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Whole steps are the second smallest interval in music.

Don’t worry if you don’t know what an interval is. It simply means how far one note is from another note.

Now that doesn’t sound so bad does it?

In the previous lesson we learned about a semitone, or half step. We found that this kind of interval is the smallest interval in music and that it tells us to move one note to the left or right.

Now that we are ready to learn about whole tones, (just another name for whole steps) we just need to know that this is made up of a combination of two semitones.

A whole tone is made up of 2 half steps.

So, if you can move a half step then you can easily move a whole tone. All you have to do is move two half steps.

Let’s do one example.

If you start on C and move two half steps you would start on C and move to C#, then move from C# to D.

This is a simple example of moving two half steps to create a whole tone.

Check out the image below and see how the first half step moves from C to C#.

Now see the second half step moves from C# to the D.

Using this method can help you to find whole steps all over the piano. If you move in two consecutive half steps you will create the whole tone.

Steps for Scales and Chords

I said earlier that whole tones and semitones are used as the foundation for building chords and scales. Once you learn thees two concepts you will then be able to use them to build hundreds of chords and scales instantly.

Scales and chords are made up of patterns of these steps.

Each chord has a unique formula that makes it unique. Once you learn the formula and can apply the whole tone-semitone pattern you will be able to build that chord in any key.

The same thing goes for scales.

For example, a Major Scale is made up of Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half.

If you know these steps it is easy for you to find a Major Scale in any key on the piano. Once you find the whole and half step pattern and you can use these steps to find the notes in any scale.

Whole Tone Scale

The whole tone scale is a scale that is made up of all whole movements.

This means that you are going to start on any note on the piano and them move seven whole tones. This is what the whole tone formula looks like.Whole-Whole-Whole-Whole-Whole-Whole-Whole

The image below shows the whole tone scale in the key of C

If you look closley at the image you will see that every labeled note is a whole tone from the previous note.

The whole tone scale is great practice for building scales using intervals.

If you still need more help with whole tones and using half steps and whole stepsto build chords, check out the link below. It explains exactly how to build these intervals along wth detailed instructions on how touse them to build chords.

Click here to build chords using intervals.

Lessons #7 – Major Scales
Back To Lesson #5 – Semitones
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Some people just have it……. Great Music Timing.

Have you ever listened to someone play the piano in a way that leaves you almost lost for words?

Playing with great timing is a skill that can make a very plain song sound enchanting. It forces you to keep listening, almost putting you in a spell.

Learning to have great timing is a skill that is not that hard to develop. It is what separates the average, so-so players, from the greats.

You could listen to two equally talented musicians play the same song. If one has great timing, they will sound better every time

Let’s talk about music timing and how this simple aspect will keep people talking long after you stop playing.

Not Just Timing

It’s not all about timing.

Having great timing is important to being a great piano player, but its not all there is.

Having a good touch on the piano comes from a number of factors.

How you use music dynamics, how quickly you raise and lower the keys, how you use the pedals are all factors that make a performance great.

You need to have good timing when playing the piano, but you also need to be able to have good flow.

Being able to use all the elements on the piano at once and make them work together almost flawlessly is what makes a performance great.

It’s not just about playing the notes on the page, there is an unteachable element involved that just makes some players sound great.

In order to have great music timing you need to focus on working on how you use all the elements on the piano together into one fluent unit. Adding expressions to certain notes, playing dynamically, and adding aspects of personality and emotion will make your playing stand out among the crowd.

The Human Element

If you have ever listened to one of those automated piano’s that play themselves, you’ll know what I mean by the “Human Element.”

Listening to a player piano sounds beautiful, but its nothing like listening to a live performance.

The player piano sounds mechanical, almost fabricated. There is almost a robotic sound to what it plays.

There is no emotion involved.

There is a human element to music timing that makes what they play sound so amazing. Simply playing the notes on the page can sound robotic, but playing a piece with great timing makes it come to life.

To really master the piano you need to master timing. Don’t just focus on playing a piece note by note. Add a human element to the song to make it your own. Add your own style and emotion to the piece.

If we could get the same sound from a player piano, or digital piano, we wouldn’t need people to play them.

You! are what makes the piano sound so great, not the notes or the song.

Add your own personality to a song. Give it your own personal stamp.

Nothing’s Perfect

When you are first starting to learn to play the piano, you are focussed on learning every note name, note value, and musical symbol. You learn how long to hold out certain notes and rests to create a fluid song.

You have to know all these things go together to create a song. But remember, no one is perfect.

It is impossible to have a perfect performance. Even the best of the best players in the world cannot be 100% perfect.

This is the human element we talk about. You don’t need to be a master of playing in time to play the piano. This aspect of being slightly out of time is what makes a song sound musical and not robotic.

You don’t want to be so out of time however that everyone in the crowd can tell. But you want have a fluidness to your playing that gives emphasis on certain parts of the song and less on others.

