The Basics of Playing the Piano by Ear
Sep 19, 2009 Blue Grass Music, Cajun Music, Clasical Music, Country Music, Easy Listining, Jazz Music, Modern Music, Music, New Age Music, Oldies, Pop Music, R&B Music, Rap Music, Rock Music
You can actually learn to play the piano by “playing by ear,” but it’s not the common route. The usual way to learn to play the piano is to learn and read music at the same time. No matter how they learned, most professional musicians can play by ear, but this was a talent most honed with many years of practice, reading music, listening, and imitating. That being said, playing by ear is sometimes a case of being born with the talent. It is said that Mozart could play and compose great and complicated compositions as a child before he ever saw a sheet of music.
Reading music, however, is a necessary skill and, as a result, most piano instruction starts out by teaching it. It will give you all the basics you need to learn to play by ear. Without good technique and a solid understanding of music theory, playing by ear will be much more difficult for most people. So spend time with your scales and positions because it’s important. These seemingly mundane tasks should be a part of every practice session. They build good habits, and just as important, they train your ear. We’re not all Mozart, but we can gain some of his skill with practice!
Once you reach a certain skill level, you might be best suited looking for a teacher that is skilled in playing by ear. This will give you another boost in your playing abilities. They can help you learn the tricks of the trade for listening that will help you identify chord progressions that form the foundation of any piano playing. They will usually combine this skill with regular music-related teachings.
Whether you want to play for your own pleasure, play for friends and family, or even make a career in music, you’ll be well-served by opting to both read music and hone those playing by ear skills. If you’ve ignored either, it’s never too late to start. There are even Internet or computer-based courses, such as Rocket Piano Software, that teach these skills.
Start searching, start learning, and have a lot of fun in the process. Once you have a beautiful piano and piano lamp, and you can both read music and play by ear, you’ll be a complete pianist!
Tags: instrument, Music, piano, play piano, rocket piano
How To Learn The Piano In Five Steps
Sep 15, 2009 Blue Grass Music, Cajun Music, Clasical Music, Country Music, Easy Listining, Jazz Music, Modern Music, Music, New Age Music, Oldies, Pop Music, R&B Music, Rap Music, Rock Music
You may never be able to rival the best of the best as a pianist, but anybody with the real desire to learn the piano will be able to indulge their passion to some level that will satisfy them. All you need is time commitment and determination.
Here’s a checklist of 5 steps to follow as you learn the piano:
1. You need to be able to practice whenever you want to. Restricting yourself to your teacher’s piano at the weekly lesson, isn’t going to be good enough. The piano is not an easy instrument to learn so ideally you should aim to practice for at least 30 minutes every day. This is not possible if you don’t have easy access to a piano. An electronic keyboard – ideally with at least 61 keys – will be ok if you can’t get a real piano. And more sure you have a piano desk lamp, or another form of light, to illuminate the keys effectively.
2. You’re going to need some form of teaching. In an ideal situation you would take private lessons teaching you the music you want to play. If this isn’t possible, there are plenty of excellent multimedia tuition materials available these days and even interactive computer software such as Rocket Piano.
3. Don’t try to play a song that is beyond your current skill level. Don’t try to take on a piece of music that is too hard for you at your current skill level. It’s crucial that you stay motivated and nothing will hurt this more than taking on too much and becoming frustrated.
4. Seek out advice from people who’ve gone there before you. Try to attend piano recitals and such. in your local area and speak to the musicians and ask them for any tricks that helped them get started. This shouldn’t be too hard because musicians are friendly people more often or not.
5. Practice, practice, practice. Practice for as long and often as you can. Repetition is the prelude to being able to play well without even thinking about it. There is no substitute for daily practice.
So that’s it. 5 things to keep in mind as you learn the piano. Playing a musical instrument is a wonderful skill to possess so make sure to keep at it.
Tags: instrument, learn piano, Music, piano
Percussion, The Beat and Soul of Music
Jul 20, 2009 Blue Grass Music, Cajun Music, Clasical Music, Country Music, Easy Listining, Jazz Music, Modern Music, Music, New Age Music, Oldies, Pop Music, R&B Music, Rap Music, Rock Music
If you know more than one or two instruments in the percussion family, you know more than the average Joe. Some instruments in the percussion family are not often thought of as being a percussion instrument. Even though you will strike a drum head and a cymbal if you are in the percussion section of an orchestra, there is so much more to it than that. If you could take away the percussion from an orchestral piece you would see how vital it is to the overall sound. Drums are not the only percussion as we will see. As the range of percussion is so far ranging, many top players are drawn to this category of instruments and this aspect of music.
Percussion is defined as the striking of one body against another with some sharpness; impact; blow. When you learn piano you are seldom made privy to the manner of its sound production and the fact that it is a percussion instrument. The piano falls into two classifications, chordophones and percussion; being a stringed instrument but having the sound produced by hammers striking the strings. Open the piano and see how the hammers strike the strings to understand the effects of percussion. Many and varied are the sounds that music produces.
Percussion can be divided into groups as follows. Membranophones and are defined as instruments that vibrate when struck and have a stretched membrane or idiophones which produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body. The cymbal in all drum kits, the marimba and triangle are all examples of idiophones. Bongos, conga drums and snare drums are examples of membranophones. Percussion can also be further sub-divided into instruments that produce a definite pitch or do not produce a definite pitch.
Reading music is necessary then for the player of percussion instruments if he is to be able to perform.
Percussion can be much more than what you might think. Percussion instruments can play not only rhythm, but harmony and melody as well. The beat of the music is found in marching band music as well as the modern jazz quartet. Percussion is the soul of music.
Tags: drum, drums, instrument, instruments, Music, percussion
Plus for Having a Guitar Buyers Guide
Jul 4, 2009 Blue Grass Music, Cajun Music, Clasical Music, Country Music, Easy Listining, Jazz Music, Modern Music, Music, New Age Music, Oldies, Pop Music, R&B Music, Rap Music, Rock Music
{Buying is an important decision for an aspiring musician. There are a number of guitars to choose from, acoustic, electric, acoustic electric, and classical guitars to name a few. Other varieties include entry-level axes, professional level axes, humbucking pickups, and single coil pickups, which makes it more difficult for a neophyte. That is why getting a guitar buyers guide is very important.Buying a guitar is an important and difficult decision for any aspiring musician. There are acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and acoustic electrics as well as classical guitars. There are entry-level axes, professional level axes, humbucking pickups, single coil pickups – the variety of guitars is absolutely overwhelming to the neophyte. That is why picking up a guitar buyers guide can be such a helpful thing to do.}
There are many different guitar buyers guides out there, so try to find the one that is right for you. If there’s one thing that is true about guitar players and musicians in general it is that they like to give advice. Some guitarist buyers guides are simply made by fans who are anxious to share their experience with newcomers. These give some great tips about what guitars to buy and which ones to avoid, as well as what features to look for in a beginning model.
{Others prefer to get a buyers guide from professional music houses or a major music retailer. It gives you an overview of the different types of guitars and tells you what you can get in return for your money, which is very helpful.Other people prefer to get a guitar buyers guide from one of the professional music houses or a major music retailer. For example, the Guitar Center buyers guide is an excellent source that is frequently consulted by new musicians. It gives the lowdown on the different types of guitars and tells you what you can expect for your money.}
Another important thing is to bring along an experienced guitarist friend with you when you buy a guitar especially if you are looking at used guitars. Having a buyers guide and a friend by your side gives you a head start and nothing can go wrong. Because there are some things a buyers guide cannot tell you that an experienced guitar player can, like signs of wear and tear.
The most important thing is to start playing, with or without a guitar buyers guide and take your time in picking out a guitar. Think about it as your starting instrument and once you get better at it you’ll also switch up to better guitar. Play first before worrying about getting the best guitar because you can do later as you go along.
Article by Chris B, you can find more about him on his profile.
Tags: guitar, guitar guides, instrument
Advice for Buying Guitar Accessories
Jul 3, 2009 Blue Grass Music, Cajun Music, Clasical Music, Country Music, Easy Listining, Jazz Music, Modern Music, Music, New Age Music, Oldies, Pop Music, R&B Music, Rap Music, Rock Music
Do you know a serious guitar player? If you do, you probably want to get them something that they will find useful when you want to buy them a gift. Though guitar accessories are always a great idea, this can be a bit tricky. A newer player may not care what you get, as long as they can use it, but the seasoned or long time player may be a bit more picky about what they will use and what might end up in the closet. You may have to do some detective work before you go out shopping for the best accessories for guitars.
You have to examine what players need before you go out shopping for the best guitar accessories. Most of them use picks because they prefer the sound as apposed to using the fingers, which is painful anyway, and there are some that don?t use picks. Picks are the best choice in buying accessories as most players go through them rather quickly.
Picks come in different sizes or thickness, and that info is printed right on the back. You have to be sure that you get the right size of picks because players may never use them if you buy the wrong size.
If you want to spend on guitar accessories for players, you can get them new pick-ups for their favorite guitar. But you have to be careful as many are made for specific reasons.
In this case, you have to know the specific type they might want to have or you should probably go with something else. It is easy enough to get a musician to talk about guitar accessories that they like, so find a way to work it into the conversation. You may get the information you need rather quickly.
There are many guitar accessories that many would like to have, pick guards, strings or straps are among them. Just be sure to know what brand and style of guitar they play and always ask for recommendations.
Buying accessories for guitars can be a lot of fun, and the right items will be very welcome and appreciated gifts. Just make sure you put the proper thought into what you are getting and you can’t go wrong.
Article by Chris B, you can find more about him on his profile.
Tags: accessories, guitar, instrument