Many children begin playing piano, only to become frustrated because reading music can be daunting and daunting. Playing by numbers provides children with an enjoyable way to build foundational skills while remaining motivated throughout their musical careers.
Step one in playing piano by number is learning finger numbers. Being familiar with which fingers to use when addressing notes provides beginners with confidence in which ones to use to play them.
Numbers Keys
Children require assistance when it comes to learning how to play piano. Unaccustomed to reading musical notation that requires them to interpret its meaning and then connect it to specific patterns on a piano keyboard below, conventional piano methods often throw children into the deep end without providing guidance or support as they begin.
Children who begin learning piano using piano key numbers often enjoy music experiences from day one. Kids quickly understand numbers as an anchor point – as a reference point they use stickers on their computer keyboard or telephone to quickly understand geography of piano keyboard by numbers. Once children acquire this knowledge of geography through numbers on piano keyboards, they are prepared for making the transition to conventional sheet music later on.
There are various systems for numbering the keys. One approach involves assigning each note a letter according to which octave they reside – Middle C is called c(1) for example and each higher octave starts with another letter starting above it. This method has many advantages for beginners especially.
Another system refers to each key in relation to its proximity, where Middle C is designated by “c(1)”, C two octaves higher as “c(2)” etc. until C at the top of an 88-note keyboard becomes “c(8)”. This system remains popular today and some teachers even prefer it over its competitors.
The Alphabet
As is well-known, children learn to read by learning the alphabet. Just as with letters in an alphabet, each note on a piano keyboard also has a letter name corresponding to its sound; but unlike the alphabet with 26 letters, musical alphabet has only seven notes; this is because music notes don’t vibrate at equal rates; some vibrate faster or slower compared with others; for instance the middle C key vibrates 440 times per second while lower C notes vibrate only 340 times per second!
So, the musical alphabet includes seven note names – C, D, E, F, G and A. This sequence always repeats since music notes are organized into pairs or threes; hence white keys numbered one through seven are represented on piano keys.
Understand that one note can have multiple names, both sharp and flat, to describe the same sound; these enharmonic relationships between notes are known as enharmonic relations.
As you expand your knowledge of different note names, a pattern will emerge. For instance, finger number two plays the first white note above middle C; three then four will follow. These keys’ numbering systems help beginners learn how to play each note with its appropriate fingering; over time this allows faster progress.
The Roman Numerals
Roman numerals provide an effective method for identifying chords within key signatures. Roman numerals show which scale degree a root chord’s root belongs to, its quality and any extensions or inversions it might contain.
Roman numerals use lowercase letters (i, ii, and iii) to represent one through four, five is symbolized by an upside-down V, and ten by an X. Additionally, larger numbers can often be written out with subtraction in mind: seventeen would be written as XVII for example.
When writing out triad or seventh chords, using capital Roman numerals followed by superscript 7s is used to indicate their quality: numbers starting with “o” indicate diminished triads while ones beginning with “+” signify augmented ones – with one exception – dominant seventh chords which always have either capital V or VII in front.
Roman numerals can also be used to signify sharps and flats in a key signature, which may either appear below or above the bass note depending on what style of music being written – for instance major key works may require flats above bass notes while minor key pieces require sharps below them; regardless of their place within music composition conventions however, Roman numerals should never be confused with Arabic numerals.
The Major Scale
Learning piano by number requires mastery of several fundamental aspects, but mastering the major scale should be one of your top priorities. It is a stepped arrangement of notes which correspond to classical Greek Ionian mode (although due to incorrect nomenclature during the 16th century it has often been mislabeled Lydian mode).
Major scales follow a pattern that includes both whole and half steps. A whole step refers to the distance between adjacent white or black keys without being separated by any other keys in between, while half steps refers to any two consecutive notes in a scale that don’t form an octave apart.
Understanding these rules is important because they’ll help keep your fingers moving smoothly up and down the keyboard while also speeding up reading and memorization of melodies. Also, seeing the shape of a scale makes keeping track of which key you’re in much simpler – which is important when playing music with other musicians or creating original compositions yourself.
Scale Degree 1 of any major scale is known as the Tonic and all subsequent notes are built upon this starting point through whole and half steps, so that when building out from this initial note all subsequent tones move one tone away from it as we continue moving up scale degrees.
The Minor Scale
If you have been practicing piano by number, then you likely already understand that there are two primary scales – major and minor. Each scale has its own sound, so understanding their differences is integral to learning how to read musical scores. Simply put, minor keys tend to sound melancholy or menacing while major keys produce energetic music.
There are three varieties of minor scales: natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. While natural minor scales retain the key signature of their relative majors, harmonic and melodic minor scales raise or lower seventh notes one half step accordingly; harmonic minor also alters the interval pattern between sixth and seventh scale degrees by switching from whole steps to half steps.
The melodic minor scale is more intricate than its counterparts because of the way its interval patterns vary between fourth and fifth scale degrees, switching between whole steps and half steps as you ascend or descend the scale. An ascending melodic minor scale pattern may look something like W-H-W-H-W-W-H, while its descending counterpart could read: W-H-W-W-H-W-H-W.
Beginning piano instruction should start with the natural minor scale and move gradually towards more challenging harmonic and melodic minor scales as you advance. There are plenty of resources to help with learning these scales; it would also be wise to work with an experienced piano teacher.
The Octave
An understanding of octaves is one of the core tenets of piano playing, enabling students to recognize and locate notes on a piano keyboard. This will also enable them to read music notated with pitch notations, including notating scale or chord relationships in Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C Sharp Minor which begins with three powerful chords that span two octaves.
Acquiring an understanding of octave figurations can be challenging for students, particularly if they haven’t been taught how to break down each key into manageable groups. Facing an intimidating 88 key list and being told they need to memorise all of them can seem overwhelming; by breaking it into manageable chunks the task becomes more manageable.
When practising octave figurations, it’s wise to begin by concentrating on the outer portions of each octave. This allows your little finger to get used to producing full sound without depending on your thumb for support and also develops the feel for quick, repetitive motions necessary for each note – they should not be stiff or tense but flexible; similarly your wrist shouldn’t remain at an elevated angle during playback.
Once this feels comfortable, experimenting with various fingerings can help build strength – although only once your fifth finger can comfortably play each passage at speed), encouraging joined legato phrasing. Fourth and third fingers may also prove useful, though their use requires considerable stretching by most students and should only be employed sparingly.