PIANO

BOOK

Piano Basics

By Zoe Gleeson

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Table of Contents
Labelled Notes on a Piano

Sharps, Flats and Naturals

Note Values

Rests 6
Dotted Notes and Rests
Repeat Signs

What They Look Like

Repeat Terms

How to Follow a Repeat Sign

Chords

10

14

Types of Chords 14
Major Chords

15

Minor Chords

16

Major Chord

17

Basic Piano Chords

Minor Chords
5 Chords

18

19

Suspended Chords
2 Chords

17

20

21

Building a Major Chord 22

Building a Minor Chord 22
Playing Songs with these Chords
Scales

23

24

C Major Scale

24

D Major Scale

26

E Major Scale

28

F Major Scale

29

G Major Scale

30

A Major Scale

31

B Major Scale

32

A Simple Song to get you Started 33

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Labelled Notes on a Piano

White = Natural

Notes

Black = Flatand Sharp

# Notes

Sharps, Flats and Naturals

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By Zoe Gleeson

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Sharp
A sharp is a music note symbol that looks like a number sign #. It represents
changing the tone of the note up on half-step. If a note is sharp, it tells us that
we have to move to the note directly to the right.
For example: If you are on a D note, and want to make it sharp, move to the note
directly to the right which will be D sharp #.

Flat
A flat, looks like a lowercase b and is the exact opposite of a sharp. Instead of
moving to the note to the right, we move to the note directly to the left.
So if we want to flat a D note, we will be playing D flat , which is the black note
to the left of D.

Natural
A Natural tells the musician that rather than playing a sharp or a flat, they are to
play the natural note . If the music normally calls for a Db, adding the natural
sign means to play a D instead.

Note Values
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By Zoe Gleeson

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Standard Note Values

Note values tell a musician how long to hold out a note in a piece of music. Here
are some of the notes you will encounter:

A whole note is an oval shaped note with a hole in the centre

A half note is similar to a whole note in that it is has the same oval shape,
but this note has a staff that connects to the note and can goes either up
or down
A quarter note is similar to a half note. Instead of the centre of the note
being cut out its filled in
An eighth note looks like a quarter note with one flag connected to the
stem
The sixteenth note is similar to an eighth note, but rather than having only
one stem, the sixteenth note has two stems

Music Note Symbols

Rests
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By Zoe Gleeson

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A rest is similar to the music note symbols that we discussed above; however the
difference with a rest is that it represents silence. A standard note shows how
long to hold out a tone, but a rest shows how long to hold out silence.

A whole rest is a small rectangular box that that sits on a staff line and
points down.
A half rest is identical to the whole rest except this rest points up.
A quarter rests is a music note symbol that looks like a squiggle mark and
represents one beat of silence.
An eighth rest is a small dash with one flag pointing to the left.
A sixteenth rest is similar to an eighth rest but has two flags.

Rest Music Symbols

Dotted Notes & Rests

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By Zoe Gleeson

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Dotted notes are important when reading music in that it directs the musician on
how long to hold out a note or rest. Dots can be added to both standard music
note symbols and rests.
The Dot is used to add time to the original note that is being played.
For example, if you were playing a dotted half note you would play the original
two beats of the half note, and then add half of the amount of time of the half
note. The dotted half note would then last three beats. You play the two beats of
the half note, and then add one more beats for half of that note giving you three
beats.
This can also be applied to rests. If you have a dotted half rest, you will rest for
three beats. Use the two beats of the half rest, and then add half of that two
beats which would give you another beat, for a total of three beats of silence.

Dotted Note Music Note Symbols

Dotted Rest Music Symbols

Repeat Signs
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Repeat signs are important in music because they give the musician a roadmap
of where they are supposed go in the piece of music.
It guides the musicians when to stop, when to repeat back to the beginning, and
general directions on where to go in the piece of music. You wouldn't drive to an
unknown destination without a map, and you wouldnt play a piece of music
without repeat signs and other important directional information.
The three main type of repeat signs are the basic Repeat Sign, the Coda Sign,
and the Segno.

Repeat Music Symbols

What They Look Like

There are a variety of different repeat signs. Some are Italian phrases, while
other are music symbols. The most common is the traditional repeat
sign. This sign looks like similar to a double bar. A double bar is
normally used at the end of a piece of sheet music to show the end of
a song.
The repeat looks a little different in the fact that it has two dots facing
to the left. A combination of a double bar and two dots create a
traditional repeat sign.
There is also an inverted repeat. This repeat looks identical to the traditional
repeat except it is facing in the other direction. This is commonly used to show
where to repeat back to.

Repeat Terms
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By Zoe Gleeson

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There are number of terms that represent a repeat.

