Questions tagged [piano]

For questions about music written for piano, playing the piano, maintenance of a piano, or other general questions about pianos.

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Best way to learn piano for basic skills? [closed]

I'm completely new to playing piano. I've rarely ever touched pianos to actually play anything. However, I have pretty consistent access to a piano now, and I'd like to know the best way to get learn ...
Striker's user avatar
  • 119
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

What does a "3" over 32nd notes mean? [duplicate]

I have extracted the measure in question that I'm struggling to understand how the notes line up to the existing (4 4) time signature. As I understand, the bass has 16, 1/16th counts, but the ...
Carl Johnson's user avatar
55 votes
7 answers
14k views

Why do Guitar chords work the way they do compared to a Piano?

I'm a Tabla (North Indian percussion instrument) player and I know just the basics of western music because I'm learning it bit by bit. I borrowed a Piano to learn music theory and it's going pretty ...
radiantshaw's user avatar
37 votes
8 answers
88k views

Finger Exercises for Piano when not playing

Are there any finger exercises I can perform even when I am not near a piano to improve my dexterity and strength of my fingers?
iddober's user avatar
  • 6,612
36 votes
11 answers
129k views

How many hours of practice total are typical for different piano grades?

Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Outliers", stated a hypothesis: becoming good at something takes about 10,000 hours of practice. I've recently been wondering how long a typical piano student has practiced ...
James Tauber's user avatar
  • 3,127
34 votes
12 answers
43k views

Can people really sight-read advanced pieces?

I find it hard to read a staff and play it on the keyboard fluently. The most common scene for me is that I read one note on the paper and then lower my head and find out the location of that note ...
Robot Dreamer's user avatar
27 votes
10 answers
14k views

Why do we use such complicated notation?

I have just started learning about music from the internet. I have learned how to play the piano, but I don't have a real piano so I am playing a virtual piano. In my opinion, the notation which is ...
Kartik's user avatar
  • 613
26 votes
9 answers
6k views

How to avoid stopping when I play a wrong note on the piano

When I play any sheet music by memory, if I realize (by ear) that I play one wrong note, I always stop/get stuck and cannot continue playing. This is very bad in case I need to perform. So how to play ...
Pham X. Bach's user avatar
26 votes
3 answers
64k views

With regards to piano sheet music, when are you supposed to press the pedal(s)?

I've been playing piano for about 8 months. I have a digital weighted 88-key piano with only one pedal. My friend, who used to play piano, taught me to hold the pedal down when there is an arc in ...
Ryan's user avatar
  • 977
23 votes
10 answers
33k views

What are the practical advantages of keyboards with non-weighted keys vs. weighted hammer action?

This is not a question about what type toy keyboard a beginning piano student should learn on if a real piano is not an option. I am talking about professional quality keyboards in the above (to well ...
Rockin Cowboy's user avatar
22 votes
8 answers
6k views

Problems With Learning a Second Instrument

I’m trying learn jazz piano. For about ten years I played the violin; solo and in orchestras and quartets. I’ve also absolutely no trouble enjoying for instance Keith Jarrett’s more complex solo ...
Frans's user avatar
  • 979
21 votes
9 answers
7k views

Is there such thing as a piano-like keyboard with all whole tones between two adjacent white keys?

Just a quick question, which came to my mind several days ago. I thought that it would be much easier to learn to play a piano (or a keyboard), which has a consistent structure - a black key (halfstep)...
Roman Kruglov's user avatar
20 votes
7 answers
4k views

What should I take into consideration when buying my first digital piano

I am 33 years old and new to the piano world, planning to learn piano. And I am planning to have my daughter (3 years old) learn piano as well next year. Due to my budget, the piano store is ...
Lance Shi's user avatar
  • 301
19 votes
4 answers
8k views

Is it bad for a piano player to work out?

I'm not sure if this is a myth, but is it bad for a pianist to work out (e.g. lift weights)? I've heard that building strength this way will reduce fine muscle control.
user2066880's user avatar
18 votes
9 answers
21k views

Playing one hand loudly and the other quietly

I'm currently learning to play Comptine d'un autre été from Yann Tiersen (Sheet music(pdf) - youtube video) and when I play starting from the 13th bar I barely hear the notes my right hand plays. ...
Stormenet's user avatar
  • 727
18 votes
4 answers
8k views

What are the most common ways to "decorate" a melody?

Yes, I know, there are way too many possibilities and it depends on the style of the music... I would be happy with an incomplete list for beginners (like me). Here is what I have so far: ...
Ali's user avatar
  • 1,143
17 votes
3 answers
4k views

Why use 5 or more ledger lines below the bass clef instead of ottava bassa lines for piano sheet music?

