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To truly learn to play the piano well, piano lessons and a proper instructor are of utmost importance. Sure, there have been many great self-taught piano players throughout the history of the piano, but even the most naturally gifted piano players know the benefits of having a good mentor can result in a much quicker and more well-rounded learning process for the average beginning pianist. When I say “much quicker,” I do not mean that a qualified piano instructor will magically turn you into a concert pianist in a week’s time, because it takes years to truly reach an advanced level of piano playing, even for the gifted students. The reason that proper piano instruction is vital to the learning process is that it enables the piano student to learn proper piano playing techniques from a qualified source and gives the student an additional perspective rather than being only self-taught.

Of course, the styles of each piano instructor you meet may vary, but their teaching should always cover the same five basic topics: fingering and posture, reading music, scales, technique, and sight reading. The proper fingering and posture should be taught earliest, due to the importance of a piano student knowing how to their hands and where to place them on the piano keys. The basis of this area of study should be repetitive practicing of scales. Soon after, the piano student should start learning how to read music notation beginning with the very simplest notes, key signatures and time signatures before moving on to more advanced ideas.

Piano teachers introduce most of these ideas into the piano lessons at the same time the student is learning to read music notation. Learning to read music is an area of practice that will continue throughout the full course of learning to play the piano. A piano teacher will usually begin a student with easy musical pieces to start off with, and gradually increase the difficulty level and introduce the piano student to more advanced assignments. After the student is adequately knowledgeable in reading music, a piano teacher might introduce the student to Sight Reading, which is the term used for playing a piece of piano music without having seen it before.

Another detail of properly learning to play the piano is studying and practicing music theory and chords. Chords and music theory are extremely valuable aspects of a pianist’s learning process. When learning to read music, a beginning piano player should be taught to understand the theory behind the music, rather than simply relying on sheet music. There may be instances in a pianist’s life in which he or she will have to perform without the aid of sheet music, and this is where the value of knowing chords and music theory kicks in. Unfortunately, many piano instructors seem to leave this factor out of their piano lesson plans, but with chords and music theory mixed in with all other quality piano instruction, the beginning piano player begins to grow as a pianist since all of the elements of instruction are working together. Learning to play the piano then becomes simply gaining knowledge gradually over time, and it only gets easier and more enjoyable!



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


Even the most avid of piano players sometimes dread practicing. Sometimes that dread can sabotage your practice time. Don’t sit down at the piano feeling negative before you even begin. Use one or more of the following piano practice tips to help make the most of your time:

* Always start by warming up. You already know that warming up gets your muscles moving. You may not be aware that warming up also stimulates your brain. Specifically, it wakes up that part of your brain that you use to remember notes. It’s the part that guides your fingers, giving you the ability to play notes without having to look at your hands. Nothing gets those neurons firing like running a few scales. The faster you can get your brain going, the more efficient your piano practice time will be.

* Remove distractions. Hopefully your piano is in a room with a door that closes. Shut the door. Turn off the television and stereo. Teach your household members to respect your practice time and not bother you.

* Sing along. If you’re playing a song that has words, sing along. It might seem a bit awkward at first. If you can get past that feeling, you might find this improves your skills. Singing along stimulates the part of your brain that helps you multi-task. The more ways you can challenge your brain at once, the more punch you’ll pack into your practice time.

* Change it up. If you find it difficult to stay focused on your music for a half hour practice, break it up. Practice for 15 minute increments instead. Do a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening. Try other ways of changing the way you practice. Practice at different times every day. Practice your songs in a different order each time. Change can be a great way to keep your practice time fresh and exciting.

* Find what works for you. Some people like to start with the easiest piece and work up to bigger challenges. Others prefer to get the hard stuff out of the way. It’s important to do what works best for you. If you’re simply trying to copy someone else’s style, you may just be sabotaging yourself. Don’t set yourself up to fail. Set up your practice time in a way that produces success.

* Reward yourself at the end of your practice time. Even if you love to play the piano, it’s sometimes a chore to play what you’ve been assigned. Don’t let drudgery sap your motivation. End your time of practice by playing something fun. It doesn’t have to be something from your curriculum. Just play a piece that you enjoy. Or, spend a few minutes trying to make up your own tune. Knowing that you have that little reward to look forward to at the end will be motivating.

Playing the piano should be rewarding and personally fulfilling. This doesn’t mean practicing will always be fun. However, when you try some of these piano practice tips, you may find your time to be more efficient. Ultimately, you increase your chances of successful learning when you make the most of your practice time.



