To learn left-hand piano accompaniment, you should start from the simplest, but it is difficult for novices. Today I will introduce to you the left-hand practice method of practicing piano scales. I hope it will be helpful to everyone!
The left-hand method of practicing piano scales
First, learn some music theory Harmony, secondly, you must master the most basic playing skills. These two points are the minimum requirements for familiarity with simple left-hand amateur accompaniment.
What music theory should you learn? The first is tonality and chords. We know that every song or piece of music has a key signature (?1=? in the upper left corner of the score is the key signature), and its function is to set the height of the tonic of the song.
?1?Whatever it equals is what tune it is. For example, 1=F is the key of F, which means that the 1 in the song should be sung or played as high as the "F" note on the keyboard instrument. Different keys have different chords. Let’s talk about the specific music. For example, my country's national anthem "March of the Volunteers" (considering that it is aimed at amateurs and beginners, we always use simplified notation), in G major, 2/4 beat, the music score should be familiar to you, you can definitely use the regular triad in that key (you can also add A dominant seventh chord), supplemented by the rhythmic accompaniment of a march is enough. The positive triads in G major are G, C, and D, and the dominant seventh chord is D7. How did it come about? It has been stipulated a long time ago, just like "5" is for singing sol and "2" is for singing re. There is no need to dig into the details. The specific matching method is: use two chords in each measure (excluding fills, the first measure is a weak and incomplete measure, no need to match), the second to eighth measures can use G chord, the ninth measure uses D chord, The G chord is used in measures 10 to 16, and the C chord is used in measures 17 and 18. G can be used from now on until the end of the penultimate measure with G and the second measure with D or D7 chord. How to play the piano score with the left hand
1. Melody vs accompaniment
When playing lyrical music, such as ballads, lullabies, nocturnes and other musical pieces that express inner emotions, although the left hand is in Although it plays an accompaniment role, its playing texture, decomposed chords, arpeggiated progressions, etc. are all foils and supplements to the right-hand melody. And many students, when playing the right-hand melody crescendos or enters the climax of the music, the volume of the left hand will unconsciously increase, so that it overwhelms the main melody line of the right hand, taking over the main melody, and unable to express the charm of the right-hand melody.
Therefore, during daily practice, you must consciously train the balance of melody and accompaniment of your left and right hands, and learn to control the volume of your left hand. In addition, when playing some classical sonatas, in addition to controlling the volume of many basic left-hand tone patterns, one must not only avoid dragging the little finger of the left hand without raising it and deliberately prolonging it, but also avoid having the big finger be too heavy, which hinders the flexibility of the left-hand tone pattern. Sexual expressiveness. At the same time, the left hand is also responsible for bass progression, harmony transformation, phrase changes and other functions. They should be analyzed one by one and practiced individually if necessary.
2. The left hand must play the rhythm of dance music well
For example, minuet and waltz are also in 3/4 time, but due to different rhythm styles, the effect of dance music performance is also different. different. Minuet is a dance with slow speed and elegant style. The melody and rhythm are dignified and steady, showing elegant dance movements. For the three beats of the left hand, the sound should be well controlled when playing. The first beat should be slightly longer, and the second and third beats should not be too jumpy. The waltz is a lively, cheerful, smooth and beautiful dance music. The three-beat playing of the left hand is different from the minuet. The first beat is a strong beat, which should be flexible, and the last two beats should be brisk and controlled. If the playing of the left hand cannot distinguish the nature of the first two dances, or the playing has the opposite nature, then the minuet and waltz will be completely different. When students master the rhythm of this kind of dance, they have this common problem: the first beat often lacks elasticity, and the third beat not only cannot dance, but also cannot lift the fingers, which destroys the rhythm of the waltz and looks dull and completely incapable of expression. The dance features of the waltz.
3. The reflection of left-hand exercises in polyphonic music
In numerous piano literature, polyphonic music accounts for a large proportion, and there is no main part in polyphonic music. and subordinate parts, and there is no distinction between melody part and accompaniment part. Each voice has its own independent meaning and its own line of development. For example, the Chinese piano song "Selling Groceries" has a slow and coherent lyrical ditty "Dressing Table" in the middle. It is written in polyphonic style. The melody is fresh and elegant, like a conversation between a man and a woman. The left and right hands asked and answered each other's questions, and the tone was cordial and touching. When playing a lyrical melody with your left hand, pay attention to the ups and downs of the melody. The music not only requires the independence of each part, but also requires the coherence between the parts. Another example is Bach's two creative works, Opus 8, which is a two-part polyphonic piece that uses Canon imitation techniques, requiring both hands to be flexible, powerful, and rhythmically distinct. If the left hand does not strengthen training, it will not be able to imitate the right hand. Jumping, smooth descending sixteenth note pattern. When students play, the speed of their left hand unconsciously slows down when playing. The rhythm of their hands is not uniform, which makes the music chaotic and destroys the dynamic, unified and forward rhythm. Therefore, the technical difficulties of the left hand must be overcome. The left hand should have its own lines when closely matched with the right hand. How to play scales well
1. Correct sitting posture and hand shape
The first thing we need to do before playing the piano is a correct sitting posture and correct hand shape. The correct sitting posture is not to be too close or too far away from the piano when sitting, the shoulders should be naturally relaxed, the back and waist should be straight, not hunched, the upper arms and elbow joints should not be clamped, and sit three-thirds of the way from the piano bench. First, the calves and thighs form a 90° angle to support the weight of the whole body.
The most natural hand shape is when a person is walking, with his arms hanging down and his hands naturally placed on the left and right sides of the legs in a semicircular arc shape. The correct hand shape is semicircular. When beginners are just learning, they can sit on a small board with their knees bent, and then hold the knees with both hands, with the metacarpal joints as the dividing line, and place the five fingers naturally on the knees in a semicircle, with the metacarpals and palms placed. Located at the thigh of the knee, this hand shape is the basic hand shape for playing the piano. When placing your hands on the piano, your palms should not collapse. The first and third joints should protrude, and your hands should be placed according to the five notes.
2. Learn to relax
Relaxation means that the shoulders, upper arms, elbow joints, forearms, wrist joints, and fingers should be relaxed, that is, the entire hand should be relaxed. . How can you relax? First, you can sit on the piano board farther away from the piano, then slowly raise your whole hand to shoulder height, put your hand in the air, pause for a moment, and then let it hit freely. On the thigh, do this a few times and you can feel the feeling of arm relaxation; second: you can let others lift your whole hand. If you can't use force, you will feel that the hand is no longer your own. After shaking it in the air for a few times, you suddenly Put it down; third: Put your hands on the table, position your hands in the same shape as when playing the piano, the height of your hands is almost parallel to your shoulders, then slowly raise your arms, keeping the hand shape unchanged, and then let your hands fall freely on the table On the table, you will feel a rebound force on your whole hand from being bounced back from the table.
3. Staccato practice
During staccato practice, you must pay attention to the palm joint and the first joint of the fingers to stand firm when touching the keys, and not to collapse. Be disconnected from the notes, and your wrists should be relaxed and flexible when playing. The training of staccato can be practiced with arm staccato. Arm staccato is also called arm drop. Arm staccato simply refers to the two movements of the arm: lifting it up and dropping it. Before playing, the shoulders, arms, and wrists should be relaxed. The upper arms should be raised naturally, and the elbow and wrist joints should be lifted. The arms should naturally hang down on the piano. The first joints of the fingers should be at 90 degrees to the keys. At a right angle, that is, perpendicular to the key surface, you must stand firm and maintain a good hand shape, so that you can effectively support all the weight transferred from your shoulders and arms. The lifting exercises can be divided into two types: one is to lift the forearm and wrist naturally relaxed with the big arm driving; the other is to lift the entire arm driven by the wrist.
When lifting with these two methods, the fingers should be lifted in a naturally relaxed curve. After playing a note, the fingers should be relaxed immediately, and then slowly raised to prepare for the next note.
When practicing staccato, your shoulders, arms, and wrists must be relaxed. Your fingertips must not be soft, your hand shape must not change, and you must not change the correct shape of your fingers when playing. Each finger must stand firm, so that Only in this way can the downward momentum of the arm be supported when it falls naturally. Staccato training can start with the arm drop, and it is best to start with the 3rd finger first, because the 3rd finger is in the most advantageous position, it is in the center of the palm. Practicing the 3rd finger first can maintain the hand shape and balance. When the third finger falls on the key, immediately relax and use the strength of the arm to press it. Then you can train the second and fourth fingers, and finally the thumb and little finger. Their playing method is the same as that of the third finger. Slowly raise your hand. Lift it up and let it fall naturally. Once it falls, relax immediately. Place your fingers on the keys without applying any external force. Drop arm exercises are a preparation for playing scales. They not only train the independence of each finger but also relax the shoulders, arms, elbows, and wrists.
In addition to arm staccato, there is also wrist staccato. Wrist staccato is mainly played by the wrist driving the fingers. During practice, the wrist must be relaxed and elastic, and the third joint of the finger must stand firm. When the ball is played, the hand should be relaxed immediately, and the palm joint cannot collapse, so that the sound played will not die, and the sound will be concentrated and elastic. Wrist staccato is mainly to train the flexibility of the wrist and prepare for playing fast scales.
Staccato training can practice finger independence, finger support and relaxation. These are all preparations for scale playing. If the finger independence is not good, the support is not good, and the relaxation is not good, Then you won’t be able to play the scales at all, and the scales that pop up will be unclear, not granular, and the sound will be unfocused.
IV. Practice slowly
Beginners should practice slowly when practicing scales, practice within one octave, and practice with one hand first. When playing, in addition to standing firmly at the first joint of the fingers, the joints of the shoulders, arms, elbows, and wrists must be relaxed. The so-called slow practice means that the playing speed is slow, but the key pressing speed is very fast. When playing, touch the keys with your fingertips and press the keys quickly so that the sound will be concentrated. As the saying goes, the smaller the contact area, the greater the force. When practicing, play the first note with a dropped arm, sending the natural weight of the arm to the fingertips through the wrist, and then transfer the power of the first note to the next finger to be played to ensure that the power of each note is even. of. In addition, the practice of raising the fingers high can relax the palm joints, loosen the muscles between the fingers, strengthen the playing strength of the fingers, and increase the force and movement of the fingers, so that the sound produced will be elastic and granular.
After practicing slowly in one octave with one hand, you can proceed to two octaves, and then practice with both hands together, slowly accelerating from one octave to two octaves, and then to three octaves. In addition, you can also play with your hands an octave apart or in parallel octaves. This way you can practice the balance of the two hands and the unified speed when playing, and avoid the phenomenon of one hand being faster and the other slower.
5. Assisted practice of "finger-threading" and "finger-crossing" techniques
"Finger-threading" and "finger-crossing" skills require reasonable cooperation of the wrist. The so-called "finger piercing" technique means that the big finger needs to pass through the index finger, middle finger and ring finger to switch from the original position to another position. When piercing the fingers, you must pay attention to the hand shape. The thumb should be closer to the index finger. The first joint should be naturally raised. You should not lie on the keys and be active. When piercing the fingers, you should not rely on the strength of your arms and wrists to press or press the keys. Don't hit too hard, as this will not only affect the speed of playing, but also make the sound uneven. When you play for a long time, your hands will be sore and tense, making it impossible to continue playing.