Learn How to Decorate Your Playing by Using Ornaments, Dynamics and Articulations

There are specific things that we can add in to our piano playing that can really take the sound into a new level.

If you think about it, there are two different aspects to playing music well. The first one is that we are technically capable of playing what we’re trying to play at the time and second, is how we express the notes to make them sound like music instead of just single notes played one after another.

Today the three new additions that we’re looking at will combine both of the aspects just mentioned and once you understand what they are and how to use them, you will really like how differently they make your playing sound!

• You’ll see examples of each of these new concepts in piano music and hear how to play them in the video at the end.

When you first look at a piece you notice what notes you have to play and then think about where those notes are on the keyboard. But how do you know…how to play the notes so that they make music?

The first thing that you want to look at is what articulations are written over a note or even a group of notes. Articulations tell you whether to play a note short or long, loud or soft, on its own or connected to another note.

• Dots over a note indicate that it is to be played short. This is called staccato.
• A line over a note indicates that it is to be played long. This is called legato.
• A line over two or notes together is a slur and that means that the notes are connected to each other.

What you need to do is learn all of the musical symbols so you’ll know how to read them in your music. A great resource for that is right here.

The second thing that you want to look at is the dynamics of the piece. Dynamics are markings that are below the notes that you are playing and can be noted several different ways. They tell us how loud or soft to play the notes.

• Forte and Piano are loud and soft in piano music. There are several different levels for each of these starting from very soft all the way to very loud. Once you learn what symbol is used for each dynamic level, then you can incorporate those different levels of volume into your music. Dynamics help the music make sense to the performer as well as the listener.
• Use the same link listed above to find all of your dynamic markings and definitions.
• A lot of the articulations that you learn will be used in creating the different dynamic levels required in your music. That’s why it’s good to know your basic articulations before you start working on dynamics.

The third thing you want to learn to add into your playing are ornaments. They do just what they sound like they do…they decorate the music. They add a bit of “frill” to the sound.

• Examples of ornaments are trills, grace notes, and/or any other notes that are usually played faster than your regular tempo and lead into the following notes.
• In music, they are usually much smaller than the other notes which give us any easy way to identify them once we know what they are.
• Again, use the above link for Musical Symbols to find many examples and definitions of the different ornaments we can find in our music.

In your approach to learning these three different additions to your playing, go in the same order that they are listed here. Familiarize yourself first with what articulations are and then learn as many of them as you can. Then go to dynamics and remember to use the articulations that you’ve learned to help you play the different levels. Then start learning how to add in or play the given ornaments to add in a special flare to the music, and one that you will enjoy as your playing improves and sounds fantastic!

If you like my tips and lessons, you will love the courses over on my website. Whether you are a beginner looking to get a solid foundation to build on or you are looking to take you existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website - https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.