Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas For The Little Piano Lover on Your List
Christmas is fast approaching and if you are anything like me, you are probably running around trying to figure out what to get your kids that is not only going to be fun… but educational as well!
So in the spirit of the season, we have decided to come up with a top 10 list of Christmas gift ideas for any little music or piano lover out there. These games are fun, educational and will help encourage the love of piano in your child.
So let’s get to it…
- Piano Wizard – An amazingly simple video game that can virtually teach anyone how to play REAL piano music in minutes.
- Fisher Price – I Can Play Piano System – Better than dull, expensive piano lessons, the I Can Play piano system by Fisher Price uses video game technology to teach kids the piano basics.
- Teaching Little Fingers to Play – A series for the early beginner combining rote and note approach. The melodies are written with careful thought and are kept as simple as possible, yet they are refreshingly delightful.
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Piano Care
* This is a guest post by Ashley Southam the Piano Guy! If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration of publication to our site, please contact us.
The first thing to do to look after you piano is make sure its stored in a suitable place. This means finding somewhere that isn’t too damp. Keep your piano away from heaters, air conditioners and fire places. Also try and keep your piano (if it’s an upright) away from an outside wall of the house.
Keep the piano out of long periods of direct sunlight too, as this can damage the finish and also affect the tuning. This all sounds very particular but anything to do with heat and moisture will put your piano at risk of going out of tune and have other long term negative side effects. Ideally you want the piano somewhere that the humidity and heat levels are at a nice constant level. The contracting and expanding of the wooden parts will affect the quality of the piano.
You should have your piano tuned twice a year. Also, it helps to get it “re-conditioned” or “regulated”. This is when a trained professional piano technician will fix and adjust any wear and breakage. It’s a very good idea to keep a piano properly maintained and your piano will love you for it. Read more
Buying a Keyboard
* This is a guest post by Ashley Southam the Piano Guy! If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration of publication to our site, please contact us.
There are many different questions when it comes to buying a keyboard. How much should I pay, how many keys it needs and so on. A lot of it really depends on the buyer and your own personal preference. The best way to tell if the keyboard is right for you is if it “feels” right. But, in saying that, there are a few simple guidelines that can help you out come purchase time.
One of the great things about having so many different keyboards to choose from is that you can find one at a suitable price. The first thing is you want to make sure the keyboard actually works. The problem with keyboards is that as they get older they tend to decay a bit. So be careful buying a keyboard before you’ve actually played it and checked the keys, all the buttons and so on. Read more
Rocket Piano Review
Product Report
The author of this program is a classically trained solo pianist. While classic piano is her specialty, she has extensive experience performing jazz, pop, blues, rock and gospel. She has a Bachelor of Media Arts degree with a major in commercial music.
Hear and Play Review
Product Report
Hear and Play promises to be the world’s #1 “Music By Ear” website on the net. If you have dreamed of learning to play the piano by ear, without the help of any sheet music then this course may be exactly what you have been searching for. Hear and Play has successfully trained thousands of musicians already.
Piano Improvisation Tips
Young Girl Improvising a Song on the Piano
Many of you have emailed me with an interest in taking your piano playing skills to the next level. I want to help you get there by ensuring that you get the most out of your piano practice and learning experience.
Studying music is like studying a foreign language. To become fluent, one needs to be competent in both reading and speaking. Now, apply this to your piano playing. How well do you read? What about improvising? How well do you improvise? These techniques (sight reading and improvising) go together, just as reading and speaking do.
Over the many years of my musical career, I have come across trained pianists who are excellent sight readers but really struggle with improvising. That, obviously, is not a good situation.
If you think you need help in improvisation, I have an important message for you.
A special friend of mine, Yoke Wong, is an accomplished pianist and music educator who specializes in piano improvisation. She has compiled a comprehensive home study course called, Definitive Piano Improvisation to help piano students master the art of improvising. I generally do not promote other courses, but this one is unique and deserves your attention.
Since I am very aware of the value and importance of improvisation, I also recognize the value of this course. It can really make a significant difference in your piano playing.
If you seriously want to upgrade your skills, I urge you to get this DVD home study course by clicking here now.
The course comes with 11 hours of video instruction, 2 CD’s and a 142-page binder. For those who take advantage of this offer through this link, Yoke will include a bonus of her “Inspirational Moments Digital Sheet Music.”
Your feedback is very important in helping us evaluate how the course has made an impact on your piano playing world. I would love to hear from you once you have tried it out!
Thanks for your response!
Piano Wizard Review
Product Report
Piano Wizard promises that their piano video game can teach anyone how to play the piano and read music in minutes. With a digital piano keyboard hooked up to your PC or Mac, you’re playing real music on a real instrument within seconds of sitting in front of a song.
Click HERE to Visit the Piano Wizard Website Now
Feedback And Overview Sampling
Actual Customer Feedback:
“I have years of play-by-ear experience, but i’ve always wanted to now how to read music – piano wizard seems a great way to learn …even for us big kids.”
- Name Removed for Privacy
“During our testing, adults and children (ages 4-13) were captivated by this piano learning system. All of the children and one of the adults were playing a piano keyboard for the first time in their lives.”
- Computer Times Editors
“Considering that many kids learn to run a computer before they learn to read, this could be the teaching system of the future.”
- Future Musician Magazine
Overview:
Traditional piano lessons teach musical notation first. But most children don’t want to wade through the hieroglyphics before they get to play. They want to play NOW. The Piano Wizard Method teaches anyone to easily play the piano.
With Piano Wizard, your child is playing the piano the instant the game is started. They learn intuitively to hit the right note at the right time. Gradually, as their skill level advances, so does the game. Before you know it, your child has learned to read music.
Summary:
After spending many hours completely glued to my computer playing this “game” and learning piano at the same time, I have to say it is well worth the investment. This piano video game learning system is not only great at teaching the kids in a quick and fun way, but it works great for adults as well. Piano Wizard gets our top rating of 5 stars, check it out today!
