3 Day Piano

The Beginning

I was 12 years old when I started piano. It was not traditional piano; it was something quite non-traditional. I excelled quickly, as it focused on learning songs with your ear, along with musical notation. I enjoyed piano so much that I actually took it through college and graduated with a music degree. Now I realize this is not everyone's story. The typical story is one where a kid goes to regular piano lessons--usually because they are forced to--and they hate it. With that in mind, I take an entirely different approach to teaching. I believe you will see by the end of this little book that you will be excited to finally be playing the piano!

3 Day Piano

What You Will Need

A PianoI try to encourage my students to have at least 61 keys. You can get away with less, but you will be limited the more advanced you become.

Ideally, the piano or keyboard should be hammer- weighted. If your keyboard is not hammer-weighted, it is not the end of the world. It will just make building muscle strength in your fingers, slower. You will want a damper (sustain) pedal as well. That's about all you need to be playing in 3 days!

A Pedal

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Tip Hammer-Weighted

This is when the piano keys are heavy in the lower register notes (left side) and gradually get lighter as you move to the higher register (right side). All acoustic pianos are built this way. However, not all digital pianos have this feature. If you are shopping for a digital keyboard, get weighted!

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learning The Keyboard =

A B C D E F G

Can you believe it's that simple?

The Keyboard = 7 Letters

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It usually surprises students when they find out all those 88 keys on the piano only consist of 7 letters (or notes). The best part is that they are letters we are most are familiar with-- the alphabet. ABCDEFG and then it repeats. That's it. You have already mastered the whole keyboard! Get familiar with the letter names all over the keyboard. For practice, begin counting out the letters over and over across the keyboard. Basically, if you close your eyes and hit a key at random, you should be able to name the note right after you open your eyes. If you test yourself by doing this, and pass successfully, you are now ready to move on to the next step in the progression.

The Keyboard Continued...

Note: This graphic shows only part of a keyboard. A full size keyboard starts on A

and ends on C

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your Posture

It seems kind of silly, but posture at the piano is a big deal. I remember my teacher taking a lot of time talking to me about my posture at the piano and how it affected the sound and my body comfort. Don't worry, I am not going to give you a dissertation about posture! Just some quick tips... Check Out Below

Back is mostly straight

Feet are mostly flat on the floor,

unless using pedals

Arms are level with the keyboard

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Chords

A chord is a combination of notes. You press them all at the same time to achieve a certain sound. Pretty much any piece of music is going to consist of playing chords somewhere along the line. Chords are a building block to some of the most famous and legendary songs we know of today. Because of this, they can be intimidating. We are going to demystify this thing called chords, and by the end of this little book, you will know how to play ALL major chords. Here is a picture, but do not get nervous if it confuses you. In a video later, I will explain.

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Folks tend to get really nervous about the left hand. Let me assure you that it really is not that difficult. You just need to start out with baby steps. Starting out, take a look at the pictures below and practice lining up your fingers. This is a great way to break the ice and get yourself feeling comfortable. To continue, try playing an octave (a span of 8 notes) with your left hand while you play a chord in the right hand. For example, play a C Major chord in the right hand and just play a C octave in the left at the same time.

C

C

C

E G

Let's try Another Chord.

Keep going

placement

The Left Hand

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Major Chords

Major Chord = 1 Major 3rd + 1 minor 3rd 1 Major 3rd = 4 half steps 1 minor 3rd = 3 half steps

Start On Any Note And Use The Above Formula To Build A Major Chord

Check Out The Below Video

Let's play one

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Keep going

G Major Chord

Now let's play a G Major chord with right hand and a G octave in the left hand like pictured below.

DBGG G

Since we are on such a roll, let's do another!

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Minor Chords

We alluded to it several pages back but here we will look at the construction of a minor chord in better detail. It is just as easy to play a minor chord as it is to play a major chord. It's just a reverse of the formula.

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Minor Chords

Minor Chord = 1 minor 3rd + 1 Major 3rd 1 minor 3rd = 3 half steps 1 Major 3rd = 4 half steps

Start On Any Note and Use the Above Formula to Build a minor Chord

Check Out The Below Video

Let's play one

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Minor Chord With Left Hand

A A A C E

Take note on how a minor chord sounds. Some call it sadder sounding, but I think of it as sounding serious and epic. Some of the most beautiful pieces of music are written with minor chords and in minor key signatures.

TIP :

Next

Key Signature is a term we will cover in the full course.

Very simple.

Key Signature

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F Major Chord With Left Hand

OK, so up to this point, we have learned and played 4 different chords. That is about all you need to play the most popular songs today. It really is just that easy. However, it is the way that we play them that makes the difference. There is also improvisation and many other techniques that can be done. Piano, if done right, really never gets boring.

Onward

F F F A C

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Now we are going to put everything we learned together. We are going to use the chords we have been practicing to play one of the most popular songs of all time. It is going to be loads of fun and you will be surprised at how quickly you will be able to play it!

Next

Putting it All Together

Going Beyond..

How to continue moving forward with piano.Using the tools and lessons we just learned in this book and the accompanying videos, you now have the tools to approach popular songs and figure them out on your own. Of course, the songs will have to be at the beginner level. But the piano does not end there! The possibilities with piano are literally endless. There is nothing quite like the calm and decompressing feeling that comes over you, after a long stressful day, to sit at the piano and just play. It truly is therapy. So many people do not have the ability or the skills to do that. I want to change that for you. My full course will be available via email but only for a short time! Make sure you take this opportunity.

3 Day Piano

Watch for it!