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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
The comprehensive go-to guide for building keyboard skills Being able to play a tune on the piano can bring you a lifetime of sheer aesthetic pleasure--and put you in serious demand at parties! Whatever your motivation for tinkling the ivories, the latest edition of Piano & Keyboard All-In-One For Dummies gives you the essentials you need both to build your playing skills and expand your knowledge of music theory, from deciding what keyboard suits you best to musing on the science of what makes music so emotionally compelling. This indispensable resource combines the best of Piano For Dummies, Keyboard For Dummies, Music Theory For Dummies,and Piano Exercises For Dummies and includes practice strategies, as well as access to streaming and downloadable audio to help guide your progress. In addition to becoming acquainted with the latest in music theory, you'll learn to develop your sight-reading skills and performance techniques--until you can reproduce pieces flawlessly on request! * Choose and care for your keyboard * Practice until perfect * Compose your own songs * Hook up to speakers, computers, and more Learning to play the keys is a never-ending journey of new discoveries and joy, and there's no better companion on your voyage than this friendly, erudite, and comprehensive guide. P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Piano and Keyboard AIO For Dummies (9781118837429). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!
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Piano & Keyboard All-in-One For Dummies®
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020939020
ISBN 978-1-119-70084-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-70085-2 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-119-70095-1 (ePDF)
Piano & Keyboard All-in-One For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Book 1: Piano & Keyboard 101
Chapter 1: Warming Up to the Piano and Keyboard
What’s So Special About the Piano?
Why People Learn to Play the Piano (and Why They Often Quit)
Getting to Know the Piano as an Instrument
Understanding the Language of Music
The Best Way to Play
What You Already Know About Playing the Piano
Electronic Keyboards and other Keyboard Instruments
Making the Most of Your Keyboard’s Basic Features
Delving into More Advanced Digital Features
Practicing with and without Help
Chapter 2:
Acoustic Pianos
Electro-Mechanical Keyboards
Electronic Keyboards
Appreciating How Digital Keyboards Make So Many Sounds
Considering Key Feel and Response
Paying Attention to Polyphony
Chapter 3: Choosing and Buying Your Keyboard
First Things First: Acoustic or Electric (or Both)?
Looking At What’s Important for the Beginner
Playing Well With Others and Alone
Picking the Perfect Acoustic Piano
Selecting a Digital Keyboard That Lasts
Before You Drive It Off the Lot: Sealing the Deal
The MIDI Places You Can Go
Chapter 4: The Setup and Care of Your Instrument
Unboxing Your New Keyboard
Providing a Good Place to Put It
Making It Shine
Calling In a Pro for Tuning, Check-Ups, and Serious Repairs
Setting Up Your Keyboard
Hook Me Up: Keyboard Connections
Protecting Your Investment: Care and Upkeep
Solving Minor Technical Problems
Chapter 5: Getting Comfy at the Keyboard
Blake’s E-Z Key Finder
What Your Parents Never Told You About Posture
It’s All in the Hands
Pedal Power: Getting Your Feet in on the Action
Book 2: Understanding Theory and the Language of Music
Chapter 1: Looking at Notes and Beats
Meeting the Beat
Recognizing Notes and Note Values
Extending Notes with Dots and Ties
Mixing All the Note Values Together
Chapter 2: Stopping for a Rest
Getting to Know the Rests
Practicing Beats with Notes and Rests
Chapter 3: Tempo, Measures, and Time Signatures
Playing Fast and Slow: Tempo
Grouping Beats into Measures
Counting Out Common Time Signatures
Chapter 4: Navigating Sheet Music
Meeting the Staff, Clefs, and Notes
Identifying Half Steps, Whole Steps, and Accidentals on the Staff
Musical Punctuation: Bar Lines
Chapter 5: Varying Beats and Rhythms
Getting a Jump on the Start: Pickup Beats and Measures
Adding Time to Your Notes with Ties and Dots
Playing Offbeat Rhythms
Playing Songs with Challenging Rhythms
Book 3: Beginning to Play
Chapter 1: Playing a Melody
Let Your Fingers Do the Walking
Positions, Everyone!
