Music theory for piano

Music theory for piano: Learn only what you need to play the piano. Here are the basic notions of music theory for pianists.

This article is especially written for pianists (students or beginners) and is about all basic notions in musical theory.

Names of notes and positions on a piano

The names of the musical notes, from low to high, are: C D E F G A and B. And from highest to lowest, are: B A G F E D C

Here are the positions of the musical notes on a piano keyboard:



And of course, this scheme is repeated all over the keyboard of the piano:



You must memorize the order of the names of the musical notes: C D E F G A B and the reverse order.

Learn more: Music note names

Names of notes and positions on the staff

High-pitched notes are on top of the staff (stave ), and low-pitched notes are on the bottom of the staff (stave ).

If there is no more lines or space to draw music notes, ledger lines are used.



Learn more: The staff (stave)

Clefs used for the piano

Clefs are reference points for positioning the notes on the staff, and to play the piano you will need the treble clef (G-clef) and the bass clef (F-clef).

The treble clef, the pianist's right hand

Most of the time, the pianist's right hand plays notes written in treble clef. The treble clef determines the position of the G note, and all other notes will be placed according to this reference.

Below are more music notes in treble clef:

The bass clef, the pianist's left hand

Most of the time, the pianist's left hand plays notes written in bass clef. Pianists must be able to read two clefs at the same time... The bass clef determines the position of the F note, and all other notes will be placed according to this reference:

Below are more music notes in bass clef:

Read more about clefs: Clefs, Treble clef, Bass clef

Relation between treble clef and bass clef

These two C notes have the same sound and are played on the same key on a piano keyboard, it's easy to recognize because that they have the same pitch because visually one is below the the staff (stave ) and the other is above:



Read more about the relation between treble clef and bass clef: Relation between clefs

Whole steps & half steps (tones & semitones on a piano

Another essential point in music theory is the notion of whole steps & half steps (tones & semitones ).

Below is a example written in treble clef, but it is the same in bass clef:



In other words, there is only one half steps (semitones ) between E and F, and only one half steps between B and C

Read more: Whole steps & half steps (Tones & semitones)
Music theory game: Half steps (Semitones) game

Accidentals on a piano keyboard

Accidentals are very important in music theory: An accidental is a sign to raise or to lower the pitch of a note. And accidentals are always written before the note.

When added to a note, a sharp (♯) raises the note by a half step (semitone ).

When added to a note, a flat (♭) lowers the note by a half step (semitone ).

When added to a note, a natural (♮) cancels the previous accidentals.

Bellow are accidentals on a piano keyboard:



Below is the chromatic scale written in treble clef:


And the chromatic scale written in bass clef:

Accidentals only affect on the current bar:

Accidentals affect key signature

Accidentals affect the key signature.

In this example (below), This key signature means that all E notes are E flat (E♭) and that all B notes are B flat (B♭). But the accidentals affect the key signature:

Read more: Accidentals, order of flats, order of sharps, Key signature

Note and rest values

In music theory, notes have a pitch but also a duration.

Signs	Names
	Double-whole note Breve
	Whole note Semibreve
	Half note Minim
	Quarter note Crotchet
	Eighth note Quaver
	Sixteenth note Semiquaver
	Thirty-second note Demisemiquaver
	Sixty-fourth note Hemidemisemiquaver
	One hundred and twenty-eighth note Semihemidemisemiquaver

And below are note signs equivalences

And when music use silences, composers use rest value:

Signs	Names
	Double-whole rest Breve rest
	Whole rest Semibreve rest
	Half rest Minim rest
or	Quarter rest Crotchet rest
	Eighth rest Quaver rest
	Sixteenth rest Semiquaver rest
	Thirty-second rest Demisemiquaver rest
	Sixty-fourth rest Hemidemisemiquaver rest
	One hundred and twenty-eighth rest Semihemidemisemiquaver rest

Read more about: Note values, Rest values, Relations between note and rest values
Game to learn music theory: Fill the bar (rhythms game)

Increase the duration of a note

In music theory, the ways to increase the duration of a sound or of a rest are: Dots, ties and fermata:

Dots (augmentation dost)

A dot placed to the right of the note-head or to the right of a rest, increases its time-value by half.

Examples:

A dotted whole note is equivalent to a whole note and a half note.
A dotted semibreve is equivalent to a semibreve and a minim.

A dotted eighth rest is equivalent to a eighth rest and a sixteenth rest.
A dotted quaver rest is equivalent to a quaver rest and a semiquaver rest.

Ties

Ties merge multiple notes of the same pitch:



Ties can be used across bars (barlines ) :

Fermata

The fermata, also called hold or bird's eye, is a semicircle containing a dot which may lie above or below a note or rest or over a bar (barline ). The fermata indicates that the note (or rest) should be prolonged beyond the normal duration.

Examples:

Read more: Dots and Ties

Tempo

Tempo refers to the speed at which a piece of music will be played.

The tempo is always perfectly regular like a clock, and a beat is a regular pulse which can be dictated by a metronome. Here are two examples of the same piece in different tempos:

Read more: Tempo

Measure (bar )

Below is an example of empty measures (bars )



Just after the clef is the time signature, and bellow are some common time signatures:

means that there are 4 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

means that there are 3 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

means that there are 2 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

is the is the abbreviation of

is the is the abbreviation of and means that there are 2 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (half note / minim )

Read more: Time signature

Repeat bars (Repeat barlines )

Repeat bars are used to repeat a segment of the score:

On this staff (stave ), there are two repeat signs, it works like mirrors. The first measure (bar ) is played, nothing special.

The 2^nd measure is played normally, but you will have to memorize the location of the repeat sign, here it is simple because the staff has only one line.

The 3^rd measure is played normally.

The 4^th measure is played normally.

After you have fully played the 4^th measure, the repeat sign indicates that you should go back to the previous repeat sign.

The 2^nd measure is played again.

The 3^rd measure is played again.

The 4^th measure is played again.

Mission accomplished! We played the passage between the two repet signs, we can continue our way.

Repeat signs with first and second endings:

On this staff (stave), there are two repeat signs and measures with numbered brackets. Measure with first bracket (1.) is called first-time bar (or first ending) and the second bracket (2.) is called second-time bar (or second ending).

The 1^st measure is played.

The 2^nd measure is played normally, but you will have to memorize the location of the repeat sign.

The 3^rd measure is played.

At the end of this measure called first-time bar (or first ending), there is a repeat sign, so we go back to the previous repeat sign.

We play one more time this measure.

And we jump to the second-time bar (or second ending), because we have already played the first-time bar.

- First ending is used the first time
- Second ending is used the second time (after you go back to the start repeat)

Read more: Measure (Bar), Repeat signs

Special musical symbols for the piano

Some musical symbols are specifics to the piano and others are quite often used to be described here:

The Glissando

The Glissando indicates that it is necessary to play from the first note to the last and to play all the notes which separate them:

The Arpeggio

The Arpeggio indicates that it is necessary to play the notes of the chord separately, starting from the lowest note:

Sustain pedal symbol

The first symbol indicates that you have to press the sustain pedal and the second one to release the pedal. Sometimes you'll find the Piano Pedal symbol , which indicates that you have to press the pedal for the duration of the symbol:

Learn to read music to play the piano

If you have read all this, you understand that the pianist must learn Treble clef and Bass clef, here are some games to learn how to read music note:

- Sight Reading game for Piano
- Notes reading game in treble clef (beginner) for the right hand of the pianist
- Notes reading game in bass clef (beginner) for the left hand of the pianist