| Playing piano can be a wonderful experience. If you | | | | solos but they have never improvised or played by |
| want to start playing piano sheet music you need to | | | | ear. Even these pianists can create great music. |
| know a few of the conventions used in western sheet | | | | I would suggest that you use the best parts of both |
| music notation. Let's make a little journey through the | | | | these approaches as you learn to play piano. Take |
| music notation djungle! | | | | time to develop your ear and improvise but also to |
| First we might notice that the piano as we are used to | | | | make a conscious effort to learn to play piano sheet |
| play have been around for some time. Around 500 | | | | music. |
| years or more. Playing keyboards is in other words a | | | | One way to learn to read sheet music with a |
| rather old art. This means that the conventions as to | | | | concentrated effort is to read a piano solo and trying |
| how to play keyboard instruments and how to notate | | | | to understand all signs and symbols in the music. |
| the music have had some time to develop. | | | | Try to tap the rhythm and as you become more skilled |
| As you might know a piano has 88 keys. This means | | | | you can try to sing or hear the music in your head. |
| a full sized piano but you will find keyboards with a | | | | This is a very effective way to really get into learning |
| considerably less amount of keys. however, the order | | | | sheet music. |
| of the white and black keys are the same. | | | | Here are some symbols you will find as you read a |
| How can you learn to play piano? | | | | piece of piano sheet music: |
| Well, as you might know little children don't have too | | | | You will find vertical lines in the music that divides the |
| much problem with this question. The just hammer on! | | | | notes in groups. These lines are called barlines and the |
| At least one thing you can learn from children. To learn | | | | distance between two of these barlines are called a |
| to play you have to play. That is an important | | | | measure. |
| beginning! | | | | Sometimes you will find two dots at the end of a |
| Do you need sheet music in order to start playing the | | | | section and also a double bar. The two dots are called |
| piano? Well, the before mentioned children have | | | | a repeat sign indicating that you should play the section |
| already answered the question with a definite no! | | | | twice. |
| Some accomplished pianists have never used sheet | | | | The elaborated G is called the G clef and indicates the |
| music at all and play entirely by ear or by reading | | | | position of the note G in the treble note staff. It is also |
| chords in songs. This type of pianists usually learn | | | | called the treble clef. |
| songs by listening to recordings or just by playing from | | | | The left hand notes are mainly situated in the bass clef |
| memory. It works fine and many very fine musicians | | | | or the F clef because the two dots indicates the note |
| and pianist have used this approach. | | | | F. |
| Other pianist have always played sheet music and | | | | It will be a great help for you to study the sheet music |
| would feel very uneasy confronted with a keyboard | | | | before you play a piece of music, rehearsing the |
| without their music sheets. Maybe they have learned | | | | names of the notes and preparing yourself for a |
| pieces by heart and have a large repertoire of piano | | | | pleasant encounter with the music behind the dots. |