Features article index
This section has longer articles on various aspects of the piano and synth, including playing technique, improvisation, composition, theory, practice, and preparing for performances.
Joy to the World: Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard
October 17, 2011
Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions
View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books
A popular carol in our series on mastering Christmas Carols on Piano and Keyboard is “Joy to the World”.
Introduction
Here, Joy to the World is written and played in the key of C Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
C major makes the higher notes more comfortable to sing, but you could transpose up (or indeed down) if needed.
Main Melody
The melody notes you need to play are:
C B A | G – F | E D | C – G | A – A | B – B | C | ^C C |
C B A G | G F E C | C B A G | G F E E |
E E E E F | G – - F E | D D D D E | F – - E D | C C – A |
G F E F | E – D – | C – - – |
Here’s the complete melody written out:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Fingering
The first four bars contain a descending C major scale, so play this as you would a normal scale, starting on the fifth (little) finger, running to the thumb (on F) and then bridging over with your middle (third) finger to play the E, ending up on the thumb again on C.
Stretch your index finger up to the next note – G – if you can as this makes the next run easy to play. Play the descending runs of notes with your fingers in sequence, arching over with your index finger where necessary.
Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the carol using just one note at a time. Most of the bass notes are whole notes (semibreves) with one bar of half notes (minims). You only play notes C, F and G.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
More elaborate bass line
This bass line is a little more elaborate and follows the melody rhythmically, often reflecting the melody in some way.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Adding harmony and fullness with chords
In the final version of Joy to the World, I’ve added two- and three-note chords to the right hand, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line has also been slightly altered to fit with the harmonies.
Here’s the printed music.
And here’s what it sounds like:
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Mastering Christmas Songs on the Piano and Keyboard: An Introduction
October 17, 2011
With Christmas just around the corner, you may want to begin brushing up on your Christmas carols and Christmas songs.
In this ongoing series, I’ll take a look at some of the more popular songs, and show you ways of learning and playing them quickly and simply no matter what your proficiency (having said that, if you are already a virtuoso on the piano, you may be better off buying the sheet music and practising the full arrangements yourself.)
Christmas songs often seem complicated, and because they’re only called for during a short period of time in the year, they’re not always polished.
Often the song can be vastly simplified and still sound good – certainly good enough for a sing-song around the piano. Often it’s enough to be able to pitch the tune or play a basic bass and accompaniment to keep singers in tune.
- All Through the Night
- Frosty the Snowman
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
- Jingle Bells
- Let It Snow
- O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas
- White Christmas
- Winter Wonderland
Jingle Bells: Mastering Christmas Songs on the Piano and Keyboard
October 16, 2011
Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions
A very popular Christmas song is “Jingle Bells“. Here’s how to play a simple arrangement of it.
Jingle Bells: Introduction
Here, Jingle Bells is written and played in the key of C Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
Jingle Bells: Main Melody
This well-known Christmas song is made from four distinct phrases, with the first two being very similar to one another, and the second two following each other closely.
The first eight bars feature the first phrase. The second eight bars feature almost the same phrase repeated, with the exception of the final two bars.
The next eight bars feature the second phrase. The final eight bars feature that phrase almost identically repeated until the final three bars.
The melody notes you need to play are:
E E E – | E E E – | E G C D | E – - – |
F F F F | F E E E E | E D D E | D – G – |
E E E – | E E E – | E G C D | E – - – |
F F F F | F E E E E | G G F D | C – - – |
G E D C | G – - G G | G E D C | A – - – |
A F E D | B – - – | G G F D | E – - – |
G E D C | G – - G G | G E D C | A – - – |
A F E D | G G G G G | A G F D | C – - – |
Here’s the complete melody written out:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Jingle Bells: Fingering
The first 16 bars can be played with the right hand in a single position. It’s then a small jump downwards onto the right thumb to begin playing the last 16 bars. These can be played without much stretching involved, and with the right hand thumb ‘anchoring’ around the lower G.
Jingle Bells: Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the song using just one note at a time. It’s a very simple whole note per bar arrangement, where you’ll always be playing either C, D, F or G.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Jingle Bells: Adding harmony and fullness with chords
In the final version of Jingle Bells, I’ve added two- and three-note chords to the right hand, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line has also been slightly altered to fit with the harmonies.
