when I was studying music full-time.

You just cannot go wrong with this formula. Once you see how it works, you can ascertain the key signature of any key at all.  It is a great formula for those who are sitting examinations in the theory of music, as it really doesn’t matter if you forget what the key signatures are:  Once you understand the sequence, you can draw up the table anywhere, at any time, even in the exam room, to give you a faultless result.  This  knowledge will not only help you in your understanding of the logic behind key signatures, but will be invaluable in helping  you pass those music exams with flying colours.

The Chart of Key Signatures has the Major keys on the left hand side, and the related Minor Key to the right of the chart. The related Minor Key is so called because it has exactly the same key signature as its companion Major Key.

The Complete List of Sharp Key Signatures. Note that the sharp keys move up by degrees of a 5th each time.

• 0 Sharps        C Major  and  A Minor
  
• 1 Sharp- F# -    G Major   E Minor
  
• 2 Sharps F# C# –       D Major   B Minor
  
• 3 Sharps F# C# G# –    A Major   F# Minor
• 4 Sharps F# C# G# D# -    E Major   C# Minor
• 5 Sharps F# C# G# D# A# –   B Major   G# Minor
• 6 Sharps F# C# G# D# A# E# –   F# Major  D# Minor
• 7 Sharps F# C# G# D# A# E# B# –   C# Major and A# Minor.

Note that the order of Sharps is always the same. This is:

F C G D A E B. If the Key has two sharps, then they will be F# and C#, and will be written in that order.  If the key signature has six sharps, then they will be F C G D A and E sharps, and will be written in that order.

You can see that there is another system to this Key Signature Table.  Beginning with NO sharps (or flats) with C Major, we move up that scale of C to the 5th degree of that scale to find the next Key Signature which ranks with ONE Sharp.  This will be G Major, which, as you can see from the chart, has ONE SHARP F.

In a Sharp Key:  We always move up a fifth to find the next ranking key signature in a Sharp Key. From G major, with one sharp, we move up another fifth to find the key signature which will have TWO sharps, which will be D Major,  with F and C sharps, and so on.  The same logic applies to the relative minor, which lies always a minor 3rd below its related major key.

Another amazing thing about this chart is that you can see how just one more sharp is added each time.  They are ALWAYS written in the way these sharps arrive in sequence. F# ALWAYS begins the written key signature, no matter how many sharps you have in the key, and no matter whether the key is Major or Minor.

It is a FLAWLESS system.

THE FLAT KEY system of Key Signatures:  The same methodology applies to the Flat Key Signatures, except that the flat keys move up by degrees of a 4th each time. Going up the scale of  C Major to the 4th degree, you arrive at the Key Signature which has ONE FLAT B.

Here is how the Chart of Flat Key Signatures Looks:

• 0 Flats – C Major  and  A Minor
• 1 Flat Bb- F Major and D Minor
• 2 Flats Bb Eb- BbMajor and G Minor
• 3 Flats Bb Eb Ab- Eb Major and C Minor
• 4 Flats Bb Eb Ab Db- Ab Major and F Minor
• 5 Flats Bb Eb Ab Db Gb- Db Major and Bb Minor
  
• 6 Flats Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb- Gb Major and Eb Minor
• 7 Flats Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb – Cb Major and Ab Minor

The key to the range of Flat Key Signatures is this:

B E A D G C F – Just seven Flats.  If the Key Signature has One Flat, that Flat will ALWAYS be Bb.  If it has TWO Flats, then those flats will ALWAYS be Bb and Eb, and will always be written in that order.  If the Key Signature has FIVE FLATS, then they will be the first FIVE flats of our list of flats - B E A D G, and will ALWAYS be written in that order in the Key Signature.

Note that the order of FLATS is EXACTLY the OPPOSITE to the list of Sharps, which goes F C G D A E B.

If you can remember BEADGCF for the FLAT keys, then you have the magic formula sussed for those theory exams.  Just reverse it to find the sharp keys.

Well – here we are on our sixth piano  lesson.  I hope you are becoming even more enthusiastic about your music study than you were in the very beginning.  By now you will be beginning to understand about how music works, and that once you understand the language of music, you will never look back.  Your musical experience will be enriched for life.  So – more on the nitty gritty of music……….

What is a Time Signature?

A Time Signature is an essential part of music notation.  Without a time signature, we would have no idea of the rhythmic value, or the time of a piece of music. Without a time signature, there would be no BEAT – the notes would meander aimlessly about without any rhythmic shape,  a little like writing an essay or a book without any punctuation or capital letters at all.