Cross Your Fingers and Hope It Works
Playing Melodies in the Right Hand
Chapter 2: Working with Scales
Building a Scale, Step-by-Step
Introducing Major Scales
Introducing Minor Scales
Checking Out Blues Scales
Playing Songs Made of Scales
Chapter 3: Adding the Left Hand
Exploring the Keyboard’s West Side
Left-Hand Melodies
South-Paw Scales
Accompaniment Patterns
Adding the Left Hand to the Right Hand
Playing Songs with Both Hands
Chapter 4: Examining Form: Melody, Harmony, and Song Form
Shaping the Melody
Measuring Melodic Intervals
Combining Notes for Harmonic Intervals
Working with Musical Phrases and Periods
Linking Musical Parts to Create Forms
Playing Songs with More Harmony
Chapter 5: Keys, Key Signatures, and the Circle of Fifths
Home Sweet Home Key
The Circle of Fifths
Reviewing All the Key Signatures
Playing Songs with Key Signatures
Chapter 6: Building Chords to Accompany Melodies
The Anatomy of a Triad
Starting Out with Major Chords
Branching Out with Minor Chords
Exploring Other Types of Chords
Adding the Seventh for Four-Note Chords
Reading Chord Symbols
Relating Chords to a Scale or Key Signature
Rearranging the Order of the Notes: Chord Inversions
Playing Songs with Chords
Book 4: Refining Your Technique and Exploring Styles
Chapter 1: Adding Effects and Flair to Your Piano Playing
Dynamically Speaking
Articulate the Positive
Control the Tempo
Pedal Power
Touching on Grace Notes
Just Trillin’
Don’t Miss the Gliss
Trembling Tremolos
Dressing Up Your Songs
Chapter 2: Getting into the Groove
Great Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns
Applying Great Intros and Finales
Playing Songs with Left-Hand Grooves
Chapter 3: Going Classical
Counterpoint as a Classical Revelation
Sussing Out the Sonata
Rounding Up the Rondo
Figuring Out the Fugue
Combining Forms into a Symphony
Observing Other Classical Forms
Chapter 4: Perusing Popular Genres and Forms
Feeling the Blues
Having Fun with Rock and Pop
Pop! Goes the Piano
A Little Bit Country
Improvising with Jazz
Soul Searching
Book 5: Exercises: Practice, Practice, Practice
Chapter 1: Developing Hand Technique
Passing Over and Crossing Under
Playing Intervals
Playing Chords Without Tension
Chapter 2: Extending Your Scales
The 12 Major, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor Scales
The Three Diminished Scales
The Chromatic Scale
The 12 Blues Scales
Gaining Greater Command of Scales
Performance Piece: “Variations on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’”
Chapter 3: Improving Finger Coordination and Footwork
Parallel Movement at the Octave
Parallel Movement at the Interval
Contrary Motion Away from the Center
Contrary Motion Toward the Center
Combination Movement Exercise
Performance Piece: “Turkey in the Straw”
Using the Damper Pedal
Pedaling Chords
Uniform Pedal Changes on One Line
Varied Pedal Changes on One Line
Pedaling for Effect
Sustaining as the Hands Move
Performance Piece: “Simple Gifts”
Chapter 4: Jumping Across the Keyboard
Jumping and Landing Accuracy
Jumping with Both Hands Together
Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns
Performance Piece: “Lily Pad Rag”
Chapter 5: Exercising with Arpeggios and Alternating Hands
Finger Jumps
The Arpeggiator
Broken Chords
Performance Piece: “Harp Heaven”
Playing with Alternating Hands: Hand-to-Hand Scale Handoffs
Chapter 6: Stepping Up to Octaves and Chord Progressions
Opening Up to the Octave
Octave Jumps
Octave Chords
Performance Piece: “Schumann’s Octave Workout”
Seventh Chord Progressions
Chord Cadences, Familiar Patterns
Extended Chord Progressions
Book 6: Exploring Electronic Keyboard Technology
Chapter 1: Choosing Sounds and Ef fects
First Things First: Understanding Some Important Terminology
Knowing and Using Effects
Meeting the Main Types of Effects
Choosing Effects for Each Type Of Sound
Chapter 2: Adding Accompaniment, Rhythm Patterns, and Arpeggiation
Getting Your Groove On: Working with Onboard Drum Rhythms
Playing with Accompaniment
Letting the Keyboard Make the Choices for You
Using Some Fancy Extras
Exploring Arpeggiation
Exploring More Arpeggiator Features
Trying Out Some Different Sounds: Matching Sounds and Arp Patterns
Adding Fun Sound and Effects Tweaks
Chapter 3: Recording and Editing Your Sounds
Audio Recording versus MIDI Recording
Capturing What You Hear As It Happens: One-Pass Recording
Recording Multitrack MIDI
Refining Your MIDI Recordings
Trying Some Common Sound Edits
Getting Your Song out of the Keyboard and into the World
Chapter 4: Using Onboard Learning Systems
Working with Built-In Songs
Introducing Casio’s Step-up Lesson System
Exploring Yamaha’s Educational Suite Lesson System
Chapter 5: Playing Along with Recordings and Using Music Software
Exploring the Advantages of Playing Along
Connecting an Audio Device to Your Keyboard to Hear Both Together
Getting in Tune
Figuring Out a Song You Don’t Know
The Computer Connection: Using Software to Enhance Your Music-Making
Connecting Your Keyboard to Your Computer
Hooking Up to Your iPad
Exploring Popular Types of Music Software
Appendix: Accessing the Audio Tracks
Discovering What’s on the Audio Tracks
Customer Care
Index
About the Authors
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Book 2 Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 Tempos and Their Approximate Beats Per Minute (BPM)
Book 3 Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Recipes for Constructing Chords
Book 4 Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 Dynamic Markings
TABLE 1-2 Musical Articulations
Book 6 Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 Brand Names and Individual-Sound Terminology
TABLE 1-2 Brand Names and Multiple-Sound Terminology
Appendix
TABLE A-1 Audio Tracks
List of Illustrations
Book 1 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Owning one is so grand.
FIGURE 2-2: Upright, not uptight.
FIGURE 2-3: Hammers vibrate piano strings to produce music to your e...
FIGURE 2-4: Rhodes MK1 suitcase electric piano.
FIGURE 2-5: Wurlitzer electric piano, model 200A.
FIGURE 2-6: Hohner D6 Clavinet.
FIGURE 2-7: Hammond B-3 with Leslie speaker.
FIGURE 2-8: Vox Continental combo organ.
FIGURE 2-9: Keith Emerson’s mighty Moog modular system.
FIGURE 2-10: The Korg Krome, a modern digital synthesizer/workstati...
FIGURE 2-11: Velocity sensors in a key mechanism.
Book 1 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Your basic set of black and whites.
FIGURE 5-2: Chopsticks and forks on your keyboard.
FIGURE 5-3: Octave groupings on your keyboard.
FIGURE 5-4: Proper posture and positioning at the piano.
FIGURE 5-5: An adjustable piano chair.
FIGURE 5-6: Two types of piano bench: adjustable (a) and standard (b...
FIGURE 5-7: Take a stand for your electric keyboard.
FIGURE 5-8: The shape to emulate.
FIGURE 5-9: Numbers and digits.
FIGURE 5-10: The typical three pedals on a piano.
