Learn Piano Online

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Teach Yourself How To Play Piano Despite Years Of Lessons

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

So, you've taken piano lessons for years but you still can't play on your own.

You probably know the scales and can read off music sheets, but you can't just sit down at the piano and make music.

Don't worry. It's not your fault. You see, literally thousands of people are just like you. They've taken piano lessons for years and while they can play a piece by Bach or Beethoven, they can't for the life of them figure out how to create something original. Something that is not written by a dead composer or that isn't on music sheets.

Here's the solution? Learn a chord-based approach to playing piano!

What's that you ask? Simple. A chord-based approach allows you to think and play like the composers you can play so well off of sheet music. Chords and the Key they come from determine the sound of music.

You may think this approach takes a while to learn. Nope. Not at all. In fact, in my free lesson Reflections in Water, you learn how to play 4 chords right away - and you get to make your own music with them as well. In this lesson, you learn how to use open position chords in the Key of C major along with broken chord technique to create a calm, reflective mood! And best of all - you can do it now? right away - without having any piano playing experience whatsoever!

How is this accomplished? Through the use of chords and the scale in the Key of C major. You first learn the chords and the C major scale (which you probably already know) and begin to improvise with them. There are 2 audio tracks to this lesson that lets you hear exactly how it's done. Exciting? You bet. Difficult? Not at all. In fact, this may be the easiest, most fun lesson you'll ever get to play online!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Tickle The Ivory And Play That Piano

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

When most people think of learning how to play piano, they already have a certain style in mind. When learning the piano it doesn?t matter if you learn on a baby grand or a bar type of piano, both will do, the more important thing is to learn how to play. You like the way it looks and sounds but you're too afraid to approach the task of learning how to play it. This is most peoples fear.

Many children in piano lessons are not getting the proper training every piano student needs to benefit from their lessons. It is sad, however, that many children in after school programs offering piano lessons fail to learn, because the children are stretched so thin between all the activities they are in.

Beginning piano students feel the same way and have more control over their progress than they often realize. For some reason students often overlook this important part of piano study. But students have difficulty believing this because when learning something new it is much harder to see how much easier it is to learn when you enjoy what you are doing.

Beginning piano students can become focused on reading the notes and finding the right keys on the piano and miss the point of playing ? to make the music sound, well, musical. Most students don't want to wait years before they can create music. There are many ideas to help beginning piano students energize their music and bring it to life with personality and style, the best place to find these ideas is on the internet.

Many parent do not push the classical pieces of music, they rather have their children play more popular pieces of music because the parents thinks the classical pieces will be to hard. With any type of training it always better to push a little, you would be surprised what your children are capable of.

Many people think all you really need is knowledge of a few chords and how to play them. So people like to memorize the primary chords by using an associating method with acronyms which will help remember the chords. This is a good way to learn in the short run but in the long run practice, practice, practice is the only way to get better at the piano.

Here is a quick tip that will help when learning the piano. When playing the piano you can push the damper pedal and it will raise the hammers and the string will have nothing touching them, so when the hammers don?t touch the strings the sound will continue and not stop.

To find a good teacher is not as hard as you think, talk to friends look in the phone book or check online, teacher are usually anywhere from $30 to $60 an hour depending on the teacher and the studio. A good piano teacher is very important to find. If you find the right teacher the learning process is that much easier.

David Marc Fishman is the owner of audition site for singers . The online talent shows

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Beginner Piano Tunes: Music and Lyrics of Auld Lang Syne and How to Play It on the Piano with Ease!

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Try out this free printable beginner piano lesson for learning to play the old favorite song, Auld Lang Syne, for New Year's Eve! This article includes both the lyrics and music.

You will find it surprisingly easy to learn how to play Auld Lang Syne! It is one of a special selection of tunes that can be played on a five-note piano scale called the Pentatonic Scale.

'Auld Lang Syne', meaning 'Times Gone By' or 'Days Gone By', is a traditional song sung on New Year's Eve in many countries. The words were written by the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns.

Lyrics of Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And gie's a hand o' thine
We'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Melody of Auld Lang Syne

Did you know that the tune of Auld Lang Syne can be played on just the five different black notes of your piano or keyboard? The black notes on your piano keyboard are arranged in two different groups: sets of two black notes and sets of three black notes.

