I "pitch" them a ball by playing either low pitched notes, middle pitched notes or high pitched notes. I play a game where the Student pretends to be the Batter. To be more specific, the Catcher can tell the Pitcher to throw the ball either low, middle or high within this range. The Catcher can signal the Pitcher to throw the ball within the range of the strike zone. The Pitcher must throw the ball inside the Batter's strike zone. Each Batter has a "strike zone", a range from low to high where he/she is able to hit a ball that is thrown by the Pitcher. The Batter is the person hitting the ball. Stand on tippy toes reaching up to the sky and say "high" in a high squeaky voice.Īnother suggestion is to describe pitch as it relates to how a Baseball Pitcher would throw the ball to the Catcher. Play MIDDLE pitches standing, saying "middle" in a middle normal voice. Crouch the body down LOW to the ground and play LOW pitches on the Keyboard. When a Student struggles to understand Pitch, my suggestion is to move OFF of the piano bench. Piano Key Numbers - Supporting Students in Understanding Pitch An understanding of Pitch is NOT something that all children are born with! Young Students may not understand the concept of Pitch as they have never really been introduced to it. If you have ever taught young students, I bet that you have heard Students confuse a "low pitch" with being "loud" and a "high pitch" with being "soft". However, Step #1 to Understand Pitch is to understand Low, Middle and High. (So, whether your Student is practicing on a smaller keyboard or on a full sized keyboard, they will be able to relate to the concept of low, middle and high pitches.)Īs Students continue through the Beginner A, B and C Workbooks, then into the Prep 1 Rudiments and Prep 2 Rudiments Workbooks, the size of the keyboard is extended until all 88 keys are featured. This allows the Students to be able to think in terms of pitch being either low, middle or high. When writing the UMT Beginner A Workbook, we use a picture of a 3 octave keyboard. I'm sure that we ALL have stories about Parents calling to request piano lessons but they either do not have a piano or want to start on a tiny toy keyboard. When Pitch is first introduced in the Ultimate Music Theory Beginner A, B, C Workbooks, we start with 3 Pitch Range Levels - Low, Middle and High.Īt Ultimate Music Theory, we understand that not all beginner students are lucky enough to have a piano or a full sized digital keyboard to practice on. At the same time, however, don’t forget to keep it fun – if things get boring or frustrating, take a break and come back later on.Piano Key Numbers - Understanding Pitch: Low, Middle and High To get into the habit of practising, try and set aside a regular slot of at least 30 minutes in your daily routine. Playing things slowly to start with can take almost superhuman patience, but it’s important to build accuracy without overwhelming your muscle memory.īuilding a good sense of timing is crucial for any musician, so make time in your regime to practise playing against a regular beat, be it a traditional metronome or a pre-programmed beat or loop in your DAW. The old ‘don’t run before you can walk’ adage definitely applies here – many budding players try to play too quickly too soon, only to run into trouble and give up. It’s important to adopt the proper hand posture right from the off, so when you position your fingers on the keys to play, make sure they’re nicely curved and relaxed instead of sticking out flat – imagine resting your fingers across the top of an orange, and you’ll get an idea of the shape you’re after. Also, make sure your keyboard is at a sensible height – for reference, the average grand piano keyboard is set at a height of around 72cm – and that you’re not sitting too close to it. Try not to slouch! Instead, focus on keeping your back straight, shoulders relaxed, with your arms forming a series of gentle arcs from the shoulder through the elbow to the forearm and wrist. As with any learning process, though, there are a few do’s and don’ts to try and keep in mind when starting out on keyboards. Once you know the pattern, identifying notes on the keyboard becomes second nature after a bit of practise – one good exercise is to have a friend call out random note names for you to find and play. These pairs of names are known as enharmonic equivalents, for example C# and Db, which are the two names for the key on the keyboard that lives between the white keys C and D. Step 3: So each black key actually has two names, as black notes can either be referred to as sharps or flats, depending on which key you’re in.
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