Lesson 3 of 5
Steps, skips and your first melody
Every melody ever written moves in only three ways: to the next door note, over a note, or nowhere at all. Learn to see those three moves and tunes stop being random strings of notes.
- What a step, a skip and a repeat are
- How the three moves feel under your fingers in C position
- How to read a melody as a chain of moves instead of separate notes
- How to play the opening phrase of a real song
About ten minutes of reading, a keyboard exercise you play yourself, and a ten question quiz at the end.
Steps: next door notes
A step is a move to the very next white key, up or down. C to D is a step up. E to D is a step down. Nothing is jumped over.
Steps are the smoothest sound in music, and most melodies are built mainly from them. Under the fingers a step means the neighbouring finger plays next, which is why C position works so well: the fingers already sit one per key, ready to step.
More on this: the full Mary Had a Little Lamb notes.
Skips: jumping over one
A skip jumps over exactly one white key. C to E is a skip up, because D is passed over. G to E is a skip down.
Under the fingers a skip means skipping a finger too: thumb to middle finger, or finger 2 to finger 4. Skips sound bouncier and more open than steps. Larger jumps than a skip are called leaps, and they are rarer, exactly because they are harder to sing and to play.
More on this: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Repeats: staying put
The third move is no move at all: the same note played again. Repeats give a melody its rhythm engine, a chance for the words or the beat to carry on while the pitch rests.
You already know a famous example. The opening of Mary Had a Little Lamb ends its first phrase with the same note played three times in a row. Repeated notes are usually played by the same finger, staying home on its key.
More on this: all the beginner songs.
Reading a melody as moves
Here is the shift that makes tunes learnable. Instead of reading E, D, C, D, E, E, E as seven separate facts, read it as moves: start on E, step down twice, step back up twice, then repeat the note twice more.
Six moves, one starting note. Your hand only ever needs to answer one question: step, skip, or stay? That question is what the exercise below trains, and it ends with you playing that exact phrase, the real opening of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Right hand in C position: thumb on C. Follow the glow and the finger chips. Press Hear the demo to hear each pattern before you play it.
Loading the exercise…
Exercise complete. Nicely done.
You just played a real melody. The whole tune is waiting in the practice room, with the same falling blocks and finger numbers.
- A step moves to the next door key, up or down
- A skip jumps over exactly one key. Anything wider is a leap
- A repeat plays the same key again, usually with the same finger
- Mary Had a Little Lamb opens E D C D E E E: four steps and a repeat
Read these four lines again before the quiz and you will almost certainly pass it first time.
Ten questions from this lesson, one at a time, four answers each. You get ten minutes, the same pace as a real theory test, and every answer is explained whether you get it right or not. Score ten out of ten and you are ready for the next lesson.
Questions
About this lesson
What is the difference between a skip and a leap?
A skip jumps over exactly one white key, like C to E. Anything wider, such as C to F or C to G, is a leap. Melodies use steps most, skips next, and leaps sparingly, because larger jumps are harder to sing and to place under the fingers.
Do steps and skips work the same going down?
Yes, direction does not change the move. E down to D is a step, G down to E is a skip. The only difference is which way your hand travels, so practise every pattern in both directions from the start.
Why do so many melodies repeat notes?
Repeats let the rhythm and the words move forward while the pitch holds still, which gives a tune breathing space. They also make phrases singable. A melody that changed pitch on every single note would be exhausting to sing and to hear.
Do steps and skips involve the black keys?
They can, in music that uses them. In this lesson everything stays on the white keys inside C position so the idea is clear. The concept transfers directly: a step is always to the nearest note of the scale you are in, whatever its colour.
← Lesson 2: Fingers and hand position · All lessons · Lesson 4: Rhythm and counting →
Want the short version instead of the lesson? Where is middle C on piano is the landmark every melody in this lesson starts from.