Coda
Da Capo
Dal Segno
Da Capo al Fine

Each of these terms are Italian, and have a specific instruction for the musician
to follow

Coda
Coda is a musical symbol that navigates the musician through the
piece of music. It looks like a plus sign with circle around it.
This sign is used to show where in a piece of music you need to
jump to. When the music shows a coda sign, you need to find the
next coda sign, and start playing the section that has the coda sign above it.
A Coda tells you to skip a particular part of a piece of music. It tells you to move
from the first coda sign to the very next coda sign.

Da Capo
Da Capo is another Italian phrase that tells the musician to return back to the
beginning of a piece of music. You will very rarely see this phrase written out. You
will more likely see it written as D.C.
Whenever you see D.C. it tells you that you are to move from the section you just
played, and return back to the very beginning of the piece.

Dal Segno
A Dal Segno is sign that looks like an S with a line cutting through
it and two dots on both sides. Dal Segno is normally abbreviated
as D.S. and tells you to move back to Dal Segno sign. Once you
reach the Dal Segno sign, you continue playing the piece of
music like normal.

Da Capo al Fine
This is similar to the Da Capo in the regards that you return back to the
beginning of the piece of music. The only difference here, is that you are to
return to the beginning and play all the way through to the end of the piece. This
is also usually abbreviated as D.C. al fine.

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How to Follow a Repeat Sign

There are many different repeat signs in music. They can get very confusing
trying to follow them. We are going to go over some examples of repeat signs,
and show how to follow them in a piece of music.

Repeat
There are two instances that you will see a repeat sign; at the end of a piece of
music, and within the piece of music.
If at the end of the music, this directs you to return to the beginning and repeat
the entire song. You are to return back to the beginning of the piece of music and
play all the way to the end.

If you encounter a repeat sign in the middle of a piece of music you are to play
up to the repeat sign, return back to the beginning, and play through to the end
of the piece.

Da Capo
To play a Da Capo or D.C., you play until you reach to the D.C., then go back to
the very beginning of the piece of music. As soon as you see the D.C. you return
to the beginning of the piece.

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Dal Segno
To play a Dal Segno, look for the abbreviation D.S. This tells you to go back in the
piece of music until you reach the Del Segno sign. You continue playing to the
end.

DS al Coda
This stands for Dal Segno al Coda. If you remember, Dal Segno means to return
to the Dal Segno sign.
Play until you reach the words D.S. al Coda. Then return back to the Dal Segno
sign. When you see the first Coda symbol, skip over that section, and go to the
next Coda symbol.

DC al Coda
D.C. al Coda is almost exactly the same as the D.S. al Coda. The only difference
is that instead of returning back to the Dal Segno, you go back to the very
beginning of the piece of music.
You still follow the Coda rules of skipping over the coda.

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DC al Fine
When you see the D.S al Fine, return to the beginning of the piece. The word Fine
tells you where the song is supposed to end.
You then play through the rest of the song until you reach the part that says Fine.
This will be the end of the song.

DS al Fine
D.S. al Fine is a mixture of Dal Segno and Fine. You play to the D.S. al Fine, and
then return to the Del Segno sign. Once you reach the sign, play until you reach
the Fine which expresses the end of the piece.

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Alternate Ending
This shows the musician that there are multiple ending for a piece of music.
Rather than playing through one ending, you repeat back through the music and
play the alternate ending that may be little different then the first.
There are brackets that are used to separate the first ending from the other
endings.
To play this, you play through the first ending. Then return to the beginning of
the piece. Then play through the piece again skipping the first ending. Instead of
playing the first ending, you play the second ending.

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Chords
When you see three or more notes stacked one on top of another, you have a
chord. Almost all chords are represented by three notes. These three notes also
called a triad. This tells you to play these three or more notes simultaneously.
Piano Chords are the bread and butter of playing the piano or keyboard. Once
you know your chords you will be able to take your playing to a whole new level.
A chord is a combination of notes that are played together to make a certain
sound.
Chords are used by most piano players to make their life a whole lot easier. If you
want to play a song but you dont want to have to read the music you can use
chords to easily play a song right away.
Chords make it easier to play by ear. If you know the chord progressions in a
song then you can easily play that song without having to have any music.

Chord Music Note Symbols

Types of Chords
There are many different types of chords and they are all built in different ways.
Major Chords are the chords that everyone must know. These chords are played
in almost all songs and are the easiest ones to find on the piano.
A Minor Chord is similar to the Major Chords with one small difference.
Suspended Chords are also used in a lot of contemporary songs. They are easy
to use, and easy to play!

