Piano course for complete beginners

72 free lessons in 12 units: discovering the piano, the notes of the keyboard, c position, reading the treble clef, the bass clef and the grand staff, rhythm…

Unit 1: Discovering the piano

Low and high, the black keys, the fingers, the beat

1. Lesson 1: Hello, piano! – Sitting well, low and high, your first sounds
2. Lesson 2: The black keys – Groups of two, groups of three, and your first improvisation
3. Lesson 3: Finger numbers – From thumb (1) to pinky (5), on the black keys
4. Lesson 4: The steady beat – The heartbeat of music: the quarter note and the half note
5. Lesson 5: Black-key melodies – Your first complete little songs
6. Lesson 6: Piano, forte! – Playing soft, playing loud, and your first concert

Unit 2: The notes of the keyboard

C, D, E… the musical alphabet, all over the keyboard

1. Lesson 7: The note C – Your first white key, all over the keyboard
2. Lesson 8: D and E – The three white keys around the two black keys
3. Lesson 9: F, G, A, B – The four white keys around the three black keys
4. Lesson 10: The musical alphabet – A to G, forward and backward, all over the keys
5. Lesson 11: Middle C and octaves – The center of the keyboard, and the same note at every height
6. Lesson 12: Challenge: the whole keyboard – All the note names, in a timed game

Unit 3: C position

Five fingers, five notes, right hand, left hand, then together

1. Lesson 13: C position, right hand – Five fingers on five keys, without moving your hand
2. Lesson 14: Going up, going down – Neighbor notes, repeated notes, and Ode to Joy
3. Lesson 15: The whole note and the measure – Four beats per measure: Au clair de la lune
4. Lesson 16: C position, left hand – The same notes, an octave lower, on the left
5. Lesson 17: Alternating hands – A melody that passes from one hand to the other
6. Lesson 18: Both hands together – A bass note on the left, the melody on the right

Unit 4: Reading the treble clef

The staff, landmark notes and reading by intervals

1. Lesson 19: The staff – Five lines to write music on
2. Lesson 20: The treble clef and its landmarks – G on the 2nd line, middle C just below
3. Lesson 21: C, D, E on the staff – Line, space, line: the first three notes you read
4. Lesson 22: All of C position – C, D, E, F, G: five fingers, five notes to read
5. Lesson 23: Reading by intervals – Steps and skips: read the distance rather than every note
6. Lesson 24: A, B, treble C – Three more notes, and a new landmark in the 3rd space

Unit 5: The bass clef and the grand staff

Reading the left hand, then both hands

1. Lesson 25: The bass clef and Bass F – Your left hand’s staff and its first three landmarks
2. Lesson 26: Left-hand C position in the bass clef – C, D, E, F, G for the left hand
3. Lesson 27: The grand staff – Two staffs, two hands, one middle C
4. Lesson 28: Reading with both hands – One hand after the other, then both together
5. Lesson 29: Landmark notes – Seven landmarks to find your way around the whole keyboard
6. Lesson 30: Review: sight-reading – Everything you can read, all mixed up

Unit 6: Rhythm in detail

Rests, eighth notes, 3/4 time, dotted notes

1. Lesson 31: Rests – The quarter rest, the half rest and the whole rest: counting even when you don’t play
2. Lesson 32: Eighth notes – Two notes in one beat: ti-ti, “1 & 2 &”
3. Lesson 33: 3/4 time – One, two, three: the waltz and the dotted half note
4. Lesson 34: The dotted quarter note – Ta-i ti: the rhythm of Ode to Joy and Jingle Bells
5. Lesson 35: Pickups and ties – Starting before the first beat, holding a note across the bar line
6. Lesson 36: Sixteenth notes – Four notes in one beat: ti-ri-ti-ri

Unit 7: Sharps, flats and intervals

Whole and half steps, new positions, major and minor

1. Lesson 37: Half steps and whole steps – The smallest distance on the piano, and its big sister
2. Lesson 38: Sharp, flat, natural – The names of the black keys, and how they’re written
3. Lesson 39: Intervals, from the 2nd to the octave – Measuring the distance between two notes, by eye and by ear
4. Lesson 40: G position – Five fingers on G, A, B, C, D
5. Lesson 41: D position and F♯ – D, E, F♯, G, A: a black key in the position
6. Lesson 42: Major and minor pentascales – W W H W or W H W W: two colors, bright and dark

Unit 8: Chords

Major, minor, inversions, accompanying a melody

1. Lesson 43: The major triad – Three notes together: C, F and G major
2. Lesson 44: The minor chord – Just one note changes, and the chord turns wistful
3. Lesson 45: The chords of the key – I, IV, V and the dominant seventh
4. Lesson 46: Inversions – The same notes in a different order, to move without jumping
5. Lesson 47: Accompanying a melody – The melody on the right, the chords on the left
6. Lesson 48: The hit-song progression – C – G – Am – F: four chords, thousands of songs

