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Learn Piano, Organ and Choir: Free Beginner Guides
These short guides explain the basics of playing keyboard instruments. Each one links to a practice you can do right now in the Hey Piano 4U keyboard. New to piano? Start with the first guide and work down the list.
How to Learn Piano Online for Free: A Beginner’s RoadmapA step-by-step plan for learning piano online for free: set up, find middle C, learn hand positions, read rhythm and practise in short sessions.Piano Keyboard Layout: Notes, Octaves and Middle C ExplainedLearn how the piano keyboard is laid out: white and black keys, note names, octaves, middle C and why this app shows 61 keys.Piano vs Organ: How the Two Keyboard Instruments DifferWhat is different about a piano and an organ? Compare how they make sound, how notes behave when you hold them, touch, pedals and practice tips.How Drawbar Organs Work: Harmonics, Tonewheels and Leslie SpeakersA plain-English guide to drawbar organs such as the Hammond: nine drawbars, harmonics, footage numbers, tonewheels and the rotary speaker.How to Connect a USB MIDI Keyboard to Your BrowserStep-by-step: connect a USB or Bluetooth MIDI keyboard to a web page using Web MIDI, which browsers support it, and what to do if it is not detected.Why Practising Piano Slowly Works (and How to Do It)Slow practice helps you play accurately. Learn how to pick a starting speed, loop hard bars and speed up step by step, with Hey Piano 4U tips.Piano Rhythm for Beginners: Note Lengths and How to CountUnderstand whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, dotted notes, rests and time signatures such as 4/4 and 3/4, and how to count them at the piano.Piano Chords for Beginners: Major, Minor and the I-IV-V PatternWhat a chord is, how to build major and minor triads on the piano, and how three simple chords (I, IV and V) fit hundreds of songs.Piano Scales for Beginners: Major and Minor, Fingering and PracticeWhat a scale is, how to build major and natural minor scales with whole and half steps, and how to practise scales on the piano.How a Synth Choir Works: Vowels, Formants and EnsembleA plain-English guide to how a synthesiser makes a choir sound: sawtooth waves, vowel formants, detuned voices, vibrato and slow attack, and how to practise with it.How to Read Piano Notes: A Beginner’s Guide to the StaffA plain-English guide to reading piano notes: the staff, treble and bass clef, note names on lines and spaces, middle C and how to find each note on the keyboard.Organ Keys vs Piano Keys: Touch, Weight and FeelHow organ and piano keyboards differ in touch and feel: weighted and unweighted keys, key travel, velocity, and what it means for your fingers when you switch.What Do Organ Drawbars Do? A Quick AnswerA short answer to what organ drawbars do: each of the nine sliders adds one harmonic, from the 16 foot sub-octave to the 1 foot top note, with a table and presets.How to Play Piano with Your Computer KeyboardHow to play a piano using your computer keyboard: which keys play white and black notes, how to change octave, and tips for fast, clean playing.How to Play Along with a Backing Track on KeyboardA guide to playing keyboard along with a recording: how to set up, why to use headphones and a left-right split, how to loop a hard part and how to slow a track.Public Domain Music: What It Means and How to Use ItAn overview of public-domain music: what the term means, the difference between compositions, arrangements and recordings, and how to check what you can use.