Noting the only sharpened note in the whole piece, in bar seven. The F sharp at the root of the chord helps create an interesting harmony.
Here’s the printed music.
And here’s what it sounds like:
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Let It Snow: Mastering Christmas Songs on the Piano and Keyboard
October 15, 2011
Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions
A very popular Christmas song is “Let It Snow”. Here’s how to play a simple arrangement of it.
Introduction
Here, Let It Snow is written and played in the key of C Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
C major makes the higher notes more comfortable to sing, but you could transpose up (or indeed down) if needed.
Main Melody
Hum through the melody and you’ll notice that this effectively has A-A-B-A phrasing. That is, the first phrase is repeated (with only one or two differences in notes/timing) then followed by a different section before returning to the first phrase again.
The melody notes you need to play are:
- – - G G | G G F E D | C G – G G | D C D C | B G – A |
A A G F E | D – - B A | G G F E E D |
C – - G | G G F E D | C G – G G | D C D C | B G – A |
A A G F E | D – - B A | G G F E E D |
C – - B C | D E D B G | D – - B D | C C B A G A |
B – - B C | D E D B G | D – - – | G F E F G A |
G – - G G | G G F E D | C G – G G | D C D C | B G – A |
A A G F E | D – - B A | G G F E E D | C – - – |
Here’s the complete melody written out:
And here’s what it sounds like:
You may want to add some artistic license to all of the dotted eighth notes (quavers) followed by sixteenth (semiquaver) notes, depending upon how you like the phrasing to sound. I know different recording artists have done things slightly differently. Remember, the printed music is only there as a guide for you to add your own performance nuances to, and not an absolute rule.
Fingering
There are a number of octave stretches which, unless you have a very large hand, you’re likely to want to play from thumb to fifth (little) finger (or reverse, for descending octaves).
There are a number of passages where notes descend, not with all consecutive notes in the scale, but it should still be easy enough to finger appropriately. Where there are six notes in a downward run (see bars 2 and 3 for an example) you can play the first five notes with fingers 5,4,3,2 and 1 (thumb) before reaching over with your index finger to play the next note, then switching back to the thumb ready for the next significant interval (in this case, from bar 3 to bar 4).
In bars 18 through 20, you’ll want to ensure you switch fingers when appropriate so that you don’t “run out” of fingers later on.
Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the carol using just one note at a time. From bar 2 onwards, the bass line alternates between a bar of two half notes and a bar of one whole note.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Adding harmony and fullness with chords
In the final version of Let It Snow, I’ve added two- and three-note chords to the right hand, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line has also been slightly altered to fit with the harmonies.
Here’s the printed music.
And here’s what it sounds like:
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Ding Dong Merrily On High: Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard
October 14, 2011
Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions
View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books
Another popular carol in our series on mastering Christmas Carols on Piano and Keyboard is “Ding Dong Merrily On High”.
Introduction
Here, Ding Dong Merrily On High is written and played in the key of F Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
F major makes the higher notes more comfortable to sing, but you could transpose up (or indeed down) if needed.
Main Melody
Hum through the melody and you’ll notice several things:
- The first four bars are repeated note for note in bars 5-8.
- Bars 9-13 feature the same phrasing in the melody line, but gradually descending. This is useful to remember when playing at speed.
The melody notes you need to play are:
F F G F E D | C – - C | D F F E | F – F – |
F F G F E D | C – - C | D F F E | F – F – |
C Bb A Bb C A | Bb A G A Bb G |
A G F G A F | G F E F G E |
F E D E F D | E D C C |
D F F E | F – F – |
Here’s the complete melody written out:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Fingering
The first eight bars can be played by the right hand in a fixed position, starting with the fourth (ring) finger.
Start bar 9 on the little (fifth) finger and play naturally until the end of bar 11, where you’ll finish on the thumb.
If you can smoothly play the G at the start of bar 12 by scrunching your hand up then you’ll be able to play the rest of the piece without moving again.
Alternatively, use your third (middle) or fourth (ring) finger, but bear in mind you’ll need to move your hand again later on.
Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the carol using just one note at a time. Most of the bass notes are minims (half notes) so you play two evenly in each bar – one on beat 1 and the other on beat 3. The exception to this is in bars 2 and 6, which feature a dotted minim (half note) and a crotchet (quarter note). This means you play the first note on beat 1 and the second note on beat 4.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
More elaborate bass line
This bass line varies a little from the previous example. It features more crotchets (quarter notes) to give more of a “walking” feel to the piece. Bars 2 and 6 still feature the dotted half note and quarter note, while bars 4 and 8 feature two half notes.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Adding harmony and fullness with chords
In the final version of Ding Dong Merrily on High, I’ve added two- and three-note chords to the right hand, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line has also been slightly altered to fit with the harmonies.
In particular, pay attention to the chord and bass note in the 3rd beat of bar 13. It’s a G major chord with a B natural in the bass. Be sure not to play the B flats as you would at any other place in the music.
Here’s the printed music.
And here’s what it sounds like:
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Good King Wenceslas: Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard
October 13, 2011
Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions
View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books
Another popular carol in our series on mastering Christmas Carols on Piano and Keyboard is “Good King Wenceslas”.
Introduction
Good King Wenceslas is written and played in the key of G Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
Main Melody
Hum through the melody and you’ll notice several things:
- The first two lines are repeated note for note
- The second half of the third line is identical to the second half of the first and second lines
The melody notes you need to play are:
G G G A | G G D – | E D E F | G – G – |
G G G A | G G D – | E D E F | G – G – |
D C B A | B A G – | E D E F | G – G – |
D D E F | G G A – | D C B A | G – C – | G – - -
Here’s the complete melody written out:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Fingering
The first and second lines can be played by the right hand in a fixed position, starting with the fourth (ring) finger.
Each bar on the third and fourth lines can be played as a smooth group but you will need to move the right hand or at least stretch in order to play all the notes.
Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the carol using just one note at a time. It’s written so that it follows the melody to some degree.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
Adding harmony and fullness with chords
In the third version of Good King Wenceslas, I’ve added two- and three-note chords to the right hand, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line is, in the main, a single note per bar.
And here’s what it sounds like:
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Ultimate Collection of Synth, Keyboard and Piano Tees
April 26, 2011
You love your piano or synth, right? But what else can you do to show your appreciation apart from playing it (naturally), taking it on gigs and talking to everyone about the latest pieces of music you’re playing or sounds you’ve created?
Wear a themed T-shirt of course!
We present the ultimate list of piano, keyboard and synth-inspired short-sleeved tops for your pleasure.
We’ve set the bar rather high by calling our list “ultimate”. Call us out on this one — if you’ve seen or designed an amazing (relevant) tee, let us know.
Now go, adorn.
Playable Tees
Who said that tee-shirts had to be merely printed? Here are two designs that can be played. We’re thinking you might get into a spot of trouble if you try to play someone else’s tee, particularly if they’re female, but if you’re wearing this yourself, feel free to prod away at your chest.
Electronic Music Synthesizer Shirt
Synthesizer Battery Operated Keyboard Design
Synth Designs
Red Synthesizer Filter Shirt
Keyboard: Vintage Synthesizer: 3D Model
Vintage Keyboards: 3D Model
If you really have this many synths you may not have any money left to buy this tee-shirt. Unless you’re Rick Wakeman.
The Moog T-Shirt
Robots Are the Future, apparently.
Puppetbox Synthesizer Logo
Some nice knobs going on this three-octave beauty.
Filter Tee Shirt
Frequency, resonance, mod depth. What more could you ask for on your chest?
Moog T-Shirts
Grungy Moog goodness.
Danger Synth Shirt
Perhaps the owner has been circuit bending. I’ve never touched a synth and received a bodily injury, but there could be a first time.
Keyboards != Coasters T-Shirt
’nuff said. If you’ve been there, you know.
Colorful Synthesizer Tee Shirts
It is. Synthesizer.
I Love Distorted Synths
Distortion rules.
Analog Synthesizer Tee
Nice bit of generic synth action and ’80s style futuristic writing on this one.
Schematic of Moog Synthesizer Tee-Shirt
Now you know why nerds keep staring at your chest and smirking.
Modularman Scarab Synthesizer T-Shirt
Weird beastie connected up to a load of synth inputs and outputs. Freaky.
Roland TB-303 Acid Synth Tee-Shirt
303. Unmistakeable.
Korg Originals
Korg MS20
This long-coveted patchable mono-synth has been used by cutting edge and retro artists for decades, and was the first Korg synthesizer to be re-created in software in the Korg Legacy Collection. The shirt features a popular 1970s Korg sticker design featuring one way-cool dude, jamming away on the legendary MS-20.
Korg Trident
The first polyphonic and programmable synthesizer from Korg first turned heads in 1980. Since then, musicians have searched far and wide for their own vintage Trident. With additional string and brass sections, this instrument was three synths in one, hence the Trident name! Taken directly from the original owner’s manual, this design captures all the fun of this VCO, VFO, and LFO-equipped legend.
Korg Mono/Poly
Travel back to 1982 with this old-school Mono/Poly design. This massively fat sounding, four-oscillator lead synth is still coveted by collectors and performers today. The vintage cream colored shirt features the original Mono/Poly logo, dressed up with an “era-appropriate” treatment.
Korg Doncamatic
This style pays tribute to Korg’s very first product—the Doncamatic! First used in a Japanese night club in 1963, the Doncamatic started it all! This artwork is lifted directly from the extremely rare Doncamatic product manual, complete with Japanese text!
Piano Designs
Keyboard vs Piano T-Shirt
I really couldn’t choose.
Embroidered Piano T-Shirt
Cute little neon embroidered grand piano icon.
Piano T-Shirt – No Problem
88 keys – 10 fingers – no problem.
Piano T-Shirt
Grand piano and manuscript music.
Zebra Piano Tee-Shirt
It had to happen. Zebra goes piano.
Piano Text T-Shirt
Simply ‘piano’.
Eat, Sleep, Play Piano Tee
If only there were more hours in the day.
Short Broken Piano Tee
I’m not a fan of smashing up piano keyboards, but this design is kinda cool.
Pianos and Cats
I’m not sure what it is about pianos and cats, but it would be remiss of me not to include a few here.
Game Over Cat on Keyboard Tee-Shirt
Very 8-bit retro video game cat. (Were there ever any video games featuring cats?)
Three Keyboard Cat Moon T-Shirt
Three cats, bathed in moonlight, luxuriating by a piano.
Keyboard Cat Tee
Yes. A keyboard cat.
So there you have it. Perhaps not quite ultimate… yet. Show us your favorites.
How To Play The USA’s National Anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) on Piano and Keyboard
April 26, 2011
Feeling patriotic? Have an event where it would be good to play the United States’ National Anthem? Here are some simple piano/keyboard arrangements for The Star-Spangled Banner.
Introduction
The Star-Spangled Banner is written here in B-flat major. This is the key I’ve most often heard it played in. It means you have two flats to contend with. B flat and E flat.
It’s written in 3/4 time. That means there are three quarter notes to each bar. For interest’s sake, the British national anthem (God Save The Queen) is also written in 3/4 time.
Melody Line
Here’s the music score.
Here’s a PDF file you can download.
You can listen to what it sounds like with this MIDI or WAV audio files.
The melody is fairly easy to play. You probably already know how the timing of the notes goes, so the dotted eighth note (quaver) followed by sixteenth note (semiquaver) found in bars 1, 3 and 9 shouldn’t phase you. Similarly, the dotted quarter notes (crotchets) followed by eighth notes (quavers) in 6, 15, 23 and 25.
The first ascending notes (in bar 2) are in fact five successive notes of a B-flat major arpeggio. B-flat, D, F, B-flat and D.
Note the E natural in bars 4 and 17.
You know from the anthem that the first part of the melody repeats. This is marked in the music by way of repeat marks and 1st/2nd time bars.
When you see notation like this, it means that you play everything from the start up until (and including) the bar marked overhead with “1.” The repeat mark (looks like a colon (:) means to go back to the last repeat marks. You can see that’s at the start of bar 2.
Play everything through again, but when you get to the “1st” bar, skip it and jump to the “2nd” time bar. Play that bar and then keep going. This is a form of shorthand and saves printing out repeated passages of music again.
Simple Bass Line
Here, a simple one note bass line has been added.
Here’s the music score.
Here’s a PDF file you can download.
You can listen to what it sounds like with these MIDI or WAV audio files.
Right Hand Chords
If you’re playing to accompany singing, it’s useful not to play the melody line itself but to fill out the accompaniment with chords. These can be played in the right hand, while the left hand plays the bass line.
Here’s the music score.
Here’s a PDF file you can download.
You can listen to what it sounds like with these MIDI or WAV audio files.
