Piano For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Piano
	Chapter 1 Preparing to Play a Piano
		Knowing Why the Piano Is So Special
			Advantages to playing the piano
			Advantages to studying music at the piano
			A skill and an art
		Understanding Why People Take Piano Lessons(And Why They Often Quit)
		Getting to Know Your Instrument
		Comprehending the Language of Music
			Developing an ear for horizontal and vertical music
			Getting to know musical forms and styles
		Starting to Play the Best Way
		Being Aware of What You Already Know about Playing the Piano
	Chapter 2 Meeting the Keyboard Family
		Looking at the Acoustic Ones
			Pianos
			Harpsichords
			Pipe organs
		Identifying the Electric Ones
			The nuts and bolts of electronic sound
			Synthesizers
			Digital keyboards
	Chapter 3 Finding the Perfect Keyboard
		To Hum or Not to Hum: Electric or Acoustic (Or Both)?
			Buying an acoustic
			Buying a digital
			Buying a hybrid
		Picking the Perfect Acoustic Piano
			Taking location into account
			Getting all the pedals you deserve
			Finding good buys (and avoiding scams)
			If you’ve heard one, you haven’t heard them all
			Looking at some specific piano brands
		Selecting a Digital Keyboard That Lasts
			Digital pianos and organs
			Arrangers
			Stage pianos
			Workstations
			Synthesizers
			Avoiding obsolescence
			Knowing the digital features you want
			Browsing some specific keyboard brands
			Other electric keyboards
		Before You Drive It Off the Lot: Sealing the Deal at the Store
			Taking it for a spin
			Loving and leaving it
			Refusing to pay the sticker price
			Shopping online
		The MIDI Places You Can Go
			A MIDI primer
			Keyboard to computer
			Keyboard to keyboard
			MIDI and music notation
	Chapter 4 Taking Good Care of Your Keyboard
		Providing a Good Place to Live
		Making It Shine: Cleaning Your Keyboard
		Calling In a Pro for General Checkups and Serious Repairs
			Tuning acoustic keyboards
			Keeping digital keyboards happy
			Dealing with serious keyboard problems
		Taking the Worry Out of Moving Your Acoustic Piano
	Chapter 5 Eighty-Eight Keys, Three Pedals, Ten Fingers, and Two Feet
		Finding the Keys, Easy Peasy
			The white keys
			The black keys
		Discovering What Your Parents Never Told You about Posture
			To sit or not to sit: That’s the real question
			Sitting down: Chairs versus benches
			Using stands and racks
		Paying Attention to Hand Positioning
			Arch those hands and fingers
			Fingering
			Giving your hands and fingers a rest
		Pedal Power: Getting Your Feet in on the Action
			Piano pedals
			Digital keyboard pedals
Part 2 Deciphering Squiggles on Paper to Create Sound
	Chapter 6 Reading Lines and Spaces
		Your Guide to a Piano Score
			Employing a staff of five lines
			Hanging from a clef
		Double Your Staff, Double Your Fun
			Grand staff and ledger lines
			Climbing up the staff and beyond
			An octave above, an octave below
		Punctuating Music: Bar Lines
		Continuing to Read: Don’t Stop
	Chapter 7 Joining the Rhythm Nation
		Eyeing Tempo: The Beat Goes On
			Measuring the beat using tempo
			Grouping beats in measures
		Serving Some Musical Pie: Basic Note Values
			Quarter notes: One piece at a time
			Half notes: Half the pie
			Whole notes: The whole pie
			Counting all the pieces
		Faster Rhythms, Same Tempo
			Eighth notes
			Sixteenth notes and more
		Listening for the Sound of Silence: Rests
			Whole and half rests
			Quarter rests and more
		Counting Out Common Time Signatures
			Common time: 4/4 meter
			Waltz time: 3/4 meter
			March time: 2/4 meter
			6/8 time
		Playing Songs in Familiar Time Signatures
	Chapter 8 Changing the Beaten Path
		Getting a Jump on the Start: Pickup Beats and Measures
		Adding Time to Your Notes with Ties and Dots
			Linking notes using ties
			Extending notes using dots
		Playing Offbeat Rhythms
			Triplets love chocolate
			Swing and shuffle time
			Syncopation
		Playing Songs with Challenging Rhythms
Part 3 One Hand at a Time
	Chapter 9 Playing a Melody
		Let Your Fingers Do the Walking
		Getting into the Right Position
			C position
			G position
			Shifting your hand position as you play
		Crossing Your Fingers and Hoping It Works
			Crossing over your thumb
			Passing your thumb under
		Playing Melodies in the Right Hand
	Chapter 10 Scaling to New Heights
		Building a Scale, Step by Step
		Stepping Up to the Majors
			Understanding major scales
			Trying a major scale exercise
		Exploring Minor Variations
			Natural minor scales
			Harmonic minor scales
			Melodic minor scales
			Trying minor scale exercises
		Showing Your Rebellious Side with Blues Scales
		Playing Songs Made of Scales
	Chapter 11 Hey, Don’t Forget Lefty!
