Jerry Kovarksy

Playing piano and various keyboard instruments can become a lifelong passion, so be careful what you wish for. But it all starts with — and often, even for the masters, comes back to — the basics. This includes scales, posture, and determining which type of keyboard you'd like to play.Building a musical scalePut simply, a musical scale is a series of notes in a specific, consecutive order.

If you hope to be a piano or keyboard player, you need to know the key signatures. Here’s a rundown of the major and natural minor key signatures and a couple of octaves’ worth of notes in those keys, arranged in a scale. (The key signatures are ordered following the Circle of Fifths instead of alphabetical order.

You can use the pedal on the piano or keyboard to achieve different effects with your musical sound and add a whole new dimension to your playing. Give these exercises a try for some practice.Uniform Pedal Changes on One LineAlthough changing the pedal with the change of harmony is a general rule, change it more frequently when you’re also playing a melodic line.

The key to making good, accurate jumps on the piano or keyboard is the same whether the jump is big or small: Maintain a comfortable, balanced hand position as you jump from the starting hand position across the keyboard to your landing destination. Jumping with an overextended pinky and your hand outstretched like the descent of a giant hawk upon its prey is very common.

To expand your piano expertise, you should try some broken chord exercises. Broken-chord patterns are common in accompaniment figures and can help make you a well-rounded player. Check out these four patterns found in a wide range of styles.Alberti bass exerciseThe Alberti bass is common in classical-style accompaniments.

When the singer needs a good intro, who’s going to play it? The drummer? Probably not. You are. A piano or keyboard intro is a great addition to a song. And it can’t be any old intro — it’s gotta be good. The audience has a tendency to talk between songs, so it’s your job to shut ’em up and announce the start of the new song.

On a piano or keyboard, a handoff is achieved by passing a melodic line from one hand to the other. Typically your left hand will hand off an ascending line to your right hand, and vice versa. A hand crossover is for when you find it handy (and impressive) to cross one hand over the other to grab a note or a chord or two.

The band is building up to the final chord, and it’s time for the big finish. Why not add a little piano or keyboard as a finale? The singer belts the last lyric, and it’s up to you to drop the curtain. Quick! Grab a handful of these finales and you’re sure to receive an encore request.The “I Loved You, You Left Me” finaleThe “I Loved You, You Left Me” finale">This finale is a simple but effective ending, perhaps even a tear-jerker when played with the right emotion.

When you know the techniques for playing melodies in the right hand, you’re guaranteed to want to put them to use on the piano or keyboard playing more melodies. The following are four well-known melodies that let you apply hand positions, position shifts, and finger crossings.“Ode to Joy”:“Ode to Joy”:">You can stay in C position for almost the whole melody.