Skip to main content

How to Play Piano With One Hand

Pianos require two hands, but one-handed music exists with modifications.

Playing a musical instrument with one hand requires the use of specially written music. It is difficult, and in many cases, impossible to play regular piano music with just one hand, as it requires two hands to play the harmony and the melody. For this reason, one-handed music does exist for pianists who have sustained injuries or only have one hand. An injured concert pianist may require music modified for a one-armed player.

Music Reduction


Step 1

Analyze the music: If the treble or bass clef part houses the melody for the piece, then you can play the music one-handed. Most piano music places the melody in the right hand. In the case where the melody is divided between two parts, reduce both parts to a single-handed piece.

Step 2

Decide how to reduce the parts if the music does not naturally lend itself to one-handed playing. Eliminate the chords by taking a pencil and crossing them out of the music.

Step 3

Remove musical fragments or gestures that do not directly pertain to the melody. Edit the piece to remove anything that doesn’t add to the melody. Use your best judgment to determine what elements to remove.

Step 4

Enter piano fingerings by attaching the numbers one to five to the notes. Choose fingerings that allow you to play the music with as little motion as possible. Play through the music and carefully think about the best hand position to accomplish the piece.

Advanced One-Handed Music


Step 1

Purchase a reference book of one-handed music. This resource will allow you to access thousands of pieces of one-handed piano music.

Step 2

Locate string pieces. String works lend themselves well to one-handed playing since they employ chords which fit easily in the pianist's reach and use the same clefs as the piano.

Step 3

Play the music with your available hand by finding ways to play each phrase completely one-handed. Practice different combinations of fingerings until you find one that is comfortable. Write numbers to indicate fingering positions when you narrow down a part. Using specific fingering combinations will make it possible to employ muscle memory.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str...

Sunday Stories: The Power of Audiation in Music Composition

Happy Sunday! Today, let’s explore the transformative power of audiation in music composition and share an inspiring story about a composer who mastered this skill. Audiation, the ability to hear and understand music in your mind, is a crucial tool for composers, enabling them to bring their musical ideas to life with greater detail and precision. What is Audiation? Audiation is the process of hearing and comprehending music in your mind without any external sound. It is similar to thinking in a language, where you can understand and manipulate words and sentences internally.  For composers, audiation is an essential skill that allows them to imagine, develop, and refine their musical ideas before they are played or written down 1 . The Benefits of Audiation for Composers 1. Enhanced Musical Understanding Audiation helps composers develop a deeper understanding of music. By hearing and analyzing music internally, they can grasp the relationships between different musical elements, ...

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no...