How to play piano, piano fingering and more..

This free lesson on how to play piano will give you the basic things you need to know to begin to learn how to play piano.

Topics covered are how to sit at the piano, hand position, basic fingering and general practice guidelines.

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How to sit at the piano.

When learning to play piano it is important to have the correct posture at the keyboard.

Most piano benches or stools are designed for the average adult or are adjustable.

When you hands are over the piano keys your fore arms should be parallel to the floor.

Sitting too high or too low diminishes finger dexterity and add stress and strain to the wrists and fingers.

I think this little guy could use a New York City phone book or two!!

You are never too young or too old to start playing the piano!

Your feet should rest comfortably on the floor with your right foot resting lightly on the sustain pedal. (the pedal on the right)

Hand position.

Proper hand position allows the keys to be played with the tips of the fingers.

It is very similar to the hand position when typing.

The fingers should remain curved as if holding a tennis ball as seen in the image below.

Finger numbers.

In order to communicate at the piano we will rename our fingers and give them numbers. Thumbs on either hand are finger # 1 and the pinky's are finger #5. See the illustration below.

Another reason we number our fingers is because when a particular fingering for a passage of notes may be troublesome, often the writer or artist will place a small finger number near the appropriate note in the passage that is in question.

General fingering hints.

For the most part, the highest note in given passage of music will be played by the 5th finger RH or the 1st finger LH.

That should make logical sense, Highest note, closest finger.

The low notes in a passage would be just the opposite. Finger #1 in RH and # 5 in LH.

There are not really any hard and fast rules on fingering or how to play piano.

Just enjoy yourself and if you have a fingering question find a way that works for you or contact me using the form below.

Below is a starting position you can use when learning your first songs at the piano. Right hand thumb on Middle C and left hand 5th finger on C an octave below.

Practicing the piano.

If you are going to learn how to play piano you are going to need to practice.

While many may offer you the ability to play piano overnight, playing it well may take at least a second night.

Practicing at least a half hour daily will ensure progress and you should expect positive results.

If you have to skip a day, so be it but make a promise to yourself not to miss two days in a row.

Last but not least, make practice fun! Take some time to experiment and get creative as well as practicing scales and other technical exercises. Play you favorite tunes, the ones you play well to reinforce a positive experience.

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Contact me

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas for future lessons feel free to Contact Me.