Playing keyboard piano musical instruments often starts out as a hobby and then progresses into mastery. If you can commit yourself while you're learning the basics, you'll be able to stick with it as your talent progresses. One thing is certain: to become a professional player and perform or teach, you'll have to dedicate yourself to your training.

There are not a whole lot of differences in the basics of pianos and keyboard instruments. Education and training can teach you how to read music and perfect your playing, while experience will teach you how to use different types of instruments. Whether you choose the piano, an organ or an electronic keyboard, you'll have to play around with it to acclimate yourself to the specific instrument and find your own style.

1. Buy the basics first. When you start out, you'll need a decent musical keyboard with at least 32 keys. You can buy more advanced instruments later.

2. Learn to read sheet music for keyboard musical instruments. You'll need to know all about notes, rests and tempos.

3. Practice, practice, practice. There really is no other way to master keyboard music instruments.

Action Steps
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Get keyboard instrument information on reading music

The most basic way of remembering the grand staff is with a couple of simple mnemonics. The spaces on the treble clef, going up, equate to the notes F, A, C and E, so remembering 'FACE' can help you determine which notes are which. The spaces on the bass clef are 'ACEG,' which can be remembered as 'All Cows Eat Grass.' The main thing to remember is that middle C is always dead center in between the bass and treble clefs. In addition to specific notes, you'll need to learn about counts, rests and special notes.

I recommend: Reference the chart at Piano-lessons-info.com for info about notes and counts. ReadSheetMusic.info has a great explanation of dotted notes and ties.

Enroll in professional pianos and keyboard instruments lessons

Private piano or keyboard lessons are the best way to learn basic and intermediate techniques. Or, you could start out with group lessons since they tend to be a bit cheaper but cover the same material (although you don't get that one-on-one attention that you get with private lessons). If your goal is to teach one day, taking lessons is a good way to see how classroom dynamics work, and you can figure out how you would like to structure your own class.

I recommend: Find a teacher in your area using Piano World or the Learning Guide Network.

Check out online lessons that explain how to use piano keyboards

Taking online lessons is a good way to supplement your training. If you can't afford to take professional lessons right now, you can learn quite a bit through lessons on the Internet, although you will have nobody to tell you what you're doing right or wrong. Still, it's a good place to start if you can't take lessons in-person, or if you want to take the extra time to reinforce what you learn in class.

I recommend: Take advantage of the free online lessons at Piano Tricks and Free On-Line Piano Lessons. Test your keyboarding skills at Musictheory.net.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you love playing the piano but would rather not perform or teach, consider taking a course in piano tuning. The demand for this profession is high, as any time a piano is moved, has been sitting too long or has gotten a lot of use, it must be tuned to keep the notes in the right pitch. For example, pianos for sale in showrooms must be tuned periodically, as well as after they are moved to customers' homes.

If part of what you do involves music, you may be looking for pianos and keyboard instruments as part of a purchase for music-related business. Pianos and keyboard instruments provide the backbone for many musical compositions and orchestral or performance arrangements.

Whether you're looking for an electronic keyboard or a classical piano, you can find these online. Business leaders look for pianos and keyboard instruments for situations like these:

1. For use in a recording studio or recital room where pianos or keys will accompany vocals or other music.

2. As part of a purchase for a learning facility in a grade school, college or university or other educational centers like camps and conservatories.

3. For outfitting a theatrical or film production, where either an old piano or a state of the art musical keyboard provides the final touch to a set of props.

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Get traditional pianos for sale online

For many projects, nothing will substitute for a full piano, with its extensive setup and authentic acoustic sound. Get full scale pianos for furnishing music rooms and for the height of fashion in a musical performance.

I recommend: For diverse piano styles, try the Walter Piano Company. Walter in Indiana sells grand pianos, console pianos or studio models. For the truly discriminating piano buyer buying directly from piano manufacturers, there's Steinway & Sons, a top piano maker, offering a sales and showroom online.

Get musical keyboard organs and harpsichords

For other projects, buyers may be able to use a 'side' key instrument, like an organ or a harpsichord. These types of instruments are popular in churches and other performance halls.

I recommend: Buyers can find a variety of organs with sounds from classic to contemporary in the online showcase of Lowrey, an organ maker "bringing people together with music." Sign up in Lowrey's guest book to get continuing information about the company and products. Get harpsichords and more keys at Musicians Buy Online.

Get electronic keyboard musical instruments

If you're looking for a digital musical experience, electronic keyboards have all of the bells and whistles to amaze an audience, from hundreds of key tones to supplemental beats and 'auto play' functions. The keyboard music instruments available these days bring music to a whole new level, and these items are popular where musicians want to explore the boundaries of sound.

I recommend: zZounds Music, LLC. has a full catalog of keyboards and accessories. Get professional Korg models and other top brands as well as sampling keyboards, midi controllers, compact keys and other styles of keyboard instruments. Browse more keyboard models by price at Musician's Friend Inc.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Look for keyboards and instruments that match your sound needs. When you buy keyboard instrument models, consider range (how many octaves will you need?) sound levels (acoustic or electric) and quality (will you be able to showcase talents and do quality performance with an off brand or discount model?). These considerations will help you make informed buys for pianos and keyboard instruments.

Becoming a professional at playing pianos and keyboard instruments takes practice and dedication. Knowing the proper terminology can help you become more familiar with your instrument and grasp the practical aspect of it better, enabling you to learn more, and at a faster rate. It will also help you appear more knowledgeable around other professionals, which can enhance your networking opportunities. Here are some pianos and keyboard instruments key terms to help you get started.

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Octave

An octave is separated by eight white keys on the piano keyboard. An octave starts and ends with the same note, each at a different pitch.

I recommend: Piano Finders explains how to properly identify the different keys, such as middle C vs. C3, which are exactly one octave apart.

Scales

Scales are the basis for playing all pianos and keyboard instruments. They consist of a series of notes that sound 'right' together. There are several types of scales, including the major scale and a variety of minor scales. Scales are great tools for practicing dexterity and keyboard skills.

I recommend: Learn the structure of the different types of scales at Free Online Piano Lessons.

Sharps and flats

Sharps and flats are the black keys on a keyboard, each representing a half step up (sharp) or down (flat) from a white key. There are five total black keys per octave, and some can be both sharps and flats. For example, C sharp can also be D flat. Sharps and flats also come into play when reading key signatures on sheet music, as they set the tone for the entire piece.

I recommend: Capistrano Elementary School has a thorough explanation of sharps, flats and key signatures.

Pedals

There are several types of pedals used with pianos and keyboards. The most commonly used pedal is known as the damper or sustain pedal, and allows notes to keep sounding after taking your hands off the keys. Most pianos have these pedals built in, and professional keyboards allow for plugging in electronic pedals.

I recommend: know-your-keyboard-piano.com provides an explanation for the different kinds of pedals.

Timbre

Timbre can be defined as the quality of a certain musical instrument, a quality that helps the human ear distinguish it from others. For example, most people will recognize a piano for a piano when they hear notes being played. Keyboard instruments, however, can be more difficult to distinguish, as they can be programmed to imitate different sounds.

I recommend: Find out more about timbre from Indiana University.

Synthesizer

Called a 'synth' for short, synthesizers use preprogrammed tracks to provide beats and background melodies for music. They connect with a keyboard for user convenience and can imitate a wide variety of sounds.

I recommend: Gigasonic.com and innovativesynthesis.com both offer information on different types of synthesizers.