Book 2 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: Eighth notes can have individual flags or connect with a...
FIGURE 1-2: Sixteenth notes, written in different ways, all sound al...
FIGURE 1-3: Same deal with thirty-second notes.
FIGURE 1-4: Each level of this tree of notes lasts as many beats as ...
FIGURE 1-5: A mix of whole, half, and quarter notes.
FIGURE 1-6: A dotted half note.
FIGURE 1-7: Two tied quarter notes equal a half note.
FIGURE 1-8: Exercise 1.
FIGURE 1-9: Exercise 2.
FIGURE 1-10: Exercise 3.
FIGURE 1-11: Exercise 4.
Book 2 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Notes and their equivalent rests.
FIGURE 2-2: Each level of this tree of rests lasts as many beats as ...
FIGURE 2-3: Whole and half rests on the staff.
FIGURE 2-4: Practice your whole and half rests.
FIGURE 2-5: Counting quarter and eighth rests.
FIGURE 2-6: Exercise 1.
FIGURE 2-7: Exercise 2.
FIGURE 2-8: Exercise 3.
FIGURE 2-9: Exercise 4.
FIGURE 2-10: Exercise 5.
Book 2 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Bar lines group beats into measures.
FIGURE 3-2: Mixing up all the notes into measures.
FIGURE 3-3: You can recognize the tunes of three common time signatu...
Book 2 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The treble clef staff (left) and the bass clef staff (ri...
FIGURE 4-2: The notes of the treble clef.
FIGURE 4-3: The notes of the bass clef.
FIGURE 4-4: Isn’t this staff grand?
FIGURE 4-5: Middle C written with ledger lines for right and left ha...
FIGURE 4-6: Playing the same note with different hands.
FIGURE 4-7: Notes on the grand staff.
FIGURE 4-8: Octave lines.
FIGURE 4-9: Half steps to the left and right of the E key.
FIGURE 4-10: One whole step, or two half steps, to the left of E br...
FIGURE 4-11: One whole step, or two half steps, to the right of E b...
FIGURE 4-12: A sharp, the black key to the
right
of the A, is a hal...
FIGURE 4-13: E to E sharp.
FIGURE 4-14: A flat, the black key to the
left
of the A, is a half ...
FIGURE 4-15: E to E flat.
FIGURE 4-16: A natural cancels an established sharp or flat.
FIGURE 4-17: Bar lines divide music into measures.
FIGURE 4-18: The five types of bar lines.
Book 2 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Starting with a half rest.
FIGURE 5-2: Starting with a pickup measure.
FIGURE 5-3: Ties that bind notes of the same pitch.
FIGURE 5-4: The dotted half note.
FIGURE 5-5: Dotted half notes in 4/4 and 3/4 time.
FIGURE 5-6: A dotted quarter note paired with an eighth.
FIGURE 5-7: A dotted eighth, a sixteenth, and their beams.
FIGURE 5-8: Practice with dotted notes.
FIGURE 5-9: Congrats! You have triplets.
FIGURE 5-10: Counting triplets.
FIGURE 5-11: Practice with triplets.
FIGURE 5-12: Swing those eighths.
FIGURE 5-13: This notation says swing it.
FIGURE 5-14: Suddenly syncopation by emphasizing upbeats.
FIGURE 5-15: “After You’ve Gone,” without (top) and with (bottom) s...
Book 3 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: Playing a key.
FIGURE 1-2: Getting into C position.
FIGURE 1-3: “Frere Jacques” with right hand in C position.
FIGURE 1-4: The melody of “Ode to Joy.”
FIGURE 1-5: “Skip to My Lou” uses C position but extends your thumb ...
FIGURE 1-6: The melody of “Kumbaya” uses C position and stretches RH...
FIGURE 1-7: “Chiapa-necas” stretches and shifts C position.
FIGURE 1-8: Gee, I like G position!
FIGURE 1-9: “Little Bo-Peep” is a breeze in G position.
FIGURE 1-10: “This Old Man” uses G position with some stretching.
FIGURE 1-11: One song, two hand positions.
FIGURE 1-12: Crossing over your thumb to play more notes.
FIGURE 1-13: J. S. Bach’s “Minuet” features the RH 2 crossover.
FIGURE 1-14: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” requires the thumb to pass u...
Book 3 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Stepping out.
FIGURE 2-2: The C major scale follows all the white keys.
FIGURE 2-3: The G major scale employs one sharp: F sharp.
FIGURE 2-4: The F major scale uses B flat.
FIGURE 2-5: A joyful melody made from a major scale.
FIGURE 2-6: A frugal melody needs only five notes of the major scale...
FIGURE 2-7: Building your C major scale chops.
FIGURE 2-8: Major and minor C scales.
FIGURE 2-9: “Joy to the World” in C minor.
FIGURE 2-10: So many minors, not enough chaperones.
FIGURE 2-11: The A natural minor and A harmonic minor scales.
FIGURE 2-12: The A melodic minor scale.
FIGURE 2-13: Exercising the three C-minor scales: C natural (a), C ...
FIGURE 2-14: Getting the blues.
FIGURE 2-15: Using the blues scale for a cool melody.
Book 3 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Assume C position with the left hand.
FIGURE 3-2: Reading and playing notes in the bass clef, starting fro...
FIGURE 3-3: Lower notes in the bass clef, starting from LH G positio...
FIGURE 3-4: Left-hand melody: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
FIGURE 3-5: Another left-hand melody: “Little Brown Jug.”
FIGURE 3-6: C, G, and F major scales for the left hand.
FIGURE 3-7: A, E, and D natural minor scales for the left hand.
FIGURE 3-8: The A harmonic and melodic minor scales.
