Hello and welcome. I'm Joseph Hoffman,
and in this piano lesson you'll learn how to play my super easy version of "Silent Night".
perfect if you're a beginner with less than one year of piano experience.
If you're looking for something more challenging, check out my easy or intermediate level tutorials.
Alright, let's get started by checking out the sheet music.
Here's the sheet music to "Silent Night".
Now in my tutorials, I like to do more than just show you how to play the notes. You can get that in any tutorial.
With me, I like to help you understand the music so you can apply it to any song you play.
If we check out the time signature we see that we're in 3/4 time.
What does that mean?
3/4 means there will be 3 quarter note beats in every measure.
What are measures?
They're separated by these thin vertical black lines. So here's measure one, here's measure two, measure three, etc.
Now, how is that useful information?
Well as we're playing, we want to think about these 3 beats.
Every 3 beats forms a group
of sounds,
and it's important for you to keep those beats in mind as you're playing or you won't have the right timing.
Now you'll notice that I put this beat 2 before this little eighth note.
I could add one extra note over here to my chart of rhythms. An eighth note is just equal to 1/2 of a beat.
For reference quarter notes are 1 beat, dotted quarter notes are 1 1/2 beats long.
Half notes are 2 beats, dotted half notes are 3 beats.
Now again, this will help us use the right timing.
So we start off with a dotted quarter note, which gets 1 1/2 beats, so it will take up half of beat 2,
making this note land on the between beats 2 and 3. That between place we call an & in music.
So we could count this rhythm 1 2-& 3. Let's try to clap that.
It's a very important rhythm in "Silent Night", because we're going to see it again and again, so we've got to get it right.
Let's try clapping. Go: 1 2-& 3
Let's practice that again. Try to count these beats out loud with me and clap.
Ready, go: 1 2-& 3, and that makes ♫Silent♫
If you're not counting, I find that students will tend to rush these notes. ♫Silent♫
1 2-& 3 You've got to wait for the &, or you're going to make this note too short. And then when you get to this dotted half note, be sure you hold that 3 beats.
Again, I often hear beginner piano students skipping beats. They're in a rush for some reason.
Part of music is knowing the right timing and how long to hold each note. Listen: 1 2-& 3 1 2 3 We've got to hold that note 3 full beats before we go on. 1 2-& 3 1 2 3
Now let's try to clap it while you count the beat with me. Ready, go: 1 2-& 3 1 2 keep going!
1 2-& 3 1 2 3
Great, let's try to play it.
If you look in the top left corner of your sheet music, you'll see this little chart that shows you where to place your hands.
Your right hand will be on C D E F G, one finger for each key,
each white key, and the left hand finger 1, which is your thumb. Thumbs are always 1,
will share this middle C, and you know if it feels annoying to have them both sitting there you can kind of
tuck one a little bit below the other.
Just find what's comfortable for you, but your finger 1's will share the middle C. Finger 2 will need to be on this B-flat,
and your other fingers will be positioned like this, just like you see in the chart. So go ahead and get your fingers ready on your piano, because we're going to try this together. Your right hand starts with finger one on middle C, and we play 1 2-& 3. Now you try, go:
You see we just start on C, we step up to D, then back to C, and make sure you get the rhythm correct. Say the beats out loud, and that will help you. Say 1 2-& 3. Try it with me, go: 1 2-& 3
I really want you to count those beats out loud so you get that rhythm just right. That timing is important for the song.
Then your left hand is going to play finger 3 on A right here, and you count 3 beats: 1 2 3. Try it with me, go: 1 2 3
Be sure to hold it all 3 beats. Don't cheat a beat. All 3
beats are important.
Now let's put it together: 1 2-& 3 1 2 3. Try it with me, ready, go: 1 2-& 3 1 2 3, then we do it again.
1 2-& 3 1 2 3 Great, now pause the video and I'd like you to play these first four measures on your own while you count the beat out loud. Make sure you can do that confidently, and then press play to go on.
Next up, the right hand is going to play a G, and it's a half note, which equals 2 beats.
So we'll count 1 2, and then on beat 3 we play that G again. 1 2 3, and then we skip down to E
for 3 beats. 1 2 3 1 2 3. Now you try. Ready, go:
Again, remember to count while you play. That will help your rhythm be correct 1 2 3 1 2 3, and then we step up to F. 1 2 3 1 2 3, and that makes ♫all is bright♫.
You'll notice there we ...