hello all.. i just recently purchased a yamaha keyboard and a book on how to teach yourself how to play piano and i am finding that im progressing really well with that combination.. thing is, im still a bit flakey with reading sheet music however some of the examples in the book have numbers above the notes that allow me to correspond those notes with the keys on my keyboard. my question is, are their any websites out their that have sheet music with numbers above the notes so as i can correspond them with my fingers? for example number five is your pinky finger while number one is your thumb.
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Piano Sheet Music
- Thread starter CubaTBird
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Cuba, the numbering system you describe is a typical learning tool. It should be on most beginners instructional sheet music. However, you should learn to get off of it as soon as possible. I'm also taking piano lessons (however, I am a music major in college so its a bit different for me). I think that you'll progress much faster if you take the time to learn the note names, chords, etc. by sight rather than replying on a crutch like the number system.
That being said, search google for "free piano instructional sheet music" and "free beginners piano sheet music".
It's too bad you're not in Chicago or I could just give you some music.
That being said, search google for "free piano instructional sheet music" and "free beginners piano sheet music".
It's too bad you're not in Chicago or I could just give you some music.
Flash cards
Buy or make some flash cards so that you can wean yourself off of the numbering system as soon as possible. The faster you can directly associate a note on a staff with a key on a keyboard without any interim thought, the faster you will progress in your studies.
Buy or make some flash cards so that you can wean yourself off of the numbering system as soon as possible. The faster you can directly associate a note on a staff with a key on a keyboard without any interim thought, the faster you will progress in your studies.
Sorry to post again, but I thought of a tip or two.
Try to think in thirds when you're first learning. In treble cleff, read the lines as :
f (ine)
d (oes)
b (oy)
g (ood)
e (very)
And the spaces between the lines as:
e
c
a
f
Once you get this pattern down you know how to name (and find) any note and you can figure out that a third below e is c, and a third above f is a. Thus you can expand your pattern to
e
c
a
f
d
b
g
e
c
There! Now you no how to find any note name simply by using thirds.
For bass (f) cleff, you can do the same thing but the notes are different. They are (from the bottom line up)
a (lways)
f (ine)
d (o)
b (oys)
g (ood)
The notes between the lines are:
g
e
c
a
You can now figure out everything in bass (f) cleff, too!
For major flat keys, just think of this pattern: b e a d g c f. That's the order of flats when they're added to change keys. To determine what key you're in, look at the second to last flat. That is your key. For example, Eb major has three flats: b e a. You look past the a and see e, then you know it's Eb major.
The exception to this is one flat, which is F major.
For major sharp keys, think f c g d a e b. That's harder to remember, so I made up a little saying for myself:
f (rank)
c (an)
g (et)
d (own)
a (nd)
e
b (oogie)
Do find what key you are in if there are sharps, just look at the last sharp and count up one letter name. For example, if you see two sharps you know they're f and c. You look at the c and go up one letter name to d. With two sharps, you're in D major!
I hope this is at least mildly helpful. Send me a message if you want any tips or need clarifying.
Try to think in thirds when you're first learning. In treble cleff, read the lines as :
f (ine)
d (oes)
b (oy)
g (ood)
e (very)
And the spaces between the lines as:
e
c
a
f
Once you get this pattern down you know how to name (and find) any note and you can figure out that a third below e is c, and a third above f is a. Thus you can expand your pattern to
e
c
a
f
d
b
g
e
c
There! Now you no how to find any note name simply by using thirds.
For bass (f) cleff, you can do the same thing but the notes are different. They are (from the bottom line up)
a (lways)
f (ine)
d (o)
b (oys)
g (ood)
The notes between the lines are:
g
e
c
a
You can now figure out everything in bass (f) cleff, too!
For major flat keys, just think of this pattern: b e a d g c f. That's the order of flats when they're added to change keys. To determine what key you're in, look at the second to last flat. That is your key. For example, Eb major has three flats: b e a. You look past the a and see e, then you know it's Eb major.
The exception to this is one flat, which is F major.
For major sharp keys, think f c g d a e b. That's harder to remember, so I made up a little saying for myself:
f (rank)
c (an)
g (et)
d (own)
a (nd)
e
b (oogie)
Do find what key you are in if there are sharps, just look at the last sharp and count up one letter name. For example, if you see two sharps you know they're f and c. You look at the c and go up one letter name to d. With two sharps, you're in D major!
I hope this is at least mildly helpful. Send me a message if you want any tips or need clarifying.
I want to learn piano...I am a big time novice at reading music, but played guitar for years by way of tabs. Im reading some books on music theory right now, and hope to grab me a keyboard soon to start learning that.
I wish you luck on your endeavor to learn to read music, should you find a suitably effecient method of self teaching, then please share with us when you do.
I wish you luck on your endeavor to learn to read music, should you find a suitably effecient method of self teaching, then please share with us when you do.
A lot of piano sheet music does contain suggested fingering, however this is not intended as a substitute for reading the notes, but as a guide to good practice since there are obviously several different possible fingerings for a given piece.
The fingering suggestions are usually limited to places where a change in position is required, or where it is not obvious what the usual fingering would be.
The fingering suggestions are usually limited to places where a change in position is required, or where it is not obvious what the usual fingering would be.
I've always wondered (I hope I'm not thread-jacking, if I am please ignore meLoge said:
), are there rules for fingering? or does it depend on the player's intuition? I also bought a keyboard a few months ago but I haven't found any tutorials that discuss fingering rules. I'd get a teacher but I don't have time during the day...A lot of it is what feels comfortable, sometimes you have to do a certain fingering to get all the notes to fit.floyde said:I've always wondered (I hope I'm not thread-jacking, if I am please ignore me
http://sheetmusicplus.com has a whole range of stuff from beginners to advanced. I've purchased a number of stuff for the piano from there without any hassles.
BTW, ChrisWB's post is a good guide although it was taught to me as "every good boy deserves fruit"
BTW, ChrisWB's post is a good guide although it was taught to me as "every good boy deserves fruit"
Sheetzbox - Free Piano Sheet Music
Hi,
I've just get all my sheets together in a sensible way and made it publicly available to you piano lovers. Sheetzbox is a free sheet music source for musicians of all ages and levels, aimed to help them improve their piano playing skills by providing them downloadable and printable sheet music. I'll try to keep it updated frequently.
http://www.sheetzbox.com
Hi,
I've just get all my sheets together in a sensible way and made it publicly available to you piano lovers. Sheetzbox is a free sheet music source for musicians of all ages and levels, aimed to help them improve their piano playing skills by providing them downloadable and printable sheet music. I'll try to keep it updated frequently.
http://www.sheetzbox.com