Archive for September, 2009

In this piano lesson you will learn to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star without the use of sheet music. After this learn to play piano tutorial you will be able to play the melody with both hands!

As you know Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a popular nursery rhyme. The melody is from France and the lyrics from an English poem by Jane Taylor.

The English lyrics are as follows:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are

In this piano lesson we will use a form of tablature instead of sheet music notation.

Tablature is a type of musical notation which will tell you where to place your fingers to play a melody on your piano. The first thing we will do is to locate the note C.

The middle C on a piano is the first white key that is to the left of two black keys. It is called middle C because on the piano keyboard it is right in the middle, near the keyhole.

In our piano tab notation the keys are numbered instead. This middle C in our type of piano tab is called 1.

This means that when you see the number 1 you are to play the middle C once. The white key to the right of C we call 2, the next 3 and so on.

Let’s play some piano tab notes:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Now you have played a scale with the actual notes C D E F G A B.

Now we will start to play the melody Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

1 1 5 5 6 6 5

Now you have played the notes C C G G A A G.

How can you use your left hand? Let’s make this piece a little bit more difficult and also more rewarding to play by using your left hand for bass notes.

The notes from C to the next C is called an octave. The keys are grouped this way on the whole keyboard.

You also have these notes to the left of the middle C. We can call these notes the left octave.

If you use the notes 1-7 in the left octave to play bass notes with your left hand we can notate the melody in the following way:

1/1 1 5/3 5 6/4 6 5/3

The note to the right of the slash is the bass note. 1/1 means that as you play the first 1 with your right hand you simultaneously play number 1 in the left octave with your left hand.

I guess you have noticed that you only play bass notes together with some of the melody notes.

Let’s continue this piano lesson with the next line:

How I wonder what you are

4/2 4 3/1 3 2/5 2 1/1

What fingers should you use as you play? You can and maybe you use your index fingers on both hands to play but it will be easier to find your notes if you cultivate the habit to use all your fingers.

On your right hand you can use your thumb to play number 1 and your index finger to play number 2 and so on.

The next piano tab looks like this:

Up above the world so high

5/3 5 4/2 4 3/1 3 2/5

If you want to use fingerings on your left hand you place your little finger above key number 1 and your thumb on number 5 and the other fingers accordingly.

On the next piano tab the melody is identical:

Like a diamond in the sky

5/3 5 4/2 4 3/1 3 2/5

Now you only have to play the beginning of the song again:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

1/1 1 5/3 5 6/4 6 5/3

How I wonder what you are

4/2 4 3/1 3 2/5 2 1/1

Congratulations! Now you can play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star as a piano solo with two hands!

This type of piano notation is probably best used as a help to find the notes until you know the melody by heart. I suggest that you memorize one line at a time until you know the whole song as this will enable you to play the song anywhere and anytime!

Reading piano notes is far easier than many beginning pianists think it is. Ultimately, piano note reading is simply a matter of memorization and repetition. In other words, once you learn the basics, all you have to do is put them into practice, and to do so as many times as it takes to completely internalize your note reading skills.

No doubt, you’ve seen what’s known as the staff — the system of five lines and four spaces upon which musical notes are organized. In music notation, at the far left of a staff you will always see a clef, which is basically a symbol that indicates how the notes on the staff should be read.

There are many different types of clefs, but fortunately for beginning pianists, the vast majority of piano music deals only with two clefs, the treble clef and the bass clef. The treble clef is usually used to notate the first few octaves to the right of Middle C, while the bass clef is usually used to notate the few octaves to the left of Middle C.

In all staffs, no matter what the clef is, successive lines and spaces represent ascending notes of the scale. For example, in the treble clef, the lowest line represents E. Thus, the space just above the lowest line represents F, the line just above that represents G, the space above that is A, and so on.

In the treble clef, which looks sort of like a backwards “S” with a few extra curly-cues thrown in, and centered on the second line up, the notes are as follows: The five lines, from bottom to top, stand for E G B D and F, while the four spaces stand for F A C and E. All beginning pianists must memorize these very early in the learning process. FACE is an easy acronym to remember, while EGBDF lends itself to a variety of mnemonic phrases, which you can make up yourself. For example, when I took my lessons, I was forced to memorize, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.”

Often, when reading music, you will see additional “lines” added above or below the staff. These are merely extensions of the staff, and follow the same succession as notes within the staff. For example, the invisible line one space below the treble clef staff — a note that you will see very, very often — stands for middle C as it is one space and one line below the E represented by the first line.

The bass clef, which looks like a backwards “C” with two dots around the second line from the top, has this configuration: The five lines stand for G B D F and A, while the four spaces stand for A C E and G. Again, there are many mnemonic devices to remember these, but it’s always best to make up your own.

