What you will learn?
Have you ever wondered how the piano came to be? Well, our quick piano history lesson will walk you through what the first piano was like and how it has progressed to the beautiful instrument we know today!
An actual piano will have foot pedals, some have 2 pedals and some pianos have 3 pedals. Have you ever wondered what these piano pedals are or what they do? Though the pedals don't make any difference in pitch, they do make a difference in how the music is played. Keyboards don't have pedals, but you can buy a pedal for your keyboard. But as beginner pianists, we don't need to worry about the pedals for now. It's just good to know what they are :)
Today, we are going to look at octaves using the piano to explain. An octave sounds like it may be the same note. & when you are reading your sheet music, the letter will be the same - so if you are on B on the staff, the octave will be B right above the staff. The frequencies vibrate in a similar pattern and that's why it can sound the same. We are going to look at what is inside the octave - Patterns and how many keys are in an octave.
Today, we are going to learn the notes on the piano and how to easily identify the piano notes. No matter what instrument you are playing, the notes are A-G (alphabetically). Once G is hit, it starts over at A. But as other instruments have fingering that tie to the notes, we have to know which key goes to what note. So I have some tricks and tips to help you know and remember the notes on the piano!
Today, we are going to go over assigned numbers on our fingers, do a quick finger exercise, and learn the song 'Hot Cross Buns' on piano. We assign numbers to the finger to easily correlate which finger goes to what key. Keep in mind the fingers do not always go on the same keys, but we'll get there later on. The fingering exercise is to help with our motor skills. Playing on a piano is a motor skill you may not be used to, so this will just help strengthen the fingers. & Lastly, we are going to learn 'Hot Cross Buns'.
It's important to know what an interval is - especially when taking piano lessons. An interval is the distance between two notes. We have the semi-tone or half steps. That is literally the key right next to whatever note you are one. & we have the whole-tone or tone (also known as the whole step). That would be two semi-tones. So you would just skip the key right next to it & the following key is the whole tone! This is just a quick lesson on intervals, but we'll get to further detail on intervals further on in our lessons.
Piano Instructor Evan goes over what the black keys on the piano. We know them as sharps & flats. Check out the video to learn more!
Today, piano teacher Evan will show us the minor scale pattern on piano! Once you know the minor scale pattern, you'll be able to figure out, practice, and know the minor scales!
Today, piano teacher Evan will show us some good hand stretches for the piano. Stretching your hands before we play helps our fingers loosen up so we can play with ease. Stiff fingers can be a little challenging. lol. These hand stretches are quick and easy! So... Let's get warmed up with our hand stretches so we'll be ready to play piano!
Today, piano teacher Evan will show us some good coordination exercises and warm ups for the piano. These warm up exercises help with learning to control your fingers and getting your hands to work together. Whether you are just learning or have been playing piano for awhile, these exercises are great to maintain hand coordination and to get warmed up before playing your pieces.
Looking at sheet music can be very overwhelming. Piano instructor Evan is going to teach us how to read the grand staff. This includes knowing what the staff is, what the clefs are, why they are important, and how to relate them to piano, and he's going to teach us how to read notes both for treble clef & bass clef!
Piano instructor Evan is going to teach us how to read and understand rhythm notation. Notes in our sheet music not only tell was what note to play, but tell us how long to play them. They create the rhythm. We are going to learn what the note symbols mean so we know when to play and when to stop playing a note.
Piano instructor Evan is going to teach us how to read and understand rests marked in our sheet music. Rests tell us when we shouldn't be playing & for how long. They too, help create the rhythm. We are going to learn what the rest symbols mean.
What are time signatures? What is the difference in time signatures? What does the top number mean in the time signature? What does the bottom number mean in the time signature? What's the difference between 4/4/, 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8 time? Piano teacher, Evan is going to teach us all about time signatures!
Today, piano teacher, Evan is going to teach us some excellent exercises for the piano. We are going to do a few exercises to help with finger strength and learning some exercises for basic rhythms (different rhythms in each hand). So take a seat at the piano and come practice with me!
When learning a new song (we'll use Heart & Soul) using sheet music, it's important to know how to break it down into smaller sections so you don't overwhelm yourself. Piano instructor, Evan, is going to teach us how to break down sheet music in order to learn how to play Heart & Soul on Piano. With these tricks, you'll learn how to play music a lot faster. So let's hit the piano and learn how to break down sheet music to learn how to play Heart & Soul!
How to play the Star Wars Theme Song on Piano for Beginners. Hello & welcome to Musician's Addition. Today, Evan is going to teach an easy, beginner tutorial on piano - the Theme Song to Star Wars.
