Piano Lesson No. 3c: Piano Playing with Both Hands

now that you know how to play using your right hand and left hand individually (i hope you do!), let's now learn how to play the piano using both your right hand and left hand simultaneously in other words, sabay na sila..

one piece of advice though, be sure you've been practicing a lot using your left hand or right hand separately... you must understand that you have to train your brain to send orders/signals to two different areas in your body and sometimes at the same time... iisipin mo mahirap gawin pero trust me, once you're accustomed to playing using either your right hand or your left hand while reading notes, it'll be a lot easier on your part when it comes to reading a piano piece which requires you to play using your both hands... like what i've mentioned over and over again, PRACTICE lang ang katapat ng lahat...

also be sure, be very sure that you already know by heart the NOTES, RESTS, CLEFS, TIME SIGNATURE, KEY SIGNATURE ( i'll be using CMajor muna = { no sharps, flats } 'til i discuss KEY SIGNATURES ), TEMPO, etc., etc., 'coz if not... hindi ka makakausad ng mabuti tapos nagmamadali kang matuto magpiano at magbasa ng mabilis! wag kang adik! hehehe kaya namnamin mo silang mabuti... makakasalumuha mo ang mga symbols/terminology na yan as long as you want to play the piano while reading a sheet music... okie?! then, let's begin...

READING A GRAND STAFF

this just simply means that your left hand and right hand staves are joined together by a brace to make a grand staff and you'll be playing it simultaneously (depending on what the piece asks you to do...) you'll just be reading it the same way you're reading a treble staff or a bass staff...

so, what to do? where to begin?

first, don't panic! lulz :p seriously, when you first get a hold of the piano piece that you'll be playing, take note of it's CLEF symbol and TIME SIGNATURE. since puro C-Major lahat ang lessons ko 'til i tackle the KEY SIGNATURES you don't have to worry much about sharps and flats... we'll get there... wag kang magmadali.. magkikita rin kayo... promise!

second, still... you read the notes as you play going to your right... kahit anong mangyari hindi pakaliwa ang pagbabasa... ano 'to japanese manga?! lulz ;p

third, since two staves na ang pinaguusapan natin, you're gonna read it from LEFT to RIGHT at the same time TOP and BOTTOM... mahirap?! hindi mahirap yan kung kilala mo lahat ang notes/rests makikita mo at alam mo kung paano sila bilangin...

okay, try this...

sige, to make it a lot easier for you, try playing the exercises ( Figure 3c.1, 3c.2 and 3c.3 ) below, reading the TREBLE STAFF (for your right hand) first... SLOWLY! parang nakikipagkilala ka lang sa isang tao, diba pa-shy epek ka pa sa una... pero as you get to know that person nagiging komportable ka... ganun din ang gagawin mo dito, i-apply mo sa pagbabasa ng staff... 'wag mo kagad daanin sa dahas! lulz ;p after mong makilala si TREBLE STAFF, si BASS STAFF (for your left hand) naman... hanggang sa masanay kang tugtugin sila ng magkahiwalay...

tandaan na...
kailangan mong i-train ang mga kamay mo bago mo sila pagsamahin. dapat individually alam na nila ang role nila sa buhay mo with regards to playing the piano... kasi not all the time sabay sila... pwedeng alternate, pwedeng nakababad ung isa sa keys habang yung isang kamay naman eh masayang naglalaro sa kabilang part ng piano... depende nga sa kung anong nakalagay sa piyesa...

then, once you somehow know the whereabouts ng mga notes ng treble and bass cleffs sa piano, you have to play the notes according to what the sheet music asks you to do using your both hands... super SLOWLY sa umpisa lang naman and gradually increasing the tempo to match yung dinidikta ng time signature for that particular piece.

of course, sa mga advanced level na pianist example mga true concert pianists, they can just pick up a piece of sheet music and play it straight out... walang keme! panis! sisiw! haha but for some of us "moderate" or even "beginner" piano players, we have the luxury of taking our time and enjoy a more paced and relaxed learning process. take your time to learn. don't be in a rush. libre na nga yung tutorials ko dito magmamadali ka pa hahahaha just enjoy and have fun while learning how to play the piano.

EXERCISES

Figure 3c.1
( just click the picture to view the whole exercise )

Figure 3c.2

( just click the picture to view the whole exercise )

Figure 3c.3

( just click the picture to view the whole exercise )

Question: what if there are two or three notes together, how do i play them?
Answer:  
if you see two notes for example, joined together by a stem or kahit walang stem at naka-align na para bang kumpul-kumpol ( hahaha what an illustration lelz ), just strike those keys together, all at the same time. best example nito eh yung piano chords. pansinin ninyo halimbawa yung C Major chord, you can see 3 notes together right? just play those 3 notes all at the same time. isang bagsak... booommmm ^_^v



Question:  how long should i practice?

Answer:

it's not really how long you practice (although that helps) but it's what you do when you practice. at first, try to play each piano pieces correctly at least 5 times everyday. if you practice everyday, you'll get better much faster.

and now that you at least have an idea on how to read the notes and play it on a piano, 'wag masyadong magmagaling at magyabang okie?! hehehe you still need to learn more about piano basics which i'll discuss over the next lessons. just keep on practicing. for more piano exercises, you can view it here.

now you're ready for the next lesson, Piano Lesson No. 4: Intervals and Accidentals

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