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INTRODUCTION
The keyboard is an electronic instrument made up of black and white keys called the Piano-Forte Keyboard. It
is similar to Piano and Organ because they use the same keys and they are played the same way. So, if you can
play the keyboard, you can play both the Piano and the Organ. The difference between the three instruments
is in their tones [tonal quality] and the way they are built [physical property]. Although there are electric
pianos and organs, both are mostly acoustic instruments. Their sounds are amplified by a wooden sound box.
To begin playing the keyboard, position one finger per key, like this:
Important Caution:
Do not let your fingers collapse at the joints.
Do not let your wrist hang lower than the
keyboard. Try to keep your fingers near the keys when changing from one to the other.
NOTE: Be sure to do these exercises regularly and daily. Your playing will be only as good as your practice.
C MAJOR SCALE
Notes: C D E F G A B C
Solfa: d r m f s l t d’
R.H 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
L.H 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
i. Play right hand only ii. Left hand only iii. Both hands
TWINKLE, TWINKLE
d: d: s: s| l: l: s:-| f: f: m: m| r: r: d:-| s: s: f: f| m: m: r:-| s: s: f: f| m: m: r:-|
d: d: s: s| l: l: s:-| f: f: m: m| r: r: d:-|
OLUWA E TOBI
d d d – m s f – f s f m – m f r/2x d s – s s s s – f f l – s f m – m f r/2x m r d
NATIONAL ANTHEM
: s,| d: s,: d: m| s:-:-: m| f: m: r: r| d:-:-: s,| d: s,: d: m| s:-:-: m| f: m: r: r| d:-:-: r| r:-. m: f: r| m:-. f: s: s| l: s: f:
m| r:-:-: d| s:-. s: s: m| l:-:-: r| r:-. m: f: r| l:-: s:-| f: m: r: r| d:-:-|
AULD LANG SYNE
: s,| d:-. d: d: m| r:-. d: r: m| d: d: m: s| l:-:-: l| s:-. m: m: d| r:-. d: r: m. r| d:-. l,: l,: s,| d:-:-
Refrain
: l| s:-. m: m: d| r:-. d: r: l| s:-. m: m: s| l:-:- : l| s:-. m: m: d| r:-. d: r: m. r| d:-. l,: l,: s,| d:-:-|
AMAZING GRACE
:s| d:-: m. d| m:-: r| d:-: l,| s,:-: s| d:-: m. d| m:-: r| s:-:-|-:-: m| s: m: s. m| d:-: s,| l,: d: l,| s,:-: s| d:-: m. d| m:-:
r| d:-:-|
In every key, the chords on the 1st, fourth and fifth degrees are the most important. We call them the Primary
Triads. The way chords move is called a Progression. We can rearrange the notes of a chord to make it easier
to move from one chord to the other. This is called an Inversion. Each triad can be arranged in three ways.
Example, C triad can be arranged: C – E – G [root position]; E – G – C [first inversion]; G – C – E [second
inversion]. F triad can be arranged: F – A – C [root position]; A – C – F [first inversion]; and C – F – A [second
inversion]. G triad can be arranged: G – B – D [root position]; B – D – G [first inversion]; and D – G – B [second
inversion].
The easiest way to move from one chord to the next is to retain the note in the present chord that can be
found in the next chord and rearrange the remaining notes to fit. KEEP THAT COMMON NOTE UNDER THE
SAME FINGER THEN USE AVAILABLE FINGERS TO PLAY THE OTHER NOTES OF THE CHORD.
Moving from C to G, I to V
The note G is in both C and G triad. So, we will retain G in the same position as we move to G. Therefore, we
will use B – D – G for G triad. Now we have: C – E – G to B – D – G. Very easy too. Keep the G finger
down and move the other two a step backward.
C TRIAD: C E G G TRIAD: B D G
R.H: 1 3 5 R.H: 1 2 5
L.H: 5 3 1 L.H: 5 3 1
Now, combine the two movements to complete the progression. See how easy that is? Great!
PATTERN 1
Note: For now, use the left hand to play only the root note of each chord to supply the bass. The finger to use
is shown in the bracket after the note.
Triads: C [I] F [IV] C [I] G [V]
Notes C – E – G C–F–A C–E–G B–D–G
Sol-fa: d m s d f l d m s t, r s
R.H: 1 3 5 1 3 5 1 3 5 1 2 4
L.H: C [5] F [2] C [5] G [1]
NOTE: It gets more interesting when you hit the bass note first [Left] and break the chords [Right].
PATTERN 2
Triads: C [I] F [IV] C [I] G [V]
Notes E – G – C’ F–A–C E–G–C D–G–B
Sol-fa: m s d’ f l d’ m s d’ r s t
R.H: 1 2 5 1 3 5 1 2 5 1 2 4
L.H: C [5] F [2] C [5] G [1]
PATTERN 3
Triads: C [I] F [IV] C [I] G [V]
Notes G – C – E A–C–F G–C–E G–B–D
Sol-fa: s, d m l, d f s, d m s, t, r
R.H: 1 2 4 1 2 5 1 2 4 1 2 3
L.H: C [5] F [2] C [5] G [1]
SECONDARY TRIADS
Triads: A minor D minor E minor
Root: A – C – E D–F–A E–G–B
1st: CEA F A D G B E
2nd: E A C A D F B E G
CHORD PROGRESSIONS
Practice the following chord progressions. First play each chord 4 times, then 2 times each, and then once.