How to play Mario Brothers (Mario Bros) on Piano for Beginners. Hello & welcome to Musician's Addition. Today, Evan is going to teach an easy, beginner tutorial on piano - Mario Brothers, Mario Bros.
This Halloween, we'll be going over the Halloween Theme Song Beginner Piano Tutorial and learn how to play Halloween on Piano. Welcome to Musician's Addition Halloween Special Lesson. The Halloween Theme song is pretty easy and is perfect for beginners.
Download the sheet music here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JFzLQdmzndhWt_w18Dml01-euLk5e1em/view?usp=sharing
Happy Birthday piano tutorial for beginners! How to play Happy Birthday on Piano for Beginners. Hello & welcome to Musician's Addition. Today, Evan is going to teach an easy, beginner tutorial on piano - Happy Birthday!
Get the sheet music here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GJX07yxCmrA7DPBQHD6WKQqbYhL8rrXu/view?usp=share_link
Here's Fur Elise Piano Tutorial for beginners. This easy tutorial breaks down Fur Elise from right-hand to left-hand, to both hands together. Now, this is just a main section from Fur Elise and is meant to just be played in a loop, but here's how to play Fur Elise on Piano EASY!
Today, Evan teaches about Key Signatures and even has a few tricks to help remember the order of key signatures. We make key signatures easy as we explain how to read them, how to apply them, using accidentals, and knowing the order of the sharps and flats in a key signature. Key Signatures Explained and made easy!
Today, Evan is going to be teaching us how to play Harry Potter on piano, while reviewing Key Signatures and accidentals.
Download the sheet music here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kj0XGQeRId2goEkYPHBhGscHtSvwoegU/view?usp=share_link
Most of us use note names while reading music, but as a piano player, did you know you could use intervals to improve your playing? I'm the piano instructor, Evan, and today, I'm going to teach you how to use intervals to improve your playing. I use this trick a lot, especially when sight-reading. Make sure to watch to the end so you can see examples of how you can use intervals when playing piano.
Today, Evan will be guiding you through a set of exercises to build up your two-handed playing. It’s a very important aspect to be working on to be able to play complex pieces. These will begin at a beginner's level and get incrementally harder as we go. Both hands will be doing some different things to challenge ourselves and have them work independently. Let’s head over to the piano!
When it comes to reading sheet music, there are symbols to tell us how loud to play or how to play certain notes to add expression. Dynamics is how loud we play. Articulation is how we play. In this lesson we'll be learning all dynamics of pp (pianissimo) all the way through ff (Fortissimo). We'll learn to gradually get louder (crescendo) and gradually get quieter (diminuendo). We'll also cover ties, legato, staccato, tenuto, and accents.
Today, Evan is going to help us remember and practice inversions using the intro to 'Let It Be' by the Beetles.
What are inversions? Today, Evan is going to teach us a little bit of music theory - inversion basics. Inversions deal with chords and there the root note lands. We're going to cover what that means, what it looks like on the piano, and how to identify inversions just by looking at the sheet music!
Sight-Reading Introduction For Piano - where do you even begin in improving your sight-reading skills? Sight-reading is when you are playing a piece of music for the first time. Today, Evan is going to go over the basics of sight-reading and what you should be paying attention to when you very first get the music.
Extra Resources: Notes App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes-sight-reading-trainer/id874386416
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/czerny-schaum-book-1-sheet-music/3984814?aff_id=736001
Sometimes, we only have the lead sheet music, which is the melody line only with the chords written above. So how do we play this? Well, you'll play the melody line as written and then you can play the chords as marked on the left hand! You just have to remember what the root note is and what notes are involved in that chord. Let's take a further look.
In this video, Evan takes you through the essential skills of reading and playing harmonic fourth and fifth intervals on the piano. This video builds on our recent tutorials on sight reading and harmonic intervals, focusing specifically on how to quickly identify and play fourths and fifths.
When the time signature has an 8 on the bottom, what does it mean? How do you count 3/8 and 6/8 time signatures? Those are compound time signatures and it is pretty different than common time. Keep in mind the top number is the amount of beats in the measure - so 3/8 has 3 beats in each measure. 6/8 has, yes! 6 beats in the measure. What really makes the difference from common time is the bottom number. The bottom number signifies which note gets the beat, so with compound times, the eighth note gets the beat! All our note values are now different! So how do you count 3/8 and 6/8 time?
No matter the time signature, rhythms can be tricky. Today, Evan is going to give us some rhythm practice in 4/4, starting off easy and working our way to a little harder rhythms.
Sight reading can be pretty challenging to most. Our teacher, Evan shares some sight reading exercises for beginners on piano. Instead of reading the notes individually for what they are (A, B, C...), you look at the interval, or gap between the notes! In this lesson, we're going to look at sight reading with single notes and with the intervals of unisons, 2nds, or 3rds.
🕒 Understanding 9/8 & 12/8 Time Signatures: Unravel the mystery behind 9/8 and 12/8 time signatures as we break down their rhythms step by step. We'll demystify how to read and interpret these rhythmic patterns, so you can confidently navigate through pieces written in these time signatures. Put your newfound knowledge into action with our practical exercises. We'll guide you through hands-on examples, from simple to slightly more complex, helping you build your skills progressively. Whether you're a drummer, a guitarist, a pianist, or any other instrumentalist, these exercises are tailored to enhance your proficiency.
Get our practice sheets here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cRMJWIA3dDxNRB02G-TkVAzbR9HMTz2B?usp=sharing
Join Evan on the piano in this insightful video as he continues the sight-reading series. Building on the foundation of seconds and thirds from the previous video, Evan introduces fourth and fifth intervals. Learn to navigate the keys with ease, focusing on the intervals rather than individual note names. Evan's goal is to help you read music more quickly and efficiently, making your musical journey smoother.
In this video, we're diving into the spooky season with a special focus on reading intervals with the Addams Family theme song. In today's tutorial, we'll be learning a simplified, one-handed version of "The Addams Family" theme song. This arrangement is designed to help you practice reading intervals and make it accessible for beginners, while also strengthening your sight-reading skills.
🎹 Dive into the world of piano mastery with our latest lesson on Czerny exercises! In this tutorial, we break down sight reading and finger-strengthening techniques, focusing on every note from C to G. Whether you're a beginner or intermediate player, this lesson will challenge and enhance your skills. Join us as we explore common time, treble clefs, and dynamic hand coordination. Practice along with us to elevate your piano playing to the next level!
In this session, we'll be delving into the iconic Toreador March from the popular game and recent movie, Five Nights At Freddy's.
Download and print the sheet music here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NiahZrq9RAwlqtOsIXxClIn2Cx4MAq71/view?usp=sharing
Today, we're looking at the Czerny Exercise 2 on piano for hand coordination. We're going to break it down and work one hand at a time and then the challenge, is putting both hands together.
Download this Cznery Exercise here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1piBiOP1I_Jo5fqN5WvUQFYt-KT8yzpDE/view?usp=sharing
Get the Czerny Piano book here: https://bit.ly/CzernyPianoBook
Today, we're going to learn how we can use scales to improve hand coordination. I know, I know, scales can be boring and tedious, so how can they be used for hand coordination. Playing scales with both hands will improve your coordination, but have you ever played scales in a direction opposite from one another, or playing with different rhythms on each hand, or playing them as a round? Check out these ways of improving your coordination by using scales.
In this piano lesson, Evan guides us through creative hand independence exercises using a different approach. One hand will be playing the piano, and the other hand will be performing a non-musical task using props! Developing hand independence is crucial for mastering songs and exploring different musical ideas.
In today's tutorial, we dive deeper into our sight reading series, focusing on harmonic reading, where chords and multiple notes are played simultaneously. Harmonic reading is crucial for pianists as it vastly improves your ability to play and learn songs efficiently and with less frustration.
Today, Evan will be continuing our Hand Independence series on the piano. Hand independence is crucial for any piano player, and mastering it can significantly improve your playing skills. In this video, we dive into intermediate-level exercises that focus on coordinating your left and right hands.
Join Evan as he takes you through a comprehensive piano tutorial aimed at improving two crucial skills: sight reading and hand independence. In this detailed lesson, we dive into "Cockles and Mussels," a 16-bar piece perfect for practicing these techniques. Evan will guide you through playing the song with left-handed chords and a simple melody on the right hand, focusing on sight reading one hand at a time before combining both. Download the sheet music here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7hiT9PF8G0KK8nG0ZcANI8L4AEDtAYV/view?usp=sharing
About the course
No book needed for this course. Evan covers how to read sheet music, rhythms, time signatures, exercises for hand coordination, chords, and more!
About the teacher
Evan Klein
Piano & Guitar Instructor
Born and raised in Michigan, Evan is now a Los Angeles based musician, who specializes in piano and guitar. He has been a musician for about 5 years and learned by using Youtube himself. He works as a therapist for children and teaches kids the piano in his free time. He loves R&B, rock, and blues and is excited to share his musical knowledge with you all!
