These free keyboard lessons have been prepared for individual and group instruction for students learning to play the electronic keyboard (synthesizer) or piano.

Introduction to the keyboard

Stepping up

Sepping down

Stepping up to G

Stepping down to F

Treble spaces

Treble Lines

Bass spaces

Bass lines

Time signature

Sharps and flats

Up and down the hills

Duet for multiple keyboards

Major scales

Building a major chord

Chord numbers and inversions

The V7 (Five-Seven) Chord

Chord progressions

Adding harmony

Intervals

An interval is the distance from one tone to the next. We refer to intervals with ordinal words such as second, third etc.

We will be learning about major intervals. You will learn to hear them, play them, and sing them.

First you need to learn to play and sing the C Major scale. Sing 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.
(Click on the speaker to hear the C Major scale.)

There are many different ways to use chords to add harmony to a melody. We will study some examples and then play the chords in different keys.

You will soon be able to tell whether you need a I (One ) chord, a IV (Four) chord, or a V7 (Five-Seven) chord to harmonize with the notes. You may even find new ways to add harmony to your songs.

You will learn how to use chords in different ways to harmonize in 4/4 time, 3/4 time, and 6/8 time.

In this lesson we will learn the chord progression I (One), IV (Four), I, V7 (Five-Seven), I.

This series of chords if very useful when harmonizing songs.

In the key of C Major, the I (One) chord is C,E,G. This is the root position. Play that chord.

Keep the bottom note where it is. Move the middle tone up one-half step, and move the top tone up two half-steps (one whole step). Now you are playing C,F,A. This is the IV (Four) chord (second inversion).

Go back to the I chord in root position; C,E,G.

Now move to the V7 (Five-Seven) chord by keeping the top note in place and move the middle tone up one-half step, and the bottom tone down one-half step, as we learned in the previous lesson.

Now go back to the I chord in root position.

First play it with the left hand, then with the right hand, and then with both hands.

When you build a V (Five) chord in C Major, the bottom note is G because G is the 5th note of the C Major scale. We know that the G chord is made up of the notes G,B, and D. Now if you add the 7th tone of the scale, F, you have a nice sound for harmony. We can invert the chord and sometimes we leave out one of the tones.

To move from the I (One) chord to the V7 (Five-seven) chord:

keep the top note the same move the middle note up one-half step move the bottom note down one-half step.

We can build a major chord on each note of the scale. We can use Roman numerals to mark them. If the chord is built on the first note of the scale, we call it a I (One) chord.

If the chord is built on the 4th note of the scale, we call it a IV (Four) chord.

If it is built on the 5th note of the scale, we call it a V (Five) chord.

In C Major, C is the first note of the scale, so we build the I (One) chord on C.
F is the 4th note of the scale, so we build the IV (Four) chord on F.
G is the 5th note of the scale, so let's build the V (Five) chord on G.

After we build the chords in root position , we can change the notes around.

Instead of a C,E,G chord, we can put the E as the bottom note and we now have E,G,C as the tones of the chord. We call this the first inversion of the chord.

Put the G on the bottom to make a G,C,E chord and this is the second inversion of the chord.

In this lesson you will learn to build a triad. A triad is made of three tones which are sounded at the same time. In the key of C Major, we will build our first triad (chord) on C.

Put your left finger on C, and with your right hand count up 4 half-steps. ( A half-step is the distance from one key to the next. It doesn't matter whether that key is black or white.) So we start going up by half-steps; C#, D, D#, E, (1,2,3,4). We have gone up 4 half-steps and we are now on E. E is the next note of our triad.

Now hold down the E with your left finger and count up 3 half-steps with your right hand; F, F#, G, (1,2,3). You are now on G and G is the top note of the triad.

Now play the three notes together; C,E,G. This is the C Major chord or triad in
root position. C is the low (bottom) note of the chord.

All major chords in root position will have this pattern of 4 half-steps and 3 half-steps. If the bottom note is on a line, the chord will be line-line-line. If the bottom note is on a space, the chord will be space-space-space.

In another lesson we will learn how to invert or turn the chords around.

On the keyboard:

A half-step is the distance from one key to the next. It may be a white key, or it may be a black key.

A whole-step is made up of two half-steps.

A Major Scale if built on a pattern of

whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step,

Study and play the C Major scale below. Say the pattern of steps as you play.

Right hand fingering: 1,2,3,(thumb under) 1,2,3,4,5.
Left hand fingering: 5,4,3,2,1,(third finger over) 3,2,1.

This first duet can be played on two or more keyboards. There is a first part,
Primo (PRE moe), and a second part, Secondo (se KON doe). Each student learns his/her part, then they play the parts together, beginning slowly and gradually increasing the tempo.

Can you play the same exercise in other keys? Remember how we changed our hand position and changed the key when we played "Up and Down the Hills"?

When we change the key of a song, we say we transpose the song.
Transpose this song to the major keys of G, F, D, B Flat, A, and E Flat.

We will learn this exercise first in the key of C Major with no sharps or flats. You will need to place your hands in the C Major position. The thumb of your right hand will be on middle C and the little finger of your left hand will be on the C below middle C.

We will count 1,2,3,4.

When you learn the exercise well, you can move your hands up eight notes (an octave) and your teacher or your friend can play the automatic chords which are noted above the staff. Next a rhythm can be added for more enjoyment. Start out with a metronome marking of 70 and gradually increase your speed.

We can raise and lower pitches by putting a sign in front of the note, or by putting sharps or flats in the key signature which appears at the beginning of each music staff.

A sharp raises a note by one-half step (the very next key to the right). The raised note may be a black key, or it may be a white key, but the sharp will be to the right of the original pitch. In this lesson all sharps will be on the black keys.

A flat lowers a note by one-half step (the very next key to the left). It may be a black or a white key, but in this lesson all flats will be black keys.

A natural restores the note to its original pitch without the sharp or flat.