Learning Beginner Piano Basics
February 18, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Have you often dreamed of playing the piano, but feel it is a dream out of your reach? I was exactly like you before I stumbled upon some basic piano lessons which totally transformed my view. Not only did I learn to play the piano, but it had a true impact on my life.
Right from my very first lesson, the way I viewed the piano changed. I realized suddenly that the keys on the piano make a pattern and that pattern allows the keys to be separated into sections. When you break the piano down in such a manner it suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting or confusing. I never realized that the keys could be looked at individually rather than as a collective group.
It all started with simple lessons in material I already had before me. I realized that it was quite fun to try out the new ideas presented in each lesson and later on even tested myself to see how much I had improved. I learned to practice playing and writing notes, clapping rhythms, and eventually stringing together melodies. The more I practiced these things the more improvement I could hear. Read more
Time after time, I have come across pianists who cannot read music well and rely on memorization to save them. Do you admire pianists who can just pick up any piece of sheet music and play without stumbling? If you want to take your sight reading to the next level then check out the piano course "Mastering The Art Of Piano Sight Reading!"
Play Piano Resources
February 10, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
If you want to play piano, then you are in luck! Below is a massive list of the Internet’s top piano lessons and resources …
Piano History
Pianos:
- Buying a Keyboard – 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.
- Caring For a Piano – Practical tips and advice about caring for your piano.
History:
- Jazz Piano History – There are different types of jazz music, each with their own origin and style.
Piano Lessons
Free Lessons:
- Piano Tutorials And Video – Take your piano playing to the next level: Mastering the piano techniques successfully used by professionals.
- Musician Transformation – Discover how you can use ta free chart to easily find and fix your most frustrating problems hindering you from getting to the next level in your gospel playing.
- Hear and Play 705 – Free 34-minute video reveals how to start playing by ear and quickly & easily figuring out the key to any song within minutes.
Adult Lessons:
- Rocket Piano – YOU can learn how to play piano using our FREE LESSONS, step by step instructions, tutorials, jam tracks and famous songs!
- Learn & Master – Is by far the world’s most complete video instruction course for learning recreational piano. It was designed to walk you through from start to finish – even if you’re taking piano lessons for the very first time.
- Piano For All – Imagine being able to sit down at a piano and just PLAY – Pop, Blues, Jazz, Ragtime, Ballads, even incredible Classical pieces? Now you can.. and you can do it in months not years!
Children Lessons:
- Piano Wizard – An amazingly simple video game that can virtually teach anyone how to play REAL piano music in minutes.
- Piano Is Fun – Fun piano software to help children and adult beginners learn to read piano notes.
Piano By Ear Lessons:
- Hear and Play – This course is a 300 page ebook that includes charts, diagrams, notations and techniques. It also comes with a CD-ROM that contains several bonuses.
- Piano System – A massive training package by Nate Bosch – with four DVDs, two play-along CDs, and two professionally printed workbooks.
Jazz Lessons:
- Jazz 101 – In this 2-hour, 2-disc set of step-by-step instruction, you’ll be taken by the hand and shown, step-by-step, how to master TONS of award-winning jazz tips, tricks, and techniques as well as signature soloing secrets that’ll have you sounding like a pro very soon.
- Jazz 201 – In this 5-hour, 4-disc set of practical instruction, you’ll discover how to overcome fear when it comes to improvising and learn what it takes to play runs, licks, and solos with ease.
Gospel Lessons:
- GospelKeys 101 – This dvd course will teach you everything you need to know to get started playing basic hymns and congregational songs.
- GospelKeys 202 – Learn the secrets behind how chords, progressions, and patterns are formed – which means you’ll have what it takes to easily learn new worship songs BY EAR on your own!
- GospelKeys 300 – This dvd course will teach you everything you need to know to play just about any praise song you can think of.
- GospelKeys 500 – In three steps, you’ll learn everything from left-hand bass runs, right-hand fill-ins and chordal movements, “cool-downs,” advanced stride techniques, basic progressions, and much more!
- GospelKeys Master Class – Now you can learn tons of extremely personal secrets from one of the best gospel musicians to ever touch the keyboard… Michael Bereal!
- GospelKeys Ministry Musician – uncover tons of contemporary gospel secrets from one of the baddest gospel musicians in the industry today, Mr. Jason White!
Chord Lessons:
- Power Piano Chords - Who else wants to learn chords for one buck a lesson?
