How to Play Piano

Overview

Course No. 7794

Tickle the ivories and awaken your inner Beethoven with lessons from a master piano instructor—no appointment required! The piano is one of the most gratifying instruments to play and an excellent introduction to the theory and practice of music. From folk melodies and holiday tunes to challenging classical forms or jazzy improvisation, the piano is versatile, allowing both melodic lead and harmonic accompaniment.

In How to Play Piano, you’ll learn everything you need to know to have a great time on the dance floor. Taught by acclaimed pianist Professor Pamela D. Pike of Louisiana State University, these 36 accessible lessons give you the building blocks needed to go from an interested novice to an expressive and talented player.

Blending music theory and history with hands-on examples, Professor Pike takes you on a journey from learning how to sit at the piano to inverting chords, arpeggios, sight-reading, and much more. This course is entirely self-guided, allowing you to practice and work on assignments at your own pace.

Video Lectures

01: Basic Piano Rhythm and Fingering

Familiarize yourself with the piano, perform basic exercises, and explore introductory rhythm patterns. By the end, you’ll know how to play the theme from Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.

Duration: 34 min

02: Pitch and Off-Staff Notation

Delve into the concepts of pitch and meter, learn about measures and types of notes, and explore the C major five-finger pattern with your first étude.

Duration: 31 min

03: Tonic and Dominant Harmony

Explore the tonic and dominant notes of a scale and revisit Ode to Joy to understand these concepts in action.

Duration: 31 min

04: Intervals and Basic Notation

Continue working with harmony and melody, and embark on basic notation—the first step toward musical mastery.

Duration: 30 min

05: Major Chords and Simple Accompaniment

Familiarize yourself with landmark pitches as you practice five-finger patterns like C major, and learn about chords, a triad of notes for richer accompaniment.

Duration: 30 min

06: Fourths, Accidentals, and Relaxation

Explore major five-finger patterns and learn how “accidentals” work, featuring tunes like “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Duration: 31 min

07: Primary Chords

Delve more deeply into chords and examine the popular chord progression: I-IV-V-I (tonic to subdominant to dominant to tonic).

Duration: 33 min

08: Transposition at the Piano

Learn transposition—moving a melody from one key to another—and practice with melodies, including “Woodland Jaunt.”

Duration: 29 min

09: Chord Inversions

Understand inverted chords and recognize how they look on the staff, along with correct fingerings to play them.

Duration: 33 min

10: Chord Progressions and Arpeggios

Examine the dominant chord and transpose a new chord progression while practicing C major cross-hand arpeggios.

Duration: 31 min

11: Accompaniment Patterns and Sight-Reading

Discover a practice technique called “blocking” to recognize chord patterns, focusing on broken-chord patterns, waltz patterns, and Alberti bass.

Duration: 27 min

12: Harmonization and Damper Pedal

Learn the final five-finger pattern—G flat—and begin to harmonize melodies using the damper pedal.

Duration: 33 min

13: Minor Finger Patterns and Chords

Shift your attention to minor finger patterns and chords, adding new pieces to your repertoire while you practice sight-reading.

Duration: 29 min

14: Articulation: Legato and Staccato

Consider techniques to enhance the artistry of your playing by exploring articulation, practicing with pieces by Gurlitt and Diabelli.

Duration: 29 min

15: One-Octave Major Scales and Major Intervals

Expand your abilities to play full eight-note scales in C major, G major, and D major, adding new pieces to the mix.

Duration: 33 min

16: Dotted Rhythms and Isolated Repetition

Hone your skills and experiment with new rhythm patterns while studying pieces like Beethoven’s Minuet in G.

Duration: 27 min

17: Secondary Chords and More Dotted Rhythms

Deepen your understanding of secondary chords and use this lesson to review what you’ve learned so far.

Duration: 31 min

18: Sixteenth Notes and More Secondary Chords

Investigate the importance of secondary chords and practice them alongside Beethoven’s Minuet and the Harp Étude.

Duration: 28 min

19: Compound Meter and Technique

Explore new time signatures and practice pieces that help you grasp compound meter, including “Cheerful Tune.”

Duration: 27 min

20: Parallel Major and Minor Keys

Reflect on the relationship between parallel major and minor keys while refining your knowledge of harmonizing melodies.

Duration: 30 min

21: Three Forms of the Minor Scale and Syncopation

Examine the natural, harmonic, and melodic forms of the minor scale while witnessing syncopation in action.

Duration: 33 min

22: Artistic Expression and More Minor Keys

Revisit the expressive quality of music and how to use techniques to convey expression while continuing your repertoire.

Duration: 34 min

23: The Classical Period and Fortepianos

Survey the history of the Classical period and the development of the piano as an instrument, practicing pieces by Mozart.

Duration: 29 min

24: Seventh Chords and Sonata Form

Explore the sonata-allegro form and seventh chords, practicing music by Haydn and Mozart.

Duration: 33 min

25: Sight-Reading and Technique

Tackle sight-reading head-on with new pieces and technical études while polishing your skills on earlier pieces.

Duration: 34 min

26: The Romantic Period and Seventh-Chord Arpeggios

Shift your focus to the Romantic era, examining arpeggios and the influences on composers from this time.

Duration: 35 min

27: More Romantic Repertoire

Refine your repertoire and try your hand at pieces by Liszt, which are tailored for your current level.

Duration: 29 min

28: Sonata Form Revisited

Participate in a musical tradition while revisiting the sonata form and practicing themes from various masters.

Duration: 35 min

29: The Baroque Era and Harpsichords

Discover the history of the Baroque era and the characteristics of instruments from that time.

Duration: 29 min

30: Baroque Repertoire

Enjoy musical treasures from the Baroque era while practicing pieces from composers like Bach and Pachelbel.

Duration: 30 min

31: Deliberate Practice and Learning Music

Learn strategies for “deliberate practice” and work on a new harmonization example in E minor.

Duration: 33 min

32: The 20th Century and Modern Music

Survey common trends in 20th and 21st-century music, including the work of contemporary composers.

Duration: 33 min

33: Chorale-Style Repertoire

Study chorale-style piano music and its variations from various composers, including Schumann and contemporary pieces.

Duration: 31 min

34: Impressionism and the Una Corda Pedal

Explore impressionism and how it relates to Debussy while learning about the una corda pedal.

Duration: 28 min

35: Triplets and Continuing Piano Study

Finish with your final rhythmic pattern—triplets—and reflect on everything you’ve learned throughout the course.

Duration: 36 min