The Time Signature dictates to us what the pulse of a piece of music is.  Each bar has to abide by the ruling of the time signature which is stated at the beginning of every piece of music.

The most common  simple time signatures are 3/4 and 4/4, however, there are many other time signatures, including compound time signatures such as 6/8 and 12/8, or 12/16.

The top figure of the time signature indicates HOW MANY BEATS  there will be in every bar.  The lower figure tells us what NOTE VALUE these beats will have.

So – look to the top figure to tell you what the pulse, or the beat of a piece of music is.  For instance, if the time signature is 3/4, then there will be three beats per bar. We know that these three beats will be Crotchet beats, because a 4 on the bottom of a time signature indicates that the note will be a Crotchet.

3/4  is a waltz time. We will count one, two, three, for every bar of the piece of music.  Every bar will contain only three beats, even though these beats might be broken up into shorter notes.

March Time usually consists of four regular  crotchet beats.  This is called 4/4 time.  The top figure in the time signature, again, tells you how many beats there will be in each bar, so if it says 4/4, there will be four beats.  The bottom figure in 4/4 time, which specifies the note value which these beats are going to have, tells you that the beat is a ‘four’ value, and this specifies a crotchet beat.

The List of Note Values as used in the bottom figure of a time signature are:

Minim    = 2

Crotchet = 4

Quaver   = 8

Semiquaver = 18

Demisemiquaver = 32.

You can see that the figure doubles each time:  This is a fixed element of the Time Signature.  These figures do not change.  We alwys know that a 4 on the bottom line indicates a Crotchet.  An 8 on the bottom line always indicats a Quaver, and so on.

Note Values – These are important, as they are used in connection to both TOP and BOTTOM figure of the time signature.  In working out combinations of notes when you are writing our music, or working out exactly how a rhythm will go, it is important to understand the logic behind the note values.  You might have 3/4 which will mean that you have three crotchet beats in a bar.  But these crotchet beats may be broken up into 6 quaver beats, which still has the value of 3 crotchets.  Or you may have 2/4 time which indicates two crotchet beats in a bar:  One Minim held along the bar will still have the value of two Crotchets.  There are many different combinations which can be used in any given time signature.

Learn these values:

A Breve is worth 2 Semibreves.

A Semibreve is worth  2 Minims, or 4 Crotchets.

A Minim note is worth 2 Crotchets, or 4 Quavers.

A Crotchet note is worth 2 Quavers, or 4 Semiquavers.

A Quaver note is worth 2 Semiquavers, or 4 Demisemiquavers.

So far, we have dealt with Major Chords, but as you will see in the next exercise, there are other chords which appear when you build chords on every note of a scale.  These chords, the Minor chords, and the diminished chords,  have a different quality of sound to the Major chord.

In these following diagragms, we have named the chords as they fall naturally on the notes of the C Major scale.  We have notated these chords for you in both the Treble Clef, and the Bass Clef.

Play these chords on your piano or keyboard.  It is really very easy, as once you have your hand locked in the chord position which uses 1, 3, 5 of the fingers, missing one note between each played note, you simply move the hand up the keyboard from note to note, from chord to chord.

Note that the major chord has a distinct pattern to its formation:  if you look at the keyboard at the top of our page, visualize the major chord on C.  This starts on note C which counts as the first note of the chord.  However, from the C to the C# counts as one semitone. Count all the black notes and the white notes as semitiones (half tones) From C# to D counts as the second semitone.  D to D# counts as the third semitone. D# to E is the fourth semitone.

The C major chord consists of the notes C, E, G. Of course, E is the second note of the C major chord.  So we see that this is exactly 4 semitones away from C, the root note.  From E, we count up only 3 more semitones to the G, which is the third note of the chord.

A Major Chord ALWAYS uses this formation, 4 semitones up from the root note gives you the middle note of the chord, and 3 semitones higher still gives you the top note of the chord in its root position.

This means that you can build a Major chord on any note at all, without any knowledge of whether the chord should use ‘black’ notes.  You can work out these chords by logic yourself, using this formula of semitone sequences.

There is a magic formula for the Minor Chord too – you might be able to work this out for yourself if you play one of these Minor Chords, and analyse it.  We will discuss the formation of a Minor Chord in another lesson.  For now, just work on getting acquainted with Major Chords and how to formulate them yourself.