Using music dynamics is another great example. Playing at one volume level throughout an entire song would bore even the most intent listener. Use loud and soft tones to tell a story with the song.

Use every element of music timing to create a song that sounds magical.

How To Get Great Music Timing

The first thing you can do to get a great timing for music is to practice.

When you are practicing a piece, make sure that you are focussing on your timing. Not only that the notes are in time, but you are playing in a way that shows emotion.

If you are playing alone, add slight pauses in to a song. Being a little off the beat is an acceptable way of playing. Add hesitations to a song.

Practicing these types of movements will make you become a more emotional player as well as adding a unique timing element to a song.

Listen to the greats. If you want to start playing with more emotion, then you need to listen to a player who you think fit the bill.

Listen to how they play and try and emulate their style. Remember it is not all about being right on the beat. It’s about causing the listener to have a great experience listening to you play.

Make your style of playing stand out. Don’t play like a robot. Play like a human by creating your own individual identity with music timing. Make your playing flow by using all the elements of the piano to make a song sound as great as it can.

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The C Major Chord should be the first chord that any piano player or musician should learn. This chord will be the foundation that helps you to learn all other chords.

Once you learn the C chord, you can begin to use it to help you learn other chords that are built using the same basic structure.

Learning this chord will help you understand how other chords are variations of the major chord. All chords, in some way, start with the major chord. Once you learn the C chord, you can start to build other chords quickly and easily.

The C Major Chord

The C chord is the standard major chord that everyone must know. It starts on the root note of C, and contains the notes E and G. These three notes are combined to make the major chord.Most piano instructors will use this as the first chord to teach their students. This is because the chord is built off of Middle C.Middle C is usually the first note that beginner students learn.

Quick Tip!
The notes in the C Chord are C, E, G

How to Build a C Chord

There are two primary ways to build a chord; the number system, and using intervals. Once you learn each of these methods, you can use them to build any other major chord.

Number System

The number system labels each of the notes in the scale with a number.

The notes in the C major scale are: C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

Because there are seven notes in this scale, each note will be given a number, starting with C.

C would be 1, D is 2, E is 3, and so on.

With each note numbered, you can now follow the pattern for all major chords.

All major chords use the 1, 3, and 5 notes in the scale. That tells us that the notes that are going to be used in the C chord will be C, E, and G.

This pattern can be used to form any major chord.

Quick Tip!
Major Chords are built using 1, 3, and 5

Intervals

Intervals are used all throughout music. They show the distance between one notes. They are also used when building chords and chord progressions.

A major chord will always starts on the root note of the chord. For the C major chord it will start on a C note. From the root note, you move up amajor third. A major third consists of two half steps.

On top of the major third, you move up a minor third. A minor third is made up of three half steps.

To build a C major chord using intervals, you build a major third on top of a minor third.

Fingering and Inversions

Root Position

The root position for this chord starts on middle C. Play the C with your thumb. Add the E note with your middle finger. Finish the chord by playing G with your fifth finger.

First Inversion

Rather than starting on the C like in the root position, the first inversion starts by playing an E with the thumb. Play a G with your second finger, and add the C on top with your fifth finger.Second Inversion

The fingering for the second inversion is the same as the root position except the notes are different. It starts on a G with the thumb, then adds a C with the third finger. It then ends with an E on top with the fifth finger.

C Major on Sheet Music

The C chord starts on the ledger line below the low E line on the musical staff. Take a look at the image to see the three inversions of the C major chord.

The C major chord is one of the most used chords by beginner musicians. It is easy to learn and play. Once you learn this chord you can begin to use it in a lot of different songs. Once you learn the C chord, you should next move on to the G Major Chord. This is another major chord that will be played in the C Major Scale.

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Want to know how to build and play the C Pentatonic Scale?

Here we have included a page full of information that will help guide you through the steps on how to build the C Pentatonic Major Scale. Included on this page is an explanation of the theory behind the pentatonic scale, and the notes in the scale

There are also easy to read images that will show the notes in the pentatonic scale on the piano and on sheet music, along with audio files so you know for sure that you are playing the exact right notes

Penta-Tonic Scale

The C pentatonic scale is made of 5 notes, the root note and four additional notes. The word tonic is another word that represents the root note of the scale. This scale is going to start with a C. Because the scale is named C Pentatonic, we are going to start on C, the root.

The Notes

The notes in C Pentatonic are C, D, E, G, and A.

Take a look at the image below and you will see the notes labeled on the piano keyboard.

These are the five notes that make up C Pentatonic.

Building The Scale

Using Intervals

To build this scale we need to find the tonic like we discussed above.

The tonic is always going to be the note in which the scale is named after, in this case C.

To start the scale, find any C note on the piano. Because the scale is named after a C note you can start on any C on the piano keyboard.

Then you must follow a set pattern of intervals using whole steps and half steps. The interval patter to build the C Pentatonic Scale is:

Root – Whole Step – Whole Step – Whole Step + Half Step – Whole Step

Following this pattern in any key will result in a pentatonic scale. To build this scale start on a C note and follow this pattern to create the scale.