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


Jazz Piano is an integral part of jazz idiom since it has been incepted in both ensemble and solo settings. Due to its harmonic and melodic nature, the instrument is quite important for understanding the jazz arranging and theory. Along with a jazz guitar, a jazz piano is also one of those instruments of jazz combo which may be played with chords as with a trumpet or saxophone.

If you are into practice jazz piano you must know about jazz practice tool where chords are the primary substance in the instrument, and the second skill you will have to learn is how to play jazz piano with swing rhythm. Then is the skill of improvisation which requires you to make something on the spot. This is a skill that requires tremendous skills and extreme knowledge of the piano.

Earlier, the jazz piano used to be heavily stride technique and it was often played solo. Historically influential promoters of early piano include Earl Hines, Jelly Roll Morton, Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. The playing style of Mary Lou Williams, Wilie Smith and James P. Johnson shaped the history of jazz piano. The 1950s and the 1960s were the golden age of the jazz which created many important and influential jazz piano players. These powerful players included Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Don Pullen, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor and Horace Silver. The jazz pianists require an exclusive skills set and the piano’s extended range as a playing instrument offers the solo players an exhaustive variety of choices. One can use bass register for playing a pattern of ostinato such as that of a melodious counterline or boogie woogie emulating the playing of upright bass. Stride piano is a style of playing in which the left hand of the player changes positions rapidly while he plays notes in bass register and the chords in tenor register. This can also be done in a more syncopated variant.

Bill Evans sat at the front line of new generation players who emerged in 1960s including Chick Corea, John Taylor, Dave Brubeck and Keith Jarrett. Today, the popular figures in the field of jazz piano include Bill Charlap, Brad Mehldau, Jacky Terrasson, Danilo Perez and Geoffrey Keezer.



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


If a piano is the singer and a piano is the song, then a piano bench is the unnoticed drool that allows the song to come out smooth and silky.

While the analogy to drool sounds funny, it is in fact an accurate description of a piano bench’s duties. Just as a voice gets cracked and hoarse without saliva, a pianist will not be able to play the piano if the piano bench does not allow him or her to maintain good posture and properly reach the keys.

So just as it is important for a pianist to learn the notes, the keys and the inner workings of a piano, so too must a pianist learn to differentiate between a piano bench that suits his or her needs, and one that does not.

Position

This is the ultimate purpose of a piano bench: to provide the right position for a pianist to perform properly and with ease in front of a piano.

As playing the piano requires a great deal of coordination from the hands, a pianist must then place his or her hands comfortably over the keyboard. This allows the pianist to place his or her hands over the keyboard and strike the right note at just the right time with just the right force. This makes the way a pianist’s hands are positioned over the keyboard essential to his or her performance, and will either make or break song with the piano.

Posture

A pianist spends a lot of time practicing with the piano, especially when there is a major performance coming up. This then makes it necessary for his or her posture to be perfect.

A good posture not only looks good for the crowd, but it also prevents some serious back and hand injuries from occurring in the long run. Carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis are very real dangers to a pianist’s future, and should never be taken lightly. Thus, the height and placement of a piano bench must be taken carefully into consideration in order to correct a pianist’s posture as he or she plays the piano over time.

Comfort

While a piano bench may not look like a comfortable seating accessory, it must still offer the pianist a degree of comfort in order to allow him or her to play properly and with ease over time.

But even if the bench needs to be comfortable, that does not mean it has to be filled with layer upon layer of soft fluff in order for it to get the job done. The stiffness of the wood allows for a stable base of support for the pianist, while a little padding would help ease the pain of having to sit on a hard surface for prolonged periods of time.

A piano bench is an often overlooked part of the performance, as the pianist and the piano take center stage most of the time. However, this unobtrusive seating accessory will definitely impact a pianist’s performance in ways that only a pianist knows.

Just like drool.



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


Did you know that there are many piano players who are stark naked? Some of them probably live in your neighborhood. One of them might even be your next door neighbor.

They come in all shapes and sizes and ages. About half of them are female, so I guess you know what the other half are. When you see them out and about in the normal workday world you would never suspect a thing. They go to work, go to school and many of them go to church.

Would you like to sneak around with me and take a peek at these naked piano players?

Of course you know I’m putting you on. It’s not the person who plays the piano that is naked, it’s the music they play. They play “naked music.”

What in the world is “naked music?

You know it when you hear it, but the words that describe it sound strange, don’t they? We’ve all heard of popular music and rock music and gospel music and jazz music, but naked music?

Naked music is simply the notes on a piece of sheet music. It’s “naked” not dressed up or arranged at all. No fills, no slurs, none of the ingredients that make a song come to life.

Not a single professional musician plays the music exactly as it appears on a piece of sheet music. Instead, they use the written music as a map, or an outline, and then proceed to do their own thing with it. They twist it, bend it, add to it, subtract from it, put fills in it, change the key, change the words, change some of the melody notes, and on and on.

So when you hear your favorite artist perform a piece of music, if you look at the written sheet music while they are performing it, you will see it is MUCH different and MUCH better than the plain old “naked music!

So how can the average piano player dress up naked music? There are many ways, but here are seven of my favorites:

1. Change the chords slightly by adding color tones. What are color tones? Color tones are notes added to the basic chord, usually expressed as 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, etc. For example, instead of playing just a straight C chord as it is written C, E, G try adding a color tone to it, such as a 6th (A) or a 7th (Bb) or a major 7th (B) or a 9th (D). In fact, try adding a couple together, like a 6th and a 9th. So instead of being a plain vanilla chord made up of C, E, and G, you’ve made it a tasty variation adding A and D to the equation.

2. During the pause between phrases, add a counter melody. How? Take the given melody notes and turn them upside down or inside out, or change the rhythm slightly so the tune is still recognizable, but different.

3. Add chord substitutions. Instead of always using the chords that are written, ask yourself this question: “Into what other chord will this melody note fit?” For example, if the melody is G and the chord is C, what other chords contain the note G in them? There are several answers to that question. G is not only in the C chord, but it is also in the Em chord, the Eb major chord, the G chord, the Gm chord, etc. Try one of those alternate chords until you like the sound combination, then use it instead of the C chord. It will add an originality and freshness to your playing almost immediately.

4. Add fills and runs between phrases. How do you do that? Simply break up the chord that is in force at the moment, and run it up the keyboard as a broken chord one note at a time. Or start at the top of the keyboard and come down. Or play with the chord a bit by playing 2 of the 3 notes instead of the entire 3 note chord.

5. Use melodic echos. After you have played the melody, echo it by playing it an octave higher, or two octaves higher, or an octave lower.

6. Use half-step slides. If the chord progression is from D7 to G7, instead of going to G7 directly, “slide into it” by playing the chord that is one-half step above namely, Ab7, then quickly sliding off Ab7 to G7.

7. Use “blue notes.” Blue notes are created by sliding off a black key onto a white key quickly. For example, if the melody is E, slide off Eb to E quickly using the same finger.

This is just a tiny sampling of what you can do to dress up your music. There are literally hundreds of other techniques, from cascading waterfall runs to inside blues moves to deceptive cadences to tremolos to twangs to crunches to straddles to 3-1 breakups to walk-downs and walk-ups to jazz voicing chords and on and on.

By simply adding a few of these techniques to your playing you can easily double and triple the excitement created by your piano playing as you “dress up naked music!



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


 

The late 19th century witnessed the rise of the most important musical instrument of the time- the piano. The popularity of American music further boosted the demand for pianos, with more and more people desiring these instruments within the bounds of their homes.

 

Few entertainment channels available during the time accounted for the increased percentage of people who were proficient in piano playing. However, many people lacked the natural talent required of a composer and hence, simple arrangements were published ignoring the tough ones.

 

The phonograph was still in its infancy and people longed to listen to the performances of songwriters and professionals. The time was ideal for the origin of a new idea. The idea came in the garb of a player piano, aimed to change home music reproduction in a unique and profound way.

 

Self-playing piano of the 1890s was only a cabinet that needed to be pushed up to the keyboard of a standard piano. Named the piano player, this item consisted of a row of felt covered “fingers” that would depress the appropriate key as a perforated roll ran across a tracker bar. When a perforation uncovered a port in the tracker bar, suction would cause the “finger” to be actuated. This machine was originally nomenclated as the “pianola.

The turn of the 20th century saw the “pianola” as an integrated part of the piano. Though the consequence was a heavier piano, it got rid off cumbersome “pianola” cabinet. During that time, the player piano gradually soared in popularity charts and reached its peak in the 1920’s.