Repeat them until you are very good at them.
1. C Am F Dm G Em
I vi IV ii V iii
2. C Am F G
3. C Dm Am G
4. C F Am G – Trading My Sorrow
5. C Em F G
PLAY AND ACCOMPANY THESE MELODIES
The first goal of this class is to get your fingers moving across the length and breadth of the pianoforte keyboard – freely
and fast. The best way to achieve this result is to practice playing scales and arpeggios. The following are some of the
exercises for you to practice. The notes to play, and the finger numbers for both right hand [R.H] and left hand [L.H] are
shown below. Let’s go do some work out.
NOTES: D E F G A G F E D - E F G A B A G F E - F G A B C B A G F– G A B C D C B A G
R.H: 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1
L.H: 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5
Solfa: r m f s l s f m r - mfsltlsfm - fsltdtlsf - sltdrdtls
NOTES: A B C D E D C B A - B C D E F E D C B
R.H: 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1
L.H: 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5
Solfa: l t d r m r d t l tdrmfmrdt
CHORDS
A Chord is a combination of three or more notes. The most common chords are triads. They’re the easiest to play.
TRIAD – hold down the root note, the third, and the fifth degrees. Example: C – E – G; D – F – A and repeat the pattern
on all the notes of the C major scale. When you play the notes of the chord one after the other instead of holding down
all three at the same time, it is called a broken chord or arpeggio.
PENTATONIC SCALE
Pentatonic Scale is a five note scale. Just take out the 4th and 7th degrees of a major scale, like this:
C Major Pentatonic A Minor Pentatonic
NOTES: C D E G A C or A C D E G A
R.H: 1 2 3 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 2 3
L.H: 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
Solfa: d r m s l d’ l, d r m s l
Both the major and minor pentatonic scales have the same notes, just different starting points.
BLUES SCALE
NOTES: A C D D# E G A
Solfa: l, d r re m s l
R.H: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3
L.H:
SPEED BUILDERS: SEQUENCES
THIRDS
Solfa: d m – r f – m s – f l – s t – l d’
R.H: 13 24 35 13 24 35
L.H: 53 42 31 53 42 31
TRIPLETS
Solfa: d r m – r m f – m f s – f s l – s l t – l t d’ – t d r etc.
R.H: 123 123 123 123 123 123 123
L.H: 321 321 321 321 321 321 321
PENTATONIC TRIPLETS
Solfa: d r m – r m s – m s l – s l d’ – l d r – d r m etc
R.H: 123 124 123 124 123 123
L.H: 321 321 321 321 321 321
4 CHORD TYPES
There are 4 basic chord types: Major, Minor, Augmented and Diminished.
Triads
Major Chord – Root + Major 3rd + Perfect 5th [1-3-5]| e.g. C – E – G [Written as C Maj or C]
Minor Chord – Root + Minor Third + Perfect 5th [1-b3-5] e.g. C – Eb – G [Written as C min or Cm]
Augmented Chord - Root + Major 3rd + Aug. 5th [1-3-#5] e.g. C – E – G# [Written as C aug or C +]
Diminished Chord – Root + Minor Third + Dim. 5th [1-b3-b5] e.g. C – Eb – Gb [Written as C dim or C 0]
Notice that each chord note is 3 notes apart from the next one.
EXTENDED CHORDS
Seventh Chords
These basic chords [triads] can be extended by adding the next note that’s 3 note after the last one. E.g. 1-3-5-7
We call these chords seventh chords. To make a seventh chord, you add another third to the triad. You have played
many of them in your arpeggio exercises 5 and 6 already. Now, we will hold down all the notes. M or Maj means Major,
m or min means Minor; Dim means Diminished.
Name: C Maj7 Dm7 Em7 F Maj7 G7 Am7 B dim7 or Bo7
Notes: CEGB DFAC EGBD FACE GBDF ACEG BDFA
Ninth Chords
To play a ninth chord, simply add the next third to the seventh chord.
Name: C Maj9 Dm9 Em9 F Maj9 G9 Am9 B dim9 or Bo9
Notes: CEGBD DFACE EGBDF FACEG GBDFA ACEGB BDFAC
Chord Substitution – You can easily substitute a chord for another when the chord has at least two notes in common.
Example: A minor: CEA can substitute for C Major: CEG because both chords share notes C and E.
E minor [EGB] can also substitute for C Major [CEG] because they both share the notes E and G.
Here are a few other examples:
Chord Substitute 1 Substitute 2 Chord Substitute 1 Substitute 2
F Major [CFA] D minor [DFA] A minor [CEA] G Major [BDG] B dim [BDF] E minor [EGB]
Congratulations! You have completed the beginning keyboard lessons. Keep working on the things you have learnt,
improving your speed and application of the chords, scales, and patterns that you have played so far. Enjoy your music!