Sequence of Major and Minor Chords with one Diminished Chord: So – here is the diagragm of the sequence of major and minor chords as they fall in a major key – any major key.  The diminished chord falls on the seventh degree of the scale. The same sequence of chords will occur on ANY major scale, and EVERY major scale,  no matter what the beginning note is.

In a major scale, the patterning of chords is always:

1)MAJOR, 2)MINOR, 3)MINOR, 4)MAJOR, 5)MAJOR, 6)MINOR, 7)DIMINISHED, 1)MAJOR.

Note that the Minor chords which fall on the 2nd, 3rd and 6th degree of the scale, have a plaintive, sad quality about them compared to the Major, which is bright and cheerful.

You can see that there are only THREE major chords which are formed on the notes of a major scale.  These are the first chord, or TONIC chord, and the ones on the FOURTH and FIFTH degrees of the scale.  These are very important chords which are known as the PRIMARY TRIADS.

PRIMARY TRIADS appear on the same points of a Minor scale, on the first degree, the fourth and the fifth, but so far we have not explored the minor key as yet.

The Primary Triads, that is, the chords on the first, fourth and fifth degrees of any scale, form the basis of harmony as we know it in the Western world. These three chords, the  chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees of a scale, are the most commonly used in all our music, no matter what the genre:  Church music,  nursery rhymes, folk songs, classical music, and popular music all use the Primary Triads more than chords built on the other degrees of the scale.

For practice, I want you to write in the two notes of the chords above the root note in the diagragm below.  We are using  the  scale of C Major in the Treble Clef.  After completing the chord formation, I want you to write in the type of chord below each chord:  Describe whether it is Major, Minor or Diminished.

Now your theory practice is to write in the chords above the notes of the G Major scale.  Again, write in the type of chord underneath each chord after you have completed them. Remember that the same sequence applies as for the C Major Scale, so look at that for the clues.

Hello everyone. How are you all going? Keeping up your daily  practice is the main thing.

Don’t worry if you do not ‘get’ everything the first time we mention a new term.  There will be plenty of time, and plenty of opportunity, for us to go over all the main musical terms again.

This is just great, to have moved onto learning about sharps, flats, and key signatures today.

Now – to refresh your memory on the Scale of C. Remember that the Scale of C does not have any black notes in it. We play all white notes in the scale of C, from one C up to the C an octave higher.

Because the scale of C does not use an ‘accidentals’, which are sharps or flats, and it therefore does not use any ‘black’ notes, we say that it has no sharps or flats in its key signature.

The key of C Major has no sharps or flats in its key signature. The scale of C Major has no sharpened notes, or flattened notes.

What is a Sharp? – The sharp sign looks like this – # It is the sign which, when put directly after a note, means that you play that note a semitone higher. This means that an F# will be played on the black note, directly to the right of the white F note.

Look at the diagram on our header at the top of the page. You will see also that F# is actually the same note as Gb. How is this?

Well – The flat sign does the opposite to a sharp sign. A flat sign lowers a note by one semitone. If you were to play B flat, or Bb, then you would play the black note directly to the left of the white B note. The b sign would flatten the note by one semitone, or one half note.

In the first lesson you learned how to play the Octave, and in Lesson Two, we covered the Scale of C Major.  So now you can play the Scale of C Major in both the left hand and the right hand- using the correct fingering. Best to keep these separate until you have learned the fingering inside out.

You have also learned how to read the notes of the Scale of C Major on the Treble Clef, and also on the Bass Clef.

That’s just great. Already, you can play Octaves, the Scale of C Major, and you can read music. You are doing very well.

This is Lesson Three, on How To Play Piano Chords.

In just a moment, we are going to learn how to play the Major Chord on C.

First, before we try to play this chord, What Are Chords?:

Chords are fascinating things. They are used all the time in guitar music. If the guitarist strums the guitar, then he/she is playing chords on the guitar. If you get the music sheet for a song, such as a Beatles tune, then you will see letter names above the melody, all along the way throughout the tune. These letter names are the names of the chords which are used in the song. These chords can be played either on the guitar, or on the piano.

You will find that understanding how chords are formed musically will help your understanding of music overall. Understanding how chords are formed will enlighten you as to  how music is shaped. Chords represent the basis of the  musical system we use today, which is all about harmony.

Chords which harmonise are the sounds which back all those favorite melodies we love to sing or listen to.

Playing Chords: Being able to play  chords on the piano will be of enormous benefit to you,  as this will give you the ability to accompany  your own melodies, or to accompany other people when they sing. You will be able to play chords when somebody plays along with you on their guitar.

How to Play the Chord of C Major on the Piano.

