Introduction

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori and developed early 18th century. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the world's most familiar musical instruments. The word piano is a shortened form of pianoforte, the Italian word for the instrument (which in turn derives from the previous terms "gravicembalo col piano e forte" and fortepiano). The musical terms "piano" and "forte" mean "quiet" and "loud," and in this context refers to the variations in volume of sound the instrument produces in response to a pianist's touch on the keys: the greater a key press's velocity, the greater the force the produced

The Development of the Piano

1. Harpsichord is an older type of keyboard instrument. Its string are plucked with a plectrum instead of being struck with a hammer

2. Square Piano An old square piano was in fact in the shape of a rectangle, not a true square. It had a shorter keyboard, and fewer strings, than a modern piano.

3. Upright pianos - also called vertical pianos, are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. The hammers move horizontally, and return to their resting position via springs, which are susceptible to degradation.

4. Grand Piano the modern concert grand is a masterpiece of construction. Smaller grand pianos are called Baby Grand.

How to Tell One Key from the Other?

When you layout piano keys one after the other, can you see a pattern in the way the keyboard is organized?

Now if you look at the keyboard you'll notice there are black keys and white keys. The black keys are divided to groups of 2's and 3's. This pattern helps us to orient ourselves on the keyboard.

Proper Hand Position

Fingers have numbers. It's easier to name them that way. The thumb is the first finger of each hand. Pay attention to the fact that our hands are symmetric. When we play our fingers should be curved.

Part of a Musical Piece

1. Staff - it has 5 lines and 4 spaces where in musical notes are written. We use the staff in order to tell the name of a note.

We can write piano notes on the lines and between the lines. That's how we can tell the piano note names.

The Piano Grand Staff The grand staff is the two-part piano staff used to accommodate the pianos wide range of notes: 2. Treble Staff -- The top staff is the treble staff, which is marked with the treble clef (or G-clef). Its notes are generally higher than middle C, and are played with the right hand. 3. Bass Staff -- The bottom staff is the bass staff, marked with the bass clef (or F-clef). Its notes are around middle C and below, and are played with the left hand.

4. Time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat. In a musical score, the time signature appears at the beginning of the piece, as a time symbol or stacked numerals immediately following the key signature.

Examples of each type of time signature date back many decades or centuries

The 4/4 time signature or the common time

The 2/4 time signature or the Alla Breve

The 2/2 time signature

The 3/4 time signature or the Waltz

5. Measures -- A measure is a section of the staff that comes between two bar lines (or barlines). Each measure satisfies the time signature; music written in 4/4 time will have four quarter-note beats per measure.

6. Double and Single Bar Lines -- A double bar line is used to separate different sections of a

song, and may mark the transition into a different time signature, key signature, or overall style. A bold double bar line is a final bar line, and marks the end of a song or movement.

Notes
7. Value of Notes

The length of a note will tell you how many beats it covers in a measure. The most common note lengths are: a. Whole Note Covers every beat in 4/4 time. In common time, a whole note takes all four beats.

b. Half Note Is half the length of a whole note. Covers two beats in common time.

c. Quarter Note Is 1/4 the length of a whole note. Is one beat in common time.

d. Eighth Note Is 1/8 the length of a whole note; half the length of a quarter note. Two eighth notes make one beat.

Dotted Notes

a. Half Note A half note = 2 beats in common time Half of that length = 1 beat 2 beats + 1 beat = 3 beats A dotted half note has a total duration of 3 beats. b. Quarter Note A quarter note = 1 beat Half of that length = 1 eighth-note beat 1 quarter note + 1 eighth note = 1 beats A dotted quarter note has a total duration of 1 1/2 beats. Double Dotted Note A double-dotted quarter note equals 1 quarter note + 1 eighth note + 1 sixteenth note, or 1 beats. 8. Value of Rest Types of Rests: For each type of note you learned beforehand there is a corresponding rest. a. The whole rest: Looks like: A dark rectangle attached to a bar line, facing downwards. Covers every beat in 4/4 time. In common time, a whole rest takes all four beats.

b. The half rest Looks like: A dark rectangle attached to a bar line, facing upwards. Covers two beats in common time.

c. The quarter rest: Looks like: A squiggly line. Is one beat in common time.

d. The eighth rest: Looks like: a slanted line with a dot. (8 shown) Four sixteenth rest equal one beat of common time.

8. Name of the notes

a. Notes on the line

b. Notes on the space

c. Notes below the staff

d. Notes Above the Staff

a. Notes on the line

b. Notes on the spaces

c. notes below the staff

d. Notes above the staff