Archive for October, 2009

If you’re an adult who is thinking of taking up the piano, then I want to congratulate you.

Why?

Because many adults seem to think that you must start when you’re a child, if you’re ever to make any progress with learning piano. And it simply isn’t true.

So with that out of the way, what’s the best way for an adult to go about learning piano?

Well, the best way to learn the piano is to find a good piano teacher. This is the common advice, and it is usually the best option for most people. But its also the most time consuming and expensive.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other options for you to chose, if adult piano lessons isn’t something you have the time for, or can afford.

The first option I would recommend to you is to take some online piano lessons. There’s some great products out there on the web, which are very high quality, and also as good as having a real life teacher sitting next to you. These products often include videos and audio as well, which really speeds up your learning.

But if that’s an option that you’re not keen on, you can always get some adult piano lesson books. A quick look on Amazon should reveal plenty of books that will get you on the right track. Although something to be wary of when learning from a book, is the fact that you can’t actually see what to do like you can in a video or real life. This means you can easily learn things incorrectly, which can hold back your learning as you become more advanced.

Another option is to find videos and DVDs that teach piano. There’s plenty that cater specifically for adults. By learning this way, you can actually see what’s happening, which means it will be faster and less confusing to learn new music and techniques.

I hope this quick overview of the different ways you can learn piano as an adult will inspire you to find the method that works best for you. And don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t learn piano as an adult, because it simply isn’t true!

What type of guitar do you want to own? Do you want an electric guitar, or do you want an acoustic guitar. The choice is obviously up to you. You will have to take a few things into consideration such as what type of sound are you looking for, ease of playing, and price. There are so many out there that you should easily be able to find what you are looking for.

So you want a guitar, and you are finally going to go out and try and find one.. If you’re on a budget then you might think that your buying options are limited. The truth is that you can probably find a better deal on discontinued models that have barely been used. There are a lot of these items laying around waiting to be sold either because the original owner upgraded, became disinterested, or just changed models.

High quality woods are more expensive and often difficult to find. This has led to the construction of low priced guitars made out of alternate wood varieties such as red cedar or mahogany. Low priced guitars can be found with laminated backs and solid wood tops. You can also find cheap acoustic guitars made out of non-wood materials such as plastic or graphite. Although it’s a well accepted fact that the top, back, and sides made of solid wood are key factors in contributing to a guitar’s pleasant sound, the use of cheap wood materials in acoustic guitars is becoming an acceptable alternative.

The 12 string acoustic guitar has different ways of altering the price between cheap and expensive. Much of the sound originates from the top and your more expensive guitars will feature a solid wood top to get the rich sound you are hoping for. The remainder of the guitar on more expensive models will also be made of solid wood. These methods contribute largely to the sounds produced by an acoustic guitar. Lower priced ones may use solid tops with laminated backs and sides. Acoustic guitars made for amateur guitarists are usually completely laminated. As high quality wood becomes more difficult to obtain guitars have resorted to use other acceptable materials such a plastic and graphite.

Because of the high price of new electric guitars many amateurs have chosen to buy a pre-owned model. Used electric guitars are sold when an owner decides to upgrade to a new model or has stopped playing. Usually the only thing that needs to be done with a used model is to replace the strings, as all other parts of the guitar should remain in good shape.

When you are planning on buying your guitar, don’t compromise on quality. Try to find a good name brand used guitar that appears to be in good shape. In the long run you will be glad you did since the cheaper model will either run up a repair bill, or just end up being thrown away.

Be prepared with a guitar budget. Don’t go out and buy a $5,000 used guitar because it’s the same type of guitar Jimi Hendrix used. Find a quality used guitar that has a reasonable price. Don’t go real low on a good name brand as there is more than likely something wrong with the guitar.

Try to find a guitar that is around 10 years old.. You’ll find some great bargains in this category in classified on websites like eBay. They have a section on vintage guitars that are pretty attractive pricewise. Take a look at the sellers feedback to make sure he is respectable and make a deal. So there you have it, now go out and find that guitar you are looking for, be it an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Practice and enjoy!

