Turner - Beginner Piano Lessons: Progressive

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INTRODUCTION

Progressive Beginner Piano assumes you have no prior knowledge of music or playing the piano. This book will show you:

• How to play over 25 songs, across a range of two octaves.
• Major, Minor and Seventh chords.
• 12 Bar Blues and Turnaround progressions.

This book also features a chord chart section featuring over 50 different chords. After completing this book you will have a solid understanding of the piano and be ready for further study on specific styles of playing, e.g., Rock, Blues, etc. All piano players should know all of the information contained in this book. The best and fastest way to learn is to use this book in conjunction with:

• Buying sheet music and song books of your favorite recording artists and learning to play their songs.
• Practicing and playing with other musicians. You will be surprised how good a basic piano/drums/bass/guitar combination can sound even when playing easy music.
• Learning by listening to your favorite recordings.

Approach to Practice

It is important to have a correct approach to practice. You will benefit more from several short practices (e.g., 15-30 minutes per day) than one or two long sessions per week. This is especially so in the early stages, because of the basic nature of the material being studied.

In a practice session you should divide your time evenly between the study of new material and the revision of past work. It is a common mistake for semi-advanced students to practice only the pieces they can already play well. Although this is more enjoyable, it is not a very satisfactory method of practice. You should also try to correct mistakes and experiment with new ideas. It is the authors belief that the guidance of an experienced teacher will be an invaluable aid in your progress.

Piano Technique

How to Sit At The Piano

Photo 1

Sit up straight and relaxed. If your piano seat can move up or down, adjust it to a comfortable height, as shown in photo 1.

Hand Shape

Photo 2

Always curve your fingers. This helps keep your fingers at the same level, as shown in photo 2.

Photo 3

When you play the keys on the piano, use the tips of your fingers, and the side of your thumb, as in photo 3.

The Piano Keyboard

Music Notes

There are only seven letters used for notes in music. They are:

These notes are known as the musical alphabet. They are the names of the white keys on the keyboard.

The black keys always appear in groups of two or three. The C note is a white key. It is always on the left hand side of a group of two black keys. Find all the C notes on your piano.

How to Find Middle C

The first note you will learn to play is Middle C. Middle C is the note in the middle of the piano keyboard.