FIGURE 3-9: Root-fifth-top patterns in C, G, F, and A.
FIGURE 3-10: Three-note arpeggios in quarter-note patterns.
FIGURE 3-11: Three-note arpeggios in eighth-note patterns.
FIGURE 3-12: Four-note arpeggios.
FIGURE 3-13: Up and down the four-note arpeggios.
FIGURE 3-14: Four-note arpeggio patterns in eighths.
FIGURE 3-15: RH and LH share a melody.
FIGURE 3-16: A simple melody and accompaniment from Mozart.
FIGURE 3-17: ”Old Smoky” with a three-note LH pattern.
FIGURE 3-18: Double the melody.
Book 3 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Arch contour.
FIGURE 4-2: Wave contour.
FIGURE 4-3: Inverted arch contour.
FIGURE 4-4: Pivotal contour.
FIGURE 4-5: Numbering the notes of the C major scale.
FIGURE 4-6: A family of intervals on the C major scale.
FIGURE 4-7: “London Bridge” uses major second intervals.
FIGURE 4-8: A minor second interval in action in Beethoven’s “Für El...
FIGURE 4-9: Major and minor thirds from Beethoven’s
Fifth
.
FIGURE 4-10: The major third interval lifts the spirits.
FIGURE 4-11: A minor interval close to children’s hearts.
FIGURE 4-12: Perfect fourth interval in motion.
FIGURE 4-13: Perfect fourth from Schubert’s
Unfinished Symphony
.
FIGURE 4-14: A shining star, the perfect fifth interval.
FIGURE 4-15: A fifth interval descending perfectly.
FIGURE 4-16: Perfect fourth and fifth together.
FIGURE 4-17: Augmented fourth/diminished fifth.
FIGURE 4-18: Major and minor sixth intervals.
FIGURE 4-19: Seventh (interval) heaven.
FIGURE 4-20: Somewhere over the octave.
FIGURE 4-21: Playing intervals all together now.
FIGURE 4-22: “Aura Lee” is a melody that begs for harmony.
FIGURE 4-23: Harmonizing “Yankee Doodle.”
FIGURE 4-24: ”America, the Beautiful” with single-note LH part.
FIGURE 4-25: Adding more harmony to the LH part.
FIGURE 4-26: Adding harmony below the melody in the RH part.
FIGURE 4-27: The LH harmony matches the rhythm of the melody.
FIGURE 4-28: A full, choir-like harmonic treatment.
FIGURE 4-29: Note the phrase line in the bass clef.
FIGURE 4-30: A musical period is made of linked phrases.
Book 3 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: “Good Night, Ladies” in the key of C (major).
FIGURE 5-2: “Good Night, Ladies” in the key of F (major).
FIGURE 5-3: The sign on the line.
FIGURE 5-4: A key signature for each hand.
FIGURE 5-5: Playing a melody in the key of G.
FIGURE 5-6: Trying the same melody in the key of D.
FIGURE 5-7: The Circle of Fifths.
FIGURE 5-8: Sharp keys.
FIGURE 5-9: Flat keys.
FIGURE 5-10: Changing keys and then returning home.
FIGURE 5-11: Finding the minor keys in the Circle of Fifths.
FIGURE 5-12: The C major key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-13: The A natural minor key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-14: The G major key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-15: The E natural minor key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-16: The D major key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-17: The B natural minor key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-18: The A major key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-19: The F sharp natural minor key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-20: The E major key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-21: The C sharp natural minor key signature and scale.
FIGURE 5-22: The B major and C flat major key signatures and scales...
FIGURE 5-23: The G sharp natural minor and A flat natural minor key...
FIGURE 5-24: The F sharp major and G flat major key signatures and ...
FIGURE 5-25: The D sharp natural minor and E flat natural minor key...
FIGURE 5-26: The C sharp major and D flat major key signatures and ...
FIGURE 5-27: The A sharp natural minor and B flat natural minor key...
FIGURE 5-28: The A flat major and F natural minor key signatures an...
FIGURE 5-29: The E flat major and C natural minor key signatures an...
FIGURE 5-30: The B flat major and G natural minor key signatures an...
FIGURE 5-31: The F major and D natural minor key signatures and sca...
Book 3 Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: This C chord is a simple triad.
FIGURE 6-2: Making new chords from the C triad.
FIGURE 6-3: Major chords.
FIGURE 6-4: Major chords for lefty, too.
FIGURE 6-5: Minor, but not insignificant, chords.
FIGURE 6-6: Augmented chords raise the fifth one half step.
FIGURE 6-7: Diminished chords lower the fifth one half step.
FIGURE 6-8: Augmented and diminished chords in “Old Folks at Home.”
FIGURE 6-9: Suspended chords.
FIGURE 6-10: A little suspension tension.
FIGURE 6-11: There’s nothing plain about these seventh chords.
FIGURE 6-12: Transforming chord symbols into notes on the staff.
FIGURE 6-13: Building a chord from a chord symbol.
FIGURE 6-14: The major scale triads.
FIGURE 6-15: More major scale triads.
FIGURE 6-16: The blues progression.
FIGURE 6-17: The pop or doo-wop progression.
FIGURE 6-18: The three possible inversions of each type of chord tr...
FIGURE 6-19: Using inversions to create smooth voice leading for th...
FIGURE 6-20: Using inversions to create smooth voice leading for do...
FIGURE 6-21: Smooth left hand examples for I, IV, and V.
FIGURE 6-22: Doo-wop chords played in close left hand positions.
FIGURE 6-23: I, IV, and V chords played in a pianistic style.
FIGURE 6-24: Doo-wop chords played in a pianistic style.
Book 4 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: Dynamic contrasts of
piano
and
forte
.
