16th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-sixteenth the value of a whole note or one quarter of a quarter note.
8th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.
A Tempo
An Italian term meaning "in time"; an indication instructing the player to return to the original tempo after a deviation.
Blocked Chord Accompaniment
A type of accompaniment pattern that primarily uses root-position major and minor triads with simple or slow-moving rhythms.
Broken Chord Accompaniment
A type of accompaniment pattern that primarily uses broken chords in varying note configurations, with simple or slow-moving rhythms.
Compound Time Signature
A time signature where the fundamental beat is subdivided in groupings of three instead of two.
Crescendo and Diminuendo
Indications instructing the player to play gradually louder (crescendo) or softer (diminuendo).
Dotted 8th Notes
8th notes whose lengths are increased by half; equal to three 16th notes.
Dotted Half Notes
Half notes whose lengths are increased by half; equal to three quarter notes.
Fermatas
Indications placed above or below notes instructing the player to hold those notes longer than their original notated length.
Intermediate Two Voices in One Hand
A type of texture where one or both hands play more than one voice at a time with large intervals, many hand positions, and complex rhythms.
Legato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play smoothly and seamlessly, with the notes slightly overlapped.
Melodic Octaves
Two notes played in succession, usually in one hand but sometimes in both, whose distance is the interval of an octave of any quality.
Octave Higher and Octave Lower
Symbols that indicate playing a note or range of notes either an octave higher or lower than notated.
Ritardando
An Italian term meaning "delaying"; an indication instructing the player to decrease speed, often gradually.
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.
- Choose Good Fingerings
- Demonstrate
- Highlight Dynamic Contrasts
- Highlight the Contrasting Characters of Each Section
- Make Rhythmic Exercises Using Difficult Rhythms
- Play Only the Bottom Note of the Accompaniment Pattern
- Play Similar Passages Together
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice