Accents
Indications instructing the player to put special emphasis on notes.
Accidentals
Sharps, flats and naturals that do not appear in a key signature.
Blocked Chords
Chord tones played together that are not part of an accompaniment pattern.
Five Finger Scales
Simple five-note scales whose notes fit within a comfortable hand shape; applied when more than one such scale appears in a piece.
Forte
An indication instructing the player to play loudly.
Fortissimo
An indication instructing the player to play very loudly; louder than forte.
Hand Crossing
A technique that involves one hand crossing over or under the other.
Octave Higher and Octave Lower
Symbols that indicate playing a note or range of notes either an octave higher or lower than notated.
Quarter Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-fourth the value of a whole note.
Shifting Hand Positions
A technique that requires the player to pick up and move their hand to a new position; usually from a five finger scale to another.
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.
- Choose Good Fingerings
- Demonstrate
- Hands Separate Practice
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice