Piano/How to read piano music and play scales using proper technique

Here are fingers in motion. Credit: Quincena Musical @ Flickr

First you need to read the notes and play scales. Whether you are playing scales or actual music, you must always strive for perfect technique. Deliberately sloppy playing is forbidden!

The following advice must be reviewed and taken into account at all times.

• The position of the hands must be as relaxed as possible, without any unnecessary tension at the wrists and the rest of the hand.
• When we play there must be a connection between the fingers, just at the time one of the fingers rises, the other lowers. In other words: there should never be a silence (no matter how minimal) between the two notes, nor should the notes sound simultaneously (even in a lapse of milliseconds).
• The hands must always be light and playing with the pads of the fingers (not fingertips).
• The speed of your fingers has to be equal. Normally, there are many mediocre pianists whose fingers 2 and 3 have much more strength and speed than those 4 and 5. This must be avoided. At this particular point, Hanon helps a lot, enlisted in the works above.

How to read piano music

Here are the two staves. Working memory capacity plays a role in a piano player's ability to sight read a new piece of music while playing the piano. Credit: Alfavero @ Wikimedia Commons

Piano music generally contains two staves: the treble staff and the bass staff. Notes higher than middle C are usually placed on the treble staff while notes lower than middle C are usually placed on the bass staff.

The treble clef may also be called the G clef. The line that passes through the centre of the swirling part of the Treble Clef is the G line. The G just above Middle C sits on this line. The bass clef may also be called the F clef. The line that passes through the two dots of the Bass Clef is the F line. The F just below Middle C sits on this line.

Music notes are either placed in spaces or on lines. Moving from a line note to the very next space note in piano music is the same as moving from one white key to the very next white key on the piano. Moving from one note to the next is called a step. The best approach to figuring out note names is by counting steps after having learned the main landmarks: Middle C, G line, F line, Treble C, and Bass C.

According to Wictionary, Treble C and Bass C are one octave above and below middle C, which would find them on space 3 of the treble staff, and space 2 (from the bottom) on the bass staff.

How to play major scales

C Major

The following are some basic scales to learn for the keyboard. The basic C Major scale is shown to the right as a baseline reference. The letters represent notes of the scale, while numbers represent the suggested fingering for each scale.

You can use the following fingering for the notes for the right hand:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

1. 1 represents the thumb.
2. 2 the index finger.
3. 3 the middle finger.
4. 4 the ring finger.
5. 5 the little finger (pinky).

Notice that the thumb goes under the middle finger as the scale progresses from E to F.

For the left hand, you can do

C D E F G A B C
5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

Notice that the middle finger is tucked over the thumb as the scale progresses from G to A.

G Major

Right hand fingering

G A B C D E F# G
1 2 3 1 2 3 4  5

Left hand fingering

G A B C D E F# G
5 4 3 2 1 3 2  1

D Major

Right hand fingering

D E F# G A B C# D
1 2 3  1 2 3 4  5

Left hand fingering

D E F# G A B C# D
5 4 3  2 1 3 2  1

A Major

Right hand fingering

A B C# D E F# G# A
1 2 3  1 2 3  4  5

Left hand fingering

A B C# D E F# G# A
5 4 3  2 1 3  2  1

E Major

Right hand fingering

E F# G# A B C# D# E
1 2  3  1 2 3  4  5

Left hand fingering

E F# G# A B C# D# E
5 4  3  2 1 3  2  1

Notice that the first five scales utilize the same fingerings. Also notice that these scales use reversed finger positions between the two hands.

B/Cb Major

Right hand fingering

B/Cb C#/Db D#/Eb E/Fb F#/Gb G#/Ab A#/Bb B
1    2     3     1    2     3     4     5

Left hand fingering

B/Cb C#/Db D#/Eb E/Fb F#/Gb G#/Ab A#/Bb B
4    3     2     1    4     3     2     1

F#/Gb Major

Right hand fingering

F#/Gb G#/Ab A#/Bb B/Cb C#/Db D#/Eb E#/Fb F#/Gb
2     3     4     1    2     3     1     2

Left hand fingering

F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
4  3  2  1 3  2  1  2

Db/C# Major

Right hand fingering

Db/C# Eb/D# F/E# Gb/F# Ab/G# B/A# C/B# Db/C#
2     3     1    2     3     4    1    2

Left hand fingering

Db/C# Eb/D# F/E# Gb/F# Ab/G# B/A# C/B# Db/C#
3     2     1    4     3     2    1    2