From left to right, the names of these notes are:

-- In each set of two black notes: C# and D#

-- In each set of three black notes: F#, G# and A#.

To play Auld Lang Syne, begin on the C# black note that is just to the right of Middle C.

Here is how the melody goes:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
C# F# F# F# A# G# F# G#

and never brought to mind?
A# G# F# F# A# C# D#

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
D# C# A# A# F# G# F# G#

and days of auld lang syne?
A# G# F# D# D# C# F#

For auld lang syne, my dear,
D# C# A# A# F# G# F# G#

for auld lang syne,
D# C# A# A# C# D#

we'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
D# C# A# A# F# G# F# G#

for auld lang syne.
A# G# F# D# D# C# F#

This rather haunting melody is special because it is written on the five note pentatonic scale. Another pentatonic scale tune that can be played in a similar way, on the black notes of a piano keyboard, is 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot'.

Learning how to play the piano can be fun and easy! Impress your friends with this Music With Ease method of playing Auld Lang Syne on the pentatonic scale, this New Year's Eve!

Betty Wagner has been teaching music for over 30 years. Her unique multimedia ebooks make learning to play the piano fun and easy -- at a price to fit your budget! Learn to read music notes with the help of funny cartoon characters, embedded sound clips and flashcards; or master piano chords for beginners so you can play your favorite popular music with style; or play music scales the easiest way ever with simplified scale charts, fingering tips and memory aids: http://www.musicwithease.com/play-music-scales.html

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, December 17, 2007

How To Play The Piano Using "Shorthand" -- Chord Symbols -- Instead of Reading the Full Score

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Most people who took piano lessons as a kid, including me, grew up learning to read music exactly as it is written on the printed page. Being able to read music is a valuable skill, and I am delighted I learned that skill at an early age.

But there is a downside to only being able to read music without understanding what you are reading. A couple real-life examples illustrate the point:

What happens when you are playing and your sheet music slips off the piano and onto the floor? Unless your name is Victor Borge and you can turn the situation into comedy, you will probably find the situation extremely embarrassing. I have seen it happen several times to pianists who play well but who don't know how to improvise, and it's not a pretty site. It happened to me once years ago as well. I was accompanying a singer and someone opened a side door, letting a gust of wind sweep into the auditorium and right across my piano. The sheet music scattered onto the stage and a couple pieces blew off the stage. If I hadn't understood the music and had a grasp of it's harmonic form, I would have had to stop, pick up the music, get it back in order, and so forth, delaying the soloist and the performance. As it turned out I had several people ask me how I kept playing without the music in front of me. I replied that I knew the chord progressions of the song, so was able to "wrap the chords around the singer" and therefore keep the song going.

So what are chord symbols, and how do they work?

Chord symbols are a shorthand way of writing what is going on harmonically in a song. For example, if I were to write the chord symbols of the first line of What Child Is This? (also known as Greensleeves and several other titles) in the key of Am, I would write:

Am G F E7 -- which corresponds to the first line of the song and would appear directly above the melody line in the treble clef, so all the pianist would need to do would be to read the melody (tune) of the song -- not all the supporting notes.

I think you can see that once you know a few chords this would be infinitely easier to remember than the entire score of the song. Not only that, but that chord progression -- A, G, F, E7 -- repeats several times during the song, so once you know the form of the song, you have a huge advantage over someone who is chained to the written music and has no idea about the logic of the song.

So how does a person learn this "musical shorthand"? It's no secret -- there are books galore on learning chords, plus web sites that teach chords, or you could even pick up a chart of chords in your local music store.

Then buy a "fake book" -- a songbook with hundreds or even thousands of songs, each song showing just the melody of the song with the chord symbols listed above it. Each song alone would be known as a "lead sheet", but cumulatively the collection of songs is known as a "fake book". Then every day play a dozen or so songs just with the melody in your right hand and the chord in your left hand. It will sound barren at first, but you're learning how it works.

After a couple weeks of that, instead of playing the melody in your right hand, sing the melody (doesn't matter at all how it sounds) and use your right hand to break up the notes of the chord you are playing in your left hand. Once you get the hang of it, you can start breaking up the chord in both hands and experimenting with various rhythm patterns.