I hope that helps you when it comes to playing The Star-Spangled Banner.
Circuit Bending: A Basic Guide and Resource List
April 23, 2011
Circuit bending. It sounds really cool and just a tiny bit dangerous. It will certainly void your warranty, but that’s OK because it’s often done on old electronics equipment that would otherwise probably end up on the scrap heap.
That’s what I assumed about circuit bending. I realised that I loved synths, but I didn’t really know anything about this mystical art — taking apart machines and extracting sounds from them you might never have thought possible.
So, here’s my first journey into the world of circuit bending. I might not actually be ready to do any hardware mods just yet, but at least I might get a better understanding of what I’d need to do.
What is Circuit Bending? | Who Does Circuit Bending? | Circuit Bending Festivals | Circuit Bending Sites and Blogs | Circuit Bending Books | Circuit Bending Forums
What is Circuit Bending?
Wikipedia says that circuit bending is:
the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as low voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children’s toys and small digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators.
Emphasizing spontaneity and randomness, the techniques of circuit bending have been commonly associated with noise music, though many more conventional contemporary musicians and musical groups have been known to experiment with “bent” instruments. Circuit bending usually involves dismantling the machine and adding components such as switches and potentiometers that alter the circuit.
So it seems there isn’t much limit to what can be circuit bent, other than the objects are usually fairly cheap and simple electronic objects, some of which might already make a standard set of noises (toys, synths) or alter audio (effects pedals) in some way.
And it sounds dangerous, a thought backed up by another statement in the Wikipedia article:
Haphazard shorting out of electronic items will almost inevitably at some time lead to the destruction of the circuit being prodded about. Worse still, it could present risk of fire, burning or electrocution.
Presumably, therefore, it’s best not to muck around with high voltage or mains-connected gear unless you really know what you’re doing (or you have some perverse love of electrocution). The risks and potential injuries are likely to be lower when running low powered battery-operated devices.
As the process “has been developed largely by individuals with next to no formalised training in electronic theory and circuit design” it seems the skills required are the ability to open up gadgets, access their circuit boards, connect locations with jumper wires or solder them together, and possibly add other components such as buttons, switches, resistors, capacitors, potentiometers, photoresistors and pressure sensors, in order to control the audio output in some way.
Apart from the electrical risks, then, it seems like something anyone could get into reasonably easily and at low financial cost (unless they want to blow up a Yamaha Tyros, perhaps).
Before beginning to do circuit bending, a person should learn the basic risk factors about working with electrical and electronic products, including how to identify capacitors (which can give a person a serious shock due to the electrical charge that they store), and how to avoid risks with AC power. For safety reasons, a circuit bender should have a few basic electronics tools, such as a multimeter (an electronic testing device which measures voltage, resistance and other factors). It is advised that beginner circuit benders should never “bend” any device that gets its power from mains electricity (household AC power), as this would carry a serious risk of electrocution.
Resources
- Q. R. Ghazala short article: What is Circuit-Bending, Anti-Theory and Clear-Illogic?
- Anti-Theory.com: Circuit-Bending
- OddMusic.com:
- Oscillateur.com: Circuit Bending FAQ
- Circuit Bending at XCOM 2002: Circuit Bending Tips
Who Does Circuit Bending?
- Casperelectronics: Peter Edwards
- Bill T Miller
- Cementimental
Circuit Bending Festivals
Bent Festival
The Bent Festival is an annual art and music festival celebrating DIY electronics, hardware hacking, and circuit bending. Each year we invite artists from across the country and around the globe to perform music with their home-made or circuit bent instruments, teach workshops to adults and children alike, create beautiful art installations and to generally come together, face to face, and showcase the state of the art in DIY electronics and circuit bending culture.
Circuit Bending Sites and Blogs
Absurdity.biz
A range of old and new resources including circuit bending techniques.
Check out the Bent Festival DVDs and the Bentrument Gallery.
spunkytoofers.com
“spunkytoofers is the circuit bending dada bunny. spunky currently lives in the forests of uzbekistan and enjoys candlelit dinners and walks by the beach.”
CEO Bend-O-Rama
“We formed after a circuit-bending workshop held in Copenhagen in May 2007 and arranged by AUX and LAB. The workshop was led by Knut Aufermann and Sarah Washington. The group was christened CEO (Copenhagen Electronic Orchestra) – Bend-O-Rama at the workshop. We are now a four to six person group.”
