8th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.
Accents
Indications instructing the player to put special emphasis on notes.
Accidentals
Sharps, flats and naturals that do not appear in a key signature.
Anacrusis
Sometimes called upbeats or pickup notes; a note or series of notes that precede and give stress to the first downbeat of a piece.
Blocked 5ths
Two notes played together, usually in one hand but sometimes in both, whose distance is the interval of a 5th of any quality.
Crossing Over Thumb
The physical motion of crossing fingers 2, 3, 4, or 5 over the thumb; used when playing scalar passages or outside of five finger scales.
Staccato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play short and light; notes not held for their full value.
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.
Syncopation
Temporary displacement of established meter by the stressing of a weak beat.
Tenuto
A type of articulation indicating to the player that a given note should be held for its full value or slightly more.
Ties
Symbols indicating that two notes are to be played as one with the value equal to their sum.
- Clap and Count
- Demonstrate
- Hands Separate Practice
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice