How To Play Piano for Beginners, Lesson 1 || The Piano Keyboard

Summary

This video script introduces a series of piano lessons for absolute beginners, aiming to teach piano and sheet music reading from scratch. It emphasizes the importance of reading music for becoming a flexible and capable musician. The first lesson focuses on familiarizing students with the keyboard layout, finger numbering, and a game to reinforce note recognition and finger dexterity. The instructor provides a downloadable keyboard diagram and suggests regular, short practice sessions for effective learning and to prevent finger injuries.

Takeaways

• 🎼 The series is designed for absolute beginners and will cover around thirty lessons throughout the year, focusing on piano playing and sheet music reading from scratch.
• 👀 The lessons are aimed at those who can play the piano a bit but struggle with reading music, providing a formal background for their skills.
• 📚 Learning to read music is emphasized as an immensely useful skill that enhances flexibility and capability as a pianist and musician.
• 🔢 The first lesson introduces the keyboard layout, explaining the positioning of notes from the bottom to the top and the concept of higher and lower notes.
• 🎹 The piano's 88 notes follow a simple repeating pattern, with white notes named from A to G, positioned relative to groups of black notes.
• 🔤 A downloadable PDF with a keyboard diagram is provided to help learners memorize the names of the white notes.
• 🎮 An interactive game with five levels is introduced to help memorize note names and finger numbering, starting with single notes and progressing to playing runs of notes.
• 👆 Finger numbering is taught, where the thumb is '1' and the little finger is '5', with a focus on using all fingers in sequence during practice.
• 🔄 The importance of practicing regularly but in short, frequent sessions is stressed to enhance learning and prevent finger injuries.
• 🔄 The process of learning note names and fingerings is described as essential groundwork that will simplify more complex tasks in the future.
• 🔗 Additional piano tutorials on topics like improvisation are available for beginners to explore beyond the basics of note names.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the piano lessons series mentioned in the transcript?

The purpose of the piano lessons series is to help absolute beginners learn to play the piano and read sheet music from scratch, as well as to provide a formal background for those who already play a bit but have shaky skills in reading music.

How many lessons are planned for the series throughout 2017?

There are around thirty lessons planned for the series throughout 2017.

Why is being able to read music considered useful according to the script?

Being able to read music is considered immensely useful because it makes a pianist and musician more flexible and capable once they get the hang of it, despite the initial effort required.

What is the focus of the very first lesson in the series?

The focus of the very first lesson is learning the layout of the keyboard and understanding finger numbering.

What is the significance of the white notes on the piano keyboard in terms of naming?

The white notes are significant because they are named after the letters from A to G, and they follow a simple repeating pattern which is crucial for beginners to learn.

How are the black notes related to the white notes in terms of positioning on the keyboard?

The black notes are related to the white notes in that groups of two or three black notes help identify the white notes named A, F, and C, respectively.

What is the recommended approach to learning the names of the white notes according to the script?

The recommended approach is to use a diagram of the keyboard with the white notes labeled, and to practice by playing games that reinforce the note names and finger numbering.

What is the numbering system used for fingers when playing the piano?

The numbering system for fingers when playing the piano is 1 for the thumb, and then 2, 3, 4, 5 for the remaining fingers, moving outward from the thumb to the little finger.

What are the five levels of the game mentioned in the script and what do they involve?

The five levels of the game involve: 1) playing four notes with a chosen letter name using any finger on the right hand, 2) repeating level one with the left hand, 3) playing notes with fingers in order, starting with the thumb, while naming the finger and note, 4) playing two notes simultaneously with one finger from each hand, and 5) playing runs of notes up and down the keyboard with consecutive fingers.

What is the golden rule for piano practice as suggested in the script?

The golden rule for piano practice is that 'little and often is best,' meaning shorter, more frequent practice sessions are more effective than longer, less frequent ones.

What is the advice given for piano practice to reduce the risk of finger injury?

The advice given is to have regular short practice sessions and to practice a little each time one walks past the piano to gradually build up the necessary muscles for playing without risking injury.

Outlines

00:00

🎼 Introduction to Piano Lessons for Beginners

This paragraph introduces a new series of piano lessons aimed at absolute beginners, planned to span throughout 2017. The lessons are designed to teach piano and sheet music reading from scratch. It addresses those who can play the piano but struggle with reading music, offering a formal background to enhance their skills. The instructor emphasizes the importance of being able to read music for becoming a more flexible and capable musician. The first lesson focuses on familiarizing students with the keyboard layout and finger numbering, suggesting that those already familiar with these aspects can skip this part. The concept of 'left' and 'right' is clarified for hand positioning, and the direction of notes on the keyboard is explained. The piano's 88 notes are demystified by explaining their repeating pattern, with each white note named after the letters A to G, and the black notes grouped in threes and twos. A downloadable PDF with a keyboard diagram is provided for reference, and a game with five levels is introduced to help students learn and memorize the notes and finger numbers.

05:02

🎹 Learning Piano Notes and Finger Numbering

This paragraph continues the piano lesson by detailing a game with five levels designed to reinforce the learning of piano notes and finger numbering. Level one involves playing four notes with the same letter name using any finger on the right hand, while level two repeats the exercise with the left hand. Level three introduces the concept of finger numbering, with the fingers labeled from 1 (thumb) to 5 (little finger), and requires playing notes with fingers in sequence. Level four progresses to playing two notes simultaneously with one finger from each hand. Level five involves playing runs of notes, starting with the thumb and moving up to the fifth finger and back down, aiming for smoothness and evenness in playing. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of practice, suggesting frequent short sessions over long, infrequent ones to prevent finger injury and improve learning efficiency. It also mentions that mastering these levels will build confidence in note recognition and finger placement, preparing students for the next lesson.

10:05

📚 Conclusion and Additional Resources

The final paragraph wraps up the piano lesson by highlighting the importance of mastering note names and finger numbers as a foundation for more complex tasks in piano playing. It stresses the value of freeing up cognitive resources by automating the process of note recognition. The instructor provides advice on effective piano practice, recommending frequent short sessions over longer, less frequent ones, to enhance learning and prevent injury. The paragraph also invites viewers to explore additional piano tutorials on the instructor's channel, such as improvisation, which can be enjoyed even with basic knowledge of note names. Links to these tutorials are provided below the video. The instructor encourages viewers to subscribe to the channel for upcoming lessons and looks forward to continuing the tutorial series with an introduction to written piano music in the next video.

Keywords

💡Piano Lessons

Piano lessons refer to instructional sessions designed to teach individuals how to play the piano. In the context of this video, the lessons are aimed at absolute beginners, with a series of around thirty lessons planned throughout the year 2017. The video script emphasizes the structured approach to learning piano fundamentals, including reading sheet music and finger techniques.

💡Sheet Music

Sheet music is a written form of musical notation that uses symbols to represent the pitch, rhythm, and structure of a musical composition. The script mentions that the lessons will help beginners learn how to read sheet music, which is essential for understanding and playing musical pieces accurately.

💡Finger Numbering

Finger numbering is a system used in piano playing to identify and organize the fingers on each hand for playing notes. In the script, the instructor emphasizes the importance of learning finger numbering to ensure that students can efficiently and accurately play the piano, starting with the thumb as '1' and going up to the little finger as '5'.

💡Music Theory

Music theory encompasses the study of the practices and possibilities of music, including the elements of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. The script touches on music theory by discussing the repeating pattern of piano keys and how understanding this pattern can make learning the piano less daunting.

💡White Notes

White notes are the uncolored keys on a piano keyboard that produce musical notes named from A to G. The script explains that each white note is named after one of these letters and follows a pattern that can help students quickly learn the layout of the piano keyboard.

💡Black Notes

Black notes, also known as sharps and flats, are the colored keys on a piano that raise or lower the pitch of the adjacent white keys. The script uses the positioning of black notes to help identify the names of the white notes, such as F being to the left of a group of three black notes.

💡C Major Scale

A C Major scale is a sequence of musical notes that starts and ends on the note C, following a specific pattern of whole and half steps. In the script, the instructor plays a C Major scale to demonstrate the arrangement of white notes and to introduce the concept of scales to beginners.

💡Keyboard Diagram

A keyboard diagram is a visual representation of a piano keyboard, often used for educational purposes to help learners identify and locate keys. The script mentions a downloadable PDF with a keyboard diagram that labels the white notes, aiding students in memorizing the layout of the piano.

💡Piano Practice

Piano practice refers to the act of repeatedly playing the piano to improve one's skills and familiarity with the instrument. The script advises beginners to practice 'little and often,' suggesting short, frequent practice sessions to enhance learning and reduce the risk of finger injury.

💡Improvisation

Improvisation in music is the spontaneous creation of melody and harmony without prior preparation. The script mentions that once students know the names of the notes, they can explore improvisation, allowing them to creatively experiment with the piano even as beginners.

💡Tutorial

A tutorial is an instructional video or guide that teaches a specific skill or topic. The script refers to the series of piano lessons as tutorials, with the first one focusing on foundational knowledge such as note names and finger numbering, and subsequent tutorials planned to cover more advanced topics.

Highlights

Introduction to a new series of piano lessons for absolute beginners spread throughout 2017.

The goal of the lessons is to teach piano and sheet music reading from scratch.

Lessons will provide formal background for those who play piano but struggle with reading music.

Emphasis on the importance of being able to read music for flexibility and capability as a pianist.