Unit 9: Scales and technique

Thumb crossing, scales, legato and staccato

1. Lesson 49: Thumb under – More than five notes without lifting your hand
2. Lesson 50: The C major scale – Eight notes, two crossings, two hands
3. Lesson 51: The G major scale – An F♯ and your first key signature
4. Lesson 52: The F major scale – A B♭, a key signature with one flat, and a fingering of its own
5. Lesson 53: The A minor scale – The relative minor of C major, and its G♯
6. Lesson 54: Legato, staccato and dynamics – Connect, detach, color: make the notes speak

Unit 10: Play, improvise, create

Arpeggios, blues, improvisation, pedal and recital

1. Lesson 55: Arpeggios – Rolling out the chords: the sound of ballads
2. Lesson 56: The blues – Twelve measures, three chords and a scale with attitude
3. Lesson 57: Improvising over a chord chart – Question and answer: tell your own story in music
4. Lesson 58: The pedal – The right pedal: make the whole piano ring
5. Lesson 59: Playing by ear – Finding a melody on the keyboard, without sheet music
6. Lesson 60: Your first recital – Everything you know, in concert, and what comes next

Unit 11: Accompanying a song

Reading a chord chart, the chords of each key, bass lines and rhythms

1. Lesson 61: Reading a chord chart – Symbols, measures, repeats: the map of the song
2. Lesson 62: The chords of the easy keys – C, G, D, F and A minor: six chords per family
3. Lesson 63: A left hand that holds it together – Root, fifth, octave: the bass that carries the song
4. Lesson 64: The basic rhythms – Ballad, eighths, 3-3-2, oom-pah and waltz: the same chords, five styles
5. Lesson 65: Changing chords without jumping – Keep the common notes, slide to the nearest one
6. Lesson 66: A song, from start to finish – The intro, the verses, the chorus and the ending: accompanying for real

Unit 12: Accompanying like a pro

Chord colors, moving bass lines, 6/8, grooves, ear training and transposing

1. Lesson 67: Chord colors – sus, add9, 6, maj7, m7: one note changes, a whole new feeling
2. Lesson 68: Moving bass lines – Slash chords, and lines that walk down, climb up and slide
3. Lesson 69: 6/8, triplets and the shuffle – Counting in threes: the sway of ballads and the blues
4. Lesson 70: Grooves – Rock’n’roll, reggae, pop and gospel: one style per step
5. Lesson 71: Finding chords by ear – The bass, the color, the degree: work out a chord chart without sheet music
6. Lesson 72: Transposing and accompanying a singer – Scale degrees, the right key, and your first real session

Pieces: 40 to play

First steps

The right hand, five fingers and rhythm

• C and its neighbors – Find middle C and play your first three notes
• Five fingers, five notes – C position and Ode to Joy
• Whole, half, quarter – Counting beats with Au clair de la lune
• Eighth notes – Two notes per beat: Jingle Bells
• Moving your hand – Six notes with Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

The left hand

Bass notes, then both hands together

• The left hand – Low C position and your first bass notes
• The hit-song bass line – C – G – A – F: the bass line of hundreds of songs
• Both hands together – Melody on the right, bass on the left
• Both hands on the move – Jingle Bells with its bass

Chords

Major, minor and the hit-song progression

• Your first chord – C major: three notes played together
• C, F, G – The same chord shape on the move
• Minor chords – A minor, D minor, E minor: the melancholy color
• The hit-song progression – C – G – A minor – F, without moving your hand
• Bass + chords – Accompanying a song with both hands

Playing pop

Rhythms, arpeggios, blues and your first ballad

• The 3-3-2 pop rhythm – The groove that makes chords dance
• Arpeggios – The left hand that makes ballads sing
• Pachelbel’s Canon – Eight chords that inspired generations of hits
• The 12-bar blues – A boogie bass in the left hand
• The Andalusian cadence – Your first black key: A minor – G – F – E
• Your first ballad – A melody and its bass over the hit-song progression

Tunes everyone knows

Traditional and classical melodies that became hits

• When the Saints Go Marching In – Starting after a rest
• Amazing Grace – Three beats to a measure
• Greensleeves – A melody in A minor, with G♯
• The House of the Rising Sun – Arpeggios in 6/8
• Für Elise – Beethoven’s theme, in sixteenth notes

In the spirit of the hits

The chords and grooves of hit songs, with original melodies

• The gospel ballad – Octaves in the left hand, chords in the right
• The ’50s in 12/8 – C – A minor – F – G, in triplets
• Seventh chords – Four notes for a jazzy color
• Pumping eighth notes – F – G – C – A minor, hammered chords
• Your pop song – A verse and a chorus, like a real hit

Accompanying real hits

The real chords of hit songs, to play while you sing or along with the record

• Let It Be – The Beatles: verse and chorus on the piano
• No Woman, No Cry – Bob Marley: the reggae offbeat
• La Bamba – Ritchie Valens: three chords and lots of energy
• Imagine – John Lennon: C – Cmaj7 – F and E7
• Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen / Jeff Buckley: arpeggios in 6/8
• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan: G – D – A minor, G – D – C
• Zombie – The Cranberries: E minor – C – G – D
• Stand by Me – Ben E. King: A – F♯ minor – D – E
• Someone Like You – Adele: broken chords in A major
• Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey: the chord chart in E major