How to play the piano?

The piano is one of the most versatile musical instruments, used in all forms of music from classical to jazz, the basic tool of song writers and composers, but even a complete beginner can sit down and pick out a simple tune . This article explains the basics of how to learn piano.

Playing position

Position yourself at the piano so that you are sitting upright, your hands held over the keyboard with fingers pointing down on the keys. Don’t drop your wrists: you should be able to play with a coin on the back of each hand. Your feet should touch the floor and be able to reach the pedals.

The keyboard

The keyboard is a mixture of white and black keys in a repeating pattern: a group of three white with two black in between and a group of four white with three black in between. The lowest sounding notes start at the left, getting higher as you move right. The main tune is usually (but not always) played by the right hand, while the left hand plays the lower accompaniment.

The keys

The white key at the centre of the keyboard (to the left of a group of three) is called Middle C. The white keys to the left of this are A and B. keys D to G follow to the right. Each white key is a full tone away from the neighbouring key. The black keys lower or raise the note by half a tone, or a semi-tone. Try playing the keys and listen to how the notes change moving up and down this sequence. Start from Middle C and play the white notes in order up to the next C. You have now played the C major scale (a run of eight notes). Starting with the F key (a white key to the left of a group of 4), you need to add one black key to your scale to make it sound right. Instead of playing the white B key, play the black B flat key (written Bb) which comes just before it.

What to play

Music can be bought online, at specialist music shops or borrowed from a library. Look for easy piano books, use an online tutorial site or take keyboard lessons from a teacher to get the most out of your playing. You will learn to play the basic notes, build technique with exercises such as scales and studies, and enjoy playing music for solo piano, duets or even piano with orchestra. Practice, of course, makes perfect, and getting the basics right is the first step to becoming a good musician.