The key of C Major has no black notes, and so it has no sharps or flats, which we will find out about later. For now, just accept that C Major is a simple key to play in, because it does not use any black notes.

So, let us see what the chord of C Major looks  like when it is written on the stave, in the key of C: Here is a diagram of the Chord of C Major written on the Treble Clef, or ‘G’ Clef.  The first chord is using Middle C as the tonic note, or root.  The second chord is still a C Major chord, but it is written an Octave higher.

So – What Do You See?  How is this C Major Chord Formed? You can see that the notes are formed with one note left out in between each note which is played. On the treble clef above, you see the note C at the bottom, with a line through it. The next note of the chord is the E, which is on another line. The third note of the Major Chord on C is the G note.

Play these three notes together, which are written on the stave:  – C, E, G.

Great – You are now playing the Major Chord on C - the notes C, E, and G.

Now, let’s look at the notation for the left hand. Here is the Bass Clef, or F Clef, with two examples of the  chord of C Major notated. The first example is written an Octave below Middle C but the tonic note, or root of the chord, is still C. The second chord is an octave higher, using Middle C as the root note, or tonic note.

It is such a logical system. Now look - the ‘root’ of the chord is the lowest note, the note which the chord is formed on, when it is written in its 1st position, like these examples above.

You will have spotted that if the first note is on a line, then the other two notes forming the major chord will also be on a line. They will take the next two lines immediately above the root note of the chord.

You will have spotted that if the ‘root’ of the chord is on a space, then the other two notes which form the chord are on the spaces directly above the first note, the root note of the chord.

So it is on the piano/keyboard: To form the major chord on C, you play the C, miss a note, play the E, miss a note, then play the next note, the G.

Practice playing the C Chord with the right hand.

Practice playing the C Chord with the left hand.

Play them often, and try to get the fingers to come down on the notes evenly, so that the notes are played all at the same time. This will become easier with practice, as your fingers will become more strong given time. When your fingers have developed strength, then your technical ability will have improved, and you will be able to play these notes altogether, without difficulty, and with a nice even sound.

So – now you can recognise the Chord of C when it is written on the stave. You also can play the C Chord on the piano.

How to Form the Chord of F Major on the Piano:

Now – we are going to learn how to play the Chord of F Major. The formula to play the F Chord  is exactly the same as playing the C Chord. ….the play a note, miss a note, play a note, miss a note, play a note…..routine, using the F note as the root, or the base of the chord. In the right hand, we will use our thumb on the F note.In the left hand, we put our little finger on the F and build the chord up from there…………

So now we will build the F Chord

Right hand first: The thumb will be on the F note. Miss the G note, Play the A note with your 3rd finger. Miss the B note. Play the C note with your little finger, the 5th.

There you have it – the F Chord in the right hand. This is how the F Chord looks on the stave, in the Treble Clef. We have given you two different placings of the F Chord in the Treble Clef. They are an Octave apart from each other.

Now, here is what the F Chord looks like in the Bass Clef. We have again shown you two different placements of the chord of F. They are an Octave apart from each other, as you can see.

To play the F Chord in the left hand:

You will put your little finger, the 5th, on the F note. The 3rd finger of the left hand will take the A note, the thumb of the left hand will take the C note at the top of the chord.

Practice For the Next Few Days:

Read the chords which we have notated for you. These are just the two chords, on C Major, and on F Major. Play them all. Get familiar with these chords. Get good at moving from one chord to another quickly, with ease, so that you can play the chords without faltering.

This  is Lesson Two, on The Scale of C Major. This  follows on logically from the previous lesson, where we learned about the notes C,D, and E, and playing the Octave.

There are many different scales: you will learn the major scales and the minor scales in time. But for now, The Scale of C Major is the first important scale to learn: It is the easiest scale to remember, as it contains only white notes.

So – we have learnt where C,D, and E lie. Well – guess what? You have already learned the first three notes of the Scale of C. The scale of C begins with those same three notes – C,D, and E.

The diagragm below shows you what  the Scale of C looks like when it is written on the stave. This first example is written in the Treble Clef, or ‘G’ Clef, which is the clef most used for the right hand. It is called the ‘G’ Clef, because that elaborate  swirly circle, which we call the ‘Clef’  begins on the 2nd line up, and that line denotes ‘G’.

But don’t worry about learning all these details at once. You pick these things up as you go along: once you understand how the system works, then learning the terms becomes a whole lot easier.

