Begining Piano

[saildawg]

Hi,
I am currently beginig to learn piano, I am using computer software and a midi keyboard controller.  I am using Piano suite v 2.6.  I am doing well so far, but a finally have gotten to a piece where I have to move my hands in order to play notes.  The lessons did not really talk about this, and I just wanted to get some input.  I do not want to start practicing bad habbits.  Foe example, I will start w/ my RH thumb on middle C, but then later on I will have to play up to the C on the higher octave, and go back and forth.   I think I need to be more skilled in knowing where the keys are without having to look.  I appreciate any advice.

[rhapsody in orange]

For example, I will start w/ my RH thumb on middle C, but then later on I will have to play up to the C on the higher octave, and go back and forth.

Playing from C to C of a higher octave through all the white notes happens to be the C major scale. For this fingerings is definitely important so make sure you're using the correct ones and stick to that.

I think I need to be more skilled in knowing where the keys are without having to look.

That probably comes with more practice. The more you play the piano, the more you'll be familiar with the keyboard and would know where the keys are without looking. For now you might wanna play it a few more times to recognize the movement/pattern so that if you encounter pieces that require you to do the same thing in future (playing from C to a C an octave higher), you'd know what to do since you've already learnt it.

[jeremyjchilds]

take any random song, cover your hands, and practice the relative intervals, as they "feel" to your hands,

Start with really easy music with only steps and skips, play only one hand at a time, but feel it one note at a time. think in terms of direction, (up\down) and interval (1\2\3\4\5) etc, notes away.

Go slow and spend some time, and you will be a much better sight reader because of it.

[xvimbi]

Don't worry about blind keyboard navigation. As rhapsody in orange already said, this will come with time. At this stage, it is probaly best to memorize the piece you are working on. Don't be afraid to look at your hands and fingers while you play. This is necessary for developing your "body map" and "keyboard map". Those are fancy terms for the concept that you can move your body wherever you want without looking, and you know your way around the keyboard without looking.

When it comes to changing hand position, I find the so-called five-finger-positions to be the easiest way to navigate a piece, in fact most any piece, all the way up to advanced repertoire. The idea is to place the hand such that the maximum number of notes can be played without stretching the fingers. This would ideally cover the span of five white keys, but seven should be doable as well. So, if you need to cover the space of eight white keys, you should be able to get away with one hand shift. If the melody goes back and forth, so will your hand. For each hand position, pick a reference key and a corresponding finger that goes on it. For shifting the hand, simply move that one finger while keeping the hand in a natural, relaxed state. This way, the other fingers will naturally fall on neighboring keys. You then play all the notes under the fingers until you need to shift your hand again.

When learning a new piece, you could go through it and mark those notes where a hand shift occurs and which finger plays it. The idea is to have the lowest number of shifts.

Shifts fall into two categories. First, the hand may need to move a large distance, more than five white keys, so that there is no overlap between the hand position before the shift and the one after. These shifts are called "jumps". Second, the new hand position may cover an area that overlaps with the area covered by the previous hand position. In this case, there is a range of movement patterns that make such shifts very smooth. Finger substitutions are a set of such patterns, but it's probably too early to talk about them. Another one is the "thumb-under" technique for scale playing. This is probably the first hand-shifting movement that a beginning pianist will come in contact with. Unfortunately, it is a "bad" movement, in a way that the motions are awkward and unnatural. It should be avoided whenever possible.

Hope that helps

[saildawg]

THanks for the responses.  I will try them with practice.  I do have a specific question, what if my thumb is holding a note (4 beats)  and the next note is down the keyboard, do I switch my thumb with another finger while continuing to hold it down?

[cryptkeeper]

If it is played legato you switch it with another finger like you said. Try to add the pedal (if you have one) only after you learned to play the song without one.
I always used the pedal in the beginning (was learning on myself) and now (after one year of lessons) I need to learn to play legato without the pedal wich I find difficult.

[rhapsody in orange]

Yep although the pedal can help to sustain the note, it'd still be good to learn how to play legato without pedals. Also, be careful of the blurring that might occur if the pedal isn't used carefully.

[janice]

Xvimbi, please elaborate more on the "body map" and "keyboard map".  I have never heard of those terms, though I have relayed the meaning of them to students over the years many times.  It's hard to tell a student not to look at their hands because when they ask 'why not', I can't think of a good reason other than "just because"!  I mean, I look at my hands alot, but that is usually because I don't have the piece memorized yet.

[xvimbi]

Xvimbi, please elaborate more on the "body map" and "keyboard map".  I have never heard of those terms, though I have relayed the meaning of them to students over the years many times.  It's hard to tell a student not to look at their hands because when they ask 'why not', I can't think of a good reason other than "just because"!  I mean, I look at my hands alot, but that is usually because I don't have the piece memorized yet.

Check out the following thread, then let me know if I can be of further help.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,4344.0.html