First lesson focuses on learning the keyboard layout and finger numbering.

Explanation of the use of 'left' and 'right' for hands and 'bottom' and 'top' for the keyboard.

Introduction to the repeating pattern of piano notes and their relation to the groups of black keys.

Naming of white notes from A to G and the pattern recognition method.

Availability of a downloadable PDF diagram for note and finger numbering reference.

Introduction of a game with five levels to help memorize notes and finger numbers.

Level one involves playing four notes with the same letter name using the right hand.

Level two mirrors level one but uses the left hand for practice.

Level three introduces finger numbering with a sequential playing method.

Level four involves playing two notes simultaneously with one finger from each hand.

Level five challenges students to play runs of notes in ascending and descending order.

Advice on the best practice methods for piano learning, emphasizing short and frequent sessions.

Encouragement to subscribe for upcoming tutorials and mention of other piano tutorials available.

Anticipation for the second lesson where written piano music will be introduced.

Transcripts

OK, welcome to the very first in my new series of piano lessons for absolute beginners. There

are going to be around thirty or so of these lessons spread throughout 2017. The idea is

that they will help you to learn piano, and how to read sheet music, from absolute scratch.

If you already play piano a little bit but your skill at reading music is a little bit

shaky, or you don’t read at all – and I know that a lot of you guys who are already

subscribed to my piano channel fall into that category – then these lessons will give

you some of the kind of formal background that maybe you’ve missed. Being able to

read music is an immensely, immensely useful skill, and although it takes a little bit

of effort at first once you’ve got the hang of it it’ll make you a much more flexible

and capable pianist and musician in general.

OK, let’s get going. In the very first lesson we’ll just be learning our way around the

keyboard and learning about finger numbering, because I want to make sure that you really

know that stuff before we go any further. Now if you already know where all the notes

are on the piano keyboard, and how the fingers are numbered – and you’re absolutely sure

you know all of that stuff – then you

can skip this lesson and go straight on to lesson two. But if you’re the slightest

bit unsure, stick around for the rest of this lesson.

So we’ve got this huge expanse of 88 notes, and somehow we have to get to grips with them

all. Right now I’m focused on the middle of the keyboard so you can get a good clear

view. Now first things first: we only use ‘left’ and ‘right’ to talk about our

hands, never to talk about direction on the keyboard. When we talk about the keyboard

we talk about the bottom – which is down there – and the top – which is up there.

As we go ‘up’ the keyboard the notes get higher and as we go down ‘down’ the keyboard

the notes get lower, OK?

Now – 88 notes to learn sounds scary. But, like a lot of things in music theory, that's

a lot easier than it might seem at first, because although the piano has all these notes

they follow a fairly simple, repeating pattern. Every white note is named after one of the

letters from A to G. So this note is F. Or rather, it’s one of the Fs on the keyboard.

There are others. This is an F, and that’s an F. Can you see what they all have in common?

Each one of those Fs is the white note immediately to the left of one of the groups of three

black notes. F, F, F, F.

Here’s a C. Now where do you think I’m going to find the other Cs? That’s right,

immediately the left of the one of the groups of two black notes. C, C, C, C, OK? And here’s

an A – can you see how it sits in the kind of group of three black notes, there, with

two black notes to its left, and one to its right? Again, A, A, A, A.

OK, so let’s name all the white notes, starting on A. We’ve got A, B, C, D, E, F, G – and

look, now we’re back to an A. Now, we’re not always going to be thinking of them in

that order, so now let’s try it starting on C. C, D, E, F, G, A, B and we’re back

to C. I’ve just played a C major scale there, which is something we’re going to back to

very soon.

So the first thing you need to do is learn those names of the white notes, because you

need to be totally confident with them. Now, to do that I’ve created a diagram of the

keyboard with the white notes labelled, so you don’t kind of have to keep coming to

this video and wheeling back and forth to look at which note is which. If you head to

www.billspianopages.com/beginners you’ll find a downloadable PDF, and in there is the

diagram.

Now, having a diagram is great but we kind of need to get this knowledge off the page

and into your brain, yeah? And the way we’re going to do that is by playing a game. Now,

as well as helping you learn your notes, remember what we said at the start of this lesson about

how to number our fingers? That’s in the game as well – as we’ll see. OK, it’s

pretty simple, and has five kind of levels. What I want you to do is try to master each

level before you move on to the next.

OK, so level one is to just think of a letter between A and G and play four notes with that

name on the piano keyboard, using any finger on your right hand. So you might go for B

– B, B, B, B. As you hit each one, name it. E. E, E, E, E. If you’re not sure where

the notes are, remember to refer back to the PDF and the diagram. You’ve completed this

level when you can just think of a note name like you know D and hit it – like that - pretty

much without thinking. Try to vary the fingers you’re using, you know, rather than just

using one or two and also the order you play the notes in so you’re jumping around rather

than just going up or down the piano keyboard.