For now, just look at the visuals: On the diagram here, you can see that at the beginning of the scale,  the notes are moving upward. This is because the scale is ascending to begin with.  Then, you will notice that after the scale reaches the highest point, which is an Octave higher than the beginning C, the scale turns around to descend back down the scale, until it reaches the original tonic note of the scale which we began on. 

Well, if you go to your piano or your keyboard, then you will see that these notes are  also moving upward as you play them. Starting from Middle C, moving up towards the right, you get a higher pitch with each ascending note that you play.

We play a total of eight notes ascending in the scale of C Major, before we descend back down the scale again.  We will start on Middle C and play all the white notes above middle C, until we reach the C which is an octave above. So – The Scale of C  Major, written on the Treble Clef:

Now let’s have a look to see what the Scale of C looks like in the left hand. Here, it is written on the Bass Clef, or ‘F’ Clef. The ‘F’ Clef has its name, because this swirly embellishment, the ‘Clef’,  has its beginnings on the 2nd line from the top, which denotes ‘F’. You can see that the notes move upwards, from space to line, from line to space, every time producing a higher note as the scale ascends.

Enough about that for the moment – let’s look at how the Scale of C  Major is written for the left hand, on the Bass Clef, or ‘F’ Clef.

Now – To Play the Scale of C Major in the Right Hand:

We call going UP the scale, from middle C up to the top C, ascending the scale. We call the movement down from that higher C to the lower middle C, which I will run describe for you in a moment, descending the scale.

Place your right hand on your keyboard or piano. Put  your thumb over middle C, in preparation to play the scale. Put your 2nd finger over the  D note, and your third finger over E.

Play these notes now, evenly, one after the other, slowly, C…D…E… Now, put your right hand thumb neatly under the third finger, which is playing E. Slide that thumb onto the next white note beside the E your 3rd finger is on. Now, position your hand so that all the fingers are neatly placed over all the remaining white notes. These notes are the rest of the white notes which comprise the scale of C. Play the rest of the scale with the fingers which lie comfortably over the remaining notes of the C scale – F, G, A, B, C.

Your little finger will be at the top of the sequence now, on that C. To descend, simply play the 4th finger on the B, the third finger on the A, 2nd on the G, thumb (1) on the F.

Now – when you have run out of fingers, and you are left with your thumb on the F note, just reverse that procedure which we used to smoothly ride, when we ascended the scale, from the F to the G, where we put the thumb underneath. This time, because we are descending the scale, we put the 3rd finger over the top of the thumb, so that the 3rd finger neatly falls on the E, leaving the 2nd to play the D, and the thumb to play the Middle C note.

This hand movement is the exact opposite of the arrangement we used to ascend. To descend, we simply slide the third finger over the top of the thumb, instead of the thumb sliding underneath which we did in ascending the scale.

‘Voila’ – you have played the scale of C major, with the correct fingering. This is the beginning stage of learning a good piano technique. The fingering must be learned, just as I have explained above. Learning correct fingering is imperative if you want to play well.

We use this fingering in the right hand so that the notes can all be played evenly, and without any wierd arm or hand movements which would  interfere with the smooth execution of your playing.

How To Play the Scale Of C Major with  the Left Hand

Now – Are you ready to learn the left hand fingering?  Do not be daunted. It is quite a logical procedure, really.  We are just going to reverse the sequence which you used for the right hand…..

Eazy peazy. Just put your left hand little finger on the C below Middle C. Now – evenly play the notes ascending – C, D, E, F, G….

So – you have run out of fingers  now that you have arrived at G in the left hand? Your thumb should be on that G. Now, put your 3rd finger OVER the thumb. Play the A with your third finger, as it stretches over the G note. Now, your 2nd finger will fall naturally onto the B, and your thumb will be left to play the Middle C.

Hooray – the ascending form of the scale of C Major has been played with the left hand. Now, descend evenly, using the exact same fingering to come down the scale. When you arrive at the third finger on A, slide the thumb neatly underneath, so that the thumb can play the G note evenly, without any hesitation. Continue to play the rest of the notes with the hand falling naturally over the rest of the notes – G, F, E, D,  and back to C.

When the hand is placed over the five notes, with one finger allotted to each key, this is called the Five Finger Position.

Learn to play the Scale of C using separate hands. Play each note evenly. Try to get an even touch, so that no note is played louder than the next.

Homework: After you have practiced your scale of C  Major with separate hands, and you have learned to  play it smoothly,  you could put the two hands together. Keep putting the effort into sitting at the keyboard and doing your practice. Do at least half an hour a day, every day, and you will see results.