Learning to Play

the Piano(Basics)

Notes Names

Correct Posture

Counting

QUIZ

The notes on the piano keys are from A to G all the way up and down. Though some of them

have the same letter name, they are different in their octave, or in other words, higher or lower. From the picture, you can see what letter name belongs to each key of the piano! 1 half step up is a sharp, and 1 half step down is considered a

flat of that key.Back Continue

Posture is very important while playing the piano because it helps you to play better and with more emotion. You should have your

belly button in front of Middle C, sit on the front half of the bench, have

feet on the ground, back straight, arms at a comfortable angle, and

hands and fingers rounded.

After learning what each key is called on the piano, it is time to put that

information into music! From this picture you can see what each key’s note looks

like written in music form.

The basic notes in music, are Quarter Notes, Half Notes, and Whole Notes as you see in the left picture. A quarter note is 1 count, half note is 2 counts (2 quarter notes), and a whole note is 4 counts (4

quarter notes or 2 half notes). You can see that in the first picture there are two 4’s on top of each other which is called the Time Signature. We are just beginning so

we are only going to focus on the top number. The top number tells you how many counts are going to be included in one measure. With this information, you can see that on the right picture, there are only

going to be 3 counts per measure.

QUESTION 1

What letter names are included on the piano keys?

A through G OR A though Z

CORRECT!!!

INCORRECT

The note names on the keys of the piano go from A

to G continuously.

QUESTION 2

What would the correct posture of your body be?

Relaxed, slumped back, tight fingers, and sitting

on the back edge of your piano bench

Tall straight back, curled, loose, and relaxed fingers and hands, and sitting on the top half of the piano

bench

OR

CORRECT!!!

INCORRECT

Body posture while playing the piano includes tall straight back, sitting on the top half of your bench, and your fingers curled and relaxed on

the piano keys.

QUESTION 3

When sitting in front of the piano getting ready to play, what key should your belly button be in front of?

D Middle COR

CORRECT!!!

INCORRECT

When you are sitting in front of the piano to get ready to play, your belly

button should be aligned with Middle C.

QUESTION 4

With this time signature, how many counts per measure would there be?

4 counts 5 countsOR

CORRECT!!!

INCORRECT

The top number in the time signature tells us how many counts or are going

to be in each measure of the song.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning the basics of

piano and wish you luck!