Piano exercises for dummies pdf free download

Ninety selections with suggestions for fingerings are included, each with their own performance notes detailing the wheres, whats, and hows--all in plain English.

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Finger strength comes with freedom of movement. When you tense, or hold, your muscles, you restrict your movement. So you want your fingers to feel comfortable. But they also need support. After you develop firm joints in the fingers and give each finger the support of your hand, wrist, arm, and on through the body, the strength will come from the movement itself.

You can read more about hand position in Chapter 1. The exercises in this chapter are combined so you can exercise your fingers in groups of twos, threes, and fours. Each exercise challenges your control by starting with eighth-note patterns and changing to triplet and then sixteenth-note patterns.

Even though you begin with eighthnotes, you have to stay in the same tempo when you get to the triplets and sixteenth notes. Exaggerate the articulations and dynamics as you practice and improve. Keep your hand shape nice and round throughout, especially for the outside fingers, four and five. Make sure you give quarter notes their full value. Better to count the full beat while feeling a relaxed and fluid motion in your hand.

You can also add a bit of your own shading to the phrases by trying legato and staccato articulation. Shape each phrase with dynamics you choose to make the most music. These exercises give you a chance to work on singing with your fingers. Shape the melodic phrases as if you were singing them by adding some of your own finetuned dynamics. For example, increase the volume on a steadily rising phrase and decrease the volume on a descending phrase. Angle your thumb down from your nicely arched hand.

Keep your hand shape nice and round throughout these exercises, especially for the outside fingers, four and five. You can increase the loudness of each note by increasing your attack speed — a faster speed of attack will get a louder sound.

By making sure fingers four and five have good shape and support, you make it easier to match attack speeds in all your fingers. For practice, play one phrase soft, the next one louder, and see whether you can control the dynamics at your liberty. This gives you an opportunity to make dynamic contrasts between the melody in one hand and the countermelody in the other, as well as gradations within each part.

Try bringing the melody out front by playing it a little louder, or by playing the countermelody a little softer. The exercises will help you develop the control you need to balance and shape melodic lines in each hand. In the first two sections, you work on developing a greater command of articulation — playing legato lines more smoothly and playing staccato phrases with clean, crisp precision.

You focus on exactly how to move to get the most expression with the least amount of work. Then you start to exercise in a variety of five-finger hand positions: major scale, minor scale, extended whole-tone scale, and contracted chromatic scale positions.

After you work both hands separately, you play exercises with your hands together. Have you heard of the Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini, who blazed a path to stardom with his speed and dexterity?

He wrote a violin piece that other composers have used as a theme for their own virtuosic flights. Niccolo Paganini — , violin virtuoso, was known for a level of technical skill not seen on the concert stage at the time.

He wrote music to feature his wizardry, including his Caprice No. The best known of these are Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt. Composer Witold Lutoslawski — also wrote variations on this theme, to be played by two pianists on two pianos! To practice this, go for an overlap from one note to the next, finger-to-finger.

Play the first note, and then overlap by releasing the key just after the next note sounds. Listen to the overall phrase, and make slight changes in loudness within the phrase to give it a nice shape.

Listen for the space between the notes as much as you listen to the notes themselves. As you play faster passages and faster tempos, you can minimize this move until the key release is only at the fingertip.

These exercises are good for testing your speed and control. Try playing these faster and slower to find out where you lose control. Is it one finger in particular? At a certain tempo? After you find your limits, practice within them and expand them step-by-step. These exercises begin with two eighth-note pickups. When you start a phrase with a pickup, think of the pickup notes as moving toward the downbeat, with a bit of emphasis on the downbeat itself.

Major: In sequence, out of sequence 5 5 4 1 3 2 2 5 3 4 Minor: In sequence, out of sequence 1 1 4 1 3 2 4 2 5 3 Chapter 3: Music for Five Fingers Whole tone: In sequence, out of sequence 1 1 4 1 2 5 3 3 2 4 Chromatic: In sequence, out of sequence 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 1 1 3 2 4 2 5 3 5 3 4 2 39 40 Part I: Waking Up Your Fingers Developing Left-Hand Finger Independence with Five-Finger Position Scales Left-hand scales can be more challenging because you get more practice time playing melodic phrases with the right hand.