 

Player pianos took a great stride ahead with reproducing pianos. These pianos reproduced the performing nuances of a given performer, thus lending an artistic finesse to the performance. It seemed as if one had a real performer in the house! Since then, the saga of player pianos continues…



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


A piano lamp or piano light is something every piano player should have. Proper lighting is needed to perform or practice playing the piano. Whether you are beginner or amateur pianist just beginning to learn piano, or even if you are a more advanced piano player, lighting is a must. A piano light is of course designed to look nice and classy, but it’s primary function is to aid in giving proper illumination to your sheet music and piano keys, thereby improving your performance. It’s been proven that having good lighting when performing a task, such as reading, writing, painting, or playing a piano, will greatly improve comprehension levels.

There are many styles of piano lights to choose from. Piano lamps are custom designed to the style and shape of a piano. There are piano lights for grand pianos, baby grand pianos, upright pianos, and electronic keyboards. Some piano lamps clamp on to the music sheet holder on the piano, and others sit on the piano but may have adjustable arms to position the light correctly. Besides the various models and types of piano lights such as clamp-on grand piano lamps or balance arm models, you might want to consider a piano light that features a dimmer switch and adjustable height.

Piano lamps can be found in both battery powered or electric models. Brass, chrome or other metal is the most commonly used material for a piano light, and most lamps come with a sturdy heavy base to add stability, but as I said earlier, the clip-on variety can also be found. Not only will a nice piano lamp brighten your fabulous piano to bring out the beauty, but remember, proper lighting is an absolute requirement to playing the piano. Figure out which style of piano lamp you think will best suit your needs and make sure you get one if you don’t already have good lighting in your piano playing area.



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


The piano style is called “swing bass” because your left hand swings back and forth between a low note (or group of notes, such as a 10th, alternating with a chord in the area right below middle C.

You definitely know the sound of swing bass when you hear it, even though you may not know its characteristic name. The swing style of playing is great for the piano because of the left-hand, right-hand ability the piano affords. You can play swing bass on the piano with the left hand while the right hand improvises a melody over it.

Swing bass starts with an underlying lower register note feel given to a song. Its roots are in jazz from the 1920 to 1940 era. During the 1920s, dance music was very popular in North America. This dance music was of the jazz form. During this 20-year period, some of jazz music’s most creative musicians and composers stretched the limits of this music.

Dance music tradition dictated sticking to melodies as written. The pioneers of swing music and swing bass arrangements felt that melodies needed each individual musician’s interpretation. Improvisation became the norm, and jazz had a new form that gave musicians a lot of freedom for personal music expression.

Of course, these freer melodies required a supporting bass line that fit the swing style. The swing bass style developed based on rhythm, harmony, and melody elements. Other names for swing bass are “stride” or “striding bass”. The harmonic unit for swing bass is sometimes tenths in the left hand. The piano player plays notes that are 10 scale notes apart from each other, often with the 5th of the chord included between the root and the 10th (10th is the same as a 3rd, except an octave higher)taking big strides from the low group of notes up to the chord somewhere around or below middle C. Often on the 3rd beat of a measure the 5th of the chord is used as the low note, followed by another chord on the 4th beat.

The rhythmic unit for swing bass is a combination of half-note swing bass and quarter note walking bass. The walking bass involves playing the bass line in a single line, like a bass player would. The leaps are not as extreme in the walking bass. Therefore, a pianist can mix the great striding sounds of swing with the walking bass. This lends variety to a swing piece and gives it that unique jazz feel.

The melodic unit of swing music to improvise over the swing bass are quarter, eighth, sixteenth and triplet notes. Again, playing around with these note values to shorten or lengthen note sounds is at the heart of swing playing and jazz improvisation. A piano player can jazz up even the most basic popular song by adding swing elements to a piece.

The swing bass sound and feel is great for the piano because of the lower notes. A piano player can give a bass feel to a song without a string bass player present. The style a bass player would use can be part of the song, although the tone will be different. This is because string bass creates a warmer sound, while the piano makes a more percussive sound. While a string bass player can swing by bending strings and doing glissandos, a pianist cannot. The pianist can give the swing bass sound a more articulated, harder edge with the percussive abilities the keys afford.

When should piano players use the swing bass style? It is ideal when a song needs a strong bass sound in a solo performance. Without accompanying musicians to provide support, pianists can lay down their own swing bass line. In addition, a band missing the services of their bass player can have their pianists perform emergency swing bass services. They can vamp away with their left hand and still have the freedom to create right-hand melodies.

