8 Ways to Learn How to Play Piano

A basic outline on how to play a keyboard, in addition to opinions on why you should buy one and how the keyboard measures up to the digital piano. This article will explain how to play the keyboard, how much easier a keyboard is to learn than a piano. This also tells you about performing in bands or solo.

Steps


1.  When first positioning your fingers, please be aware that some sheet music has little numbers,which represent each finger placement next to some black dot notes on the sheet music stave. These are 1 = thumb, 2 = index finger, 3 = middle finger, 4 = ring finger, and 5 = little/pinky finger. This sheet music shows you, by placement of these numbers, which fingers play either the white or the black keys.

2 .Learn how to read sheet music.

3. Play a tune on the keyboard in 1 of 2 ways: either play a song you remember "by ear," or follow the sheet music. In the long run, sheet music is useful, but playing by ear will come in handy in the short run for impressing friends or family and, of course, being able to play your favorite tunes immediately. (Note: There is no such thing as keyboard tab.)

4.  Learn to play "by ear." Remembering the sound of a song and finding which notes on the keyboard to press is not easy to do. Here is how you can start.

Sound Colours. Particular songs are closest to one of 12 "sound colours." If you know DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DO or the song "Doe a deer a female deer," then press a C to begin (again see the fingering exercise linked below to find out where this is.) Now sing the next note UP while pressing each WHITE note to the RIGHT of the C on the keyboard. Play the following notes: C=Do D=Re E=Mi F=Fa G=So A=La B=Ti C=Do again. You have just sung or played one of those 12 colours!
Key of C: The entire combination of notes is called the key of C. When your ear is good and practiced, you then begin to recognize some songs on the radio as "fitting" into the Key of C. You will need to know that there are another 12 quite different keys to recognize and that some songs might "fit".

5.  Think of the keyboard as having 3 kinds of "brains," each of which is a type of memory. The first type of brain is called a sound brain, or more commonly known as a tone. This works by storing all the sounds like pianos, strings, flute, and even combines some of these tones to make new ones like "fantasy" or "synthesized " keyboard sounds. A 2nd sound brain is known as the "rhythm brain," called "rhythms" on some keyboards or "styles " on others. Here the keyboard sets off a whole little band of drums, bass guitar, piano and other combination's and allows you to play a right hand melody along with it. The other kind of keyboard brain or memory records what you play. For instance, if you played a left hand bass guitar part, you could later play accompaniment with that. You could then play something entirely new, like a piano or voice melody, to "fit together" with what you originally recorded.

6.  Decide between keyboards versus a regular piano. Consider the following:

7.  A real piano has 88 keys. Most keyboard players do not need the full range of the piano, for the bass keys can be set to play (auto accompaniment.) A keyboard offering the full range of a piano (88 keys) is called a digital piano. Digital pianos usually have more realistic piano sound patches than the average keyboard, while they lose the abilities to emulate synth lead sounds and other instruments like guitars or horns.

Learning to play the keyboard seems easier than learning to play the piano in some ways. Some beginners find playing a keyboard easier to learn because they can play a larger variety of music, like pop, rock, country and jazz.

Although many say that a synthesizer and a keyboard are different, in actuality, the broad definition for a synthesizer is an electronic instrument that can emulate or create sounds using patches or radio frequencies. By this definition, almost any keyboard is a "synthesizer." (Even a digital piano could fall into the category of synthesizer because it still uses samples of real piano sounds.) However, a true synthesizer would typically be considered to be a workstation or arranger keyboard. So in conclusion, almost all keyboards are "synths" in a technical sense, even if all of them are not thought of that way.

Classical music sounds far better played on a piano than a keyboard. A digital piano is comparable to a piano, but remember, the process by which a digital piano is sampled from a real piano causes a small loss in sound quality. A keyboard or digital piano, in today's times, is much more versatile and practical than a real piano. Some keyboards have hundreds of sound patches, and even the average digital piano has more than one piano sound patch with some even having electric piano or organ patches. Keyboard players are much more useful in bands than pianists. Rhythm guitarist late for band practice? The keyboard player can call up a guitar sound patch or take the rhythm guitarist's role in the band by playing chords in the background with a piano patch. Ultimately, although keyboards may never make the world of classical music, in the world of popular music (jazz, rock, reggae, pop, punk, etc.) they are coming into wide usage.

8. Try taking it up a notch, play in a band. Get a couple of friends who can play drums and a another one who plays guitar. With the instruments, the guitar does chords in C major, the keyboard does the C major scale, and the drums outlines the rhythm patterns.

Tips

Try and learn from people who know.
Avoid silly mistakes, especially in performing.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Accept constructive criticism.
Believe in yourself.
You can learn to play the keyboard on your own with method books, but taking lessons is often of more use. Beware, however, of some piano teachers who refuse to teach students using electronic keyboards
Don't get frustrated. Keep on trying and you will succeed.
Youtube videos help too.

Warnings
Playing the piano is the same basic principle as playing the keyboard.
Don't expect to learn overnight. Even Mozart and Beethoven didn't learn things quickly, so practice.
You can choose any instruments in the keyboard, but the properties of the sound differ to other instruments. Like the tie in in the piano. If you do this when you select the trumpet, the sound will stall forever.

Things You'll Need

Keyboard
Sheet music (Not necessary for learning to play.)
Enthusiasm
Patience and plenty of practice