GetLoFi.com
“Circuit Bending tips and resources for Beginners and Pros alike.”
TechDweeb.com
An interesting collection of circuit-bent gadgets with stories, photos, hints and tips.
F7Sound.com
“Do you love the sounds of insane glitches, digital hiccups, circuit overloads, stuttering sample loops, and extreme distortion? Do you enjoy taking things apart?”
MysteryCircuits.com
A substantial resource featuring a number of keyboards, toys and other equipment modified over the past decade.
SailorMouth.org
Circuit-bending videos, resources and more.
Bent or Die?
Kaseo’s Circuit Bending Gallery (JPN).
BurnKit2600
Band heavily into circuit bending old games consoles, analogue synthesisers and other gear.
MachineNoise
“Machinenoise showcases works by artists replicating an art-form pioneered by Reed Ghazala around 1966. This art-form is called circuit bending: the process of manipulating circuits of a sound device to make strange, alien-like sounds.
We also cater to Power Noise, Heavy Electronic and Industrial music.”
noystoise
Circuit bending blog.
Circuit Bending Companies
Though circuit bending could be argued to be a personal pursuit, there are companies who will sell circuit-bent instruments.
CircuitBenders.co.uk
“Circuitbenders.co.uk was launched back in 2001 after a chance accident with an old Speak & Spell machine and a soldering iron opened up new realms of sonic destruction and audio carnage for circuitbenders founder Paul Norris. This site was the first website in the UK offering circuitbent machines for sale, alongside a wide range of custom modifications and upgrades for electronic toys, drum machines, synths and samplers.”
Plenty of Akai, Casio, Korg, Roland and Yamaha gear can be bent to order.
Circuit Bending Books
Circuit Bending Forums
Experimentalists Anonymous
A forum for discussing circuit bending in great depth, including modular synths and DIY instruments, effects and general DIY.
If you have any resources or links you’d like to share, please leave a comment below. I’ll update the article as required.
How to tune a guitar to piano or keyboard
April 14, 2011
Most guitarists I’ve worked with now carry around their own tuner, so there’s less need to assist them in tuning their guitars.
Occasionally, though, their battery dies, or they just want a quick aural indication of whether their instrument is in tune before playing.
Here’s how to assist a guitarist in tuning their guitar.
1. Make sure your instrument is in tune
This is less of an issue with digital pianos and keyboards, because (unless something goes very wrong) they’re always in tune.
Do make sure that there’s no unwanted fine tuning set on the keyboard. Most instruments tune with an A at 440Hz. Just make sure any fine tuning adjustments are turned off.
If you’re working on an out-of-tune acoustic piano, then I’m afraid your problems are only just beginning.
2. Play the required notes in turn
Assuming the guitarist wants to tune to standard tuning, these are the six ascending notes you’ll want to play.
Here are the notes written in the bass clef. Click for larger view
Here are the notes you need to play on a piano keyboard. Click for larger view
- E
- A
- D
- G
- B
- E
Here’s what these notes sound like (this is a MIDI file. Your web browser should be able to play it directly):
Guitar tuning notes played on piano [MIDI]
The guitarist will likely tell you if you’re playing a note too often or not enough to be helpful.
Generally, it’s best to use a standard acoustic piano sound without much reverb or other effect.
Play the note clearly, either holding it or using the sustain pedal. As the note wanes, play it again. The idea is to maintain the pitch while the guitarist tunes each string to that note.
It may be sufficient to simply play the low E so the guitarist can tune that string. They can tune all the other strings relative to that one.
3. Play the notes through again
Once the guitarist has finished the initial tuning it can be helpful to play each note fairly quickly in succession, with the guitarist echoing.
It’s usually fairly obvious if any string isn’t tuned correctly.
Playing through some chords together will also likely throw up any issues, either with the whole guitar sounding ‘sharp’ or ‘flat’ in comparison to the piano, or just a few notes sounding dissonant.
4. Be ready for alternative tunings
This process is exactly the same for a guitarist who wants to tune the instrument to non-standard tuning. Just ask them to name the notes they want you to play and proceed as in step 2.
5. Other instruments
You can also use a similar process for other stringed instruments including bass guitar, cello and violin. The notes and positions will vary by instrument.