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A Seventh Chord and Major Seventh chord are important to know because they
can make you music sound totally different. The E7 chord and B7 chord are one
of the most common seventh chords. The Major Chords and Minor Chords are
basic and will work most of the time but if you want you music to sound different
and have more personality you need to learn the Seventh Chord and the Major
Seventh Chord.
The more difficult piano chords to play that really make your music sound neat
are the Diminished Chords and Augmented Chords. These two chords are really
fun. They arent used in contemporary music that often. But if you can master
them you can throw them to make your arrangement sound different from
everyone else's.

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Piano Basics

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Piano Basics

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Major Chord
Major chords are the most common basic piano chords. Once you learn this chord
you will be able to play almost any other chord out there.
To play other chords you simply have to make small adjustments to the major
chord. Learn the major chord before any other chord. This will be the foundation
for all other chords will ever learn.
The major chord is made by playing the first, third, and fifth notes in the major
scale.

Basic Piano Chords

Start by finding the root note of the scale (this is the note that the scale is
named after.)
If you want to play a C Major chord you would start on a C note.
Next, play up the C major scale until you reach the third note in the scale. Then
finally add the fifth note to create a major chord.
Once you learn this chord, you will be on your way to learning other basic piano
chords.
Here are all of the note names for each major chord.
Major Chord Notes

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Minor Chord
A Minor Chord is the second most basic piano chord. It should be the second
chord that any beginner should learn. Once you know how to play a major chord,
the minor chord is simple to play.
This chord is built by playing the first, flat third, and fifth notes in the major
scale. This can be a little more difficult than some of the other basic piano
chords, but if you know the major chord there is a trick.

C Minor Chord

Start by playing a three note major chord as described above. Then move the
middle note one key directly to the left.
If you wanted to play a C Minor Chord, you would start by finding C Major which
is C, E, G. Now move the middle note, E, to the note directly to the left, Eb.
With that small change of one note, you can learn a whole new set of basic piano
chords.
Minor Chord Notes

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5 Chords
The 5 chord is a very easy chord to learn and play. It is just like a major chord
with one difference. It is made up of two notes instead of three, the first and the
fifth note in the major scale.

C5 Chord

To build these basic piano chords you start on the first note in the scale, and then
add the fifth note in the scale.
Another way to play this chord is by playing a major chord and removing the
middle note. Its that easy. Just take a way one note and now you have brand
new chord.
Take a look at the image above and you will see a C5 chord. This chord starts on
C, and ends on G. You can use this formula to build any 5 chord.
5 Chord Notes

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Suspended Chords
The suspended chord, also known as a Sus chord, is a very contemporary chord.
It is made up of the 1, 4, and 5 of the major scale.
To build this chord you simply start on the root note of the scale, then add the
fourth note in the scale, and finally add the fifth note of the scale. So a normal C
Major Chord progression is C, E, G. In this case, were playing a suspended chord
like we were doing the scale of C Major. So the first note of the scale, the fourth
note and the fifth note.

Csus Chord

This chord is very powerful. To add something a little different to a song, add the
suspended chord in place of a major chord.
Most of the time the suspended chord will resolve to the major chord, meaning it
sounds best to end with a major. For example, if you are playing a Csus chord, it
sounds most natural to resolve to the C Major chord.
Suspended Chord Notes

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2 Chords
The 2 chord is like the brother of the suspended chord. The sus chord uses the
forth note in the scale while the 2 uses the second. The 2 chords are great basic
piano chords that can easily be learned and used by beginner piano players.

C2 Chord

This chord is like a major chord with one small difference. Instead of using the
third note in the scale you use the second note in the scale.
To build this scale you need to use the root note of the scale, add the second
note, and then end with the fifth note.
2 Chord Notes

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Building a Major Chord

A basic piano chord it built around three notes. These three notes are built of the
1st, 3rd, and 5th of a scale.
What that means is, there are 7 notes in every scale. You find the 1st note in the
scale, the 3rd note, and the 5th note and you have a major chord. The major
chord is the king of all chords and is used most often.
So say you want to find a C major chord. All you have to do is find those three
notes in the C scale and you will get that chord.
Major Chord Structure

The first note in the C scale is C, the third note is E, and the fifth note is G. Thats
all there is to it. Build all major chords around the 1st, 3rd, and 5th and you can
easily build a major chord.

Building a Minor Chord

A minor chord is just as easy to find as a major chord. To find this chord you need
to find your major chord. So lets use C major as our example again.
Minor Chord Structure

C, E, G makes C major. Now, to make this a minor chord all you have to do is
move the third note, the E, one half step to the left, which is known as the flat
3rd (A half step is the very next note). So this C minor chord would be C, Eb, and
G. Find the major, and move the third note one note to left.

