Piano Scales Sheet Music
Shaping the Hand for Basic Piano Chords

Piano scales sheet music - now for BOTH HANDS - will help beginners get the right hand shape for scales and for open 5ths.  

Sometimes their little fingers just can't seem to lay down on the keys!  

For those little guys whose hands won't behave, download this page with four sets of free scales, with "helper" notes.

I devised this first, repetitious series of scales for a particular student whose fingers did not want to conform to the 5-fingers-on-5-keys shape.  

Because he is such a new beginner, I opted to use music note "drawings" - piano music with letters.  (Having those easy-to-read notes removes one large hurdle for young readers.)

Scroll down the page for the free downloadable PDF links:

Piano scales sheet music for new piano players

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Since my student could already identify the keys on the piano keyboard, he "went right to town" when I gave him this five finger exercise with the made-easy notes.  

As easy as this piano scales sheet music is to read, however, it's not foolproof.  Somehow he, and another young student, failed to notice the fingering!  Don't take ANYTHING for granted with beginners.

Once a student has gotten that rising scales pattern figured out and solidified (that takes a couple weeks of memory-jogging and pointing at the music - new students seem to be allergic to the printed page), ask them how it would go if the left hand did it!  

When that goes well, have them try it hands together.

This sheet of piano scales and chords solved my student's meandering fingers.  

The pattern in this note reading worksheet allows the student to gain the desired note span with their fingers, then linger there for a few extra beats as they strike the open fifths.  

Open fifths are what my students start with when learning basic piano chords.  Much easier to press than triads.  But not so easy to find, initially, when the hand is not used to the chord shape.  

This little page of finger exercises solved that problem.

Next, here are the piano lesson scales I move my students onto as soon as they can do them:

Pentascales on the white keys for piano beginners

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Before I wrote these piano scales out, I relied upon finger numbers written on their weekly lesson sheets.  With little guys, that just doesn't cut it like a picture.  This helps moms and dads, too.

Little fingers will struggle with the full triads in the second scale series.  

If it proves to be too frustrating, I'll let them continue to play open chords for a while.  But they need to see and understand the layout of the 3-note chords, because soon they will be using them in broken chords (Greensleeves, a very beautiful song that beginners can play).

Now, by popular demand (at least 2 of you!), here are the same scales for bass clef.  Unlike the treble clef scales, I did put the clef symbol on the staffs:

Scales and chords set 1:

Beginner scales in the left hand for correct shaping

Scales and chords set 2:

Beginning pentascales printed for the bass clef, piano

What comes after these music scales?  MORE pentascales, but now without a diagram.  

Instead, it's time for them to learn "the Secret Formula" for major pentascales, which we will be spending LOTS of time with.  "Tonic, whole, whole, half, whole..."  over and over!


Scales & Chords for the beginner:



Download piano scales sheet music for beginner piano students


Scales & Chords 2, after the first set can be done WELL hands together:



Download piano scales printable and free for your beginners!


The same scales in the bass clef:



Download beginner piano scales printable for the left hand!


Scales & Chords 2 for bass clef:



Download harder set of piano lesson scales for the left hand




Check out a fancy version of the Pachelbel Canon that even elementary students can play!



Music for Music Teachers has other great free resources for piano teachers!  Take a look:

Rote Learning - leaving the written page behind (or treating it like a map!)



MANY OF  THE BEGINNING WORKSHEETS ARE ALSO FOUND IN THE BOOK "SONGS OLD & SONGS NEW"

Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church?  Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!

SingTheBibleStory.com clickable logo link

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Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...


About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.