Stay within a tempo that you feel you can comfortably control. Major: In sequence, out of sequence 5 5 2 5 3 4 4 1 3 2 Minor: In sequence, out of sequence 5 5 2 4 1 3 Chapter 3: Music for Five Fingers Whole tone: In sequence, out of sequence 5 5 2 5 3 4 4 1 3 2 Chromatic: In sequence, out of sequence 5 4 2 3 1 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 5 2 4 1 5 3 4 2 4 1 3 1 3 2 4 41 42 Part I: Waking Up Your Fingers Doubling the Fun: Putting the Hands Together Right-hand and left-hand parts share the same rhythm in these exercises so you can match the articulation and dynamics as closely as possible.

Legato articulation, five-finger positions 5 4 4 3 2 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 5 1 2 1 4 5 5 5 1 1 1 1 5 4 5 2 1 Chapter 3: Music for Five Fingers Staccato articulation, five-finger positions 5 3 4 2 2 1 T R A C K 5 3 4 2 5 4 8 3 3 1 1 5 4 2 5 4 2 1 5 4 2 5 1 2 4 5 1 1 5 2 3 4 5 4 5 2 3 4 5 4 5 43 44 Part I: Waking Up Your Fingers Performance Piece: Paganini Variation for Ten Fingers In this piece, your hands move from one five-finger position to another.

Spend some time plotting out when the positions change and how far the moves will be. This way, your mind is engaged and in control, directing your hands from position to position.

As you become more familiar with the moves, you can increase your speed. Traversing the keyboard means working on fundamental finger moves: crossing a finger over and passing a finger under another finger to shift hand positions.

The chord work in this part starts with practice moving two fingers together as a single unit, playing two notes at the same time. Then you move on to three-note chord exercises that take you through a series of steps to ensure comfortable, solid chord playing while releasing any muscle tension.

Imagine playing fluid lines, shifting hand positions seamlessly, and covering the keyboard territory with flexible fingering. Adding the thumb means you can play more notes within one hand position, but the problem remains that the thumb has a very different size, shape, and angle when compared with the other fingers. If you run out of fingers when the melodic line continues up or down, you have to move your hand position, and do it without breaking the musical line.

The two best options are to pass the thumb under or cross the other fingers over. The keyboard terrain sets up different scenarios for these transitions, with possibilities available in the various white and black key combinations. Because the thumb is shorter, the easiest way to cross over it or pass it under is with a black-white combination, because you can use the key height and location to your advantage.

With one of your long fingers on a black key you naturally elevate your hand, like a bridge, for your thumb to pass under. These more difficult transitions can cause you to twist your hand position, flare out your elbow, tuck in your elbow, or otherwise contort yourself as you move up or down the keyboard, and the extra movement can get in the way of playing smoothly and comfortably.

The answer is to keep your hand quiet, and keep your arm perpendicular to the keyboard as you move out to the extremes or into the middle. This will make your scale runs sound smooth and feel more comfortable. But making these traverses seamless does take practice. The exercises in this chapter give you practice crossing over and passing under with different finger combinations, using a variety of scales.

You also discover how to make these transitions more comfortable. One Under Two, Two Over One You first want to find a hand shape that eases the transition from one hand position to the next. It helps to keep the two fingertips relatively close together and the top of your hand raised high but still flat. Now feel your fingertips on each key as you play the exercise. You may find it easier to straighten your second finger a bit as it crosses over your thumb to play a black key and curve it a bit when it plays a white key.

You can apply this to your third and fourth finger in the following exercises. Keep your hand position quiet, and watch for any unnecessary twisting.

You can control the volume of a note if you think ahead to plan a hand shape that allows control of the attack speed. You can control your timing by guiding your fingers to perform a smooth movement. Watch your fingers once as they make the shift: Is your thumb or fourth finger aiming too far?

Remember to relax! Feel an easy, fluid motion as you move. Exercise slower to focus on smooth transitions, and faster to focus on lightness and agility.

Try singling out the sixteenth-note scale runs to practice the crossovers and pass-unders before you play the piece. Make as much contrast as you can between the staccato and legato, and remember that the rests can be as important as the notes.