The pleasure of being able to play a song on the piano is something that must be experienced. And playing piano does not have to be difficult — there are methods for easy piano that get you started with just 3 or 4 simple chords.

Repetitive songs are great for beginners to get used to the keys while still being able to create a pleasant melody. Beginning piano players often start out with easy piano classics, such as “Chopsticks,” which is a great building block for more complex arrangements.

The first and easiest piano song to learn, for kids and adults alike, is “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” This song is a simple three-note tune that allows beginners to practice the key and get used to where their hands and fingers go. This song acts as a stepping stone for more complicated piano classics.

Other songs that are great for kids and beginners are “Jingle Bells,” “Ode to Joy,” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” These easy piano classics require little or no knowledge of piano keys and don’t entail the player to be able to read sheet music.

A great way for adults to get started quickly on the piano is to take an online course such as “How To Play Chord Piano” that teaches 3 or 4 chords and shows how to play a simple melody with the right hand while harmonizing it with those 3 or 4 chords.

Learning to Play Easy Piano Classics

The idea of playing Bach can seem unrealistic for new students who are learning to play piano, but in truth, Bach offers simple compositions that prepare students for more complicated songs. The same is true of Chopin and Beethoven songs. Seek easy arrangements for classic piano favorites, and you may surprise yourself with the types of songs you can play.

Timeless Piano Classics

If you are drawn in by the timeless piano tunes that have been around for centuries, some easy classics to start with include “Ave Maria,” “The Wedding March,” “The Emperor Waltz,” “Swan Lake,” and “Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot.” A collection of piano songs that include one or more of these titles will feature timeless music that never goes out of style. The nice thing about learning these types of songs is that they are appropriate to play for almost any occasion.

Easy Contemporary Songs

In addition to timeless classics, beginners enjoy learning to play contemporary songs on the piano. There are equally as many contemporary collections of piano music available as well.

Some contemporary titles for piano to look for are “When I Fall in Love,” “My Heart Will Go On,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Terms of Endearment,” “You Light Up My Life,” “The Way We Were,” “Somewhere Out There,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Unchained Melody,” and “What a Wonderful World.” Obviously this is just a small sampling of what is available. Collections are available based on movie titles, specific decades, children’s movie hits, easy listening, jazz, rock, and more.

Where to Find Easy Piano Classics

Many collections of classic piano songs exist, and there are plenty of places to find them. The format of music you choose will depend on how you intend to learn the easy piano classics.

1. Online: Popular classic piano music is widely available for free download on the Internet. Learning to play piano for free is possible with the help of piano websites.

2. CDs: Easy classics for piano are also available on CD. CDs are nice because they offer a collection of similar melodies and are all at the same level of difficulty to play. A simple online search will provide hundreds of listings for music CDs available that feature piano classics.

3. Sheet music: Easy classic music for piano, of course, can still be found in the basic form of sheet music. You can find sheet music through websites, music stores, and any place that sells pianos or offers piano lessons.

“Are you a beginner with the piano who wants to get started playing piano as soon as possible?”

In the past you would have had to hire a piano teacher who would charge you per lesson. This could become quite expensive quite fast. It could also be embarrassing if you feel uncomfortable playing around people. Even worse is that some piano teachers don’t actually use the best methods for learning to play piano.

“Easy online piano lessons for beginners!”

Luckily the internet has made it much easier for beginners to get started playing the piano! Much easier and much cheaper. You can download great piano lessons online that you can use repeatedly over and over again until you are a great piano player. You can get all of these piano lessons for just a one time price instead of paying for each lesson! Imagine how much you would have to pay a piano teacher for 100 lessons? You can literally save thousands of dollars on learning to play the piano by choosing online piano lessons instead of hiring a local piano instructor.

“Which online piano lessons should I download?”

You definitely want to get piano lessons that include the following features/benefits:

1. A 100% guarantee with a full money back refund.

2. Step by step lessons so you don’t get lost.

3. Video lessons. It’s much easier to learn from video than just from text!

4. Audio lessons. Listening to what you’re supposed to play is very important!

5. Free ear training software. Ear training is essential to being a good musician!

One of the reasons I picked up the violin was because it was easier to travel with than a guitar (not that I haven’t found some nice travel guitars, but that’s another story). It fits in an airplane overhead and is easy to carry!

However, I want to be considerate of the folks in the rooms around me when I’m playing in my hotel room. I decided I needed a mute — there are a lot of gizmos you can attach easily (and not so easily) to your violin to reduce the sound. I wanted something simple and effective — it had to be easy to slip on and off and it had to work!

Turns out it was really easy to find, too! Head to your laundry basket and grab a spring clothespin. Okay, go ahead and grab two — just in case. Slip the first clothespin onto the treble side of your violin bridge. Angle the pin downwards so it won’t interfere with your bow.

That’s it! Give it a try and you’ll be amazed at how the sound is muted. If you want even more muting, put the second pin on the bass side of the bridge. (When you do this, it looks like your violin is wearing a mustache!)

Doesn’t get much easier than this — plus there’s probably room in your case for the two clothespins. Simple, cheap, and effective (although it does look a little goofy).

Piano improvisation in a classical music way is an interesting complement to ordinary piano improvisational practicing. Let me suggest a way to practice!

Piano sheet music is a means and not an end. It’s a way to notate what to play on the piano.

You can find a lot of interesting passages in classical piano solos. These solos can help you collect improvisational material to work on to make your piano improvisations more interesting.

How to develop your classical piano improvisational skills?

May I suggest that you begin with an easy piano solo with just one voice in your left hand and your right hand.

Learn a phrase with a few bars by heart. Play the melody over and over again as you try to change the melody slightly without losing the classical touch.

One advantage of using classical piano music in piano improvisation exercises is that you will find many interesting and melodic basslines in counterpoint style that you can use to enchance your piano improvising.

The use of playing separate melodic lines together in this way to create music is called counterpoint. Counterpoint is a musical technique involving the simultaneous sounding of separate musical lines.

Classical piano compositions are filled with wonderful licks that you can incorporate in your playing.

What can you do with a classical piano composition to improve your piano improvisational skills? Here are some examples:

1. Study differents ways used to play left hand bass patterns. Play around with the patterns and try to transpose them into different keys.

2. Study interesting chords. Experiment with them, change keys and positions.

3. Find chord progressions to develop.

4. Find interesting passages with unusual musical material.

5. Many more things.

As I can see it there are two differents approaches to learn and work with the before mentioned material:

1. You can memorize the classical material and start a growing bank of chords, unusual melodic phrases, chords progressions and other classical piano oriented material you’ll find in the piano compositions for further use in your piano improvisations.

This approach will of course develop your skills but it will also be very time consuming and maybe overwhelming if you can’t devote all your time to piano playing. Who would that be?

Another drawback is that you might lose interest in this type of piano skill development because of the stress involved in learning so many different skills and maybe the joy of playing piano will diminish.

2. Another approach is to use the before mentioned methods in a more laid back way without learning everything by heart. Let me give you an example from my childhood:

When I was quite young I used to read a lot of books on popular science from the public library. I had a bunch of books laying beside me as I lay comfortably on my bed with pillows and just having a good time.

I never felt compelled to read a book from cover to cover or to read in a certain way. The only thing I did was to read the things I was interested in, looking at pictures and enjoying what I did.

I know I learned a lot from these nice reading experiences. If I had a goal it was to feel good and I was reading because of curiosity.

I think you can do the same with the classical music you play. As you enjoy to discover the secrets in the piano sheet music the way I have mentioned you are sowing seeds that will sooner or later manifest themselves in your playing.

The classical music will creep out in your fingers and you will feel new ideas coming up in your piano improvisational endeavors!