16th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-sixteenth the value of a whole note or one quarter of a quarter note.
Blocked 3rds
Two notes played together, usually in one hand but sometimes in both, whose distance is the interval of a 3rd of any quality.
Broken Chord Accompaniment
A type of accompaniment pattern that primarily uses broken chords in varying note configurations, with simple or slow-moving rhythms.
Broken Chords
Chord tones played one note at a time 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.
Compound Time Signature
A time signature where the fundamental beat is subdivided in groupings of three instead of two.
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.
Dominant Seventh Chords
Four-note chords comprised of the root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, and minor 7th.
Extended Hand Positions
Hand positions that require stretching beyond a five finger scale; usually to play intervals that are 6ths or greater.
First Inversion Chords
Chords with an alternate ordering of their tones where the root is placed on the top and the 3rd and 5th below.
Imitation
A type of texture where one hand plays a series of notes that are mimicked in the other hand.
Left Hand Melody
A type of texture where the left hand plays the melody and the right hand plays the accompaniment for an extended period of time.
Parallel 3rds
A series of any amount or quality of blocked 3rd intervals that are played in one hand, and where both notes move up or down in parallel motion.
Repeated 3rds
A series of blocked 3rds that occur several times in a row throughout a piece.
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.
Two Note Slurs
Two notes connected together smoothly where the second note is played softer and lighter.
- Block the Broken Chords
- Choose Good Fingerings
- Hands Separate Practice
- Highlight Dynamic Contrasts
- Highlight the Contrast in Articulation
- Isolate Single Notes Within Chords
- Isolate the First Note From Groupings
- Map Out Hand Position Shifts
- Play Similar Passages Together
- Practice Scalar Passages in Rhythms