Posts Tagged ‘How To Play The Piano’

Many of us have childhood memories of being bored out of our minds as we were forced to start our piano lessons for beginners. We would practice all week, just to go back to our piano teacher and show how little we really had improved. Well at least that is the way I remember it. Hopefully you were a bit more disciplined than I was! I just remember thinking of my lessons as a chore and not something I really enjoyed doing. My oh my, how times have changed.

Today there is a new way to learn to play the piano and many other instruments. The online instruction business has exploded and many people are finding that learning through the use of an online course works for them. The online world offers many ways to learn and they range from books, software, audio recordings and ultimately even video instruction.

People love the idea that they can learn and practice in their own homes, on their own time schedule. There are no commitments to weekly appointments with a music teacher. Another benefit is that one can learn as fast or slow as they wish. In other words, you work at your own pace. As a former music teacher I have been particularly interested in the online courses in particular. I genuinely feel like these courses have opened the world of music up to anybody with access to a computer.

Beginning piano lessons are being taken by young and old alike. You are almost never to young or old to start learning how to play! The piano is a very stimulating instrument and the amount of enrichment into your life from playing one is staggering. Add the modern day keyboards into the mix and you have a virtual orchestra at your fingertips. The electronic keyboards often incorporate “instruction modes” into their programming. That’s right, the keyboard itself can actually teach you how to play itself. Now that is exciting!

Once you decide you want to learn to play the piano, you will need to decide how you are going to receive your instruction. This is probably the most difficult step in the process. As I stated, many courses are available and it can be tough to figure out which course best fits your individual needs. I have personally investigated many of these courses and I write more about them on my piano student blog.

I encourage you to pursue your dreams of playing the piano. It is easier than ever before to learn, and you won’t need to spend a fortune on private lessons to do it. Imagine the joy you will experience when you sit down at the keyboard during your next family get together, your family gathered around the piano as you lead them all in you’re your favorite songs. Now those are lifetime memories.

Vaughn Nichols

If you’re interested in learning how to play the piano and you’re a beginner listen up. What I’m about to share with you will have you playing the piano in no time at all.

First off, forget about note reading. Forget about sheet music and trying to play Bach or Beethoven. While all of these have their place in piano lessons for beginners, it’s not what I’m going to teach you. I promised you a new approach and that’s exactly what this article will deliver.

Take a look at my free piano lesson “Reflections in Water,” (available by clicking below.) The first thing you probably will notice is the title followed by what this lesson will teach you to do – namely using open position chords in the Key of C major to create a calm, relaxed atmosphere.

Notice anything here? This piano lesson actually looks like an art lesson doesn’t it! It’s completely different as it takes you step by step through the process of actually creating your own music.

After you notice the title and the description of the lesson, you may also notice a small paragraph of text to the left that reads “materials used.” Again, like an art lesson, you see exactly what you’ll be using to create with. At the beginning of most art lessons, the author introduces you to the materials and techniques you’ll be using to complete a finished painting. That’s exactly what I do with piano instruction.

And my students love it. It gets them playing piano almost right away. Plus, it allows them to create music with modern sounding chords instead of the usual boring triads.

Note reading is not required for this approach. Just a little knowledge of chords. For the lesson “Reflections in Water,” you’ll see 4 chords and the keyboard diagrams they are laid out on. Once you get the feel for the open position chord, you’ll love it and want to play the piano with enthusiasm. Why? Because it’s fun! And it’s easy.

And if that wasn’t enough to get you motivated, there are also audio samples that let you hear how another pianist plays it.

Piano lessons for beginners do not have to be the same old boring thing most of us have come to know. They can actually be fun AND creative!

In part one of this two-part article, we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of using tuition books to learn how to play the piano or keyboard. In part two we will look at piano software courses. Why they are so popular and how they compare against tuition books.

The benefits of piano software courses

The immediate benefit is that you can get it so fast. If you find a piano course you want and it’s located on the other side of the world in another country, no problem, you can download it to your computer in a matter of seconds.

Piano courses include audio and video files which can explain, as a piano teacher would, the things that on you own, you might not quite grasp and you can get a video file to explain things to you as many times as you wish until you understand it. It’s like having your own personal piano teacher with you all the time.

The drawbacks of piano software courses

It’s difficult to find any drawback with these courses. I could say the cost, because they are more expensive than tuition books, but most, if not all of them have a money back guarantee. I suppose the only drawback is that initially you need a computer to download the course and to play the audio and video files and obviously a printer to print out your songs to play on your keyboard or piano.

Conclusion

If cost is an issue then tuition books are a good option, but you must learn the basics first. Software, in my opinion the absolute best way to go, with help from audio and video files your more likely to succeed. Whatever method you choose enjoy you piano playing. As soon as you have played your first song, you will get greedy for it. There really is nothing like sitting down at a keyboard and playing a piece of music, and its not as difficult as you might imagine.

The piano is the most perfectly designed instrument for playing chords. It’s visually straightforward, easy-to-understand layout makes it simple for the beginning piano student to learn how to play chords. Unlike other instruments, such as the guitar, the player doesn’t need to learn how to contort her fingers in strange, unnatural ways just to play the most simple combinations of notes.

In contrast, the basic chords on the piano seem almost magically designed to be played by the human hand. When learning how to play the piano, the beginning pianist only needs to learn the structures of these basic chords, and a world of harmony opens itself up.

To start, although they are not technically chords, combinations of two notes — usually referred to as “intervals” or “dyads” — are often seen in piano music. Even if they aren’t technically chords, combinations of two notes are essentially the foundation of all music harmony. Thus, when learning how to play chords, it’s also a good idea for students to first learn intervals.

The smallest interval on the Western music scale is the minor second, which is made up of two notes that are only a half-step apart — for instance, E and the next F, or B and the next C. Although there are various ways of referring to the intervals, they are most often named as follows, in order of increasing size:

1. Minor second
2. Major second
3. Minor third
4. Major third
5. Perfect fourth
6. Augmented fourth (or diminished fifth)
7. Perfect fifth
8. Minor sixth (or augmented fifth)
9. Major sixth
10. Minor seventh
11. Major seventh
12. Perfect octave

You don’t have to learn all of them at once, but most piano players must learn them eventually. Plus, there are similar names for intervals larger than an octave, but they don’t come up quite as often.

When learning how to play chords, many students start out with triads, which are the most basic form of three-note chords. Basically, while intervals are the foundation of all musical harmony, triads are the starting point to more complex harmonies. Also, they are refreshingly simple and easy to play. For example, if you set the fingers of your right hand on the first five notes of the C major scale — C, D, E, F, and G — then your thumb, middle finger, and pinky are already in position to play the C major triad.

Your knowledge of intervals comes in handy when learning triads, of which there are four main types:

1. Major triad: A major third plus a minor third (e.g., C E G).
2. Minor triad: A minor third plus a major third (e.g., A C E).
3. Diminished triad: A minor third plus a minor third (e.g., B D F).
4. Augmented triad: A major third plus a major third (e.g., C E G).

Diminished and augmented triads occur far less frequently than major and minor triads, especially in the types of music usually played by beginning pianists. This will make more sense when you practice playing triads; major and minor triads will sound familiar and comfortable to the ear, while diminished and augmented triads will sound stranger and more dissonant.

Meanwhile, it’s important to understand the naming of triads. In short, all triads are named after their root note — the note which begins the scale the chord is based on. For example, the minor triad of A C E is referred to as “A minor,” because it is based on the A minor scale; the major triad of F A C is referred to as “F major,” because it is based on the F major scale: the diminished triad of Bb D F is referred to as “Bb major,” and so on.

Beyond intervals and triads, the range and terminology of piano chords only becomes more layered and complex. The number of things you will have to learn may seem daunting at first, but it’s always important to remember that learning how to play chords is a series of baby steps. For example, soon after learning about triads, you might want to learn about chord inversion, or how to turn triads into seventh chords. Both of these techniques, though becoming more advanced, are relatively simple on their own. So, when learning, stick with one thing at a time, and soon you will not be so confused by all of those bizarre chord notations you see everywhere.

Nowadays, it isn’t that difficult to find a good piano teacher for your child or even for yourself. If you have no previous experience trying to get musical instruction, there are a few things you need to keep in mind so you know what to look for in a good piano teacher. Only a handful of people are musically gifted as to be able to teach themselves how to play the piano. With the right piano teacher, however, you or your child will be able to learn much faster. Below are 5 tips you can use when you’re looking to hire a piano teacher.

1.Word of mouth

Chances are, you have a friend or friends who is in lessons, has been, or will be soon, and you can always pick their brains. Ask them what their experiences in this area have been like and what sort of instruction that they received. You can talk with them about teaching methods, and how much time they have put into it. There is a lot of interesting material that you can find when it comes to what your friends say, and this can lead you to a great teacher.

2.Look online

Many people advertise themselves online these days, and you can take advantage of that. You can get a sense for the teacher in question, learn about rates, and also learn about their specialties and philosophies, all without leaving your home. This is a great way to filter out some of the teachers who may not mesh as well with you, and you’ll find that with just a little bit of critical thought, you are left with the cream of the crop!

3.Go to the music store

One of the best way to find piano lessons if you are starting from scratch is to head to a store that sells musical instruments. Many teachers leave a notice that they give lessons at places like this, and some of the stores will even end up letting you have a place to practice. Take some time to ask around at the store and find out who is recommended. This is a great way to move forward in your search.

4.Talk with your prospective teacher

Learn about their methods, their goals, and how far along you can expect to be with a reasonable amount of preparation and practice. This is quite important when it comes to make sure that your goals and the goals of the teacher mesh well.

5. Ask to watch them in action

It’s not unreasonable to ask a prospective piano teacher if you could watch them conduct a piano lesson. You want to see how the piano teacher treats her student and how her student appear to be around her. Auditing a lesson can be useful in that you can have a better idea if the piano teacher is the right one for you or your child.