You can bring up the bass, hush the choir while the soprano has a solo, or lift up every voice for the full-out finale.

These interval exercises also let you scrutinize the many combinations of fingers, intervals, and positions on the keyboard to get to know how each finger responds. Special attention is given to strengthening those fingers that need it the most, but we try not to embarrass those fingers in front of the others! Playing Seconds with Different Finger Combinations Seconds are any interval combination on adjacent keys, white or black.

Because of the keyboard layout, that means a variety of hand and finger positions to work on. Each of the finger combination exercises in this section includes a study for the right hand and the left hand separately.

Play through these exercises a few times slowly at first — concentrating on each hand — listening carefully to adjust the balance and timing of each finger combination.

Curve your fingers and keep the finger joints firm to play the seconds evenly. Then gradually increase your speed each time you play the exercise. As you increase your speed and accuracy, play this section as a series, starting with the right and left hand in the first finger combination, moving on to the right and left hand in the next finger combination, and so on.

As you play the seconds with each finger combination, imagine the two fingers moving together as one unit. In the first combination, for example, finger two and finger three move together to strike each interval in a synchronized motion. Adjust your attack and your timing to play the seconds evenly while changing hand positions. Your first two fingers are such different lengths! Left hand: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 4 5 3 2 4 5 4 5 3 2 1 1 4 5 3 2 4 5 3 2 1 2 1 Right hand: 1 2 3 1 2 3 5 4 1 2 3 5 4 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 5 4 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 59 60 Part II: Developing a Strong, Supple, and Speedy Hand Playing Thirds with Different Finger Combinations These exercises improve your agility as you maneuver both major and minor thirds.

The different finger combinations keep all your fingers nimble so you can use all five fingers more confidently. Finger combination: One and three Take a look at your hand position as you get ready to play. Make sure you have a nice, high arch to your hand, and let your fingers hang down and your fingertips lightly touch the keys.

Keep your wrists up high, and lift your fingers up like spider legs, bringing them down evenly in twos. And not too fast on this one — taking it slow and developing control are fine; stay relaxed and melt into the keys. The different finger combinations keep your muscle coordination sharp. Finger combinations: One and four, two and five This one is especially good for the fourth finger. If you feel like giving yourself a challenge, try to play both hands at the same time! You can give your pinky some help by letting go of the fourth interval and moving your hand out, keeping the arched shape, toward the pinky.

Right hand: 2 1 5 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 5 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 Left hand: 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 65 66 Part II: Developing a Strong, Supple, and Speedy Hand Playing Fifths, Sixths, and Sevenths As you exercise these larger intervals, you also get good preparation for chord playing, which is covered in Chapter 6.

The overall goal here is to watch for unnecessary twisting from side to side. Each measure can have a rhythmic pattern of four strong beats, on one, four, seven, and ten, with three eighth notes inside each strong beat. Right hand: 5 1 5 1 5 1 5 1 5 1 Left hand: 1 5 1 5 1 5 1 5 Chapter 5: Playing Intervals Exercise in fifths and sixths As you play this exercise, four and five are round, but not stiff.

Try turning on the metronome to check your steady speed. Play each interval pair by using a single, confident hand move, with the same gusto you have when you sing out the tune from the bleachers. The piano sounds best when you make the most of its full harmonic potential.

To get your piano to really sing out, you need flexibility in the wrist to increase your attack speed when you play chords. To balance, or voice, the chord notes, you need control in your fingers to vary the quality of your touch. Naturally, you want to dig into the big chords and get your hands around the really fat harmonies, but keeping stiff fingers and awkward hand positions is tiring and can potentially cause some physical problems. Avoiding these problems and improving your chord voicing are the benefits of learning how to relieve the tension in your fingers, hands, and arms.

This chapter helps you learn to play chords with a relaxed approach, gain a better chord technique, and improve your sound. You can use the exercises to develop fluid motion and release muscle tension as part of a cycle to practice with each chord.

