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 Chords
Chord tones played together that are not part of an accompaniment pattern.
Chord Inversions
Chords with alternate ordering of their tones where the root is placed either in the middle or at the top of the chord.
Dotted 8th Notes
8th notes whose lengths are increased by half; equal to three 16th notes.
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.
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
- Clap and Count
- Hands Separate Practice
- Isolate Voices
- Play Similar Passages Together
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice