Play Piano Instantly - Even If You Don't Know Where Middle C Is!

           

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So, you've been dying to play the piano. But you don't want to spend years learning how to read music. Of course you don't! And you won't have to IF you learn a chord-based approach to playing the piano.

Here's a method I use to get my students playing piano in a flash. First, you need to learn a few chords. But not just any chord type. No. The chord type I have my students learn first is something called the open position chord. And with it, you'll be able to create your own unique music right away!

The open position chord is exactly what its name implies. It's a chord structure that covers more than 2 octaves of the keyboard AND uses both hands right away. If you don't know what an octave is, not to worry. Suffice it to say that 2 octaves are over 16 white keys. It's a handful to play this chord structure but once you master it, you'll be well on your way to unlocking the secrets of keyboard harmony.

So, how exactly can we use this chord to create music with? Easy. Take a look at my free piano lesson "Reflections in Water" (available by clicking below.) The first thing you notice about this lesson is that it's unusual. It's not your typical piano lesson by far. In fact, you might even think it looks like an art lesson - and you'd be right! I specifically designed the lessons using a step by step approach that many art instruction books use.

The lesson contains four open position piano chords with fingering diagrams. The beautiful thing about this chord structure is that once you master it, you can easily use it to play ALL the chords in all 12 keys. The first thing I ask you to do is play the chords - first all tones together (solid chords) and then with the tones broken up (broken chords.)

Once you have this chord structure under your fingers and you've developed a muscle memory for it, the rest is easy!

In the lesson "Reflections in Water," we use this chord structure to improvise a few minutes of music. The chord progression is laid out for you and all you have to do is simply follow along. I also provide audio examples so you can hear how I used the same chords to improvise with.

If you really want to play piano in a flash and don't want to wait, try the open position piano chord. You won't be disappointed!

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!

How To Play Piano Despite Years Of Lesson

           

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Why is it that after years of studying something as a child, we forget later in life what we learned? Such is the common question of how to play piano despite years of lesson. Here i get you back to playing music even if you think you've lost it, and have begun to give up on how to play piano despite years of lesson.

First, realize that you have had lesson in piano, years of it perhaps, and that DOES count for a whole lot. How to play piano despite years of lesson entails mentally realizing that you really are only a step or two away from being able to play piano. The problem is that it seems like that first step is a big hurdle, and obviously a frustrating one having already had lesson, but unable to play.

Second: Start slow, do scales. Get the basic scales out and go through them. It took me actually having to number my keyboard at first, i had forgotten so much. From there i was able to translate the numbers to notes, and the scales began to get familiar. So often in trying to figure how to play piano despite years of lesson we don't want to succumb back to the simple things. This scale practice is also preparation for the next step.

Third. Twinkle twinkle little star. That's correct. I can't think of a better way to get back in the game and figure how to play piano despite years of lesson than to go back to a simple melody or song and start playing it over and over. This connects everything - the notes, fingerings, melody and sound - all together as one, and the simplest route is by practicing a simple children's song. Again the hardest part is going to mentally get over the hurdle of playing little kids songs when you "feel" as if you should be playing grander pieces. But if one wants to get to grander pieces and answer the question of how to play piano despite years of lesson, then one has to bite the bullet and get back to raw basics.

Finally, one should research new ways of learning to play piano! Since most people last took lessons years ago, they may not realize that new methods or techniques have come out that can cut to the chase much more clearly and quickly than before. From teachers to online courses, there are different outlets and methods to now explore while realizing how to play piano despite years of lesson is definitely an achievable goal!

Quick and Easy Piano learning methods do now exist. Check out http://www.squidoo.com/easy-piano-play/ for Chess's blog to further find out how to play piano despite years of lesson. Thanks so much for reading and feel free to check out http://www.squidoo.com/easy-piano-play/ Thanks!

Learn To Play Amazing Grace With Piano Tabs

           

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You can learn to play popular melodies without sheet music. Today you will learn to use piano tab notation to learn a popular song!

Piano tabs show you where to play the notes on the piano. We will today use the numbers 1 to 8 to help you find the notes.

First we will locate the note 1. It is the note that is found to the left of two black keys. There are many such places on a piano but I suggest that you choose a number one somewhere in the middle of the keyboard.

The note 1 is also called C. The notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and 8 are also called C D E F G A B and C.

The note named 2 in our piano tab notation is the white key immediately to the right of 1. Then note 3 is the white key to the right of 2 and so on.

Let's start by taking a look at the lyrics for the first verse:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see

We will start to play the melody to the first line of lyrics:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

1 4 6 4 6 5 4 2 1

This type of piano tab does not tell you the length of the notes. If you sing the lyrics you will probably feel how long the notes should be.

Time for the next line:

That saved a wretch like me

1 4 6 4 6 5 6 8

Maybe you are using your right hand index finger to play all notes and I guess it works with this easy melody. I suggest that you try to use all right hand fingers to play the melody, including the thumb.

This will help you prepare for more difficult piano pieces and when you get used to play this way you will feel that it is in fact easier to play this way.

Here are the next piano tab:

I once was lost, but now am found

6 8 6 4 6 5 4 2 1

The last line is here:

Was blind, but now I see

1 4 6 4 6 5 4

If you want to play chords with your left hand I will give you three piano chords that will work with the song.

I will write them down with the same piano tab notation you already know but you of course have to play the chords starting with a 1 note somewhere to the left of the numbers you use for the melody:

F: 1 4 6

Bb: 2 4 7b

C7: 1 3 7b

7b means that you instead of playing on the white 7 key should play the black key to the left of the white key 7.

In the following text I have placed the chord names in parenthesis immediately before the syllable on which to play the chord:

A-(F)mazing Grace, how (Bb)sweet the (F)sound
That (F)saved a wretch like (C7)me
I (F)once was lost, but (Bb)now am (F)found
Was (F)blind, but (C7)now I (F)see

As my old piano teacher used to say, learn one thing at a time. Start with learning the right hand melody by heart, line by line. Learn to play the chords by heart and then try to sing the song together with the chords.

When you have learned to sing the song with the chords by heart it's time to combine the melody with the chords. By now it should be easy.

Peter Edvinsson invites you to download your free piano sheet music, guitar tabs, ebooks, music lessons and read his music blog at Capotasto Music.

Learning Through Sheet Music For Guitar

           

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Encouraging your child to learn to play a musical instrument is a lovely gesture. Granted not all children are interested in learning how to play the guitar, the violin or the piano, but if they are, it's nice if a parent can present opportunities for them to pursue that. If your child is interested in learning the guitar, it's a good idea to find some sheet music for guitar that is at the playing level they're at.

Traditionally people who wanted to learn and play the guitar were restricted to purchasing books filled with music. Many sheet music for guitar books may have included dozens of songs by a particular artist or they centered on a specific theme such as summer songs or holiday tunes. Now it's a bit different, as you can find all kinds of sheet music for guitars on the Internet.

The first thing to do when looking for music is to determine what level the person playing the instrument is at. Obviously you don't want to give complicated sheet music for guitar that includes many notes and a fast tempo to a beginning player. They would struggle with this and more than likely it would frustrate them. Instead choose music that complements their current ability.

One way to get a child, in particular, to practice more is to give them songs that they enjoy. If you give a child sheet music for guitar that is for a song they've never heard of, they are less likely to want to practice it. However, if you find songs that they listen to on the radio or have sung in school, they are going to want to master those. They'll want to learn them quickly so they can impress not only their friends, but themselves.

Asking the child what songs they dream of playing is a good start. If they tell you a song that you know is beyond their current playing ability, encourage them to keep practicing and suggest other songs that you know they enjoy.

Also, explain to the child that they don't need to learn the entire song in one sitting. If they are working on a specific chord with their guitar teacher and they take a few days or weeks to learn that, reward them by telling them how proud you are. This will be the impetus they need to continue learning until they can play the entire song all at once.

Once the child feels very comfortable, they can begin to play songs that are a bit more difficult. Purchasing new sheet music for guitar for them as they progress from one playing level to another is the perfect way to constantly show them you believe strongly in their ability.

IntoTheArts gives our readers the latest updates on music & other entertainment related news.

Play Piano As Fast As Possible

           

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Proven Tips, Tools and Tactics (that anyone can learn) to Play Rock, Pop, Blues, R&B and "Smooth Jazz Piano.

One of the rules of practicing we all hear over and over is "Be sure to practice slowly."  (I'm guilty of this too!)  Often the result of this is a feeling of inhibition, which leads to tedium.  Picture yourself filled with excitement and yearning in setting out to learn a new piece.  Suddenly a voice from the darkness whispers: "Don't touch those keys!  Sit erect, play slowly, stay strictly in time, watch that fingering..." and your smile is gone.  I'm beginning to feel a cramp just talking about it.

The fact is, a certain amount of slow practice and attention to small scale detail is absolutely necessary.  But there is something lacking in the approach so many of us have taken; we set out to make music, and end up playing what amounts to no more than a series of sterile exercises.

How can we overcome this problem?

First of all, it's important to remember that music comes to life through shading, dynamics, differences in touch, the shapes of its phrases, the rhythmic vitality that is so much a part of the right tempo.  These qualities are all missing in a slow, rigid "practice" version of a piece.  They are just as essential as correct fingering, and they don't come across without careful work.

So, perhaps we should change that rule from "Be sure to practice slowly" to "Practice as fast as possible."  But Wait!  This requires some further discussion.  The slow part of practice helps teach the fingers where to go, and makes it mush easier to learn the work.  But in order to learn how to create music, how to make the piece singwe must practice it at a tempo that will help reveal musical relationships and subtleties of form.  Pianists must have the opportunity to experiment with touch and phrasing while practicing, and there is little chance of boredom when so many exciting elements are introduced to the practice session.

In my E-book, I've included many basic exercises with background music to assist you in acquiring this level of keyboard performance.  In other words, you will be practicing with other instrumentalists.  You will hear the drums, bass and an unobtrusive piano accompaniment that provides a harmonic blanket for YOU to practice your course material!

Ideally, then, both ways of practicing should be used! 

First, we should practice slowly enough to learn the notes and fingerings.  Then, we should "practice as fast as possible"; that is, as fast as we can without losing control of the basics we learned in slow practice.

Here' how this would work.  Take a short part of the piece; you might choose a four- or eight-measure phrase.  Practice it slowly.  When you feel comfortable with the music, increase the tempo.  Don't wait until you've practiced the entire work slowly.  In this way, at each sitting you'll get to learn a little section, bring it up to tempo, and feel into what is needed to bring it to life.

At the next sitting, work on the next four or eight measure.  When you have that section brought up to tempo, combine it with the first section.  Now, you will begin to understand how the phrases relate to each other.  You can introduce the idea of dynamic shading and decide which lines to bring out at a given moment.  In fact, you will be making real, exciting musiceven before you've learned the whole piece!

As you go on in this way, you will probably change your mind about how to play the work as new sections are added.  This is part of the process of discovery and experimentation.  Concert artists are always re-interpreting, because they think about these elements all the time.

So play as slowly as you need to; but as fast as you are able!

I wish you the best of success.

Ron Worthy

Ron Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer.  His Website, Play Piano Like a PRO, offers online multimedia piano instruction for all ages.

Private Piano Lessons are a Waste of Money!

           

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Have you wasted your money? Are you wasting your money? Or are you about to waste your money on private piano lessons?

In the following article you will find out exactly what I mean.

* * Private Piano Lessons Are a Waste of Money! * *

When you are starting out, you will realize that there are lots of different ways you can learn the piano.

* From a book * Private teacher * Online lessons * Music School (group lessons)

All of them have their advantages and disadvantages.

What you are about to learn in the following article is the advantages and disadvantages of having private lessons and the answer to the controversial statement "private piano lessons are a waste of money".

Having private piano lessons means one-to-one piano lessons in your own home or at your teacher's home.

* * Piano lessons in your home * *

- - Advantages - -

* Saves you time, zero traveling * You can make "your own cup of tea just the way you like it" * You can keep up-to-date with your favorite TV program at the same time!? * You can disappear to the toilet at anytime to escape from the boredom

Only joking! But it really does happen sometimes. Really there is only ONE advantage and that is saving the time it takes to travel to lessons.

- - Disadvantages - -

Distraction is the biggest disadvantage if you decide to have piano lessons at home. It really is unavoidable.

* Your phone rings * Your dog is barking and wants attention * Your neighbor is banging nails into the wall * Your other neighbor is 'not the greatest fan of the piano' and is banging something else on the wall * Your teacher is stuck in traffic and is running late * Your teacher complains every week about the poor quality of your piano, and that it is always out of tune * Private piano lessons are incredibly expensive and you usually have to commit for a certain period of time

And on...and on...Well, you get the idea.

Distractions affect your concentration, your ability to learn and remember things and it really wastes everyone's time.

* * Private lessons in the piano teacher's home * * If you don't have to travel too far and can avoid traffic jams then having piano lessons at your teacher's home is better than in your own home.

- - Advantages - -

* Your teacher's piano is usually a good one, and is normally in tune * You rarely get distractions at your teacher's home

- - Disadvantages - -

* Traveling time * Stressful driving in traffic * Finding a parking space * Parking costs * Fuel or public transport costs

- - Conclusion - -

Private piano lessons at home are ok if you have an endless supply of money (who has?), and distractions do not bother you.

Piano lessons in your teacher's home are slightly better, but the boredom level is significantly increased!

- - The Answer - -

Go and learn by yourself! Buy an online piano course (not a free one, as you usually don't get enough information).

The best online piano courses usually cost less than $50 and you get the same information and sometimes more than any teacher would give you.

You can also study the course in your own time, in the comfort of your own home, with your feet up on the desk, sipping the best cup of tea in the world ;-)

P.S. You may think that I'm out on a mission in this article to bash private piano teachers. This is NOT the case. There comes a time when you reach a certain level that having private piano lessons is the ONLY option. I am simply stating that these days there are much cheaper and more convenient ways for beginners to learn the piano.

There is a free piano course I have created for you below. It will give you a taster for piano lessons without you having to spend any money. I have given as much information, tips and techniques as possible.

Graham Howard is considered an expert in the piano industry. He has spent his whole life SURROUNDED by pianos. You can get "Learn How to Play Piano, Read Chords, Understand Rhythm and Read Music", a free 5-part mini course written by Graham Howard here: http://www.alltalents.co.uk/Free_Piano_Lessons.html

[You're free to use this article on your website or newsletter as long as it remains intact and includes the author's biog box]

Jazz Piano Lessons - A Whole New Approach

           

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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!

Private Piano Lessons - Are They a Waste of Time?

           

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

 

Let me say from the start that I have nothing against private piano lessons. I think there are good teachers out there who can help you reach your goals. Having said that, I do have some things to say about them from personal experience.

My goal was to find a private piano teacher who could help me create my own music in the style I enjoyed - New Age piano. I knew a few chords but what I really wanted was a mentor; someone who could already compose and improvise and help me do the same. And so I searched my city of San Diego for a teacher.

I found someone who I thought could help me (because of the brochure he mailed) and made an appointment. The first thing he did was assess what I already knew?which was what he was supposed to do. Fine. I showed him the chords I could play.

Then, for some bizarre reason, he started writing out chords on a piece of paper and that was the rest of the lesson! Talk about disappointing! And a waste of time and money.

I soon discovered, much to my dismay, that I probably wasn't going to find private piano lessons that would help me reach my goal. Now, if my goal was learning classical piano, there are literally thousands of teachers out there who could just whip out a folio and have me go through the book.

But I really wanted to be able to create my OWN music. Why was that so difficult?

My search finally took me to my local libraries where I discovered the books and materials to help me.

Look, I'm not saying that there aren't any good private piano lessons out there. I'm saying there are other ways to reach your music goals.

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 2 FREE piano lessons!

Learning Piano by Ear - Good or Bad Idea?

           

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There are many websites which claim to teach you to play piano by ear. But, the real question is; does it work? Can you truly learn to play the piano strictly by ear? While I believe it is possible, I believe that this method has its limitations.

First of all, learning to play by ear generally means that you need to be able to hear pitch and gage the quality of chords with your ear. In other words you would need to be able to distinguish the difference between major and minor chords, dominant and diminished etc. The only problem is most people do not possess an ear capable of such distinctions.

I?ve been playing the piano for 36 years and I often cannot tell the difference between chords. How is someone with no experience supposed to do this? Does this mean that my ear isn?t any good? Quite the contrary, I have very good relative pitch and can often hear entire chord progressions but often miss the nuances of each specific chord. Therefore an approach which is solely geared to hearing the changes has its limitations.

The other problem with learning by ear is that you cannot gain a complete understanding of music just by listening. You see, music is like math. It has formative structure derived from centuries of musicians and teachers who have dedicated their lives to the understanding a betterment of each specific musical genre. To discount this process and work around it using just your ear is counter productive.

For example; let?s say you?re going to learn to play the blues. If you learn by ear that would mean you would have to hear not only the dominant seventh chords, then the melody which is derived from the blues scale, the rhythm which comes from structured meter and the re-harmonization of the chord structure all without understanding the words I just said. It would mean you would have to hear all of this without knowing what its called, how it works and how it all comes together. You would learn by watching someone else play the piano, copy it and repeat it until it sounds the same as what you just hear.

Not only is this a completely inefficient way of learning it is highly limited because you cannot gain an understanding of what it is you?re actually doing. Only until you are able to comprehend and dissect each specific aspect of the music can you fully appreciate and learn from it.

I believe that it?s highly productive to learn how music is formulated rather than just hearing it and trying to repeat it. Why? Because that way you can stretch the boundaries of learning and be able to move your playing to another level. Even if you were able to copy certain aspects of learning to play by ear that would severely limit you from moving beyond that point because you simply cannot understand what it is you?re doing.

It would be like trying to build a house with no foundation. Eventually if you wanted to add an extra floor of musical knowledge your paper thin layer of foundation and understanding couldn?t possibly support it.

So, what?s a better way to learn? Choose a teacher or online piano lessons that can help you build a strong foundation. In other words, pick a course that helps you with the basic understanding of how music works. Then you can use your ear to strengthen your understanding because the ear can converse with the mind and come to a consensus of how and why things sound the way they do.

Where do you start? Start with how chords and scales are made and use that information to formulate melody and structure. Your ear can support this process obviously but it?s the scales and chords that create the building blocks of true musical understanding.

It?s not enough to know how to play a simple F, G, C progression with melody. You need to know why and how this progression works and why it sounds the way it does. Then and only then can you begin to build on that foundation by learning richer chords, re-harmonization and more complicated melodies.

For example; F, G, C can sound so much better if you play it as Fmaj7, D-7, G7, Db7, Cmaj7. This is the same chord progression but re-harmonized to sound richer and more pleasing to the ear. How can you possibly do this if you use only your ear? For the vast majority of people who want to learn to play the piano it?s impossible. So, next time you?re thinking of learning just by ear, you might want to reconsider that plan. Why limit yourself?

Online piano lessons are becoming very popular and Paul Tobey, a professional concert pianist, offer a free piano lesson to and student wishing to participate. One piano lesson is all it takes to decide if he is the right teacher for you.

Learning To Play Piano Chords

           

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If you are playing several notes at the same time, then you are playing piano chords. Simply put, when multiple notes are played together, piano chords are achieved. The chords then come together to form a melody. Every song that you hear has a melody and it is through each melody that music is achieved. Sound complicated? Well, that?s ok because it really isn?t as difficult as it sounds.

As a musician, whether it be professional or hobbyist, you will need to learn the various types of piano chords. The more that you understand about piano chords, the more variety you will have when playing. If you want to write your own music, you not only need an ear for tunes, but also the understanding of how to make them come together. A good instructor will introduce you to piano chords during lessons.

If you already have some experience, but simply want a better understanding of advanced piano chords, discuss these options with a private tutor or music teacher. By gaining an understanding of what sounds good and what doesn?t, you will have the undeniable edge over other budding musicians.

Every piano has 88 keys and while it may seem intimidating to learn piano chords, it actually comes down to memory. When typing on the computer, you know which keys to press in order to make a lowercase letters change to uppercase, right? By studying piano chords, you will begin to understand which keys to press at the same time in order to play a chord. During your introduction to learning piano, an instructor will cover some of the basic chords and you will come to know their sound when you hear them. After enough practice, you will be able to immediately identify piano chords by ear.

There are several other ways to help in your learning of piano chords, including instructional books, tutorials and videos. In the beginning, it may even help to label the keys until you have a better understanding of each of their unique sounds. As you progress in your learning, you can remove the identification labels and play using any arrangement of sheet music. Learning to identify notes will play a large part in your understanding of piano chords. As you move through your studies, you will learn all of the terminology associated with piano playing and the definition of each.

Learning piano chords is a very important part of the process, but it does require a certain degree of patience. Always remember that time will lessen the difficulty and, before you know it, you will be playing and identifying piano chords by ear. While it may seem intimidating at first, you will soon begin to notice the ease of playing piano chords will come naturally. Happy tunes!

Ian Williamson is the owner of The top learn to play piano site.