I am not saying it's easy; I am saying it's fun and exciting and that it is worth it many times over!

Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions- Intelligent Piano Lessons For Adults Only! " with over 84,400 current subscribers.

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Is My Child Old Enough to Start Piano-Music Lessons?

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

 

Before I give you my opinion on this, I want you to ask yourself this question: ?Why do I want my child to take piano lessons??

Proper answers should include these types of responses:

  • ?I want to give my child a love for music that they can enjoy and carry on throughout their entire life.?
  • ?I want to give my child a boost in creativity and spatial reasoning skills by studying music.?
They should not be this:
  • ?I want my child to be involved in music from an early age because I hear that they can earn big scholarships to colleges/universitiesand I wont have the money to send them to a good school."
  • ?I want my child to be a famous music star!?
  • ?I took lessons when I was young and hated them, but I wish I would have kept going, so now I am going to force my child to take lessons so that they don?t have the same regret that I do."
Although these 3 responses, phrased differently, may have some positives, they are focused on YOU, and not your child. Please make sure that you are enrolling them in piano lessons because you want them to have a great experience that they can enjoy and keep with them for the rest of their lives, while increasing their brain?s capacity for doing math and other augmenting other reasoning skills. With that being said, let me answer the first question, ?Is my child old enough to start piano lessons?? This depends on a number of factors:

  • Can your child physically sit still for at least a half-hour? (The typical length of a beginning-level piano lesson)
  • Can your child mentally focus on doing what is expected of them for at least a half-hour?
  • Does you child need you to be in the room, or will they suffer from separation anxiety causing them to be focused on where you are and not at the task at hand, which is learning music?
  • Can your child read the letters of the alphabet?
  • Can your child read and count numbers?
  • Can they do very simple addition like 2+2=4?
  • Do they get enough exposure to the types of music that would complement what they will be learning?
Although each of these factors can be worked around in some fashion, especially when first starting out in music, these could be considered a good list of pre-requisites. In my personal experience, I have started children as early as 4, but suggest that they probably wait till 5, in order to be more familiar with the pre-requisites I just spoke of. One of the good things about learning to read notes, at such an early age, is that children pick up on them rather quickly. They are learning to read the letters of the alphabet (putting a name to a symbol) which is exactly the same thing as learning to read the notes. The closer together these two experiences happen (learning to read letters and learning to read notes) the better. I have even heard of parents using flash cards with notes on them (can be picked up at just about any music store) while doing letters of the alphabet at the same time and find that their children learn both equally as fast, and better yet retain them! This can be a great advantage because once they can read music (both treble and bass clefs), learning to play an instrument becomes very easy, since it is a matter of motor coordination (something that is generally easier to learn once the ?notes are out of the way?.)

It is also beneficial for your child to have friends that are going through the experience of learning music at the same time. They often will want to show each other what they have learned and play together. This is exactly what happened to me. I had friends that were taking lessons and showing me what they were learning and I wanted to do the same thing. Before I knew it, we were in school band together (now playing band instruments as well as piano) and were enjoying it ?socially?.

I wish you and your child/children all the success in the world and welcome any questions that you may have for me. Please feel free to contact me at my website:

http://JerryGreene.Com

Jerry A. Greene is a private music teacher in the San Antonio, TX area. If you are interested in taking private lessons with him, please click one of the links below:
Piano Lessons in San Antonio, TXPrivate In-Home Music Lessons in San Antonio, TX

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Jazz Piano Lessons - A Whole New Approach

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Jazz. Just the word alone sounds musical. If you're looking for jazz piano lessons and a new way to play jazz piano, read on!

For the most part, jazz piano lessons begin with the study of chords. And that's a good thing! But chords alone will not help you make music. Sure, chords are important. But so is the other half of learning piano improvisation and that has everything to do with TRUSTING YOUR INTUITION!

This is where the usual jazz piano lesson routine falls apart. You're taught chords yes. But what do you do with these chords? You create music with them.