- Hear & Play Chords – Discover how to form various types of chords: major, minor, diminished, augmented and the easy theory behind them. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED.
- Tritone Xtravaganza – Use these Tritone techniques to take your piano & keyboard playing to new heights.
Urban Lessons:
- GospelKeys Urban Pro 600 – A way to quickly and easily play all the latest contemporary urban chords, progressions, licks, and tricks by ear.
- GospelKeys Urban Pro 625 – Play better than you’ve ever played before in half the time with these 57 phat-sounding, contemporary worship chords.
- Urban Worship Classic – Find out how to make all your worship songs sound contemporary in a matter of minutes …
Christmas Piano Lessons:
- Christmas Keys – A way to sit down at the piano and easily play all your favorite Christmas classics in less than 3 hours – without sheet music!
- Christmas Piano DVD – These 2 DVD’s are chock full of special instructions and techniques – lessons available no where else but here. If you ever wanted to experience the joy of playing Christmas “improv” – everything you’ll need to know is in this step by step course.
Piano Fingering Exercises:
- Hanon Exercises – These are exercises specifically designed to train the pianist in speed, precision, agility, independence, dexterity, and strength of all of the fingers (and wrist too!).
- Hand Coordination Techniques – Accomplished pianist finally breaks the musical code and develops a step-by-step piano lesson and system unleashing the secrets to playing piano with two hands and better hand eye coordination.
Piano Sheet Music:
- Virtual Sheet Music – They currently have a high quality growing digital sheet music archives as well MIDI and Mp3 audio files, which include over 6,500 unique single compositions and collections (over 1,500 items), that are updated regularly.
- Sheet Music Plus – All Piano music, including songbooks, solos, duets, play alongs and methods at Sheet Music Plus.
Organ Lessons:
- GospelKeys Organ Collection – A step-by-step way to quickly and easily master praise & devotional songs, worship chords, and shouting music… ALL on the organ!
Ear Training Software:
- PITCH Ear-Training Software – A learning tool that drills you on notes, scales, chords, intervals, and even allows you to sing and mimic what you hear (using the microphone on your computer or a USB headset mic).
- Pitch Master Pro – Utilizes your brain’s natural ability to recall bits of information in quick succession. With this unique approach you will be able to memorize notes, intervals, chords, and scales extremely fast!
Piano Tuning & Repair:
- Concert Pitch Piano Services – Piano/Keyboard/Organ Appraisals, Piano Price Lists, Piano Age Lookup And More.
- Professional Piano Tuning Kit – This kit includes all of the tools that you will need to properly tune your piano.
- Piano Tuning, Repair & Rebuilding – This is the complete course in professional piano tuning, repairing and rebuilding.
Further Piano Resources:
- Teach Piano – This book it includes all the tips, tricks and techniques you’ll need to set up your piano teaching business, starting today!
- American Pianists Association – If you develop your talent to a professional degree, you might want to contact this organization. It is dedicated to promoting the careers of concert-level classical and jazz
pianists around the nation, between the ages of 18 and 30. - Music Teachers National Association – This association is for certified music teachers and teachers who wish to become certified. If you are looking for a certified piano teacher in your area, the association has a teacher finder that you can use to search their database.
Learn to Play Piano by Ear
December 29, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
If you are interested in taking your piano playing to the next level, I think I may have struck the right chord for you. Not too long ago, I was contacted by my friends over at HearandPlay.com who specialize in teaching people how to play piano by ear.
Jermaine Griggs, the President of Hear and Play, just let me know that his site had recently been updated with a few new piano resources…
When I checked it out, one particular course jumped out at me… “The Secrets to Playing Piano by Ear”
The course focuses on teaching you how to play piano by ear. After going through the 300 page course, you will be able to quickly and easily play all of your favorite songs by ear.
Advantages of Playing Piano By Ear
1. “Being able to instantly recognize chords that are played in songs even without being at a piano.”
How does this help you?
“You are able to learn songs faster and easier because you understand why chords are played at certain points in songs.”
2. “Not required to memorize chord progressions (pattern of chords played one after the other) because understanding them will automatically incline you to know what chord to play next.”
How does this help you?
“Allows you to improvise and add your own “flavor” to the song. This is especially advantageous when playing in a church as you can never predict how long a song will be sung or what key the singer might resolve to. In a band, this might be helpful if the leader simply instructs everyone to surprisingly repeat a part of the song or change the key in which the song is currently being played in.”