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Playing Songs with these Chords

Well, now that you can find a major and a minor chord you can pretty much play
90% of all the popular songs there are out there. To make my point Ill show you.
Lets play Mary Had A Little Lamb. This song is made up of three chords: C major,
F major, and G major. The chord progression is below.
Just take some time first to find the notes to each of the three chords. Try and
figure them out on your own first, and if you have trouble, look at the bottom of
the chord chart to help you.
C

Mary had a little lamb

G
Little Lamb
C
Little Lamb
C

Mary had a little lamb

G

Its fleece was white as snow

C Major - C, E, G
F Major - F, A, C
G Major - G, B, D
If you know the three notes that go along with a chord and you know the chords
to the song you can play it. There is a lot more to piano chords made easy, but
these are the basics. Take your time to learn all the major and minor chords and
you will be off to learning tons of new songs.

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Scales
C Major Scale
= Play this note

Fingering LOL
You have to watch your fingering when playing piano scales. Lets start with the
right hand.
Right Hand

Ascending Up the Scale

The fingering in the right hand for the C Major Scale starts with the thumb
on C
Play up the scale until you reach the third finger on E
The thumb then tucks under the middle finger to play an F
Then play up the scale using the rest of the fingers

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Descending - Down the Scale

Start with the pinky or fifth finger on C

Play down the scale until you reach the F using all five fingers
Once on the F, your middle finger crosses over to play an E
Then play the D with the index finger, and end on C with the thumb

Left Hand

Ascending - Up the Scale

Start with the pinky or fifth finger on C

Play up the scale until you reach a G. Use all five fingers to get to the G
Once on G, you need to cross over your middle finger to play an A
Play the B with the index finger, and end on C with the thumb

Descending - Down the Scale

Start on C with the thumb

Play down two keys to an A with the middle finger
Then cross under you thumb to land on G
Play down the rest of the scale with the reaming fingers
End on the C with the fifth finger

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D Major Scale
= Play this note

Fingering
The notes in the Scale are D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

Right Hand
Ascending Up the Scale

The fingering for the right hand this scale is to start with the thumb on the
D
Then move up the scale with the index finger on E, and middle finger on F#
You then cross under with your thumb and play a G
Then play the rest of the scale, A with index, B with the middle finger, C#
with the ring finger, and end on D with you small finger

Descending - Down the Scale

To play a descending D scale you start with the small finger on D, ring
finger on C#, middle finger on B, index on A, and thumb on G
You then cross over with your middle finger and play the F#
And finish off the scale using the index on E and thumb on D

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Left Hand
Ascending - Up the Scale

Playing an ascending D scale with the left hand you start on the D with the
pinky finger
Play all the notes in the scale until you reach the thumb on the A
Then cross over with you middle finger and play the B
Then finish off the C# and D with the index finger and thumb

Descending - Down the Scale

Descending you start with the D with the thumb, index on C#, and middle
finger on B
Then cross under with your thumb and play an A
Now you can use the rest of your fingers to finish off the scale

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E Major Scale

= Play this note

Notes: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E

Fingerings (LH): 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1
Fingerings (RH): 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

F Major Scale
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= Play this note

Notes: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F
Fingerings (LH): 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1
Fingerings (RH): 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4

G Major Scale
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NOTE THAT I HAVE CROPPED THIS TO START WITH F INSTEAD OF C CAUSE I

DONT HAVE ENOUGH ROOM!
= Play this note

Notes: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
Fingerings (LH): 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1
Fingerings (RH): 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A Major Scale

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= Play this note

Notes: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A

Fingerings (LH): 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1
Fingerings (RH): 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

B Major Scale

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= Play this note

Notes: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B

Fingerings (LH): 4, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1
Fingerings (RH): 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A Simple Song to get you Started

Refer to Scales given
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Green Day Minority

I don't need your authority

* I want to be the minority

C

Down with the moral majority

I don't need your authority

C

'Cause I want to be the minority

Down with the moral majority

C

'Cause I want to be the minority

Am

Stepped out of the line

C

Am

I pledge allegiance to the underworld

Like a sheep runs from the herd

Am

One nation under dog there of which

I stand alone
C

A face in the crowd unsung, against

the mould
C

Marching out of time

Am

To my own beat now the only way I

know

Without a doubt, singled out, the

only way I know

** One light, one mind, flashing in

the dark
C
C

* I want to be the minority

C

Piano Basics

Blinded by the silence of a thousand

broken hearts
C
By Zoe Gleeson

G
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For crying out loud, she screamed

unto me
C

A free for all, fuck them all, you are

your own sight

Blinded by the silence of a thousand

broken hearts
C

For crying out loud, she screamed

unto me
C

* I want to be the minority

C

A free for all, fuck them all, you are

your own sight

I don't need your authority

C

C
E

Am

Am

Am

F
G

Down with the moral majority

C
C

I don't need your authority

'Cause I want to be the minority

Am

* I want to be the minority

Down with the moral majority

C

'Cause I want to be the minority (x5)

** One light, one mind, flashing in

the dark

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