FIGURE 1-2: Indications of gradual volume changes.
FIGURE 1-3: Get loud, get soft, get dynamic.
FIGURE 1-4: Four slurs and three ties.
FIGURE 1-5: Giving a melody some individual character with articulat...
FIGURE 1-6: Playing around with tempo.
FIGURE 1-7: Pedaling indications.
FIGURE 1-8: Use the damper pedal to connect notes melodically.
FIGURE 1-9: Create a soft sound with the soft pedal.
FIGURE 1-10: Amazing grace notes, how sweet the sound.
FIGURE 1-11: This weasel pops with the help of some grace notes.
FIGURE 1-12: What a trill sounds like.
FIGURE 1-13: Simon says, “Trill this note.”
FIGURE 1-14: Gliss me, gliss me, now you gotta kiss me.
FIGURE 1-15: Down and up glissandos with the right and left hands.
FIGURE 1-16: Use a RH gliss to begin and end a song.
FIGURE 1-17: Tremolo notation.
FIGURE 1-18: Tremolo chords.
Book 4 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Left-hand chords in varied rhythm patterns.
FIGURE 2-2: Root-fifth-octave patterns are easy to play and sound gr...
FIGURE 2-3: Left-hand chord picking in “Picking and Grinning.”
FIGURE 2-4: Hammer out octaves in “Octaves in the Left.”
FIGURE 2-5: Build octaves on different chord notes in “Jumping Octav...
FIGURE 2-6: A driving left-hand pattern with the octave, fifth, and ...
FIGURE 2-7: Open intervals that chug along in “Berry-Style Blues.”
FIGURE 2-8: Mosey along with the bum-ba-di-da bass pattern.
FIGURE 2-9: A boogie-woogie pattern that never goes out of style.
FIGURE 2-10: Intro #1.
FIGURE 2-11: Intro #2.
FIGURE 2-12: Intro #3.
FIGURE 2-13: Intro #4.
FIGURE 2-14: Intro #5.
FIGURE 2-15: Finale #1.
FIGURE 2-16: Finale #2.
FIGURE 2-17: Finale #3.
FIGURE 2-18: Finale #4.
Book 4 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Excerpt from Mozart’s
Sonata in C
.
FIGURE 3-2: Excerpt from Grieg’s
Piano Concerto
.
FIGURE 3-3: Rolling to a romantic close.
FIGURE 3-4: Example of counterpoint from J.S. Bach’s “Aus meines Her...
FIGURE 3-5: Excerpt from the opening theme, first part, of Beethoven...
FIGURE 3-6: Excerpt from the second part of Sonata in C Minor, Opus ...
FIGURE 3-7: Excerpt from the second part, or development, of Beethov...
FIGURE 3-8: Excerpt from the third part of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 ...
FIGURE 3-9: Excerpt from the A section of Mozart’s
Rondo Alla Turca
.
FIGURE 3-10: Excerpt from Bach’s Fugue in C Major.
FIGURE 3-11: Bu-bu-bu-BUM… .
Book 4 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The 12-bar blues.
FIGURE 4-2: Chord substitutions for the blues.
FIGURE 4-3: Lefty provides the rockin’ bass line.
FIGURE 4-4: Romancing the sixth interval tone.
FIGURE 4-5: Good ole’ country music.
FIGURE 4-6: “Yankee Doodle” swings.
FIGURE 4-7: “Merrily” with standard chords.
FIGURE 4-8: “Merrily” jazz variation #1.
FIGURE 4-9: “Merrily” jazz variation #2.
FIGURE 4-10: “Merrily” jazz variation #3.
FIGURE 4-11: Motown syncopation.
FIGURE 4-12: Funky patterns.
Book 6 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The General MIDI (GM) logos.
FIGURE 1-2: Visual representation of EQ.
FIGURE 1-3: A graphic EQ.
FIGURE 1-4: A parametric EQ.
Book 6 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Front panel of a portable keyboard.
FIGURE 2-2: Locate the Accompa-niment or Chords On/Off button.
FIGURE 2-3: Styles organized by category/genre.
FIGURE 2-4: Synchro Start waits for the first key to be played to st...
FIGURE 2-5: Playing four basic chords using the Casio easy chord sys...
FIGURE 2-6: Simple chord progression using the Casio chord method.
FIGURE 2-7: Playing four basic chords using the Korg/Roland/Yamaha e...
FIGURE 2-8: Simple chord progression using the Korg/Roland/Yamaha me...
FIGURE 2-9: Example mixer screens for some arranger keyboards.
FIGURE 2-10: The Korg and Yamaha music database main screens.
FIGURE 2-11: A basic arp pattern.
FIGURE 2-12: A two-handed arp pattern.
Book 6 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Using a microphone to record.
FIGURE 3-2: A pro studio analog tape recorder.
FIGURE 3-3: A common handheld digital recorder.
FIGURE 3-4: Audio- recording computer software.
FIGURE 3-5: A MIDI event edit list.
FIGURE 3-6: Recorder transport controls.
FIGURE 3-7: Editing note timing in a MIDI event list.
FIGURE 3-8: Editing note timing in a piano roll view.
FIGURE 3-9: Common amp EG waveform shapes.
Book 6 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Front panel song list.
FIGURE 4-2: Front panel transport controls.
FIGURE 4-3: Front panel tempo controls.
FIGURE 4-4: Hand or Part Select controls.
FIGURE 4-5: Casio display of hand/part selection.
FIGURE 4-6: Casio lesson controls.
FIGURE 4-7: Onscreen display of current note and finger.
FIGURE 4-8: Yamaha options for repeating measures in a song.
Book 6 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Dual inputs for 1/4-inch mono phone plugs.
FIGURE 5-2: Audio mixer for connecting both a keyboard and an audio ...