One thing that has bothered me when listening to classical music with the sheet music also scrolling by is its persistent use of 5 or more ledger lines for low enough bass clef parts instead of ottava ...
Dekkadeci's user avatar
  • 14k
17 votes
4 answers
3k views

What does this double-treble double-bass staff mean?

Half-way through Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor there is this connected set of double clefs. Can anyone tell me what to do? It was a single set of bass and treble clefs for half the piece. I ...
Toby Samples's user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
9k views

How to play same note legato?

This question is about this arrangement for a beginner (image below): http://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_printit_free_printable_sheet_music/marriage-of-figaro-piano.htm There is one big slur over the ...
catalyst's user avatar
  • 173
16 votes
3 answers
39k views

Playing Guitar Tabs on Piano?

I was wondering if anyone could possibly explain how I could somehow translate a guitar tab into notes on piano. Is there some sort of algorithm I can apply? ex: e|-------------------------------...
jmasterx's user avatar
  • 841
16 votes
2 answers
5k views

Well-known composers or piano pieces generally suitable for someone with small hands?

One of my struggles with playing the piano is that I have small hands. I can reach an octave - mostly. I can reach it, I just can't maneuver between octaves quickly. Often times a piece will have a ...
Rebecca Chernoff's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
10k views

How does the piano middle pedal work? Is there a standard symbol for it?

What are the mechanics behind the middle piano pedal? I have been using the middle pedal for a variety of music, it is wonderful, but I can't figure out how it works (I mean the mechanical process). ...
Victor's user avatar
  • 679
16 votes
4 answers
3k views

Why are there fingerings in Liszt's Beethoven's 9th transcription, a piece for a very skilled player who presumably doesn't need the finger markings?

I was watching along with an entertaining video of Liszt's solo piano transcription of Beethoven's 9th symphony. This thing is over an hour long with numerous technical feats and is surely something ...
KeizerHarm's user avatar
  • 1,581
15 votes
3 answers
12k views

Learning 4/5 trills on the piano?

This has got to be one of the hardest technical things to teach your hands. I'm looking for advice from someone who's already surmounted this particular obstacle. To be clear, I'm talking about ...
temporary_user_name's user avatar
15 votes
13 answers
24k views

How can I learn to read bass clef score more naturally?

I hadn't read music for about 20 years, after doing a little classical guitar as a young child, and recently started learning piano. I was pleasantly surprised to find that reading music on the treble ...
Mr. Boy's user avatar
  • 9,860
14 votes
6 answers
15k views

Does piano tuning software actually work?

I would like to tune a piano that is in a remote place. Usually I would call a tuner but since there are none around it will just be too expensive. I found out recently that there is software that ...
nsn's user avatar
  • 873
14 votes
10 answers
8k views

Is it too late for me to become good at piano?

I am 13 and starting to learn piano. I have been asking many people online, who claim to know piano, how long have they been playing. Most, if not all, say that they started between 5-9. I have a ...
Fly- Googly Eyes's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
44k views

What does an arc mean above the notes in a piano sheet music? How do I play it?

See the picture above. Is there a website where these (perhaps not so basic) notations are collected? UPDATE: I see Wikipedia has a nice collection of musical notations. How do I play the slur on ...
Ali's user avatar
  • 1,143
13 votes
6 answers
13k views

Is there piano notation for finger sustained notes (as opposed to pedal sustain)?

In piano music how does one indicate that sequential notes in the bass clef are to be sustained with the fingers, not using the sustain pedal? For example, suppose I have the three sequential quarter ...
Robert's user avatar
  • 139
13 votes
10 answers
36k views

Is Hanon's "Virtuoso Pianist" good for self-taught musician?

I am a self-taught pianist (or keyboardist, whatever you prefer). Some time ago I came across The Virtuoso Pianist but, because I never played under the eye of a professional, I was turned away by the ...
Maurycy's user avatar
  • 467
13 votes
3 answers
3k views

A big "1" in the middle of a piano grand staff

The image is from a Russian edition of Alexander Goedike's 20 Little Pieces for Beginners (20 маленьких пьес для начинающих), Op. 6, no. 11. What do the big bold ones in the middle of the grand staff ...
Mariano Suárez-Álvarez's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

0/0 time signature?

In a piece my brother is playing there's a weird time signature - it looks like a zero over a zero: a 0/0 time signature. It seems that the bars have 5/4 in them (probably not 10/8, but could be as ...
Ilan Kaboom's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
26k views

How Can I Replicate The Sound Of An Instrument?

I have experience of basic music theory, guitar and piano. My current project involves creating a computer program that can replicate the sounds of any given instrument (starting with piano). I can ...
Shane Hudson's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
1k views

Dissonance across different octaves

When I play to keys that form a dissonant interval (for example a major second using C and D) in the lower octave, I perceive the dissonance to be very strong. But, when I move up to higher C's and D'...
hauptstadt's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
13k views

Why do F#6 and higher notes ring more than F6 and lower notes?

I learned Overworld Theme 2 from Super Mario Bros. 3 a few years ago, which features the nice bright high notes of A6, G6, and F6: I noticed on my 80 year old upright piano that the A and G rang out ...
user avatar
12 votes
6 answers
14k views

Do weighted keys on a keyboard lead to more expressive playing?

I use an acoustic piano to learn/play classical music. I use a midi keyboard to record/produce own music. My piano has weighted keys while my midi keyboard has a very light touch. I find that I am ...
gigahari's user avatar
  • 1,122
11 votes
2 answers
2k views

What does a line through a tie indicate?

I was wondering how to play the notes that have a small dash going through the tie, for example, the first two beats of the second bar. For the left hand, do you play it slightly staccato? That is ...
Christopher U's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
357 views

Unusual Pedal(?) Marking, Hungarian Dance No.5 Arr. Merle J Isaac

Not too sure what the markings from 77-81 and 83-87 are asking for, my instructor thought some sort of pedal marking but we weren’t really sure what it was specifically asking for, and we don’t have a ...
Nowakbren119's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
2k views

Why is the treble clef (in the lower staff) parenthesized?

I'm just looking over China Gates by John Adams. I can see in the first bar of the lower staff that the first note is played in the bass clef, subsequent notes are in the treble clef. This goes on ...
markmarz's user avatar
  • 317
10 votes
6 answers
6k views

How to determine passing chords

How do you determine passing chords from one chord to another, as I've seen how most gospel/jazz pianists do? So far, I am familiar with progressions such as the II-V-I as means to go from one chord ...
Daniel Valle's user avatar
10 votes
6 answers
35k views

What is an octave?

It may be simple but I am not able to wrap my head around it. I am new to musical tongue. What exactly is an octave? Is it a range of frequencies? And is it specific to an instrument?
Visal's user avatar
  • 109
10 votes
8 answers
4k views

How do you know which finger/key to press for the next note on Piano when thumb is not on C?

This is related to How to you know which finger/key to press for next note?, but the example in that question made people to suggest I need to practise fixed position first, which was great for ...
James Lin's user avatar
  • 323
10 votes
3 answers
2k views

Learn music with odd rhythms

I've always had problems with tuplets (3/2, 4/3, etc), until I was taught this nifty trick: subdivide the total duration (4 quartuplets, 3 triplets, etc) by the least common multiple (12, for 4/3) ...
user19087's user avatar
  • 441
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Piano mordent with two notes

I'm trying to play Brahms' Hungarian dance №11 and there is a technical question. How do I play a mordent from the 4th measure? Whether both notes should be played with mordent or just the upper one? ...
Dmitry's user avatar
  • 203
9 votes
1 answer
20k views

What does it mean when there is a slash through the stem of a note? [duplicate]

So, I am a middle school student and have been playing piano for 5 years now, but never have I ever come across something like this. I am learning how to play "River Flows In You" by Yiruma and while ...
Katana's user avatar
  • 91
9 votes
2 answers
3k views

Chopin op. 28 no. 4 - bar 16 symbols

There are two symbols I do not recognise below the stretto in this excerpt: What are these symbols? And also, form what I read the stretto here should be interpreted as an accelerando, am I correct?
iddober's user avatar
  • 6,612
9 votes
5 answers
5k views

Is there a way to play vibrato on the piano?

I know this is a silly question, but I couldn't help but wonder it. Is there a way to play vibrato on the piano? If not are there pianos out there with this feature?
xilpex's user avatar
  • 2,202
9 votes
8 answers
4k views

Beginner question about how to understand chords in musical notation

I have a question about how to interpret musical notation involving chords. In the first picture, I can see D minor chord but do I play it with right or left hand? And what notes do I play with the ...
confusedbeginner's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
8k views

How to apply Barry Harris 6th diminished voicings and maintain chord functions?

The Barry Harris diminished 6th voicings are popular voicings in Jazz, often related to Bill Evans when using drop 2 's. In essence, these are harmonizations of the bebop scale using the I and V7b9 (...
hirschme's user avatar
  • 1,254
8 votes
2 answers
10k views

Why is it so hard to count beats and play at the same time?

I am just beginning to learn to play the piano on my own. I seem to have much difficulties keeping the beats and play the notes at the same time. For example, I have been practicing on this same ...
Haoest's user avatar
  • 735

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