When most people look at a piano keyboard, they see a sea of black and white keys. They can’t understand how someone can sit down at this confusing combination of notes and create music.

Of course they can’t! They haven’t learned how to look at the piano keyboard in such a way that it all makes sense. All they really need to do is understand how to see it like the pros do. And pros see the piano keyboard as scales and chords.

All you really need to know to start out is to learn chords and that’s it. Just think of the guitar player as an analogy. They begin to make sense of their instrument rather quickly. Why? Because they are taught chords from the beginning. They learn to play the 3 most important chords in any Key right away and begin to make music. They begin to look at the fretboard as more advanced player’s do - as a way to produce music through chords.

They then learn how to finger a scale and the guitar fretboard no longer seems a mystery but an acoustic terrain to be mastered.

The same principles apply to the piano. Once you have a few chords under your belt and can play the scale (much simpler for pianists than guitarists) you will begin to see the piano keyboard in a new way.

For example, I’m a big fan of something called the open position chord. It covers more than two octaves of the piano keyboard and gives the beginning player a modern sound right away. Once students begin playing it, they soon discover that they can quickly make music just like their guitar playing counterparts!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

There are 3 pedals on most pianos. The one on the left dampens the strings and makes the sound come out softer. The one in the middle - I have no idea what that one does, but the one on the right - the sustain pedal - this one is the pedal I have my foot on when I play the piano.

I like to let the tones ring out, but if I keep the sustain pedal depressed for too long, the music turns into a mud puddle - hundreds of overtones coming out everywhere. Don’t let anyone tell you that there is a proper way to pedal the piano.

Each style of music uses the sustain pedal differently. New age music, fortunately for us, is much more liberal with its use. Why? Because we usually throw the pedal “rules” out the window. The key to pedaling is to listen for the sound YOU WANT then pedal accordingly.

How do you think the great pianists and composers of the past did it? Do you think they asked themselves, “well maybe I should pedal here?” Of course not. They put pedal marks down where they themselves used it in a piece. You should do the same.

There’s nothing like the ringing sound of overtones you get when you let the notes hang in mid-air. In fact, this is one of the charms of the piano - that mysterious echo barely discernible to the untrained ear, but there nevertheless providing warmth and realism to the music.

It’s all accomplished through the use of the sustain pedal. When you want your music to breathe, use it. Experiment with it. Don’t be afraid to keep it depressed for as long as you want to.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!