Piano theory the foundation to playing music


Many students complain that piano theory or music theory is difficult to understand, what more to remember them all. Hence they may quickly give up on their piano lesson. What are all those - notes, clefs, time signatures, rests, dots, ties, key signatures and the circle of fifths? Then there are more with those Italian terms like andante, vivace, crescendo.......... sorry to say but there is no shortcut to learning piano theory. You will need to take it step-by-step. Much like learning the alphabets - over time you can spell, form your sentences and in time improve on your writing and speaking skills.

tulipsPiano theory is learning the language and notation of music. Famous composers have their own pattern of composition that governs composer's techniques. You must have heard music theorist reviewing musical scores and say this is a Mozart’s piece because they can see certain notations that are distinctively Mozart’s style. You will be surprised that there are people who actually specialize in piano theory to become music theorist. Here is an interesting article on how to qualify to be a Music Theorist. Hope you can see why you need a base or strong foundation on piano theory to play any instrument. As your knowledge improves, some day you will be able to compose your very own composition.

 

Piano scales

Piano scale is a group of musical notes collected in ascending or descending order. They are typically listed from low to high like Do Re Me Fa So....... for example C major scale is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-[C]. In western music, the musical notes divide the octave into a series of 12 notes. This series of 12 notes are called chromatic scale. In the chromatic scale, each note is called a half-step or semitone. This keyboard shows you the 12 keys and each note between the white and black keys are semitones.

keys

There are scales that do not follow the chromatic 2-note pattern-examples are classical Persian, Indian and Arabic music.

In writing music, we usually use the form of major or minor tonality. The key of a piece determines the scales used. We can change the key of a piece of music by re-writing the entire score on a different key, for example a song written in C major can be changed to D major. Doing so is called transposing. This is often used by singers to change a song originally composed for another singer in an effort to get the best out of the song their voices are able to deliver. Listening to Mariah Carey singing her songs, they can be pretty tough for normal people to follow as she has a high pitched voice. Not many people are able to reach that pitch. Her songs are specially written to show off this ability of hers.

Practising the piano scale will also help you learn how to use your right and left hand independently. Piano scores are often written as melody and accompaniment. Right hand usually plays the melody and left the accompaniment. Once in a while in some complex compositions, you may find the roles interchanged. Learn the right way with the correct fingering or you will find it difficult to change your mistakes in the future.

Do not worry though as your beginner piano lessons will usually include very simple finger exercises too. The important thing to remember is to practice your piano scales regularly. With time, you will conquer all!

As you advance as in your piano lesson you will learn that music has many different elements. The main elements are: rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, timbre, dynamics and texture.

Ear training

Ear training or aural skills means having the ability to identify musical elements by ear, as opposed to reading of notations. In aural skill training you are trained in the perception of relative pitch. Having this skill helps you to play or sing songs that you are unfamiliar with. In common layman terms we usually tell someone they have an ‘ear for music’. They seem to have no problem singing or humming back the tune they heard. During your piano lesson there should be intervals of ear training given to help you recognize and improve on that skill.

 

Private piano lessons

It would be a good idea to enroll for private piano lessons if you are serious in pursuing a good music education. Yes, I am suggesting that you select private piano lessons if you have the option. Good and reputable private teachers can sometimes be quite selective too on accepting students, as they need to maintain their standard and their students’ results. Seeing their student blossom is an accomplishment on the part of the piano teacher. This is the self-gratification of being a piano teacher.

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