With many piano songs, especially those for beginners, the left hand plays the notes in the bass clef, while the right hand plays the notes in the treble clef. The two areas meet up at middle C, which is two notes below the lowest line in the treble clef staff, and two notes above the highest line in the bass clef staff.

Beyond this basic memorization of notes represented by lines and spaces, piano note reading also involves some knowledge of what is meant by various symbols. Most commonly you will see the symbols for sharp and flat. The symbol for sharp, which closely resembles the number symbol (#), indicates that the note which it accompanies should be raised one half step. Meanwhile, the flat symbol looks like a lower case “b,” and indicates that the accompanying note should be played one half step lower. Also, once you start to learn more keys and scales, you will need to know the natural symbol, which cancels a sharp or flat is dictated by the key. Also, it’s important to remember that when you see a sharp, flat, or natural symbol, that symbol remains in effect throughout the measure.

From this point on, things become more complicated. But don’t sweat it. Learning how to read piano notes is a baby-step process. Try not to learn everything at once. Instead, focus on one thing at a time, and practice until it comes as easily as breathing. As always, this is the key to learning piano.

The Mixolydian Mode is a great guitar scale to use against dominant types of chords. In essence, the Mixolydian Mode is a major scale that contains a minor 7th interval between the root note of the scale and it’s 7th degree. This minor 7th interval gives the Mixolydian Mode it’s dominant flavor. In a traditional major scale, the 7th degree interval is a major 7th not a minor 7th degree. Hence, dominant.

In order for a true Mixolydian tonality to emerge, the tonic note must be established, the major 3rd scale tone must be voiced, and the lowered 7th scale tone must be used. Otherwise, Mixolydian tonality is not authentic.

There are some general rules applicable to Mixolydian chords and progressions. For example, one must always use the I major chord (this establishes the tonic home-base for the listener), and the V minor or the bVII major chord(s) must be used so that the b7th scale tone is actually sounded. For this particular article, we will be analyzing the C Mixolydian Mode (scale) and it’s corresponding tonality (chords and scale tones).

The following chord progressions are strong Mixolydian progressions. It’s best to think in terms of triads when using the specific chords necessary to portray Mixolydian tonality. However, when these chords are extended to their diatonic 7th’s, 9th’s, and 13th’s, a very contemporary flavor and sound will emerge.

1) I major (C major) progressing to the bVII major (Bb major), progressing back to the I major (C major).

2) I major (C major) progressing to the bVII major (Bb major), progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the IV major (F major), progressing back to the I major (C major).

3) I major (C major) progressing to the IV major (F major), progressing to the bVII major (Bb major), progressing to the I major (C major).

4) I major (C major) progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the I major (C major).

5) I major (C major) progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the VI minor (A minor), progressing to the IV major (F major), progressing to the I major (C major).

6) I major (C major) progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the IV major (F major), progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the I major (C major).

7) I major (C major) progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the bVII major (Bb major), progressing to the V minor (G minor), progressing to the I major (C major).

Note that in all of the above referenced chord progressions, the tonic was always established. In other words, the listener was given a strong starting point for tonality and a strong return to the tonality. Always remember to define a strong tonality for the audience. Subconsciously, a listener doesn’t enjoy being left up-in-the-air musically. Give them something to hold on to.

The Mixolydian Mode, as with all other modes, has it’s own unique characteristics. It is beneficial for all guitar players to learn (or remember) these characteristics. The small details can, sometimes, make the difference between a great guitar solo (or chord progression) vs. a mediocre guitar solo or performance. But this is just the beginning. We’re barely scraping the surface here. As any of my students would testify, the rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper. However, their actual education gets easier and easier. The application becomes automatic for them.

It’s absolutely refreshing and empowering to approach an authentic playing situation with confidence. How is this achieved? Education and practice. There’s mental and there’s physical. One without the other is incomplete.

There are many guitarists who play extremely well. However, the truth be known, there are, most likely, giant gaps in their understanding of key signatures, key changes, chord construction, scale application, intervals, substitution principles, and much, much more. Does this make them any less of a musician (in their own realm) than anyone else? Of course not. Could they become better as a result of a pro-end education? Absolutely yes.

Something as simple as the Mixolydian Mode, it’s analysis and understanding, has the potential to launch an entire new desire to progress as a guitarist. It’s amazing how much music can result from simple concentration and practice. As a player, there’s good and there’s great. The difference is the decision to progress.

For those of you contemplating guitar lessons, make sure that you are well matched with your guitar instructor. Define your goals and don’t waste time. If your goal is to play a few songs and strum a few chords, then almost anyone can help you with that goal. If your goal is to progress beyond your favorite artist, then you should aim for the best-of-the-best for instruction and educational material (theory and application).

Until next time, practice, practice, practice.