3. “Will allow you to use the same methods to play virtually any song you want (most songs; don’t quote me if you’re referring to Mozart as this might take more practice than most other songs).”
How does this help you?
“Saves you the money and time of having to go out and buy the sheet music to a song that you’ve already learned how to play by using the ability of your ear to recognize melodies, chords, and progressions. However, buying the sheet music isn’t a bad idea if you want to learn specific parts to songs that have high levels of complexity.”
You know… I could really go on and on about the advantages of learning how to play the piano by ear, but I am sure that you are already interested in learning how to do it yourself, so I’m not going to waste any more time rambling, check it out for yourself: Click HERE Now For More Information.
Piano Sight Reading Lessons
December 28, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Music is a universal language. In order to master any language, one needs to learn the reading and speaking skills of that language.
A piano player who is proficient in playing by ear but has limited ability in reading music is actually considered musically illiterate.
Similarly, a pianist who is a strong sight reader but cannot improvise, lacking the ability to make beautiful music, is also considered musically illiterate.
Time after time, I have come across pianists who cannot read music well and rely on memorization to save them. Do you admire pianists who can just pick up any piece of sheet music and play without stumbling?
If you want to take your sight reading to the next level, I have great news for you!
A special friend of mine, Yoke Wong, is an accomplished pianist and music educator. She has compiled a comprehensive home study course called, Mastering The Art Of Piano Sight Reading to help piano students master the art of music reading. 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 music reading, 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.
She even put in a valuable bonus with the course – an additional 90 minutes of advanced piano sight reading instructional DVD (limited quantity). Be sure to grab your copy before the bonus is gone!
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!
Why Learn Piano?
December 17, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Well, since you’re here we imagine you already know the excitement that revolves around being able to play the piano. Maybe over the years you’ve listened to some of the greats like Count Basie or Duke Ellington. Then again, you might enjoy modern players of today who have won the hearts of many.
One of the most versatile has to be Jim Brickman, who is able to crossover to various genres and doing so while playing his own compositions. You can hear his music on jazz stations, pop, inspirational, and ever the new age stations.
If that isn’t you, and you prefer more of the rock keyboard players, there are plenty available. Whether it’s Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Dennis De Young or David Sancious, each one of them has played for popular artists. We’re pretty sure you’ve heard of Yes, Genesis, Styx, Springteen, Santana or Sting right? Oh, and let’s not forget the rock piano players like Elton John, Billy Joel, Carole King, Paul McCartney, and Carly Simon.
Often times we come across those who don’t really like classical music. Its okay, when you’re just listening there are several individuals who don’t, but when you actually play a rendition of Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert or Brahms, you will definitely change your mind.
Most people want to play the piano find that emulating these individuals is one of their passions. Maybe you’ll be good enough to play in a band or look forward to a solo career. Whatever the case may be, you will definitely be able to play well enough to entertain yourself, some friends, and maybe even your family.
Oh and let’s not forget about the stress reliever. There is nothing like coming home from a frustrating day at working, dropping your bag, and then head to the piano so you can knock some sense into each key. The funny thing is once you play the music it brings forth a natural relaxation. It’s also a great way to change your mood into a more cheerful one.
Those who enjoy playing can build this into a secondary or even full time income. Granted, some piano players earn very little, but there are others who enjoy unlimited financial gains if they are both talented and lucky enough to be seen.
Another reason to play the piano that is often overlooked is being able to develop discipline. If you are the type that will start something but feel you never finish, playing the piano will allow you plenty of opportunities to feel accomplishment throughout each level. This is a huge motivator and it will definitely make you work harder.
You should also understand that learning to play the piano is a lot easier than learning various other musical instruments. If you’re studying vocal music you have to worry about being slightly above or below a particular note. The good news is with a piano this won’t happen unless it is out of tune. If this occurs you will need a technician to come by and fix it.
In the end though, the whole reason you should want to play the piano is for your own fulfillment. If you strive to reach your full potential in this area, you can rest assured you will be happy with the work you’ve accomplished. Plus, if you’re good at it you can experience the joy of playing a good composition for your patrons or peers. There just isn’t anything like letting music into your life.
Learn To Play Blues Piano
December 7, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
When you are interested in learning to play the piano, you will find that for the most part, all you need is time, patience and a certain amount resources.
The piano is an instrument that lends itself to styles ranging from classical, to pop, to jazz to alternative and no matter what music you love, there is a good chance that you can play it on the piano.
When you want to get started with a certain piano style, you will find that it is time for you to look into finding the style that works well for you. This might mean that your personal style is going to be the blues, so make sure that you consider how you are going to give it a shot.
When you are interested in starting with blues piano, you will begin by getting to know the 12 bar blues. This is a progression that is very common to blues piano, and you will find that you can use seventh chords. A song in the blues style is mostly broken into three sets of four bars, so start by playing the song in the C key. Use I for the C tone in the C key, while the IV tone is the F and the V tone stands in for G
This means that the initial set can be rendered as I, I, I, I, while the next set is going to be IV, IV, I, I. This makes the final set V, IV, I, I. With your right hand, make sure that this is the set that you are playing on the piano.
With your left hand, make sure that you are following the 8 note pattern. This pattern will run along I-III-V-VI-VIIb-VI-V-III. Then, when you are looking at playing the C chord with your right hand, you have the notes as C-E-G-A-Bb-A-G-E. Finally, when you are looking at the F chord, you will have F-A-C-D-Eb-D-C-A, and then for the G chord, you will be rendering it as G-B-D-E-F-E-D-B.
When you are looking into learning to play blues piano, make sure that you look at the chords and the notes that are played by your left and right hand. Consider the different piano chords and notes that you are learning and realize that blues piano is no where near as hard as you might think it is.
When you are interested in putting together a good foundation for the piano, begin by learning to play the blues. You will find that some pianists start by playing the blues and then they begin to make their way into playing other styles that they love as well.
Consider what a strong foundation you can create when you are looking at moving forward with your blues skills and you will find that it can be something that will serve you well in your career to come. What kind of performance do you think you can draw?
When you want to find a good teacher who can help you with blues piano, remember to look around. If there is no teacher nearby, take a look at resources like CD or DVD programs, but don’t ignore things like online piano lessons, and piano guide books. If you are learning piano, you are going to have to be someone who is self propelled and interested in mastering the lessons that have been put in front of you.
When you want to make sure that you are going to be able to play the piano, you will find that time, effort and investment are necessary. Think about the styles that you want to conquer and what they might mean for you! If you already know that learning blues piano is your thing, then click here to start your lessons.
Learning To Play Piano Can Be A Positive Experience!
October 19, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
* This is a guest post by Jesse Fisher of Piano Wizard! If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration of publication to our site, please contact us.
Exciting video game software which actually imparts skills for use in the real world is not easy to find — especially in the area of music instruction. Computer software games are a huge and burgeoning industry because kids are completely enthralled by them.
Why not harness the attention-focusing power of computer games by integrating piano instruction software with a fun, interactive gaming engine? Read more
Top 5 Tips For Learning To Play The Piano
June 7, 2009 by Ryan Edward · 2 Comments
If you’re looking into learning to play the piano, you’re in good company. The piano is a popular instrument but also one which is considered to be more of a challenge than many others.
There are many who try to learn but for one reason or another never quite manage to become skilled players.
Learning to play piano lets you express any feeling you may have; it’s an instrument with a wide dynamic range which you can use to convey a full range of emotion. The piano has always been one of the most beloved of instruments since it has an unparalleled power to stir us.
Many piano students come across stumbling blocks in their path while learning to play piano. If you’ve had some trouble with the instrument yourself or are planning to learn and want the experience to go more smoothly, read on for five tips which can make learning to play the piano a little easier. Read more
Learn How to Play Piano by Ear
May 16, 2009 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Is everything you have learned as far as playing piano been correct? Think about the following information, and compare it to what you have learned in the latest as far as playing a piano…
Consider this…
Do you desire to be able to play your piano without hassling with music books or sheets?
Or maybe you want to be able to hum a good tune?
Are your senses visually not what they should be, but you desire to play a piano?
Have you learned that if you can hum a certain tune, that you can learn to play it?
Many professional musicians, didn’t begin their particular careers using instructors or manuals. They actually learned by playing tones that they hear and following the music’s rhythm. Not a piece of sheet music or teacher in sight.
1. Get your things in order. You will of course require a keyboard or piano, whichever you have. You just have to be able to use at least 3 fingers. You will need adequate time for practicing. Make sure the piano is in tune.
2 . A regular piano happens to be made up of 88 keys. (A keyboard has less keys.) There is a total of 12 notes counting the regular notes, sharp notes, and flat notes. The white notes begin with an A note, then the white notes go like B, then C, then D, then E, then F, and finally G. Read more
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