		Exploring the Keyboard’s West Side
			Moving into position
			Getting used to the new neighborhood
		Tackling Some Left-Hand Melodies
		Practicing Some South-Paw Scales
			C, G, and F major
			A, E, and D natural minor
			A harmonic and melodic minor
		Trying Accompaniment Patterns
			Three-note patterns
			Four-note patterns
		Adding the Left Hand to the Right Hand
			Sharing the melody in both hands
			Melody plus one note
			Melody plus three-note accompaniment pattern
			Melody in unison octaves
		Playing Songs with Both Hands
Part 4 Living in Perfect Harmony
	Chapter 12 The Building Blocks of Harmony
		Measuring Melodic Intervals
			Interval shorthand
			Seconds
			Thirds
			Fourths and fifths
			Sixths and sevenths
			Octaves
		Combining Notes for Harmonic Intervals
			Playing two notes together
			Adding intervals to the melody
			Harmonizing with the left hand
		Playing Songs with More Harmony
	Chapter 13 Understanding Keys
		Homing In on Home Key
			A whole ring of keys
			Using keys to play music
			Reading key signatures
			Leaving and returning to the “home” key
		Playing Songs with Key Signatures
	Chapter 14 Filling Out Your Sound with Chords
		Tapping into the Power of Chords
		Dissecting the Anatomy of a Triad
		Starting Out with Major Chords
		Branching Out with Minor Chords
		Exploring Other Types of Chords
			Tweaking the fifth: Augmented and diminished chords
			Waiting for resolution: Suspended chords
		Adding the Seventh
		Reading Chord Symbols
		Playing with Chord Inversions
			Putting inversions to work
			Flipping the notes fantastic
		Playing Songs with Chords
Part 5 Technique Counts for Everything
	Chapter 15 Dressing Up Your Music
		Playing Dynamically
			Starting with basic volume changes
			Widening the range
			Making gradual shifts in volume
		Articulating the Positive
			Interpreting articulation symbols
			The power of articulation
		Controlling the Tempo
		Putting the Pedal to the Metal
			Using the damper pedal
			Getting the hard facts on soft-pedaling
			Eyeing the middle pedal
		Touching on Grace Notes
		Tackling Trilling
		Dazzling Your Audience: Gliss
		Trembling Tremolos
		Dressing Up Your Songs
	Chapter 16 Great Grooves
		Great Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns
			Fixed and broken chords
			Chord picking
			Octave hammering
			Bouncy rock patterns
			Melodic bass lines
		Applying Great Intros and Finales
			The big entrance
			Exit, stage left
		Playing Songs with Left-Hand Grooves
	Chapter 17 Perusing the Aisle of Style
		Taking Aim at Classical Music
		Playing the Blues
			Clues for the blues
			12-bar ditties
			Changing it up
		Rockin’ around the Keys
			Rocking ingredients
			Slamming and jamming
		You’re a Little Bit Country
			Country-style cooking
			Finger-pickin’ good
		Pop! Goes the Piano
			Popular picks
			Topping the charts
		Soul Searching
			Saving your soul
			Motown sounds
			Funky sounds goin’ round
		All That Jazz
			Jazzing it up
			It’s up to you
			Substituting chords
		Playing Songs in Favorite Styles
Part 6 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 18 Ten Ways to Improve Your Practice and Performance
		Be Comfortable at All Times
		Shut Off the Distractions
		Make a Schedule and a List
		Get into Deconstruction
		Use a Metronome
		Rehearse Your Dress Rehearsals
		Know Your Performance Piano
		If You Memorize . . .
		Preempt Post-Performance Syndrome
		Smile and Take a Bow
	Chapter 19 Ten Ways to Supplement This Book
		Working through Method Books
		Using Reference Books
		Buying Music to Play
			Types of printed music
			Arrangements and transcriptions
			Fake books
			Where to buy printed music
		Gigging with Others
			Piano duets
			Chamber groups
			Bands
		Checking Out the Masters
			Johann Sebastian Bach
			Ludwig van Beethoven
			Johannes Brahms
			Frederic Chopin
			Franz Liszt
			Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
			Sergei Rachmaninoff
		Attending Live Concerts
		Listening to Recordings
			Perusing record stores
			Shopping online
			Visiting the library
			Exchanging music with friends
		Exploring Piano Sites on the Web
		Enjoying Pianos on the Big Screen
		Realizing You’re Not Alone
	Chapter 20 Ten Questions to Ask Prospective Teachers
		Whom Else Have You Taught?
		How Long Have You Been Teaching and Playing?
		How Much Do You Expect Me to Practice?
		Would You Mind Playing Something for Me?
		What Repertoire Do You Teach?
		How Do You Feel about Wrong Notes, Mistakes, and Slow Learners?
		What Methods Do You Use to Teach Piano?
		Where Will the Lessons Take Place?
		How Much Do You Charge?
		Do You Have Student Recitals?
Appendix About the Website: Audio Tracks and Video Clips
Index
EULA