Accents
Indications instructing the player to put special emphasis on notes.
Chromatic Scale
A scale comprised of only semitones which uses all 12 notes.
Crescendo and Diminuendo
Indications instructing the player to play gradually louder (crescendo) or softer (diminuendo).
Ledger Lines
Additional lines added above or below the staff in order to place very high or very low notes that wouldn't normally fit on the staff.
Legato
A type of articulation indicating the player to play smoothly and seamlessly, with the notes slightly overlapped.
Sforzando
Indications instructing the player to play with sudden emphasis.
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.
Swing 8ths
A technique of playing 8th notes where the first 8th note is held longer than the second of a grouping of two; used often in jazz and blues.
Syncopation
Temporary displacement of established meter by the stressing of a weak beat.
Tenuto
A type of articulation indicating to the player that a given note should be held for its full value or slightly more.
Ties
Symbols indicating that two notes are to be played as one with the value equal to their sum.
Triplets
Notes whose values are determined by a subdivision into three-note groupings instead of two or four.
- Choose Good Fingerings
- Demonstrate
- Hands Separate Practice
- Isolate Voices
- Play Small Segments
- Slow Practice