Getting Started
Introduction to The Blog
I often refer to this blog to clarify things. It helps my students get the most out of their piano lessons. Hopefully it helps you too!
Blog
Piano Technique
7. Pedal Exercises: Piano Technique
The right pedal is used most often. When pressing the pedal we should keep our heels on the ground and press with our big toe onto the widest part of the pedal.
Piano Technique
6. Tankard Finger Exercises
Tankard’s book has fully written out exercises. It deals with just about all the problems a pupil is likely to encounter when playing piano.
Piano Technique
5. Hanon: Finger Exercise
There are 60 exercises in Hanon’s ‘The Virtuoso Pianist’ book. These exercises train pianists in speed, precision, agility, strength and flexibility
Piano Technique
4. Crab Crawl: Improving Your Scales
The Crab Crawl is an exercise we use to improve our scales. As it’s name suggests, this exercise is reminiscent of a crab crawling up and down our piano.
Piano Technique
3. Start Right: Wrist Movement
Adding a simple wrist movement is great for adding depth and color into your playing. This also relieves any tension you may have in your wrists.
Piano Technique
2. Start Right: Staccato Technique
To play staccato in the most efficient way we should pull our fingers away from the keys. This way we get more powerful staccatos and more control
Piano Technique
1. Start Right: The Proper Piano Technique
Having the proper piano technique is essential. Bad piano technique can slow you down and cause pains. It’s best to start right; bad habits die hard.
Piano Basics
5. Arpeggios and Chords
Together with scales, arpeggios can greatly enhance your playing. They are the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th note of every scale. Chords are a condensed arpeggio
Piano Basics
4. How to Tell the Key of a Piece
Here are three ways we can distinguish between major and minor keys and tell the key of a piece; the sound, accidentals, last note in the bass.
Piano Basics
3. Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales
Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales. The other most common scale is the minor scale, which has the interval pattern T-S-T-T-S-T-T.