ADELO'S BASIC PIANO GUIDE

Created by Mr. G.D.K Datsomor (Dat Adelo)

Edited by Mr. Felix Aheto
(0540799142)
 INTRODUCTION
Dat Adelo from Adelo Studio Music Production has made this Guide to
help those aspiring to learn music or play piano understand the basis of
the Piano. Hope you will learn and understand this guide.
If you find any difficulty in understanding any part of the guide, you can
WhatsApp, text, or email him so that he explains the part(s) you don’t
understand to you.
Please you will need a piano or a piano teacher who will help you to
draw the understanding and help you get the concept(s) from this
guide.

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Phone/WhatsApp: +233551620890
Facebook: Dat Adelo
Email: datsomord30@gmail.com
YouTube: Adelo Studio Music Production

CONTENTS
1. Identification of Keys
2. Intervals a) Steps
b) Accidentals
3. Scales a) Major
b) Minor
c) Pentatonic
d) Chromatic

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 4. Fingering in the Major Scale
5. According to 5ths
6. Solfas
7. Chords a) Triads
b) Diatonic chords
8. Progressions.
9. Playing songs in diverse Keys.

''FLIP TO THE NEXT PAGE TO START THE LESSONS''

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1. IDENTIFICATION OF KEYS
Our first lesson in this Guide, is the IDENTIFICATION OF KEYS on the
keyboard. The keyboard is made up of black and white keys as shown
on the previous page.
All the white and black keys have specific positions and names on the
keyboard. Now, let’s look at the position of the Keys with their names.
(Keys are called Clefs in French).
When you look at the Keys on the keyboard, you will see that the black
keys are arranged in the 2’s and 3’s with the white keys lying between
them.
The 1st-7th letters of the English alphabets are used in the naming of
keys and as well in Music studies. They are; A,B,C,D,E,F and G.
Let us know the name of the white keys first with conscious note of the
black keys.

Doing it alphabetically.
KEY A.
Key A can be found between the 2nd and 3rd black keys of the three
black keys.
KEY B.
Key B can be found immediately after the 3rd black key of the three
black keys.
KEY C.
Key C can be found immediately before the two black key.
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KEY D.
Key D can be found between the two black keys.
KEY D.
Key D can be found between the 1st and 2nd blacks keys of the two black
keys.
KEY E.
Key E can be found immediately after the two black keys.
KEY F.
Key F can be found right before the 1st black key if the three black keys.
KEY G.
Key G can be found between the 1st and 2nd black keys of the three
black keys.

With this knowledge, you will be able to tell the positions and play the
keys even if you are blindfolded.

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2. INTERVALS
Intervals refers to the distance between keys or pitches on the
keyboard. In our second lessons, we will take note of the following that
will help us to name the black keys.
 Steps/Tones
 Accidentals

Let’s start with the Steps or tones.

STEPS OR TONES.
Step refers to the whole or half movement on the keyboard between
keys. Tones are also the same as the step.
 Half Steps: It is the distance between two close keys on the
keyboard or any short distance between the keys. Example: Key
B and Key C forms a half step likewise Key E and Key F.
 Whole Steps: It is twice the half step. Example: Key F and Key G
forms a whole step same as Key C and D. You can now identify
the steps.

Most of the half steps are between the white and black keys. And this
brings us to the subset, Accidentals from which the names of the black
keys will be formed.

ACCIDENTALS.
Accidentals refer to the symbol that shows the lowering or raising of a
key.

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The most used accidentals in music relating to keyboard are a) Flat(b)
and b) Sharp(#).

 FLAT (b): The flat accidental is that which lowers a key by a half
step. Example. When Key D is flattened, it becomes ‘Db' also
same as Key G been flattened makes Gb. It can be located as the
half step below Key D and G respectively.
 SHARP (#): The sharp accidental, raises a key by a half step.
Example. A sharped Key C becomes C# and same as a Sharped A
becomes A#. The key is located above the white keys. The picture
below will guide you.
NB: The black keys have two names the sharp and flat of two different
keys.

NB: If you find the accidentals confusing, trying this.

Flat: the L in, means Lower and Sharp: the R in, means Raise.

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3. SCALES
A scale refers to the numbers or formulas used in identifying and
playing the keys on the keyboard in specific formats. There are different
types of scales used in playing the keyboard. Four of such will be dealt
with in this guide. a) Major, b)Minor, c)Pentatonic and d)Chromatic
scales.
Note that as you learn this scales, try to practice them and try them in
different keys starting with Key C.

 MAJOR SCALE: The major scale is the most used scales in the
keyboard playing denoted with ‘M'. It is a scale that has half steps
between the 3,4 and the 7,8 degrees with whole steps as well.
Keep this. T(tonic the key you are playing), W(whole step) and
H(half step)
FORMULA: T-W-W-H-W-W-W-H. The pic below will show you in
key C. You can try to get the whole steps and half steps.
The Major Key in C=C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C.

Use the formula to get the other keys.

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  MINOR SCALE: The minor scale is a scale that as well has half
steps and whole steps. It’s shown by the 'm'. The small The scale
formula is as follow.
Formula: T-W-H-W-W-H-W-W.
The pic will show you the scale in key C, making it Cm. Try to play
the other ones.

The minor scale, has sub-divisions (as used in biology) and they are
Relative minor, Harmonic minor and the Melodic minor. There is also
one like natural minor but it’s same as the minor scale.

 RELATIVE MINOR: It’s a form of minor scale that plays the same
notes of a key but starts on a different degree.
Assuming you are playing CM and you want to play its relative
minor, you will count down 3 half steps away from the key and
that key now becomes the relative minor key of the major key.

Example. CM—Am (Am is the relative minor of CM)

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 Note, all the keys of the major scale will be repeated. Try to get
the rest. The relative major of a key can be gotten from counting
up 3 half steps away from the Minor Key.
Example: Dm---FM. Try to get the rest.

 HARMONIC MINOR: It is another form of the minor keys and

plays with the relative minors but have a sharped 7th degree.
 MELODIC MINOR: It is also another form of the minor key that
makes use of the relative minor but has its 6th and 7th degrees
sharped.

Understanding the relative minor, the other ones must not be hard
to understand.

 PENTATONIC SCALE: It is a scale that has only five notes in it. 1ST,
2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th degrees. (read the solfa part in this guide to
understand the degree aspect well)
Example: The CM pentatonic—C,D,E,G,A

 CHROMATIC SCALE: It is a scale that has 12 pitches all in half

steps. Or playing all the notes in an octave. An octave is made up
of 12 pitches.

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4. FINGERING.
Fingering refers to the way the fingers are used in playing the scales
and chords on the piano.
Take this for both Right (RF) and Left (LF) fingers;
FINGERS Number
Thumb 1
Index 2
Middle 3
Ring or 4
Real
Little 5

There are different ways of playing the scales with the fingers. The
Major Scale.
3-5 method.
 RH: 1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5
 LH: 5,4,3,5,4,3,2,1
5-3 method.
 RH: 1,2,3,4,5,3,4,5
 LH: 5,4,3,2,1,3,2,1
The numbers, refer to the finger numberings.
The two methods work for the white keys and the black keys, the
first is played with the 4 finger and ends on the 3 finger(LH) and 2
finger and ends on the 3 finger(RH). Try it and perfect it.
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5. ACCORDING TO 5TH.
Playing according to the 5th degree of a key, helps to know the keys
with increasing blacks.
This is how it goes.
 Locate the 5th degree of the Key you are in(eg: C).
 Take note of the 4th degree and sharp it to be the 7th of the New
Key(5th degree key)
 Repeat the same notes in the previous key and replace the 4th
degree with its Sharped to get the 7th degree.

Example in key C.
--C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C(4th degree underlined and 5th degree bolded)
--G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G(New key bolded and the sharped 4th, bolded)
Try to locate the blacks in the keys and write them down.

For instance, Key C has no black but G has 1 and that’s the
sharped 4th of C.

Do it in this order to find the increasing blacks; C-G-D-A-E-B-F.

6. SOLFAS.
From the previous lessons, you may or have heard sounds that you
don’t know names of. In this Section, you will learn those sounds and
their names called SOLFA. And this will make you play songs and other
stuffs in specific keys. Before we continue, Guess the number of Solfas.

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 SOLFA DEGREE ROMAN TECHNICAL
NUMERICALS NAMES
Do 1 I Tonic
Re 2 II Supertonic
Mi 3 III Mediant
Fa 4 IV Sub dorminant
So 5 V Dorminant
La 6 VI Sub mediant
Ti 7 VII Leading note

''There are seven solfas but the reason why people say 8 is because,
they add an octave of the Tonic to be part that’s why''.

7. CHORDS.
A chord refers to two or more notes simultaneously played.
There are different kinds of chords but we will look at 2 important ones
for our level so that when we upgrade, we can add more.
a) Triads and b) Diatonic chords.

A. TRIADS
Triads: Three notes played together. There are formulae to playing the
major triads and as well as the minor triads.
MAJOR: 1-3-5(relating to the solfa degrees) They are formed with the
1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the Key.

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Example. Key C=1-3-5(C-E-G) same for all the Major Keys.

MINOR: 1-b3-5. Formed with the 1st, flattened 3rd and 5th of the key.
Example. C= 1-b3-5(C-Eb-G) try it for the other keys.

B. DIATONIC CHORDS.
Diatonic chords are the chords derived from the notes of a key.
There are Major, minor and diminished solfa keys and we will look at
them here.

Major=Do, Fa, So.

Formula to forming their chords = 1-4-3. Where, 1 is the tonic key, 3l4
being 4 half steps away from the 1st note and 3 half steps making the 3.
Eg: Do-Mi-So (C,E,G)
Fa-La-Do (F,A,C)
So-ti-re (G,B,D)

Minor=Re, mi, La
Formula is, 1-3-4. Eg: Re,Fa,La(D,F,A)
Try the rest on your own.

Diminished= Ti. Formula is 1-3-3. Try it and get it…

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Invention refers to playing the chords in different ways.
Root Mode: 1-3-5
1st Invention: 3-5-1
2ND Invention: 5-1-3

8. PROGRESSION.
The 1-4-5 progression means the 1st, 3rd an 5th diatonic chords playing.
Sometimes they use the letters of the key.

Play the following.

1. 1-4-6-2 progression
2. 4-2-3-b6 progression

You are allowed to choose you favorite song and send me the
lyrics or audios so that I can get the progressions for you.
God bless you for your time.

The 9th content will be in relation to the 8th contact.

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