FIGURE 5-3: The MIDI DIN connectors.
FIGURE 5-4: A USB port for transmitting MIDI.
FIGURE 5-5: A common USB device cable.
FIGURE 5-6: A MIDI interface with built-in cables.
FIGURE 5-7: A basic MIDI interface with two Ins and two Outs.
FIGURE 5-8: A simple MIDI setup with a direct USB- connected keyboar...
FIGURE 5-9: A keyboard connected to a MIDI interface in Mac OS X Aud...
Guide
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Introduction
Welcome to Piano & Keyboard All-In-One For Dummies! You hold in your hands a well-rounded compendium of tips and advice about playing piano and other keyboard instruments, including electronic keyboards.
If you’ve never seen or put your hands on a piano or keyboard, no problem. This book starts at the very beginning and walks you through everything you need to know to tame that beast and make it sing sweet music. You’ll also have fun along the way. That’s the whole idea.
Maybe you have a little experience — like, say, maybe you were “encouraged” to take piano lessons as a youngster but are just now actually becoming interested in playing as an adult. Or maybe you poke around on your grandma’s upright, or you got a Casio keyboard for your last birthday, and you want to start taking your playing a little more seriously. You too are in the right place. Or perhaps you’re not bad on piano but are thinking of digging in to your wallet to buy a fancy new synthesizer or arranger keyboard, but aren’t sure you can deal with the complicated-looking technology. This book can help you, too.
Basically, there’s a whole lot here for anyone interested in playing piano or keyboards or taking their playing to the next level.
About This Book
Piano & Keyboard All-In-One For Dummies covers a wide range of topics, ranging all the way from what a quarter note is and how to find middle C, to breaking down the 12-bar blues structure, to hooking your keyboard up to your music player so you can jam out to your favorite tunes on headphones.
The chapters in Book 1 focus on getting to know the instrument — how to find a good, affordable one, what to look for, how to maintain it, and basically how it works and the best ways to play it. Book 2 turns to the fundamentals of music itself, with chapters covering how music breaks down into notes and rests, how to read sheet music, and how to keep up with beats and rhythm. Book 3 brings all that together and introduces scales, melodies, harmonies, keys and key signatures, and chords.
Book 4 starts getting into more fancy stuff, like how to add flair to your playing, how to turn your left hand into your favorite accompanist, and what defines different classical and pop music forms. It also offers great tips on playing all kinds of music on piano and keyboard. Book 5 is all about practice. As with anything, playing piano and keyboard do require dedication and repetition — it is, after all, the way to Carnegie Hall — but these chapters try to keep things as fun as possible while refining your skills. Book 6 is all about electronic keyboards, how to choose one, how to find out what it can do and get the most out of it, and how to take advantage of its more complex features. The book finishes with a guide to the free online music tracks that are sprinkled throughout this book. Listening to these tracks can speed up your understanding and help sharpen your playing skills.
The book also contains an absolute ton of music. You’ll have plenty — plen-tee — of songs and snippets to play and have fun with. And a lot of it is available for listening on the free online audio tracks.
Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just tap the web address to be taken directly to the web page.
Foolish Assumptions
This books makes a few assumptions about you, the reader:
You like to listen to music and especially like the sound of piano and keyboard.
When you hear someone play the piano, it sparks something in you. You say to yourself something like, “I wish I could play like that.”
You haven’t had any piano lessons before, or you had some lessons at some point in your life, but you basically see yourself as a beginner. Either way, you’d like it all laid out and explained in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
You have a piano or keyboard but aren’t playing it as much as you want to and need some help getting to the music making.
You don’t have a piano or keyboard but are considering a purchase and would welcome help with the whole process. Most likely, your keyboard will have at least 25 black and white keys, may or may not plug into the wall, and will cost you as much as you’re willing to part with.
You like to discover things for yourself.
If any of these assumptions is true for you, you’re reading the right book.
Icons Used in This Book
As you go through the chapters of this book, you’ll find the following friendly icons scattered here and there. They’re designed to draw your attention to different kinds of information, from helpful guidance to pleasant diversions.
Be sure to pay attention to anything that has this icon attached. As you may guess, it’s something important that you shouldn’t forget.
When you see this icon, you know that some handy-dandy information follows that can save you time, money, energy, and more.
There’s an occasional step into the swamp of technical jargon or complex discussion, and this icon gives you fair warning. It’s not essential stuff. Feel free to flip past it if you just don’t care.
Pay attention to text featuring this icon. It can help you avoid mistakes and problems.
The audio examples that appear throughout the text bring a lot of the music in this book to life. When you see this icon, it means you can find an online audio track related to what you’re reading about. You can find these tracks and clips at www.dummies.com/go/pianokeyboardaio.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the book content, you can find a free online Cheat Sheet that includes advice on building scales, modulating to a new key, achieving the right posture for playing, and getting to know the different types of electronic keyboards. Go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/pianokeyboardaio to access this handy reference material, and then print it out and keep it handy.
You can also access additional free articles that cover information that simply couldn’t fit into the book. You’ll find information on using fake books to expand your repertoire, gigging with others, implementing syncopation, and checking out practice exercises by some great composers. Check them out at www.dummies.com/extras/pianokeyboardaio.
Finally, www.dummies.com/go/pianokeyboardaio is home to the more than 150 audio tracks that accompany this book. Head there to listen to notes, scales, chords, songs, exercises, demonstrations of the sounds of instruments and various keyboard features, and much more.
Where to Go from Here
The book is organized into parts containing chapters that are grouped according to broad, related topics. But you sure don’t have to read it from front to back — or in any particular order. The idea is that you can skim through the table of contents and pick and choose whatever’s interesting to you, based on where you are currently in your musical journey. Then go directly to that section and get cracking.
