Sunday, November 6, 2011

THE THEORY OF 100 REPETITIONS - (Practicing the fingerings for the 12 major keys)

It is said that if you repeat a thing 100 times you will not forget it.

I believe this to be true.  I also believe it to be true for 30 repetitions. It is an easy way for your muscles to get comfortable with a movement.  It is also the best way to gain speed and accuracy.  You can do it while you think you have nothing to do.  5 times here 10 times there, it all adds up.  In the video lessons displayed in earlier posts the fingering for the C major scale scale is are demonstrated.  Learning that fingering will also be learning the fingering for the G major scale.  When you apply the formula W-W-H-W-W-W-H, you will find that there is only 1 black key played (F#).  The fingering is just like the C major scale.

So here you have 2 things to help you understand the piano.  You can use the FORMULA to find which white keys and which black keys (sharps and flats) to play.  BTW- the symbol for SHARP is "#" and the symbol for FLAT is "b".  AND you have fingerings to help you play them more comfortably. Additionally, this FINGERING GUIDE will also help you double check your findings when you use the formula.  Use these tools, go slowly and repeat it until you are sure.


Now that you know the C major scale fingerings, here are the fingerings for the remaining 11 scales:
(these fingerings are for 2 octaves)

FINGERING CHART - (RH means RIGHT HAND and LH means LEFT HAND)

G major has an F# in its key signature
so don’t forget to hit an F# instead of an F natural (When the note is neither # nor b it is natural)
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

D major has two sharps in its key signature and they are F# and C#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

A major has three sharps and they are F#, C#, and G#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

E major has four sharps and they are F#, C#, G#, and D#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

B major has five sharps and they are F#, C#, G#, D#, A#,
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 4321 4321 321 4321

NOTE:
There are 2 additional sharp keys that are used. They are E# and B#. Don't look for them right now. (well you can if you want to) The key signature that uses the E# is the key of F# major. The key that uses the B# is the key of C# major

AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE SHARPS AND THEIR ORDER:

Fried Chicken Gives Dinner An Extra Boost ! ! !

So you have F C G D A E B

Those are the keys with sharps (#)

F major has a B flat in its key signature
so make sure you hit a Bb instead of a B natural
RH 1234 123 1234 1234
LH 54321 321 4321 321

Bb major has two flats and they are Bb and Eb
RH 2123 1234 123 1234
LH 321 4321 321 43212

Eb major has three flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab
RH 2 1234 123 1234 123
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Ab major has four flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
RH 23 123 1234 123 123
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Db major has five flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
RH 23 1234 123 1234 12
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Gb major has six flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
RH 234 123 1234 123 12
LH 4321 321 4321 321 2

AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE FLATS: Just remember it’s the word BEAD followed by G and C. So you have B E A D G C

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

MUSIC NOTATION FOR THE BEGINNER








Please leave any questions you may have in the comments section for this post.

THIS IS FOR THE TOTAL BEGINNER

Here is a quick start for those who want to begin to understand the piano.
Here is PART 1


Here is the continuation (part 2)




The terms you need to remember are:
KEYS = the mechanisms you press on the piano/keyboard to produce sound
KEYS also = the tonality of the musical piece.  The resting place, The Key you are playing in.
HALF STEP = the distance between one note and the very next note on the keyboard
WHOLE STEP = the distance between one note and the note two keys over from it. (2 half steps
INTERVALS =  The distance between one note and another.
UNISON =  The smallest interval. One note and that very same note.
OCTAVE = The distance between a note and the next occurrence of that note going either up or down the keyboard.
FORMULA FOR BUILDING A MAJOR SCALE
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
*w = whole step, h = half step

I hope this helps a bit.  You'll need a keyboard to practice on.
GLAD YOU'RE GETTING STARTED!