How to Play a 5-Note Scale Going Up And Down With the Right Hand
To start off how a piano feels to the very beginner,
assuming that you have a piano, let's play a C major scale with only 5 notes--C, D, E, F, and G.

The pattern is a scale going up and down (C D E F G F E D C).

We are going to use the right hand only for this.
Before we start, we need to know what the fingering
is for the scale, so that starts with the naming of the 5 fingers for the right hand:

1st finger--the thumb
2nd finger--the one next to the thumb
(also known as the "index finger")
3rd finger--the one two fingers away from thumb
(the longest)
4th finger--the one three fingers away from the
thumb
5th finger--the one four fingers away from the thumb
(also known as the "pinkie finger")

The good news is that the scale is on the white keys only. Don't worry about playing on the black
keys.

Here is how the scale should be played.

Start with playing the 1st finger on the note C, which is at the left of the group of 2 black keys.

Then, lift the 1st finger and at the same time
touch the 2nd finger on the note D, which is at the middle of the group of 2 black keys.

Then, lift the 2nd finger and at the same time touch the 3rd finger on the note E, which is at the middle of the group of 2 black keys.

Then, lift the 3rd finger and at the same time touch the 4th finger on the note F, which is at the left of the group of the 3 black keys.

Then, lift the 4th finger and at the same time
touch the 5th finger on the note G, which is between
the 1st and 2nd black keys in the group of 3 black keys.

Now, you will go down starting from G.

Release the 5th finger and at the same time touch the 4th finger on the note F, which is at the left of the group of the 3 black keys.

Then, lift the 4th finger and at the same time
touch the 3rd finger on the note E, which is at the middle of the group of 2 black keys.

Then, lift the 3rd finger and at the same time
touch the 2nd finger on the note D, which is at the middle of the group of 2 black keys

Then, lift the 2nd finger and at the same time touch the 1st finger on the note C, which is at the
left of the group of the 2 black keys---AND YOU ARE FINALLY HOME WHERE YOU STARTED---THE NOTE C!

Some little pointers:
Try your best to prepare the right-hand fingers for the scale.
Before playing, try to keep the 1st finger on C,
the 2nd finger on D, the 3rd on E, the 4th on F, and the 5th on G, without touching it. That is, you need to feel the keys before you actually strike them.

Try to keep the fingers curved for this exercise.
If you can't keep the fingers curved (this is called
playing with "flat fingers"), that's all right.

And try to keep the fingers close to the keys so that the fingers are ready to play the notes indicated.

The Three Pedals on an Acoustic Piano
Mood:  bright

You may have seen the keys on the piano and you probably know what they are (and some of you don't know what they are), but a little astounded seeing those three brass hooks (which looks almost like shoehorns) that are under the piano keyboard. Don't worry. These are called "foot pedals"--or "pedals". Those attached brass
contraptions (that are played with the feet) help to enhance the piano sound in
several ways--more than just playing with the fingers on the keyboard alone. Let me tell you the
names of the three pedals and their basic functions of each....

The Damper Pedal
This pedal is the one you will use often--it is on the right of the groups of three pedals. So-called because when you press it down, it lifts the dampers (the colored things on the hammers inside the piano mechanism) away from the strings so that you can sustain the pressed-down (or struck) note for as long as you can....until you release the pedal, which puts the dampers onto the strings and eventually silences the sound.

Damper pedals are often used in passages which feature a harplike atmosphere, like that of Chopin's Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, no. 1
(or "Harp Etude"). The result is usually a highly aestheic quality to the audience....as if the pianist himself is playing the harp. No wonder the piano is also a string instrument as well as a keyboard instrument.

The Soft Pedal
This pedal is the one you will use less often than the damper pedal. It is often called the "una corda"
pedal ("una corda"--means "one string" in Italian), because when you hold that pedal down, what happens is that the hammers will move laterally in such a way that the hammers will be aligned with only one
string....away from the 3-string group (each piano key has 3 strings grouped together). When you play a note, the note will sound less resonant--thus softer--because there is only one string struck by the hammer to make the sound. If the hammer hits all
3-strings (that is, without the soft pedal), there is a more stronger and more resonant sound. That is why it is called the soft pedal.

The soft pedal is often used in passages that are
directed to the pianist to be played very soft.
(For example, in passages that have the "pp" (the
abbreviation for "pianissimo"---Italian for "very soft") dynamic marking.)

The Sustain Pedal
Often called the "sostenuto" ("sustained" in Italian) pedal, it is located in the middle of the left and right pedals (sometimes, it is also called the "middle pedal").
There are two techniques on using the sustain pedal, and it depends on the type and/or brand of piano you are using:
1. One technique involves pressing down the sustain
pedal as soon as the key is struck, and when you
release the key, the key sustains.
2. Another technique involves pressing down the
sustain pedal and then playing the note
afterward.

The sustain pedal are often used to hold long bass notes (in the low register of the piano) in passages where you want to make the upper register notes non-sustained (that is, played without the use of the damper pedal) at the same time.

Now here is a little note just for you....

Some pianos do not have the middle pedal at all...
especially some of the older European pianos. They
usually only have a soft pedal and the damper pedal.

A Little Piano Lesson
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: December 17, 2005
Topic: White Keys and Black Keys


How do you know which note names you will find on the piano? You may or may not know that the letter names of the notes on the piano uses only 7 letters of the alphabet---A to G.

Let's start with the note names of the white keys first, before we get into the names of the notes for the black keys.

A: WHITE KEY NOTES ON THE PIANO

Note name: C
This white key is located on the left side of the
group of the 2 black keys.

Note name: D
This white key is located on the middle of the group
of the 2 black keys.

Note name: E
This white key is located on the right side of the group of the 2 black keys.

Note name: F
This white key is located on the left side of the first black key of the group of the 3 black keys.

Note name: G
This white key is located between the first and second black keys in the group of 3 black keys.

Note name: A
This white key is located between the second and
third black keys in the group of 3 black keys.

Note name: B
This white key is located on the right side of
third black key in the group of 3 black keys.

B: BLACK KEY NOTES ON THE PIANO

Note name: C-sharp or D-flat (C# or Db)
This black key is on the left of the group of two
black keys.

Note name: D-sharp or E-flat (D# or Eb)
This black key is on the right of the group of two
black keys.

Note name: F-sharp or G-flat (F# or Gb)
This black key is on the left side of the group of 3 black keys.

Note name: G-sharp or A-flat (G# or Ab)
This black key is in the middle of the group of 3 black keys.

Note name: A-sharp or B-flat (A# or Bb)
This black key is on the right side of the group of 3 black keys.