Still, if you really want some tips about where to begin, here are a few: If you’ve never touched a piano before, definitely start with Book 1. If looking at printed music gives you heart palpitations, you really should think about heading to Book 2. If you’re okay on the very basics, try Book 3, where you gain knowledge of important piano-playing fundamentals and techniques. If you’re not too bad at playing but would like to dig deeper into some particular styles, like rock, country, or jazz, head to Book 4. If you’re pretty good but could use some terrific warmups to get your fingers even more limber (limberer?), try Book 5. And if you’ve got your hot little hands on a smokin’ new keyboard or synthesizer and want to delve into its possibilities, head on over to Book 6.
Bottom line: Every person’s musical journey is unique. Wherever you start — or end up — the important thing is to have fun (and keep playing!).
Book 1
Piano & Keyboard 101
Contents at a Glance
Chapter 1: Warming Up to the Piano and Keyboard
What’s So Special About the Piano?
Why People Learn to Play the Piano (and Why They Often Quit)
Getting to Know the Piano as an Instrument
Understanding the Language of Music
The Best Way to Play
What You Already Know About Playing the Piano
Electronic Keyboards and other Keyboard Instruments
Making the Most of Your Keyboard’s Basic Features
Delving into More Advanced Digital Features
Practicing with and without Help
Chapter 2:
Acoustic Pianos
Electro-Mechanical Keyboards
Electronic Keyboards
Appreciating How Digital Keyboards Make So Many Sounds
Considering Key Feel and Response
Paying Attention to Polyphony
Chapter 3: Choosing and Buying Your Keyboard
First Things First: Acoustic or Electric (or Both)?
Looking At What’s Important for the Beginner
Playing Well With Others and Alone
Picking the Perfect Acoustic Piano
Selecting a Digital Keyboard That Lasts
Before You Drive It Off the Lot: Sealing the Deal
The MIDI Places You Can Go
Chapter 4: The Setup and Care of Your Instrument
Unboxing Your New Keyboard
Providing a Good Place to Put It
Making It Shine
Calling In a Pro for Tuning, Check-Ups, and Serious Repairs
Setting Up Your Keyboard
Hook Me Up: Keyboard Connections
Protecting Your Investment: Care and Upkeep
Solving Minor Technical Problems
Chapter 5: Getting Comfy at the Keyboard
Blake’s E-Z Key Finder
What Your Parents Never Told You About Posture
It’s All in the Hands
Pedal Power: Getting Your Feet in on the Action
Chapter 1
Warming Up to the Piano and Keyboard
IN THIS CHAPTER
Getting acquainted with the piano and music
Discovering what you may already know about playing piano
Grasping the basic attributes of a keyboard
Understanding the benefits of reading music
Access the audio track at www.dummies.com/go/pianokeyboardaio/
The piano remains a very popular instrument, with the number of people who love the piano growing and its popularity spreading throughout the world. Even as the piano is treasured for its quality as an instrument, it also adapts itself to the changing times through technological advances.
The first half of this chapter helps you understand what makes the piano so unique and what’s involved in learning to play it. You may find out that you know a lot more about music than you thought you did, even if you’re a beginner. Beyond the familiar black and white keys, though, keyboards can be wildly different instruments, and looking at the front panels may not give you much of a clue as to what’s inside. The second half of this chapter gives you an overview of what keyboards are and just what you can do with them.
What’s So Special About the Piano?
Playing the piano involves the following fundamental musical tasks:
Playing different pitches and melodies
Controlling the attack and release of a note
Playing different dynamics (relative loudness and softness)
But playing the piano is different from playing other instruments in some important respects, and the piano has several attributes that make it an ideal tool for learning and understanding music.
Advantages to playing the piano
The piano occupies a central position in the world of music. It’s the gold standard of musical instruments, utilized by composers and arrangers and featured routinely in nearly all musical styles, in chamber groups, rock bands, and jazz trios. (Okay, not marching bands.) The following characteristics make the piano a unique instrument — in a great way:
You can play many different notes at the same time.
The fancy word for this is
polyphonic.
It’s a complete solo instrument.
You can play a complete song or other musical work without additional accompaniment or other help from your musical friends. That makes the piano satisfying and self-sufficient.
It’s the perfect accompaniment.
You can accompany a singer, a choir, a dance class, a silent movie, your own opera, or your own soap opera, not to mention any other instrument.
You can play almost anything on the piano.
The piano has an unmatched repertoire of music. You name it, there’s piano music for it.
Advantages to learning music at the piano
The piano is an ideal instrument for learning all about music, starting with the design of the keyboard. The notes are laid out before your very eyes in a clear, organized, and orderly way. Understanding and playing musical pitches is quite easy because the keyboard presents a clear visual image for your brain to process the way musical notes go up (higher pitch), down (lower pitch), or stay the same.
Each key on the keyboard produces a single, distinct pitch, and you can’t beat that for simplicity. Not much skill is required to make a nice, musical sound. Compared with some other instruments (cello, violin, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, bassoon, oboe, and tuba), playing any key on the keyboard, no matter how high or low the pitch, is as easy as playing any other key.
Another advantage of the piano is that you can play chords and layer sounds. The keyboard makes it easy to play harmonies and immediately hear how a combination of notes sounds.
A skill and an art
After all is said and done, the reason playing piano is so special may be that it’s an activity that invites your full participation and rewards you just as completely. It has its mental side and its physical side. It requires both creativity and discipline, and engaging your mind and body is deeply satisfying.
