by Rebecca Thomas

Created on: August 24, 2009   Last Updated: December 17, 2009

The Piano is a great place to begin your journey as a music student. The topography and structure of the piano, the different keys on the piano, and the logic of the instrument makes it easy to learn the basic concepts of the instrument, and music as a whole.

As a person who is beginning their study of the piano, there are a few pointers which will help develop a good foundation, and aid in gaining mastery over the instrument.

1. Good posture - The feet should be placed firmly on the ground (for little children who cannot reach the ground, use a stool or a stack of books), shoulders rolled back and in a relaxed position, and fingers in a curved position on the keyboard (piano). Elbows should be slightly away from the body, and the fore arm should be fully relaxed without any tension. Sit in the middle of the keyboard so that both ends are reachable.

2. Notes on the keyboard - There are 7 different notes on the piano which are repeated over and over again. There are set of black notes in between the white keys. There is a 3 black key group, and then a 2 black key group, and then a 3 black key group, and then a 2 black key group, and it goes on like that.

There are 7 alphabets, whose positions can be found in relation to the black keys.

C - The white key before the 2 black keys

E - The white key after the 2 black keys

F - The white key before the 3 black keys

B - The white key after the 3 black keys

D - The white key in between the 2 black keys

G - The white key after F

A - The white key before B

3. Placement of fingers - Each finger has a number. The thumb is considered finger 1, index finger is 2, middle finger is 3, ring finger is 4 and small finger is 5. Then place the right hand finger 1 on C and the other fingers on one key each. In the left hand, place finger number 5 on C, which means 1 will be on G. Then keep playing fingers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 up and down to get a feel of the keyboard. Remember to keep the fingers in a curved position all the time - curved means bent inwards towards the palm. Imagine holding a tennis ball in the palm of your hand and grasping it with the fingers. Release the ball and retain the position of the hand - that gives you a curved hand position.

4. Basic reading skills - Learn to read the notes on the treble and bass clef using a beginner theory book. Also, learn the duration of notes, which gives music its rhythm.

5. Learn simple tunes - Begin to play simple tunes that require the position your hand has learnt, which is the C position (finger 1 on C). A great way to start is with nursery rhymes like "Twinkle twinkle", "Are you sleeping", "London Bridge" and other such songs. By trial and error, the fingering and tune can be learned.

6. Resources - There are excellent books that teach how to play the piano from scratch, a few being the Alfred Library, Bastien Piano Series, Michael Aaron, and John Thompsons' piano books. The 2 links given below are excellent sites that list the different piano book series and also give the methods and goals of each - http://www.piano-play-it.com/piano-method-books.html and http://www.musicmart.com/Childrens-Piano-Methods-C32 26.aspx. There are also numerous online sites that provide step by step instructions to learn the piano. All these resources put together will give you a good impetus to start off your learning.

The piano is a great instrument to learn and master. Have fun, it's a great way to spend your time!

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