Fermatas
Indications placed above or below notes instructing the player to hold those notes longer than their original notated length.
Legato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play smoothly and seamlessly, with the notes slightly overlapped.
Octave Higher and Octave Lower
Symbols that indicate playing a note or range of notes either an octave higher or lower than notated.
Sustain Pedal
Also called the damper pedal, it is the rightmost pedal on the piano and used to sustain notes by moving the dampers away from the strings.
Three Black Keys
A hand position where the player plays only F#, G#, and A#; almost always notated with off-staff notation.
Ties
Symbols indicating that two notes are to be played as one with the value equal to their sum.
Two Black Keys
A hand position where the player plays only C# and D#; almost always notated with off-staff notation.
Two Octaves Higher and Lower
Symbols that indicate playing a note or range of notes either two octaves higher or lower than notated.
Rote
A method of teaching piano music without notation; usually by copying the teacher.
- Demonstrate