Posts tagged as:

music theory

Beginner Lessons For Piano – Helpful Tips

by Erik Thiede on March 9, 2010

beginner lessons for piano Beginner Lessons For Piano   Helpful Tips

Not sure how or where to get beginner lessons for piano? Want to learn to play like a pro fast?

2 Beginner Lessons For Piano   Helpful Tips

Click Here!

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!

{ 0 comments }

Piano Lessons Made Easier – How To Read Music Notes

by Tania Gleaves on February 12, 2010

top 10 ways to improve your sight reading Piano Lessons Made Easier   How To Read Music Notes

Feel left behind in your piano lessons? Want to really learn how to read music notes?

2 Piano Lessons Made Easier   How To Read Music Notes

Click Here!

One of the basic lessons of learning to play the piano involves how to read music notes. Reading music notes is like learning your ABC’s. Effectively reading music notes requires you to learn the basic parts of a music sheet; sometimes they call this song sheet.

If you look at the music sheet, you will notice that the notes are embedded on five horizontal lines with spaces in between them. This is called staff. It helps you how to read music notes correctly because each line and space represent different keys on the piano.

Click Here And Learn How To Read Music Notes The Right Way!

blank staff Piano Lessons Made Easier   How To Read Music Notes

The symbol placed at the beginning of the staff is called clef, which serves as a guide to read the different pitches on the music sheet. There are actually two kinds of clef, one is called the treble clef and the other one is the bass clef.

treble clef

bass clef

When both clefs are put together with a vertical line, they form the so-called grand staff. These clefs play a vital role in playing the piano since both treble and bass clef shows you different notes to play together in order to produce the sweet sounding music.

grand staff

After learning the basic parts of a music sheet, the next agenda we have on how to read music notes is learning the different pitches corresponding to each line and space of the grand staff. The pitches are represented by the first seven letters of the alphabet. As mentioned earlier, these pitches correspond to different keys on your piano.

piano keys

Knowing this, how do you know whether you have to play the corresponding key or not? This is where the role of the notes comes in. There are actually five notes you can play. When these notes are placed on the grand staff, you must pay attention where they are positioned and what they look like. These notes represent different symbols which show you the duration of each pitch played.

different notes

Here is the breakdown of the notes’ different duration:

  • Whole note – receives 4 counts
  • Half note – receives 2 counts
  • Quarter note – receives 1 count
  • Eighth note – receives half a count
  • Sixteenth note – receives quarter a count

How to read music notes is definitely easy once you have mastered all of these basics. The simple illustrations guide you in playing the piano effectively using the basic knowledge of reading music notes. So go ahead and start fumbling with your hands on the piano keys to play your favorite music sheets.

Click Here And Learn How To Read Music Notes The Right Way!

{ 0 comments }

How to Read Music – Definitions to Help You Learn

February 10, 2010

L earning how to read music is like learning another language. It has its own letters, syntax and grammar. Whether you are learning to play the piano through the classic method or the chord method, you’ll have to be familiar with how to read music.
A page of music has a [...]

Read the full article →

Various Notes

January 25, 2010

Beaming Notes
Music beams are lines that seemingly connect a series of various notes. Since they’re thick and horizontal (as opposed to thin and vertical), they’re more noticeable and intimidating to beginners. Rest assured that beams are nothing to fear – even when sheet music is plastered with them. Music beams [...]

Read the full article →

Music Theory Key Signature – The Basics

January 17, 2010

You have been hearing about the music theory key signature during your first piano lesson but do you know what they are made of? Key signatures are actually one of the basic foundations of playing the piano. These music fundamentals guide you in “tuning” the music pieces you are playing.
Music theory key signature can be [...]

Read the full article →

Learn To Read Music – A Gentle Introduction…

January 15, 2010

Figuring out how to learn to read music may seem intimidating — especially if you’ve never paid any attention to sheet music before. But once you learn the basics, you’ll discover a whole new world that paves a road of confusing symbols with a coat of comfortable, natural, and perfect [...]

Read the full article →

Top 5 Myths About Learning To Play Piano

January 14, 2010

You have to be born with natural ability.
As one of the top 5 myths about learning to play piano, this myth may have you condemned before you even start! Everyone and anyone can learn to play piano as long as they exercise the required amount of patience and practice. The piano [...]

Read the full article →

Understanding The Circle of Fifths

December 15, 2009

The circle of fifths, introduced by Johann David Heinichen in 1728, is a visual arrangement of related keys. Although its name gives the impression that it’s a difficult concept to grasp, it’s really just an easy way to remember the number of sharps and flats in a key signature and the major [...]

Read the full article →

Key Signatures – A Beginner’s Lesson…

December 13, 2009

What Determines The Quality And Quantity Of A Song’s Notes
When watching musicians play piano, you may see them refer to a piece of music in the key of “A” or “C.” These letters refer to the key that the music is played in or its key signature. Key signatures are what [...]

Read the full article →

Piano Sheet Music Confidential

November 22, 2009

Piano sheet music has been around since the birth of the piano. It is the diary of the process of the composer. All of the heart and soul of piece lies within the notation of the sheet music.
Sheet music can be used to record or to create a musical score. Musicians often [...]

Read the full article →