Numbers

Another approach to find this scale is to follow the number approach. The number approach allows you apply a number to each note in the C Major Scale and then build the Pentatonic Scale using certain numbers in that scale.

First you need to find the notes in the C major scale. Click here to learn how to find those notes.

The seven note in the C Major Scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. You then give each note in the scale a number starting with the root being 1, D being 2, and E being 3 and so on. Number each note up the scale like in the image below.

With each note labeled you can then use the following set of numbers to find the notes in the C Pentatonic Scale.

1-2-3-5-6

This is the set pattern for the pentatonic scale. This pattern shows that the notes in the C Pentatonic Major Scale are:

1-C

2-D

3-E

5-G

6-A

This is the easiest and quickest way to find the notes in the C pentatonic scale. Once you learn this scale, you can then use this same approach to find the notes in any other pentatonic scale.

Using the same number method for any scale will result in a pentatonic scale. Start on the root note of the scale and use the 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 methods to create the pentatonic scale.

Treble Clef and Bass Clef C Pentatonic Scale

Here’s the C Major Pentatonic Scale in on sheet music for both the treble clef and bass clef.

Use these images to help you learn the notes in this scale.

Another helpful use of this scale is playing it ascending followed by descending. The image along with the audio will show you the scale played going up the scale, then going down the scale. Use this scale to help build strength in your fingers, it’s a great practice method. This is also the best way to memorize the notes in this scale.

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When leaning the piano keyboard layout, there are many factors you must take into considerations. Size, Number of Keys, and so on.

Most people don’t realize, but there are a lot of different types of piano keyboards out there. There is not one set layout that all pianos follow.

Even though there are many different types of piano keyboards, you will still be able to easily know the notes and the layout of piano keys.

There is one simple and easy to use patter that can take all the guess work out of naming keys and understanding the structure of the piano.

Let’s start out by looking at some of the different types of piano keyboards so we can get a better understanding of how they are laid out.

Also use the piano note chart to learn the note names on the staff and the names of the keys.

Types of Piano Keyboards

There are a ton of different types and styles of pianos out there these days. There are Grand Pianos, Upright Pianos, Digital Piano, Digital Keyboard, and the list goes on and on.

Let’s take a look at what makes some of these different, and how the piano keyboard layout is different with each one.

Standard Piano and Digital Piano Layout

A standard piano is a full size piano that has been around forever. You know the old piano that has been sitting at your Grandma’s house forever.

Yeah, that’s the one.

This is a standard full-size piano. It has a full set of 88 keys on its keyboard.

It starts on an A and ends on a C.

It has 52 white keys, and 36 black keys and spans over seven octaves.

This type of piano includes grand, baby grand, upright, and many others.

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Digital Keyboards

There are many different sizes of digital keyboards. Because of the difference in size it gives this type of piano a different layout.

There are some keyboard with as many as 76 keys and some with as little as 25 keys.

Let’s look at layout of piano keys for some of the most common digital keyboards.

76 Key Keyboard

The 76 Key Keyboard is slightly shorter then a standard sized piano. It has only 12 less keys but is laid out totally different.

This type of keyboard starts on E and ends on G.

It has 45 white keys and 31 back keys.

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61 Key Keyboard

The 61 Key keyboard has 27 less keys then a standard piano.

The piano keyboard layout for the 61 keyboard layout starts on C and ends on C.

It has 36 white keys and 25 black keys.

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49 Key Keyboard

A 49 Key Keyboard has 39 less keys then a standard piano.

Like the 61 key keyboard it starts on C and ends on C.

It has 29 white keys and 20 black keys.

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37 Key Keyboard

A 37 key keyboard has 51 keys less then a standard piano.

It starts on F and ends on F.

I has 22 white keys and 15 black keys.

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25 Key Keyboard

A 25 key keyboard is really small and normally used by studio musicians or effects engineers to make sound effect or different types of effects in live or recorded music.

This is not a keyboard that you want to to play because of it’s small size, but it is used for specialized purposes.

It starts on C and ends on C.

It has 15 white keys and 10 black keys.

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Different Piano, Same Layout

Just because there so many different sizes of piano keyboards out there doesn’t mean you have to learn a different layout for each one. The piano keyboard layout stays the same not matter which type of keyboard you own.

Even though they start and end on different notes, and have different numbers of keys, does not change the way we name the keys. Use the piano keyboard diagram to help study the pattern.

Learn the pattern and you will easily be able to find any note on the piano.

Use these charts to to learn the notes on your specific piano.

Each piano is different.

Depending on how many keys you have will determine what key your piano starts with. Study the charts above and compare them to the one you own. You will then be able to easily know the notes on your specific piano.

It’s not all that hard. Just take a little time and study the images and your piano and you will know all the notes fast!

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