Now, most jazz students have as their goal, the ability to comp. They want to be part of a trio or duo or some other combination of musical group. The most common of these is the jazz trio. Here we have keyboards, bass, and drums. And this makes a very nice combo. But if you're interested in playing solo, you have a different problem.

The solo jazz pianist has to not only know how to play chords, but how to read from a lead sheet. A lead sheet gives you the chord symbols and the melody line and that is all you need to create your own arrangements.

There are many fine books out there for the aspiring jazz pianist to learn the art of soloing. But one thing most of these books don't teach you is how to improvise and compose YOUR OWN MUSIC!

It's no surprise that there's a shortage on this kind of instruction. It's not in high demand. As I mentioned before, most jazz pianists in training want to learn how to play in a group setting. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to learn how to compose your own music?

If you understand and can play 4 and 8-bar phrases, you're already aware of the importance of repetition and contrast in music. Repetition and contrast are the cornerstones of composition.

Listen, if you're already taking jazz piano lessons and want to learn the art of composition on your own, study and learn how to play in 4 and 8-bar phrases. It will serve you well in the long run.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Best Way To Learn The Piano

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Is there any other educational area where students are taught only in a one-on-one situation, not really?

In essence, this is what classical piano students do. It is very important and monotonous for students who are learning to play the piano to practice everyday, this takes discipline which you do not see in children or parents. Both of these attitudes create artificial limitations for students that hinder their ability to grow and develop musically. Here?s the message piano students need to hear -- ?Your effort matters and it makes a difference.

However, about a third of parents do too much and try to take over responsibility for their child?s progress, which hinders their child?s ability to develop positive learning skills on their own. To help their children learn and accomplish their goals, parents need to focus on the process and content of the learning rather than the final product.What the young student doesn?t understand is the piano learning process.

Private lessons have good and bad connotation associated with them, sometimes children create a dependence on the teacher and it is hard for children to overcome this and children are not encouraged to develop their own independence when it comes to learning the necessary skills, on the other hand having the one on one teaching is very beneficial to the child because more can get accomplished in a shorter period of time. Plus, there is no point in having your child spend 30 minutes practicing incorrectly without learning their pieces when the material can be mastered in 10 minutes with good practice habits.

Because parents are in charge of their children?s schedule and curriculum, home school students can set their own pace and spend more time on music than in the public or private schools. Music is even more fun when you can share it with others. Young children have the ability to learn music theory and are able to learn concepts on the keyboard as the children grow and develop their musical ear.

If your children know their alphabet and how to identify numbers and count, they?re old enough to start learning music theory. With the rise of the internet more adults have learned that taking piano lesson does not have be taught in classrooms or studios it can be taught over the internet, this helps with today?s busy schedules and adults do not have to be locked into a schedule.

Well, you might find this hard to believe, but encouraging your child taking piano lessons to practice doesn?t have to be a struggle. They do want to be sure, however, that their young child is old enough to benefit from formal musical training.

One of the choices that parents have when their child is beginning piano lessons is whether to enroll their son or daughter in a private or group lesson.

Over time this will make sitting down at the piano to practice feel more natural to your young child or your older beginner and make learning easier. Establish a routine practice time.

Set meaningful goals that will last, focus on the ?What? and the ?Why. Writing down the goals and dreams that first motivated you to give your child the gift of piano lessons provides a reminder that will keep your energy focused over the long term.

David Marc Fishman is the owner of www.bornasuperstar.com The online audition for magicians

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Learn Piano Rapidly With The Chord Based Approach

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Have you always wanted to play the piano for fun but can?t seem to get started?

Most people have the desire to be able to play piano but don?t know which approach to take. There are in general two approaches to learning the piano: the traditional method and the chord based approach. One approach may be a better fit for you, but if you want to start having fun right away, the chord based approach is the way to go. Here are some benefits of the chord based approach to learning the piano.

1. The chord based approach allows you to have fun from day one! The traditional method focuses heavily on sight reading. You?re required to practice scales and sight reading music of the masters such as Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. It takes some time before you can be able to sound half way decent. The chord based approach to piano learning is all about learning chords. Yes, you will still learn to read music, but it?s very minimal. After learning a few chords and some practice, you?ll be able to play songs right away. You?ll be able to play pop songs, gospel, show tunes, jazz, etc, basically anything except classical music.

2. It?s much inexpensive to learn the chord based approach. Compared to the classical method, the chord based approach is cheap. You might have to spend anywhere from $45-$65 for a one-hour lesson with the traditional approach. Depending on your motivation and how fast you learn, it might take weeks, months, or even years before you get good. With the chord based approach all it takes is learning some chords and you?re off to go. You can even teach yourself how to play piano the chord style approach for cheap. There are many self study courses available that you can find on the internet for a fraction of what you?d have to pay for with the traditional approach.

3. The chord based approach allows you to unravel the mystery of music. Classical pianists might be able to play Chopin Etudes at lightning speed, but they have no idea if what they?re playing is a Cm9 or FMaj13. Chord-based piano players, however, are always conscious of what they?re playing. Thus, they?re more proactive to music. With the chord based approach you learn a few rules on how chord construction and once you know the rules you can pretty much figure out on your own. Think of it as learning how to fish as opposed to having a fish caught for you. Big difference.

There?s nothing wrong with learning the classical method. If your goal is to become a classical pianist, by all means choose a great local teacher to learn from. However, if all you want is to have fun learning the piano in the shortest time possible, then the chord style approach might be a better choice for you. You can always go back and add classical music to your repertoire later on, if you wish.

Alex Nguyen is a ?Rapid Piano Expert? who has been playing the piano for over 20 years. Now he?s helping others learn to play the piano rapidly and enjoy it from day one. To get your FREE mini report ?The 7 Most Powerful Tips To Learning The Piano Rapidly,? and learn how you can get personal piano coaching from Alex for FREE for a very limited time, go to http://www.RapidPiano.com

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, September 14, 2007

Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions

Simple Step By Step Piano Lesson. If You Cant Learn Piano From These Lessons Then You Cant Learn Piano Anymore

           

         >>  Dont Even Think Of Trying Other Prodicts untill You Read This <<

 

Piano arranging is the process by which you take a written piece of music and rework it with chords, adding new bass accompaniment, fills, or even slightly altering the song's structure. And while it's a process that takes years to truly master, anyone with a basic education in piano and a working knowledge of a few key techniques can create an inventive, satisfying arrangement. It all boils down to one thing: chord recognition. And anyone who plays a little piano can learn piano chords to add excitement to their piano playing.

Most people learn to play the piano by playing just the written music. Playing by written music is exactly what the phrase says it is; playing the exact notation on a piece of sheet music. But playing by chord symbol is a little different. Instead of following the harmony note by note, you follow the chord symbols (i.e. C7 or F) written above the harmonies, filling in the gaps with whatever you want as long as it sticks to those chords. Of course, you'll still read the melody (it is, after all, often what makes the song recognizable) but even that is completely open to interpretation. Playing by chord symbol allows you a freedom that playing by written music simply doesn't. The freedom to create. The freedom to invent. The freedom to arrange chord patterns in the way you want.

Does that mean playing by written music is less important than playing by chord symbol? Absolutely not! The ability to play by written music is an extremely valuable skill, one that even some of the most famous musicians don't possess. And while you don't necessarily need to know the skill backwards and forwards to create great arrangements, it's a tremendous help.

Think about it this way. Some of the most revered modern artists create paintings that look very simple, very rudimentary. But the majority of those artists went to art school for years before they began creating that sort of work. They learned the fundamentals of drawing and painting, of color composition and light; they learned to draw or paint something exactly as it actually looks. Only after they mastered those skills did they move on to create the simple, yet often innovative, work that hangs in galleries and museums; work that still abides by several basic principles. They learned the craft before bringing their imagination into it; after all, you have to understand the rules in order to break them.

So after you have learned the basics of reading piano sheet music, consider learning chords and chord symbols (such as G7, Fm, etc.) and chord progressions. There are many places online where you can learn all about chords; just type in "piano chords" or "chord piano" into your search browser, and you will find several to choose from. When you can both read the written sheet music and then add chords and chord progressions to your piano playing, you have the very best of all musical worlds.

Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions- Intelligent Piano Lessons For Adults Only! " with over 84,400 current subscribers.

Labels: , , , ,