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Top 5 Ways To Develop Your Piano Rhythm

by Tania Gleaves on December 9, 2011

Learn the basic rhythms.

As one of the top 5 ways to develop your piano rhythm, learning the basic beats found in any kind of music will help. The more rhythms that you listen to in fact, the easier they are to identify and emulate. We have for example, the standard four-beat rhythm that counts out to four beats per measure. Pretty common. Then we have the three-beat rhythm that counts out to three beats per measure. Again, pretty common. We also have the two-beat rhythm which is half the four-beat rhythm, but as you delve deeper into the world of piano, you’ll discover some rather interesting (albeit, a little tricky) beats to play. The five beat rhythm is an example. This pattern counts out five beats per measure, commonly found in non-European music.

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Practice rhythms with your hands (clapping, clapping on lap, tapping foot).

Speaking of tricky rhythms, we find that clapping our hands or just tapping our feet is an effective method in developing rhythm — especially when the music that we play gets a little complicated. Bear in mind that music doesn’t have to be foreign to be complicated. Sometimes, music can be so “full” of “stuff” (notes, flags, sharps, and other twists and turns), we can get lost in trying to play it. Taking a few moments to clap out a rhythm however, helps us associate notes with a unique time signature — a time signature that could at any moment, change right in the middle of a song!

Count out loud if you have to.

This strategy follows the hand clapping and foot tapping strategy above, except that counting aloud helps strengthen the concept of rhythm in our minds. When we repeat 1 -2 -3 -4 over and over, that pattern sticks and flows from our fingers. It’s best to count aloud while looking at the music you’re playing. The relationship between the notes you see and the beats that they represent will become clearer as a result.

Use a metronome.

Metronomes are pretty much standard staples when it comes to playing music. You would be hard pressed in fact, to stay on beat without one! A metronome is programmed to produce a steady beat for a prolonged period of time, so they make perfect tools for strengthening adherence to certain beats.
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Play the piano in your mind while doing something else.

Just for fun, you could use the sounds in your environment as a basis for a new rhythm. Imagine the sounds created in the office environment. A person typing… someone walking down the hall… a printer grinding out 20 sheets of music… you get the point. Pick any one of these songs and then play your imaginary piano to the rhythm of the sound that you’re hearing. Even if the rhythm speeds up or slows down, the goal in this little exercise is to keep playing the music on time, no matter how much the beat sways.

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Beginner Lessons For Piano – Helpful Tips

by Erik Thiede on July 12, 2011

Beginner lessons for piano will take you far in your quest. But supplementing your lessons with some ‘outside’ or unconventional training will shorten the time it takes to become an expert pianist.

It goes without saying that practice makes perfect. However, there are a few additional things that you can do to improve the quality and outcome of your piano lessons.

Click Here And Learn How To Play Like A Pro With Great Beginner Lessons For Piano!

This article will introduce some of them, however it’s important to note that these tips are meant to supplement your training. Not a single one of them could ever replace a qualified teacher or adequate practice.

So here we go with some helpful tips for beginner lessons for piano:

Study music theory

Learning the theory of music will help you understand the meaning behind your education. Not only will you learn what to do at the piano, you’ll also learn why. Music theory investigates music notation, harmonics, and the aesthetics of song — giving you a deeper appreciation for one of the most respected practices of all time.

Practice, Practice, Practice

We cannot stress the importance of practicing enough. You should practice playing the piano not only once a day, but perhaps for one or more hours a day if you can. Repetitive play will help ingrain key pitches and rhythms into your brain so much that you should be able to play the piano with your eyes closed one day…But if you really cannot practice that much, try to a least practice something daily.

Listen to classical music

Listening to classical music will reinforce what you learn from your lessons and strengthen your ability to recognize and emulate important patterns. It’s quite a joy to be able to recognize a familiar chord or scale within historical pieces, and it’s an even bigger joy to be able to play along with the likes of Beethoven or Vivaldi.

Let’s have a look at a few more tips for beginner lessons for piano.

Try to make up your own songs

This too, will help reinforce the things that you learn because in doing so, you’ll train your mind to think in specific time signatures, octaves, and beats. You don’t need to write the music down on notation paper. Just try humming a few classical “riffs” of your own while you’re driving to the store or doing the dishes. You might surprise yourself by how easy it is and discover an inner composer at the same time. Beginner lessons for piano don’t have to be boring!

Learn the terminology

You’ll do yourself a tremendous favor by learning the terminology used in your instruction because it will help you better communicate with more advanced musicians.

It can be quite annoying to try and interpret what someone means when they refer to “playing the doo-wap doo-wap thingy” on the piano, but it can be quite refreshing to get into a stimulating conversation about intriguing “diatonic scales” and “tonality”.

Buy a metronome

A metronome is an adjustable tool that indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music, and it’s a godsend for people who have trouble keeping a simple beat. Those learning how to play the piano for the first time would benefit from the use of a metronome as it reinforces important time signatures – that is, time signatures that help organize a bunch of seemingly random notes into a sensible pattern of pleasing music.

Click Here And Learn How To Play Like A Pro With Great Beginner Lessons For Piano!

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