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TELEVISION

How to Play Piano

Series: How to Play Piano

4.4

(79)

Episodes

Rating

TVPG

Year

2018

Language

English

Publisher

The Great Courses

About

Discover how anyone can learn to play the piano with the right guidance and a little encouragement. These 36 accessible episodes provide the building blocks you need to go from interested novice to expressive player. Blending music theory and history with hands-on examples and step-by-step instruction, Professor Pamela D. Pike shows you how to pick up this marvelous musical skill.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Basic Piano Rhythm and Fingering

34m

Let's start by playing some music! From minute one of this course, you will be at the piano, fingering keys and playing tunes. In this opening episode, you'll familiarize yourself with the piano, perform a few basic exercises to warm up, and explore some introductory rhythm patterns. By the end of the episode, you'll know how to play the theme from Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

2. Pitch and Off-Staff Notation

31m

After reviewing the introductory finger patterns you learned in the first episode, delve into the concepts of pitch and meter. Find out about the concept of measures and different types of notes. Then explore the C major five-finger pattern and play it in action with your first étude.

3. Tonic and Dominant Harmony

31m

The piano is a brilliant instrument because it can be used for both melody and harmony, the lead tune and the accompaniment. In this introduction to harmony, you'll explore the tonic and dominant notes of a scale, and you'll revisit Ode to Joy to better understand these concepts in action.

4. Intervals and Basic Notation

30m

"Tempo" refers to speed in music, and it can be measured with a metronome. Continue working on the interplay of harmony and melody. When you add time to the equation, you can explore "intervals," or pitches in a scale. You've learned enough at this point to study basic notation - the first step toward musical mastery.

5. Major Chords and Simple Accompaniment

30m

Begin to familiarize yourself with the landmark pitches on the staff. By practicing various five-finger patterns (including C major, D major, E major, and A major), you will soon be able to match a tune to a specific tempo. This episode also introduces the concept of "chords," a triad of notes that allow for richer accompaniment.

6. Fourths, Accidentals, and Relaxation

31m

Round out your study of the major five-finger patterns, and how "accidentals" (changing a pitch by half a step) work. Jazz around with "When the Saints Go Marching In," and then learn about the interval of the fourth. Add "Aura Lee" - the folk song Elvis used for "Love Me Tender" - to your repertoire.

7. Primary Chords

33m

Delve more deeply into the concept of chords and see how they can offer a richer harmony than single notes or two-note harmonic intervals. Examine one of the most popular chord progressions: I-IV-V-I (tonic to subdominant to dominant to tonic), one of the most common patterns in Western music.

8. Transposition at the Piano

29m

Transposition - moving a melody from one key to another - is an important skill often under-used in traditional piano episodes for beginners. It provides an opportunity to get to know the different musical keys and can help you jazz around with an old piece of repertoire. Practice transposition with a few melodies, including "Woodland Jaunt."

9. Chord Inversions

33m

This episode will enrich your musical life by building the technical foundation upon which piano music is based. Inverted chords (moving the lowest note of a triad up an octave) is a complex musical detail that will open your ears for future episodes. Learn to recognize how inversions look on the staff and the correct fingerings to play them.

10. Chord Progressions and Arpeggios

31m

Here, build on the last episode about chord inversions and take a deeper look at the dominant chord. Try your hand at transposing a new chord progression into various keys, and then practice some C major cross-hand arpeggios. The move may be tricky at first, but Professor Pike gives you plenty of time to practice.

Extended Details

SeriesHow to Play Piano

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great CoursesDirector

The Great CoursesProducer

Pamela D. PikeActor