My first piano – I didn’t know where to start or what to learn, so I got on YouTube and learned my first song in Bb minor. If you have recently bought your first piano or are looking to get one, here are some things to consider to get the best value for your money. First, ask yourself what you want to achieve. Why do you want to learn how to play? For me, I always loved music, and I wanted to learn something productive and stop playing video games so much.

Great awakening

I sold my Xbox and bought what I thought was a piano for $100, but it turned out to be a MIDI controller. It didn’t matter to me; I hooked it up to a laptop with a free DAW (digital audio workstation) and started learning. Later, I bought a cheap piano from Goodwill. I began to learn song after song on YouTube and was able to play for my local church at the time. As time went on, I wanted to know more about what I was doing. There were many things I was doing, but I didn’t understand them.

Quest For Understanding

So I dove deeper. I asked around, and I still couldn’t grasp what other musicians failed to explain, or they just didn’t know. So I began to research on my own, reading books and taking online courses to learn more about how it all works. Then, ah-ha! I found it – the number system! The number system was the secret to learning the piano extremely fast and playing fluently in every key. Now, I can read sheet music, but I’m very slow at it. However, I play by ear very well and can break down a song in the simplest terms.

What is the number system?

Now, what is the numbering system? Well, let’s dig in! Let’s start with the simplest scale, the C major scale:

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. What the numbering system does is number each note in the scale. C1-D2-E3-F4-G5-A6-B7-C1.

You might ask, “Why is that important?” Well, it is significant because, no matter what scale, the numbers are the same. Also, you can see different patterns that are a lot more difficult to grasp without the numbers. Let me give you some great examples. For one, the major scale is made up of

W-W-W-H-W-W-W-H.

MAJ-MIN-MIN-MAJ-DOM-MIN-DIM,

or in lame terms,

MAJ-MIN-MIN-MAJ-MAJ-MIN-DIM.

Let’s focus on the last example. Now, what we know based on the number system is that major notes in a major scale will be

1-4-5, which in this case is C-F-G.

Minor notes in a major scale will be

2-3-6, which in this case is D-E-A.

Finally, the lone diminished note will be

7, which in this case is B.

My First Piano: Circle Of Fifths

But thats’s not even close to how special the number system is when it comes to learning the piano. This now makes the circle of fifths a lot easier to understand in every key.

The circle of fifths visually represents how the 12 notes of the Western musical scale are related. It is a circular diagram on the piano that arranges the 12 notes in a clockwise pattern, with each note being a fifth interval (7 half-steps) above the previous note. What this means is the piano/tonal instruments and their notes are designed to harmonically and musically lead to each other perfectly. Now I will give you another example on how the number system works within the circle of fifths perfectly. Lets go back to the C major scale:

C1-D2-E3-F4-G5-A6-B7

In a major scale the

7 leads to the 3.

3 leads to the 6

6 leads to the 2

2 leads to the 5

5 leads to the 1

1 leads to the 4

And thats how the circle of fifths works in every major scale. If your wondering where the 4 leads well it’s outside the scale.

Discovery

It doesn’t stop there the number system breaks down songs in its simplest form

let’s take a classic song like”let it be” by The Beatles. I discover the chord progreesion for

Tuttorial here:

this song or the numbers are

C1-G5-A6-F4

Then

C1-G5-A6-F4-E3-D2-A1

Now to play the song you have all the root notes for the bass in the numbers. Now I will just add the chords

(Play together) Left hand :C-G-A-F + Right hand chords: C major-G major-A minor F major

Then second part

(Play together)Left Hand: C-G-A_F-E-D-C Right Hand Chords: C major-G major-A minor-F major-E minor-D minor-C major

My First Piano Chords

Just that fast you can play a full song. i know you may ask well how do you make up chords? Well that’s structured as well and we will go through the chord scale.

C major: 1+3+5/C+E+G

D minor: 2+4+6/D+F+A

E minor: 3+5+7/E+G+B

F major: 4+6+1/F+A+C

G Major: 5+7+2/G+B+D

A minor: 6+1+3/A+C+E

B diminished: 7+2+4/ B+D+F

Apply the same method to any key and you get the same result. But the fingering will feel different but, the more you practice the easier you will get.

When I brought my first piano I had know clue about this secret technique but now I do and I happy to share it with you.

If you wish to learn more stick around for courses and free guides at pianofree.com

C major: Guide

F major: Guide

G Flat Major: Guide

D Flat Major: Guide