As you learn to read music and play the notes on the piano (or keyboard, for that matter), you create information loops from your brain throughout your body. The first loop is from your eyes to your brain, as you take in the notes on the page and process the information. In the second loop, your brain sends signals to your hands and fingers, telling them how and where to move. Your fingers start to develop a sense of what it feels like to move around the keyboard and use different kinds of touch to produce different results from the piano. A third loop is made as your ears hear the sound from the instrument and send information back to your brain for it to process: Did I play the right notes and rhythms? Did I play a note too loudly or softy? Does what I play sound musical, overall? All this information helps you to modify the signals you send throughout your body to improve the results.
This full-sensory experience is paired with an interpretive element, as your inner artist is at work. The notes and directions on the page can only go so far in describing how the music should sound, which is why two pianists playing the same piece will create noticeably different performances. Even two performances by the same pianist will come out differently. Playing the piano lets you be the decider when you make music: how fast, how slow, how much more, how much less, how many encores to give your audience.
The combination of executing skills and interpreting the music is something that happens each time you play. Even when you simply play what’s written, your personal interpretation comes through. With the piano, you’re a musician from day one.
Why People Learn to Play the Piano (and Why They Often Quit)
Many people start taking piano lessons as kids, when they don’t have much say in the matter. But adults come to the piano for many reasons, including wanting to take it up again because it didn’t stick the first time around, when they were kids. Following are some reasons you may want to learn or relearn to play piano:
You want to re-create your favorite songs and compositions.
When you play a piece of music on the piano, you bring that music to life. Written music is like a blueprint — a set of directions that tell you what notes to play and when and how to play them. It takes a performer to complete the process that starts in the composer’s mind but is unfulfilled until the music reaches the listener’s ear.
You like a challenge.
There’s no doubt that getting to the intermediate and advanced levels of piano takes time, patience, and practice. Some people relish this challenge. Whatever your ambition, learning to play piano is a never-ending challenge given the wealth of material at all levels. Some people set goals for themselves — to learn a certain piece they want to be able to play, or to be able to play piano for others at a party or family gathering. There are plenty of rewards to be had along the way, and sticking with it pays off when you start playing your favorite songs or when you get the chance to play music with others. There’s nothing like being able to say, “I’m with the band.”
You want to be able to play music in almost any style.
Playing a pop song or a classical sonata on piano doesn’t require a different set of notes; when you know how to read and play piano music, you can play classical, jazz, rock, country, folk, cabaret, Broadway show tunes, and more. If you can play piano, you can speak the universal language of music.
Unfortunately, failure to quickly reach any of these goals leads some to throw in the towel. It’s important to be realistic with your timetable and your expectations as you begin learning piano. Here are some top reasons why people give up playing the piano; don’t let yourself fall victim to them, too:
Frustration:
Learning to play the piano takes patience. Coordinating hands and fingers, reading music, and committing to practice, practice, practice are the refrain of musicians everywhere, but making it all fun is the goal of this book.
No time:
Getting yourself to a basic beginner level of piano doesn’t require hours and hours of keyboard work every day. Regular practice sessions in which you can focus and learn comfortably do wonders for improvement.
Self-criticism:
No doubt you’re your own worst critic, and nobody likes playing wrong notes. Short-circuit your inner critic by celebrating small achievements and show off to your friends and family along the way so they can support you.
Getting to Know the Piano as an Instrument
The first step in learning to play the piano is familiarizing yourself with your instrument. The piano is a complex and fascinating contraption, and the modern piano reflects hundreds of years of developments and improvements in design and sound.
A prospective buyer has plenty of options when approaching the piano market today. The two styles of acoustic piano, grand and upright, come in a variety of sizes and prices, and both produce sound in a similar way. Their hammer action design allows you to control the volume and tone quality through the speed and nuance of your touch as you press down a key and send a felt-covered wooden hammer to strike a string, or set of strings, inside the piano. The resonance of the string vibrating is amplified by the wooden soundboard, which is parallel to the strings.
The wide range of digital keyboards available today offers some attractive alternatives to acoustic pianos, even if they fall short of capturing the sound and feel of the real thing. Digital pianos use sampled sounds — of pianos, electric pianos, harpsichords, and organs, as well as other instruments and sound effects — that are stored as digital information. You play these sounds by pressing a key and hearing the sound amplified electronically. Digital keyboards (covered later in this chapter) put a greatly expanded library of sound at your fingertips. Other advantages of digital pianos and keyboards include greater portability and “silent” practicing with headphones.
The hybrid piano combines acoustic and digital technology and is another enticing option available today. Though expensive, these pianos are well on their way to fulfilling their promise to combine the best of both worlds.
Check out the rest of the chapters in Book 1 to find out more about all the keyboard instruments, compare styles and designs, prepare yourself to go piano or keyboard shopping, and find out how to care for your instrument at home.
The piano did not grow obsolete with the development of electronic instruments in the last 50 years. The piano is popular in both its old-fashioned acoustic version and all the newer versions that feature digital sound; automatic playing features; and recording, editing, and web-integration technology. In other words, pianos are the best of both worlds these days, and no one needs to compromise if they don’t want to. The piano has adapted and changed with the times, yet it’s still treasured for the fundamental things that haven’t changed. It’s still an ideal solo instrument to have at home, it’s ready to be played whenever the mood strikes you, and its intuitive design satisfies both your fingers and your ears.
Understanding the Language of Music
Playing the piano or keyboard means reading music. The best thing to keep in mind is that, in a way, you already know the language. You’ve heard it, sung it, danced to it, and gone to beddy-bye to it your whole life. If you haven’t read music before, think of it as assigning new names and concepts to things you already know and making connections from the new language to the language you’ve already learned aurally.
Reading music means reading pitches, rhythms, and other notational symbols invented to communicate music from composer to performer. See the table of contents to find the chapters in this book that cover these topics.
