David Wayne Lawrence
Free Piano By Ear Lesson
Course Outline
PIANO-BY-EAR LESSON #3
There are many principles that govern the function of music. One of them has to do with the arrangement of the notes and their relationship to each other. I call it the principle of DISTANCE. We must use this principle to understand the identification of Sharps and Flats.
The Distance Principle - 418 kb-mp3
The distance from any note to the note DIRECTLY NEXT TO IT is a HALF-STEP. When you move UP a 1/2 STEP from ANY OF THE 7 LETTERED WHITE NOTES, the note you move to takes on the name of the one you left, plus the word SHARP, which is signified by the # symbol.
Flats are found by moving DOWN a 1/2 STEP from ANY OF THE 7 LETTERED WHITE NOTES, and the note you move to takes on the name of the one you left, plus the word FLAT, which is signified by this symbol b.
In order to go any further, it is necessary for you to understand all of the possible note names. Take time to study the names of the notes. First the plain lettered notes, then the sharp note names, and finally the flat note names. When you are confident about the note names, then you are ready to go to the next level where we will make chords.
All of the Black notes have TWO NAMES - 364 kb - mp3
This is the most important area of development for you to excel in playing without difficulty.
Go on to LESSON 4