How To Play Piano Songs Without Years Of Lessons

May 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Music 

The traditional way would be to get an instructor, do lessons and learn to read music. Theory and terminology would be taught and years later an individual should be able to open a piece of music and just play. For classical music, usually learning notation is the answer. But how to play piano songs without all this is possible.

Recently there has been some notoriety about a quicker way to learn to just play. The professionals call it lead sheets. But first an individual must at least learn the names of the notes.

It is not that hard. The major scale consists of only seven notes and then repeats. The notes are labeled by the alphabet. They only use A through G. The octave or the eighth note is the same as the first or the root note, only lower or higher.

The keyboard’s keys are set up in a pattern. A white key separates each black key. But the pattern is that there are two black keys, two white keys and three black keys and two more white. Then the pattern continues all along the keyboard.

The Key of C does not use any black keys. This makes beginning easy. The note C is located on the left of the two black keys, everywhere the group of two black keys can be found. Middle C is the C in the middle. Simple right?

To form a C chord, place the little finger on the left hand on any C. Then let the rest of the fingers including the thumb, rest one digit each on the four keys to the right. Now all five fingers, beginning with the thumb are resting on the notes G, F, E, D, and C. If the thumb is number one, the middle finger is three and the little finger is number five, press down the keys under fingers one, three and five. These three notes make up a C Major chord.

If the finger spacing is kept constant, it can be moved to the right one key for each finger to form a D minor chord. Moving to the right again will create an E minor chord. This pattern can be repeated moving to the right to form a total of seven different chords.

Since there are seven tones in a scale there are seven different chords in each major key. When the major scale is numbered, only the first, fourth and fifth tones in the scale will produce major chords. All others are minor chords with one exception, the seventh tone, which will be a diminished.

If a chord is major it is usually written as just its name. So C Major is usually just written as C. D minor is Dm. The letters dim usually follows diminished chords. Once the chords are learned then by ear and memory work out the melody with the right hand and find chords that sound good to it, and practice until the piece is smooth. This is how to play piano songs without professional instruction.

If you want to learn more about playing the piano take a look at How To Play Piano Songs or read this – How To Play Piano Songs

A Must-Read Before Spending On Online Piano Tuition Fees

May 4, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Music 

Technology has made it possible to learn almost anything online. This includes playing the piano. Despite its advantages, online lessons are not the only option available when you want to learn. Before you spend your hard-earned money to pay for online piano tuition, take a look at the pros and cons of learning to play the piano on the internet.

The most obvious advantage of internet based lessons is you can study at the comfort of your own room. Kids may find this method more encouraging or less intimidating as opposed to getting lessons from a real instructor. Of course, this depends on how efficient your choice of software is.

Private piano lessons would require you to set apart a certain portion of your weekly schedule. Internet based tutorials, on the other hand, can be taken at your most convenient time. There is no need to go to group classes, or ask a private tutor to visit your home. Internet based sessions are definitely more practical for busy people because they do not require too much time and commitment.

Cost is another important consideration. It is less expensive to download or purchase software online. Most of them only take a few days to arrive by mail, in case you choose to have them delivered. With all the payment options available, it is easy to take your pick from any website and pay in a few minutes using your credit card. Some websites even offer lessons for free.

These tutorials also have their disadvantages. They are less thorough and are not able the personal guidance of an actual tutor. They are not able to respond to the individual needs of every student. They may let you learn at your own pace, but they also offer limited options when it comes to the kind of music that you want to play. Mistakes are also not easily identified during internet based sessions.

There are other options aside from internet based music lessons. Private lessons are recommended if you are willing to spend more than 20 dollars for every hour of classes. They might cost more than online lessons, but are also more meticulous and customized to suit the needs of the student. Group lessons are a less expensive alternative to private lessons. You learn whatever the whole class is learning, which can be annoying since you cannot learn at your own pace.

Internet based lessons are like the middle ground of group lessons and a private tutorial. If you feel that you are able to handle the basics and do not need a dedicated teacher to guide you, then you must consider online piano lessons.

For the best advice on all aspects of learning to play the piano visit Learn Piano Online for all you need to know. Alternatively, read A Must-Read Before Spending On Online Piano Tuition Fees for more information.

Music And Guitar Lessons In School

March 9, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Everything 

I have never met anyone who didn’t wish that they could play music, be it with aspirations of playing in a big rock-band, playing around a campfire to friends and family, or just strumming some chords or singing when your alone and relaxing. Learning to play can be the most rewarding experience of your life! Sometimes you need lessons to learn the guitar piano or keyboard. Sure it can be frustrating , but when you finally play those four of five bars correctly and you suddenly make that instrument speak, man that feels good and it feels even better when you get together with some good friends and your able to make some music and really play together, it is very rewarding!

The first instrument I learned to play was called a tone flute, It was made of black plastic and I loved it, I spent hours after music class blowing out some horrible tunes but I could, and still can play twinkle twinkle at the drop of a hat, I learned to play music and I found it to be very enjoyable I never thought much of it then but that tone flute had a profound effect on my life.

Since I was a child I haven’t gone a day without music. Since 1985! Thats when Mr. Wagner taught me how to play the tone flute. I don’t remember much about him except he wore too much polyester and he was able to teach a five year old kid how to read music. EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE I never forgot. Many thanks to Mr. Wagner

The point is that since I learned about music I have loved it. It has been a big part of my life. If a child isn’t able to learn about music they will not be well educated. It takes music to make a good education great.

With budget cuts and financial shortages in the news there is also the threat of losing music education. Music is important at all levels of education. If you haven’t’ gotten the opportunity to learn it is not too late. You can still get keyboard piano or guitar lessons for yourself. You just have to take the time to learn.

Want to find out more about guitar or piano lessons, then visit Hayes B. Won’s site on how to choose the best keyboard or guitar lessons for your needs.

Maurice Ravel – Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

December 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Music 

Do you think a one-armed man could have a career as a piano soloist? For one determined young man, the answer was, “Yes.”

All you have to do is see the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is a true testament to his brilliance, and will as man to do what he loves best.

Back before World War I, a concert pianist by the name of Paul Wittgenstein was trying to make his mark in the world. After being drafted, he sadly lost his right arm throughout the fighting. However, Wittgenstein didn’t believe his concert piano career was over as a result.

Due to his inabilities, he began practicing his left-handed technique. The goal was to arrange two-handed works in such a way, that they would accommodate his one-handed state. By the late’20s, Wittgenstein decided it was time to approach others about his innovation.

While many refrained from the idea, Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Wagner, Benjamin Britten, and Maurice Ravel gave him the help he needed.

One of the biggest issues Ravel had in the beginning was that he never wrote a concerto, even though he had written several piano solos. When Wittgenstein approached him, he had already started working on Concerto in G, but it was intended for a two-handed player. During this time he was at a stalemate, and so he decided to take Wittgenstein up on his challenge. During Ravel’s research of left-handed Etudes of Camille Saint-Saens, he began to believe his left-handed Concerto would be a noteworthy addition to piano repertoire.

Once complete, his masterpiece portrayed a dark piece of work about the struggles of a one-armed pianist. It was also about the long road to reinventing himself after a tragic injury. Turns out the craftsmanship was brilliant, and listeners couldn’t even tell it was being played by someone with one hand.

Though the piece has sometime been described as being in two movements, most experts agree that it is a piece written in one movement, but with three sections. Unlike most concerti, The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is structured as Slow-Fast-Slow, rather than Fast-Slow-Fast.

Truth be told, Wittgenstein was famously known for being hard to please. Richard Wagner offered work as well, but Wittgenstein complained about the orchestration being too powerful for a single-handed pianist. Then of course when Prokofiev offered his work, Wittgenstein wouldn’t even play it.

For Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Wittgenstein’s complaint had to do with the long solo cadenza just after the opening. “If I had wanted a solo piece,” he is said to have declared, “I wouldn’t have commissioned a concerto.” However, as Ravel refused to change it, Wittgenstein performed the work as written, and later came to like it.

In the end, the Concerto for the Left Hand was a true testament to the human spirit of, and more than just the overcoming nature of one man.

Are you interested in steps to learning piano? Then visit Michelle’s website now for tips on how to learn the piano by ear. You can be tickling the ivory in no time at all.

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