UK Piano Page Piano Forum

Hi All,

I have recently refound my love for piano and have invested in a Yamaha U3 Silent. I had lessons when I was 8-12 and I reached grade 3. Ever since then I have just played on my parents piano teaching myself. Now, the problem is, I quit my lessons mid-way through being on my way to sight-read quite successfully. Now that 10 years have passed since my last lesson, I have found myself playing by chords. I have a chord dictionary and have solely tought myself through that.

Now my question is, what is the CORRECT way to play piano. Take for example, Your Song by Elton John. The sheet music has one base line and two treble lines (I am presuming one is the vocals), and then the guitar grids and the chord written above. I play by the chords on top of the grid and part of the vocals to make the song sound as I hear it. Should I be playing one base one treble line? Or all three lines?

I am trying to avoid having lessons, I can read notes on a page but to work through a song (one treble (non-vocal one) and the bass, i.e. not using the chords), I need to write up the notes on the page and I am slow at moving from one to another. Yet if I use the top treble line and the chords I can play the song pretty well (albeit sounding quite "child-like" with the one finger treble playing).

I appreciate any advice people can pass my way, something to put me in the right direction to advancing my playing!

Great forum and I look forward to contributing as I learn more and more!

If you are trying to play music using a lead/vocal line, you won't really have something that is ideal for personal performance. The piano parts (that are joined by brackets to the left) are typically accompaniment lines so as not to class with the vocals line. Under these circumstances, you would not be required to read the three lines at the same time.

The only way you could do play the melody of the tune you mentioned would be by being creative with the right hand accompaniment and the vocals line, taking bits of both.

If you are trying to play "Your Song" and are needing to write note names beside the notes, then you need to step back a bit and build up your sight reading skills. Start with music simpler music, say the stuff you were playing at Grade 1 and then work up from that. There are some sight reading resources available in most music specialist shops if that is what you want to do.