🎹 Piano for Beginners

What you’ll learn

1. The Keyboard MapRead the keyboard by recognizing octaves, white and black keys, finding middle C, naming sharps and flats, and understanding the musical alphabet.The keyboard repeats a twelve-key octave of seven white and five black keys, with black keys in groups of two and three. C sits just left of each two-black-key group, and middle C is near the center. Black keys are sharps or flats depending on direction. The white keys use only the letters A through G, repeating across the full 88-key range.
2. Posture and Hand PositionSet up correct posture, a relaxed curved hand shape, finger numbering, both-hand home positions, and injury-free habits.Sit on the front of the bench centered on middle C with elbows near key level, back straight, and feet flat. Keep hands curved with a floating wrist and curved fingers, numbered 1 through 5 from thumb to pinky in both hands. The right hand covers higher notes and the left lower notes, and staying relaxed protects against strain.
3. Reading the StaffUnderstand the grand staff, treble and bass clefs, notes on lines and spaces, how rhythm is written, and middle C as a landmark.Piano music uses a grand staff of two staves: the treble clef for the right hand's higher notes and the bass clef for the left hand's lower notes, with middle C between them on a ledger line. Notes on lines and spaces are learned with phrases like 'Every Good Boy Does Fine' and FACE. Note shapes show rhythm, from whole notes down to eighth notes, organized into measures.
4. The C Major ScalePlay the C major scale with correct fingering and the thumb-under move, understand whole and half steps, and know why scales matter.The C major scale runs C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C on white keys, played with a thumb-under move so five fingers cover eight notes. It follows the major-scale pattern of whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, built from half steps and whole steps. Scales build finger strength, independence, key geography, and ear training that transfer to real songs.
5. Your First ChordsUnderstand how triads are built, play the C, F, and G major triads, hear the major-minor difference, and play chords cleanly.A triad is three notes stacked in thirds; C major is C, E, G. The C, F, and G major triads are all-white-key chords in the key of C, played with fingers 1, 3, and 5. Lowering a triad's middle note by a half step turns it minor and darker. Chords should be pressed as one unified motion, with each note checked to ring clearly.
6. Two-Hand CoordinationBegin coordinating both hands, practice hands separately, add left-hand chords under a melody, and learn basic sustain-pedal use.Start two-hand playing with a right-hand melody over a simple held left-hand note, then progress to a melody with left-hand C, F, and G chords. Master each hand separately before combining them very slowly while counting aloud. The sustain pedal lets notes ring on, but must be changed with each chord to stay clean, and is best added once the hands are steady.
7. Practice StructureBuild an effective structured practice routine, a sustainable daily habit, slow metronome-guided practice, and a plan for what to learn next.Effective practice is short and daily, structured as warm-up, slow focused work on tricky spots, and playing something enjoyable, with hands practiced separately and accuracy prioritized over speed. A consistent time and place, tiny goals, a metronome, and slow practice build lasting skill. Next steps include more scales and chords, minor chords, the pedal, and a method book or teacher.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• The Juilliard School
• Alfred's Basic Piano Library
• Faber Piano Adventures
• Royal Conservatory of Music

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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