Piano Exercises For Dummies

Practice, practice, practice to play like Chopin or the Piano Man

The piano will help you add a touch of fun to your life, impress your friends at parties, and even reduce stress. It even makes you better at math (really!). Piano Exercises For Dummies is at your service as you learn to make those 88 black and white keys sing. You’ll get a quick overview of the basics before diving into practice routines and sample songs that you can use to improve your skill, whatever your level. This book gives you online access to audio files of the exercises along with digital access to the sheet music shared in the book. Learn from an experienced pianist, composer, and arranger, and start making beautiful music, the Dummies way!

• Refresh your knowledge of the piano basics so you’re poised and prepared to play the right way
• Play enjoyable practice exercises and songs designed to teach specific skills and techniques in all genres
• Go online to access all the audio files, anytime, anywhere
• Bring a little more joy into your life by stepping up your piano know-how

Piano Exercises For Dummies is for new and experienced pianists alike, and useful for improving your skill in any musical style.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part 1: Waking Up Your Fingers 3

Part 2: Developing a Strong, Supple, and Speedy Hand 3

Part 3: Including Your Arms and Body 4

Part 4: Integration and Independence 4

Part 5: The Part of Tens 4

The website 4

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part 1: Waking Up Your Fingers 7

Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Practice 9

Warming Up Away from the Instrument 9

Releasing tension and releasing your muscles 10

Breathing in an unending circle 10

Massaging, stretching, and contracting your hands 10

Warming up your wrists 12

Swinging and twisting your arms 13

Stretching your shoulders and neck 15

Working on your back 18

Stretching your hamstrings 18

Perfecting Practice with Proper Posture 19

Sitting at the piano: Height and angle 19

Getting a handle on proper hand position 20

Hands on the fallboard: Counting out loud and bouncing 21

Hands on the fallboard: Hand arches and finger drops 22

Hands on the fallboard: Rotation in and out, movement up and down the keyboard 22

Hands on the keyboard: Sound and movement on the keys 23

Overcoming other posture pitfalls 24

Chapter 2: Isolating and Exercising Your Fingers 25

Two-Finger Exercises for the Left Hand 26

Fingers one and two (left hand) 26

Fingers two and three (left hand) 27

Fingers three and four (left hand) 27

Fingers four and five (left hand) 28

Two-Finger Exercises for the Right Hand 28

Fingers one and two (right hand) 29

Fingers two and three (right hand) 30

Fingers three and four (right hand) 30

Fingers four and five (right hand) 31

Three-Finger Exercises for the Left Hand 31

Fingers one, two, and three (left hand) 32

Fingers two, three, and four (left hand) 32

Fingers three, four, and five (left hand) 33

Three-Finger Exercises for the Right Hand 33

Fingers one, two, and three (right hand) 34

Fingers two, three, and four (right hand) 34

Fingers three, four, and five (right hand) 35

Four-Finger Exercises for the Left Hand 35

Fingers one, two, three, and four (left hand) 36

Fingers two, three, four, and five (left hand) 36

Four-Finger Exercises for the Right Hand 37

Fingers one, two, three, and four (right hand) 37<