Piano History
The piano was invented in 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori in this European country popular for pizza and pasta.
What is Italy?
Good piano technique starts with good ____. Sit tall and balanced, keep your wrists relaxed, and your fingers naturally curved.
What is posture?
This note is a step up from D.
What is E?
This basic note value is worth one beat. It has a black note-head and a stem.
What is a quarter note?
This German composer composed classics like Ode to Joy and Für Elise, and even though he wasn't always the friendliest person, more than 10,000 people came to his funeral out of respect.
Who was Beethoven?
The outer body of a piano is made of ______, and the strings are made of ______.
What are wood and metal?
When using the pedal, it is essential to make sure this part of your foot stays on the floor at all times.
What is the heel?
This note is a skip down from E and a step up from B.
What is C?
This note value is worth three beats. It has a dot beside it.
What is a dotted half note?
This Austrian composer was famous for his operas, symphonies, and piano sonatas. He was a child prodigy and grew into fame at a very young age, but sadly, he died at just 35 years old.
Who was W.A. Mozart?
The piano has three of these, which change the way the instrument sounds and are controlled by the feet.
What are pedals?
When asked the question, "How do you make the piano keys go down?" most people answer with this incorrect word "____." This word, which is part of the word "pressure," will make your finger tips turn red and make your music sound harsh!
What is "press"?
This note is a step up from F and a skip down from B.
What is G?
Two half notes equals this type of note.
What is a whole note?
This German composer from the Baroque Era wrote an incredible number of pieces, including music for the piano, organ, choir, and even teaching pieces for his many children. He had 20 of them (though only ten survived to adulthood).
Who was J.S. Bach?
Before being called simply the "piano," our favorite instrument was originally called this, meaning "soft-loud" in Italian. Hint: think about your dynamic marks!
What is the pianoforte?
You play the piano with just your fingers, right? Wrong. You play the piano with your entire ___, as well as support from your abdomen and back.
What is your arm?
This note is the interval of a third above D.
What is F?
One quarter note is equal to two of these notes.
What are eighth notes?
Frédéric Chopin was a brilliant pianist and piano composer who lived during the Romantic Era. Though he was from Poland originally, he spent most of his life in this country famous for Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
What is France?
The piano was not the first instrument to use a keyboard. The first was called the hydraulis, an ancient Greek pipe instrument related to a popular (very large) church instrument still in use today.
What is an organ?
Scales and arpeggios are classic piano warm ups that encourage us to play comfortably and smoothly. The term arpeggio comes from the Italian name of this tall, beautiful stringed instrument.
What is the harp?
This note is a sixth below F.
What is A?
One eighth note equals half of a beat. Two eighth notes equal one beat. Three eighth notes equal one and a half beats. This dotted note is also worth one and a half beats.
What is a dotted quarter note?
This Russian composer is always popular around the holidays, as his beautiful Nutcracker ballet is frequently performed in the month of December. He also composed Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.
Who was Tchaikovsky?