The exercises start with single chords, move into a variety of chord progressions, and then combine melody with chords. You finish up with a performance piece that lets you set the room resonating with vibrant chords. You do need a certain amount of muscle tone and firmness in the finger joints to play nice, solid chords, but you also want to build in the habit of releasing tension while you play.

As you exercise, monitor your body for any area in which you may be holding tension — your arms, shoulders, neck, or even your face in the form of a grimace or facial tic.

Your aim is to breathe through your body as you play and to establish a cyclical pattern of tension and release. Allow your arm weight to drop onto the keyboard as you comfortably play the chord and hold the shape in your fingers.

With a loose, flexible feeling in your wrists, let the weight travel and be absorbed in your wrists with a light bounce. Keeping the chord notes held down, let the wrist float back up and release the notes under your fingers as you lift up from the keyboard, releasing any muscle tension in your fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders.

During the rest between the two chords, release any tension throughout your arms and torso, and prepare for the next chord shape as in Step 1. A longer progression Now try practicing the cycle in a longer progression.

Instead of channeling the weight to your fingertips and holding it there as you press down the keys, let it travel to your wrists where the weight is absorbed and released with a slight bounce. You need to maintain just enough muscle tone and shape in your hands and fingers to hold down each chord note. During a rest you have an obvious spot to relax your hands and release your muscles. Voicing Chords Every time you strike a chord you get to be a sound engineer — you can set your own EQ or equalizer levels with each chord.

Maybe you want to hear more bass, more top note, or bring out the notes in the middle for the fullest sound possible. Most of the time you want the top note to sing out the strongest, with support from the bottom note next and the inner chord notes balanced next.

When you play chords you continually fine-tune your voicing to highlight melodic movement that takes place within a chordal setting. You can custom-balance each chord tone with subtle differences in your attack speed. You achieve this with variations in the quality of touch for each finger.

The piano is designed to transmit and, in effect, amplify these nuances from the key to the hammer to the strings and into sound. Any number of variations in your touch affect the attack speed of each chord tone.

Experiment with voicing in the next exercise, bringing out the moving voice, which changes from the top, to the middle, to the bottom note of the chord. When you want to bring out a certain note within a chord, try using a gentle touch on the other chord notes. A gentle touch should slow the attack speed, bringing down their volume. The challenge is to find a way to stay in a fluid cycle that allows some muscle release while keeping enough shape and tone to maintain a full, even sound.

Pulsing rhythms This first exercise in repeated chords gives you practice with both short and long articulation. Keep your wrist high and loosely relaxed for the faster eighth-note chords, making room for a light bounce off the keyboard as you release the keys. Relax into the keys on the long quarter-note chords. Increase the volume with a quicker attack speed rather than by hitting the keys harder. Keep enough tone in your wrist for the faster chord repetition, and then release any muscle tension on the long chords.

You can allow the melodic movement of the chords and the phrasing, indicated by the slur, to lead your hands and arms with a small, circular motion. Match your movement to the rhythmic motion and dynamic shape of the music. Practice the cycle of tension and release with each exercise. The hands trade off with the melody and three-part chordal background.

Bring out the melody and balance the chords to shade its natural shape. Practice balancing the softer left-hand chords under the melody, and use the rhythmic pattern in the left hand to practice your cycle of release. Let both hands shape the dynamics and phrasing, and add to the melodic and harmonic movement of the theme. Coordinate your cycle of tension and release with the rhythmic pattern of the chords, making light wrist bounces on beats one and four of each measure.

You expand the movement of your hands and arms with scales of all kinds, up and down two octaves, handstogether, in parallel and contrary motion.

Fingerings for every scale help make them easy to master. You can make a selection of scales that fit your daily workout goals, or pick different scales on different days for variety. Please see your browser settings for this feature. EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! The long-awaited update to the bestselling Piano For Dummies -featuring a new audio CD Have you always wanted to play piano?

This revised edition of the popular Piano for Dummies makes it easier and more fun than ever. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help!

Piano Exercises For Dummies is for people who love playing the piano and want to improve the way they play. I include more than exercises, tips, and explanations to help you gain a greater understanding of your mental and physical approach to the piano.

When you combine these exercises with a deeper understanding of how the piano works as an instrument, you can improve the quality of the music you make.