Jazz Piano History
May 1, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
There are different types of jazz music, each with their own origin and style. Jazz piano music is distinctly different from any other types of music and can be recognized world wide as having a uniquely American flair to it. Jazz had its beginnings in the United States but is now considered to have a fine mixture of African culture thrown in with it.
There are four distinct parts to jazz music that include rhythm, harmony, melody, and tonal qualities. No matter what type of jazz that you enjoy you’ll be able to find a club that caters to your tastes. There are many experimental jazz venues that are popping up all over the place, including many European cities where all types of music are welcomed and appreciated.
One style of jazz is known as the Work Song. This type of jazz is upbeat and rhythmically fast since it was often used to make the work day pass by quicker. The Work Song is repeated over and over in a rhythmic style that is not often heard these days. This type of jazz is often associated with African American music perhaps because of this rhythmic beat that has become the least popular of jazz styles today.
New Orleans jazz began in the early 1890’s. It started out with brass band performances highlighting marching and gospel songs. One of the most famous names from this period was William Basie. He became famous with his band, the Count Basie Orchestra. His music is still listened to and loved today. 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!"
Learning To Play Piano As An Adult
March 16, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
In order to alleviate some of the stress in their lives, more and more people are looking to take up hobbies. For some, they pick up a childhood hobby that always brought them pleasure. Others choose, instead, to learn something new. A hobby growing in popularity, today, is the piano. However, before you go out to buy yourself a baby grand piano, you should know that it takes practice and dedication to master this instrument.
The first thing you will learn is how to sit. Posture is very important when playing the piano. Make certain the bench is at the right height and your shoulders are relaxed with your arms parallel to the floor and your hands resting directly in front of you on the keyboard. Your elbows should be slightly ahead of your body, not tucked at your sides, and your feet should be resting on the floor. You want to have freedom of movement for your arms.
Discipline is also important. Set aside a regular time to practice every day and make certain you won’t be disturbed while you play. Start gradually, with fifteen minutes every day, and work your way up to longer sessions. You will find that, as you practice and get more familiar with the keyboard, your fingers become more flexible and you make fewer mistakes. Even if you can’t do an hour a day, so long as you do at least fifteen minutes your skill will improve.
Go to a music store and pick up several practice books. Even experienced piano players use these books to help improve their skills. not only will they give you exercises to help you learn the piano, they will also help teach you musical theory as well as help you understand chords, tonality and scales and how melodies and harmonies come together to create music.
These books will also contain music for your level of experience. They often have a chapter that explains the purpose behind the exercises, and techniques for you to learn, as well as a sample piece that will help you put everything together into an actual piece of music. Don’t expect to master everything at once. Try practicing each hand separately, at slow speeds, before you bring them together.
Some people will find that playing the piano comes easily to them; others may take longer to learn. Remember, though, that you are practicing the piano for fun. This isn’t a chore and it isn’t a race. Take the time to learn your fundamentals and master your techniques, and you’ll soon find yourself able to play your favorite songs.
A useful tool for many people who play the piano is the metronome. This device can help you keep time, from slow beats to fast ones, and everything in between. Even people who have an innate sense of timing may find themselves surprised at how easy it is to change tempos slightly when playing, especially when you’re enjoying yourself.
The piano is an instrument that has been popular for hundreds of years, and has continued to delight people even today. Just remember to take the time to practice every day, and make certain your hands are limber enough to play the songs you want to play. If you are looking for a great place to start, check out Rocket Piano today!
Automatic Control of Piano Chords
February 21, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
* This is a guest post by Ron Worthy! If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration of publication to our site, please contact us.
CORRECT PRACTICE IS INDISPENSABLE!
Your success or failure at the keyboard may well hinge on how quickly and accurately you can memorize a new chord. To be really efficient at this you must use your eyes, your ears, and the muscles of your hands. You must learn a chord so that you can recognize and play that chord the next day without hesitation. Let me explain how to practice to gain this three-way control.
VISUAL CONTROL – After playing a chord, take your hands off the keyboard. Then return to the chord remembering visually where the fingers were positioned. Notice particularly the pattern that was formed by the black and white keys and the location of the melody and root notes. (No two chords look exactly alike.)
Repeat this procedure at least four or five times to learn a chord visually. And, as you are playing the chord, say its name OUT LOUD. You must associate the name of the chord with the actual notes you are playing, if the chord symbol is to have any real meaning later on.
TACTILE CONTROL – As you are playing the chord, try to feel it muscularly. Play each note of the chord, one note at a time, so that you use the muscles of the hand. You will develop a muscular memory for chords.
AURAL CONTROL – Listen to the chord. You’ll want to know its sound so you can instantly recognize and use it later on … “by ear“!
About The Author:
Ron Worthy is a Music Educator and Performer. His site offers online piano instruction for all ages. He specializes in Rock, Pop, Blues and Smooth Jazz Piano disciplines. Check Out Ron Worthy’s Website Now.
Am I Playing The Piano Fast Enough?
February 21, 2010 by Ryan Edward · 1 Comment
This seems to be the principal worry of many piano students. I do not, of course, dispute the fact that it is important to play certain pieces fast. Otherwise one cannot get the desired effects.
Still, it is a bad habit to try to play a new piece fast from the beginning. It only causes serious delays. Faults creep in that are not noticed and then are hard to eradicate. And worst of all, it ruins clearness, that virtue that perhaps more than anything else enables us to tell the artist from the novice.
Dear Students: when you take up the study of a new piece, do not worry about whether or not you are going to be able to play it fast enough. Play it slowly and correctly and let it work itself up. Remember what the great pianist, Harold Bauer, said, “If one catches the spirit of the music, it doesn’t make much difference whether or not it is played a few degrees faster or slower.”
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
Learn Minor Piano Scales
February 15, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Note: Please pay close attention to this lesson as you will need to know minor scales when forming minor chords.
Minor Piano Scales:
2 Steps to Playing a Minor Scale:
1. Find the relative major key of the minor scale that you want to play. (Either refer to the chart above or find what scale has the keynote of the minor scale you want to play as it’s 6th tone … since the minor scale is also the Aeolian mode of a scale.)
2. Play the relative major key starting and ending on the sixth degree. (The 6th degree of the relative major key should be the keynote of the minor scale that you want to play. You can also verify the relative major key by counting 3 half steps to the right. If it takes more or less than 3 half steps to get to the relative major key, then the relative major key you have chosen is not correct.)
Natural Minor Scales
If you haven’t read our article on “Learning to Play Absolutely Any Song by Ear in Virtually Minutes,” then visit the link below …
http://www.learningtoplaypiano.net/learn-to-play-piano-by-ear/
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 Piano Sharps & Flats
February 6, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Now that you’ve had some experience with the white keys of the piano, we will introduce the black keys…
If you’ve had any music experience or have been around musicians, you’ve definitely heard the words, “sharp” or “flat.” These terms are the names given to the black keys of the piano.
Actually, each black key has two different names. However, only one name can be used at a time. So then, the question is: “How do I know when to call a black key a sharp or a flat?”
The answer is very simple: Sharp is the name given to the black key directly to the right of a white key while Flat is the name given to the black key directly to the left of a white key.
Below is an example of “sharps” and “flats” …
Notice the black key directly to the right of C: It can either be labeled as C Sharp (because it is to the right of C) or D Flat (because it is to the left of D).
To recap, if you are referring to the note directly to the right of C, you would use C Sharp … but if you are referring to the note directly to the left of D, you would use D Flat. (Please keep in mind that C Sharp and D Flat share the same key and sound exactly the same.)
Using “#” and “b“
Sharps are notated with the symbol, #, while Flats are noted with the symbol, b.
Note that the sharp names for the three-grouped black keys above are: F#, G#, and A#. Why? Because one key is directly to the right of F, one is directly to the right of G and one is directly to the right of A. Contrary, the flat names for the three-grouped black keys are: Gb, Ab, and Bb. This is because Gb is directly to the left of G, Ab is directly to the left of A, and Bb is directly to the left of B.
Here is a chart to help you understand the flat / sharp relationship:
Written Piano Music And Rhythm
January 7, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
Do you play piano? If so, do you know about rhythm? If you do, you know that you can improvise with rhythm as long as you are somewhat expert at playing the piano. It’s the same with singing. Singing, too, can be improvised simply by holding some notes out longer and making others shorter — and no one has to tell you how to do it. You just know how.
To learn a song you don’t know yet, it’s useful to use written music and play it as written first so that you understand the rhythm. If you’re playing in an ensemble or group and the group is playing from sheet music, you’ll do better if you play from sheet music as well because you will stay in time with them.
The first thing you learn about rhythm is the time signature. The time signature is directly to the right of the treble and bass clefs on a music staff. If the time signature changes while the piece is in progress, the composer puts a different time signature at that point where the rhythm is about to change. Read more
Tips For Reading Piano Music
January 1, 2010 by Ryan Edward · Leave a Comment
With just a little success behind you, you can tackle the task of learning to read music. Of course there are a number of successful musicians that aren’t able to read music. They can simply listen to a song and play it by ear. They are able to make improvisations on simple things to deliver elaborate variations of well known songs. These musicians seem to know their instruments just as well as a singer knows his or her own voice.
You might be the type of person that can do that. You will learn more a little later about chords and improvisation. However, if you are just learning about the piano, it’s very likely that you will get more help from written music. Further, when you learn how to read music you will open a new world for yourself. You will be able to play songs that you have never heard before. Not only will you be able to play this music, but you can repeat your performance anytime you want to because the sheet music guides you note for note.
There is a great deal to learn. You will have to find out how each note is depicted. You will have to know what the staffs are that the notes are written on and what they look like. You will have to learn how rhythm, sharps, and flats are represented. Once you learn these basics, you can start to build on the knowledge. Read more
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