Piano Instruction

Techniques and Methods for Playing Piano

Playing Instruction

The piano is a fickle instrument which can sing with great pleasure or be harsh on the ears. 

The section of the web site will be dedicated to bring you specific instruction and techniques related to playing the piano.

Hopefully the instruction you find in the future pages of this section will provide you with the insight and knowledge to pursue mastery of the piano. 

Scale Fingerings

Go to Scale Fingerings page to see the simple patterns that need to be learned to play scales. Try the flat key fingering page to expand that knowledge.

This will get you started on a path to correctly applying the fingerings required to learn scales. To master the scales and be shown step by step each key signature and scale fingering consider the following workbook.

Scales Keyboard Fingering Workbook

The major scales on white keys are covered first then the flat/sharp keys to expand your knowledge and abilities.

Each section shows the keyboard fingering for left and right hands.

You will learn that these are basic easy patterns and can be mastered with a little patience and practice

Hand Position and Action at the Keyboard

There are a couple of ways that piano students are taught to hold their hands at the keyboard. Additionally they are also taught how to attack the keyboard in different ways, such as staccato or loudness.

The issue becomes that the approach can make a huge difference in the sound. A stiff striking of the keys can create a stark harsh sound where as a fluid motion will produce a smooth full bodied sound. The light fingers of the french methods create a light airy sound, but often lack warmth.

I’ve studied the Russian regimen and found that the power to create the great sound of the the top performers comes from the power of the body. Learning this method is available form Alexander Peskanov’s series of Russian Technical Regimen.

Alex has a complied a number of workbooks to implement and study the techniques. You can check out the many of them at Amazon.com and I suggest you start here:

Alexander Peskanov’s the Russian Technical Regimen for the Piano Introduction and Guide (Alexander Peskanov’s the Russian Technical Regimen for the Piano (Series of 6 books), Introduction and Guide, Volume 1)  

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The Getting It Down Cold Workshops and Music Theory Course are a high value resource to allow you not only to learn the theory, but systematically own it as well. Comparatively speaking the workshops combine material that would be covered in several method books and years of lessons.

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