8th Notes
Notes whose lengths are equal to one-eighth the value of a whole note or half the value of a quarter note.
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.
Legato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play smoothly and seamlessly, with the notes slightly overlapped.
Mezzo Forte
A simple melody line shared by both the right hand and the left hand.
Mezzo Piano
An indication instructing the player to play moderately soft; between mezzo forte and piano.
Parallel 4ths
A series of any amount or quality of blocked 4th intervals that are played in one hand, and where both notes move up or down in parallel motion.
Piano
An indication instructing the player to play softly.
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.
Simple Two Voices in One Hand
A type of texture where one or both hands play more than one voice at a time; usually briefly and with simple rhythms.
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.
Ties
Symbols indicating that two notes are to be played as one with the value equal to their sum.
Two Note Slurs
Two notes connected together smoothly where the second note is played softer and lighter.
- Demonstrate
- Hands Separate Practice
- Isolate Voices
- Slow Practice