Swing bass is great for changing the mood of a song for jarring contrast. Staid semi-classical or traditional popular songs are great for this. Your listeners expect the next logical sounds to emanate from the piano, as is normal for the piece you are playing. They are familiar with the tune and have pre-conceived expectations of how it will sound. You can surprise them by tossing in a section with swing bass and improvised melody. It will delight and surprise them and keep them alert for any other surprises in the rest of your playing.

Consider the swing bass style for some of your piano playing. It is a great tool for lending spark and variety to songs. You will add a lot to your style as you practice this technique more and keep your audience swinging with your music.



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Piano Sheet Music Articles…


If you have never experienced the fun and joy of improvising on the piano, then you are missing out on a great experience. Imagine an artist who does not know how to draw or paint without tracing or copying another’s work.

That is unheard of. Yet, many piano players lack the ability to improvise on the piano! This is caused by years of rigid piano lesson/structure and a lack of proper guidance.

Many piano players rely on sheet music to be able to play, which would be like an artist only copying another’s art work and never creating something unique. Improvisation is a fun process. It enables the pianist to bring out the latent potential of creativity and expression inside them.

One thing that will help any piano player to improve on the art of improvisation is to allow unstructured creative time during one’s piano practice hours.

Time to just sit down and make up music on the piano is crucial. No agenda, no structure, no goals to accomplish. This process is extremely important in the world of piano playing.

In order to allow the inner expression to come out, one needs to let it reveal itself. A good example of this is in how young children play piano. If you can observe a child learning the piano do so. Very often, young children are able to reach a creative and fun play “scheme” without any guidance at all. Similarly, any piano player should allow 15-30 minutes of “free play” without worrying about hitting the wrong notes.

Traditional piano lessons emphasize the ability to read notes. Reading ability is no doubt one of the most important skills any piano player can possess. This emphasis, however, has created some “lopsided” players who can only play piano by reading. Eventually this type of player will lose their interest and passion for music.

Many young children drop out of piano lessons as a result of struggling with music reading. Children who are younger than 5 or 6 are discouraged from traditional piano lessons due to the fact that they cannot yet read musical notes properly.

Music is commonly referred to as a “language.” There are many ways of learning language. Young children master the language skill by frequently talking and interacting with their peers and care-takers as well as imitating other people. The ability to read comes a little later in their life. A similar approach needs to be taken to foster the love of piano music among young children. Sometimes by just allowing young children to make up music on the piano without placing emphasis on playing the correct notes can be just as important.



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The first task for an aspiring piano player is learning where all the notes on the piano are located. The next lesson is usually how to play the various scales. There are many different types of scales on the piano. You have major, natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. There are also blues scales. Today you will learn how to play the major and natural minor scales.

A major scale is a series of notes composed of whole and half steps. A half step is simply the distance from one note to the very next. For example, E to F is a half step. Ab to A is also a half step. A whole step is just two half steps. Bb to C and F to G are two examples of whole steps. With this in mind, you can easily construct a major scale if you know the formula.

Starting on any note, the formula to find the major scale is W-W-H-W-W-W-H. W refers to a whole step, and H refers to a half step. For example, let’s use the formula to find the C major scale. Start on C, go a whole step to D, whole step to E, half step to F, whole step to G, whole step to A, whole step to B, half step up to C. You will notice that there are no black keys in the C, so let’s find a major scale that has some. For the Eb major scale, start on Eb and go a whole step up to F, whole step up to G, half step up to Ab, whole step up to Bb, whole step up to C, whole step up to D, and half step up to Eb. Once you memorize this formula, you can quickly find any major scale.

Playing a natural minor scale is just as easy. The formula to find a minor scale is just slightly difference. The formula is W-H-W-W-H-W-W. So you can see the difference between major and minor, let’s find the C minor scale since you’ve already seen the C major scale. Start on C, go a whole step to D, half step to Eb, whole step to F, whole step to G, half step to Ab, whole step to Bb, whole step to C. Now to play the Eb minor scale. Start on Eb, go a whole step to F, half step up to Gb, whole step up to Ab, whole step up to Bb, half step up to Cb, whole step up to Db, whole step up to Eb.

Playing major and natural minor scales is a simple process once you’ve memorized the formula. It’s a good idea to practice your scales every single day for however long you desire. You will begin playing them with ease in no time at all. Mastering the art of playing scales will make your mastery of more advanced piano lessons much easier.



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