Level two. You can probably see this coming, but level two is just like level one, except

we’re going to use our left hand. Again, you should be able to get to a point when

you can just think of a note, stick your left hand out and play four different notes with

that name. Remember to try different fingers and play the notes in different orders. Like

this – G – G, G, G. Or C – C, C, C, C.

Level three is where we’re going to start thinking more carefully about our fingers.

OK, so take a look at your right hand. Now when we’re playing the piano, your fingers

don’t have names – we don’t talk about middle finger or index finger or whatever

– we use numbers. So the thumb is one, and then going out to the little finger we have

2, 3, 4, 5. And it’s the same in the left, starting on the thumb, 1, we go out to the

little finger, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or first, second, third, fourth, fifth. First, second, third,

fourth, fifth. The only partial exception to that numbers not names rule is the thumb

– we sometimes do just call it the thumb – but usually it’s all about 1, 2, 3,

4, 5, first, second, third, fourth, fifth. Again, there’s a diagram in the PDF to help

you remember.

Now what I want you to do is just exactly what you did in levels one and two, but using

the fingers of each hand in order, starting with the right hand thumb. Name the finger

you’re using, and think of a note. Name that too. Then play it four times with that

finger. So, 1 – B – B, B, B, B. 2 – E – E, E, E, E. Work through all of the fingers

of right and left hand and, you know, do it over and over again because what we’re aiming

for is the point where you can think of a finger – fourth finger, right hand – think

of a note – G – and go G, G, G, G.

In level four we’re going to use one finger on each hand, and we’re back to doing pretty

much what we did in levels one and two. Think of a note, and hit it. But this time hit two

of the notes at once, one with each hand – A, A, A, A. Again, we’re aiming for the point

where you don’t even have to think about it. C.

OK, nearly there - level five. Here’s we’re going to be playing runs of notes like this.

Start in the right hand and pick a note – let’s say C. Play it with 1, your thumb, then play

the notes up from it, using consecutive white notes until you reach your fifth finger, then

come back down. Sounds complicated, looks simple let me show you. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1. Repeat it plenty of times. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Find a different note

– G – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Each time we’re aiming to be smooth and even,

yeah, we don’t want to hear loads of er, yeah, um, ah – I want each note to be the

same length and the same sort of loudness if we can. Let’s start on E. 1, 2, 3, 4,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and so on. You can alternate naming the fingers with naming the notes.

E, F, G, A, B, A, G, F, E. That’s going to take a little while at first but stick

at it, really practise that hard. And again we’re going for the point where you can

just put your thumb down, and go D, E, F, G, A, G, F, E, D. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2,

1.

Then you can also do it in your left hand, and this time we’re going to be starting

on 1 and going down until we reach 5. Say, on A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. A, G, F,

E, D, E, F, G, A.

So we’re doing that over and over and over until you can do it without thinking. And

by the time you can do that you should have a great deal of confidence with, you know,

finding all the note names of all the white notes on the piano, and also have some instinctive

feeling beginning to grow for your finger numbers.

Once you can do all five levels without too much effort, you’re ready to move on to

lesson two. Now, doing all of this note learning at first might seem like mindless slavery

– because, you know, you want to get on to the interesting stuff, but it’s really,

really essential – if you can just get your note naming and finding to a point where you

don’t need to think about it, you free up lots of brain space for the more complex tasks

that are to come, yeah? It’s – it will make things much easier.

I also just want to say something about piano practice – what’s the best way to go about

your piano practice? Well, the golden rule, especially when you’re starting out, is

that little and often is best. So rather than sitting down for hours at a time once a week,

try to do just 20 minutes a day, or two lots of 15 minutes a day or something like that.

As well as helping you learn in the most effective way that’ll also help you to reduce the

risk of injuring your fingers, because you need to gradually build up the muscles that

you need for playing the piano. One thing you could do is have those little regular

practice sessions of ten minutes or whatever, but also just try one of the levels every

time you walk past the piano – you know, it only needs to take 30 seconds.

OK, so there we go. The good news is that now you know your note names you’re well

set up to move on to lesson two, but there’s a bunch of other things you can do now as

well – I’ve got quite a few piano tutorials on stuff like improvisation where you can

start to have fun and mess around on the piano without even knowing anything else but the

names of the notes. I’ve included links to some of those tutorials right underneath

this video, so go and check some out.

If you’ve found this piano lesson useful make sure you subscribe to my channel so you

don’t miss upcoming tutorials, you know number two is coming out very soon – just

click the little subscribe button in the bottom left hand corner – bottom right hand corner,

sorry - right now. I’ll see you in tutorial number two, where we’ll be looking at some

written piano music for the first time.