Ear Training: High and Low

I came across a fun game for Preschool piano players! You may want to visit my WunderKeys Pinterest Board for additional resources. This particular game caught my eye because it's a familiar story, Five Little Monkeys! It's called, High and Low Game.

This upcoming week in the New Year I'll be sharing with my 3 to 5-year-old piano students High and Low Tones. For adults, it's an easy concept to play high melody tones with the right hand above Middle C. It's obvious to us that our left hand will grab chords and yes, sometimes single notes in the bass below Middle C.

I start kids with ear training right away. A popular free app I use is called Blob Chorus. For adults, I wrote about Jazz Musician's Ear and an article, Piano Lesson: Ear Training.

Another free app for ear training is, Relative Pitch Lite. Adults will like this one, too.

You may be interested in Hear and Play PITCH Ear Training Software.

Closing out 2016. Hope it's been kind to you... Here's looking ahead to a great New Year!

Blessings,

-- LadyD

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

How To Play Silent Night

This morning as I looked out over the land, I came upon a little bit of fog that had settled low in the valley. The town was still lit from last night with all its Christmas lights and in the distance, you can see a stream of headlights from the early morning commuters. The stillness reminds me of the famous Christmas song, Silent Night.

History

 "Silent Night" (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. For more history, read here.

So, in 2008 I wrote a few arrangements to Silent Night and ways to learn how to play them. I received some nice emails from the post. Thank you, dear readers. Is this one of your favorites for singing and playing at Christmas?

As you can see, there's plenty of free stuff online. So, here you go... Have fun!

Free Music to Silent Night:

http://www.virtualsheetmusic.com/score/SilentFREE.html

http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies (Key of A)

Level 2 Silent Night

Silent Night: Late Elementary

Silent Night-Primer Level

https://www.8notes.com

Silent Night: Key of Bb Chord Chart with Lead Line

http://www.music-for-music-teachers.com

For choir and congregation.

Be sure and check out Hear and Play's ChristmasKeys 1.

You may be interested in Kelly Clarkson's Silent Night

Blessings,

-- LadyD

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Free Music Coloring Pages

I'm organizing my studio for "Back to School" piano students. Their new books have arrived! In addition, I have a work table set up for doing music worksheets and especially coloring music pages. If you haven't seen me on Pinterest, here is one my boards, Music-Clipart-Coloring-Font

It seems many are doodling in their Bibles and adults are coloring more as a popular past time nowadays. You and your children may be interested in the following links for music coloring pages. Did I mention... they're all free! One of my favorite crafts is making the Stand Up Piano using three pieces of a straw!

Adult Coloring Pages

Aristocats

Beethoven

Cat Coloring Page

Christmas Holiday Practice

Drums

Frog

Garfield Music Coloring Page

101-dalmatians-listen-music-coloring-page

Musical-instruments-coloring-pages

Piano, Keys, and Notes

Stuart-playing-guitar-coloring-page

Stand Up Piano Coloring Page

Upright Piano Coloring Page

I've gotten tons of coloring pages from Melody Payne on Teachers Pay Teachers and also her site, http://melodypayne.com/

Perhaps you can use some of these templates for your studio, to share with your homeschool group or grandchildren.

Happy piano playing and coloring!

-- LadyD

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Harmonization

I wanted to share these fun and free worksheets available for you on www.pianimation.com I discovered some great songs for students to work on for understanding I-IV-V chords and to help them with some ear training. You'll find many useful songs for harmonization, like If You're Happy and All Through The Night.

Also, you may want to read this article I wrote called, Can You Harmonize The Melody?

Harmonizing the melody means playing a chord to accompany every note of the melody. Since the I, IV & V (V7) chords contain all the notes of the major scale, many melodies in a major key can be harmonized with just these three chords.

To determine the chords used, analyze the melody notes and know them. When more than one chord can be chosen, your ear should always be the final guide.

When harmonizing a melody, many prefer that the chord is in the inversion which places the melody tone as the highest note.

Here's another tip... In most cases, the I major chord will be used to accompany the I, III & V scale degrees because those are the tones that make up the I major chord.

I major (1st inversion): Accompanies the 1st scale degree because this inversion puts the I tone on top.

I major (2nd inversion): Accompanies the 3rd scale degree because this inversion puts the III tone on top and the tone in the middle).

I major (root position): Accompanies the 5th scale degree because this inversion puts the V tone on top and the I tone on the bottom.

Two Steps To Harmonize The Melody

1. Figure Out The Melody

• Choose a key center (what major key your melody will be played in).
• The notes of the melody should only use the notes of the major scale(for most situations).
• Apply the appropriate rhythm to your melody.

2. Use the I, ii, IV & V Chords To Harmonize The Melody To The Highest Note

• Determine which corresponding chords will be used in situations where there can be more than one choice.
• Look for chord inversions which are the easiest to transition from the previous chord.
• Apply the appropriate rhythm to your harmony.
• Look for Passing and Neighboring tones as these tones don't always require an accompanying chord.

For more information on this subject of harmonizing a melody in a Major key, visit 300 Page Piano By Ear Home Study Course.

All the best,

-- LadyD


 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Gilbert and Susan

I often search the internet for "free" song sheets for my beginner students. Especially easy recognizable songs for my primer level students. Those who are able to read music notes on both staffs will like Middle C and C position songs to play on the piano or keyboard.

I'd like for you to meet Gilbert DeBenedetti who has many Freebies to offer those who are just starting to learn the piano and those in Level 4.  You will want to join the Free Piano Music group discussion on FaceBook, too. One of my favorite selections is Autumn from the Four Seasons.

If you're a piano teacher then you will want to stop by the Susan Paradis website for Free Resources and stop by her FaceBook page, too. I have been teaching students for over 20+ years and I can count on this lovely lady offering top quality teaching resources. You may want to print songs and worksheets for yourself. I use Rhythm Dominoes in my studio. Kids love to play music games and it's fun to learn music theory this way.

Oh, and you may want to glance at the Hear and Play's  4 Free Video Lessons.

Do you have a favorite site for free music sheets, games, and worksheets?

All the best,

-- LadyD

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Old Rugged Cross

Jennifer Cook is a blessing to so many. She offers a free arrangement of her own composition to a very familiar hymn, Old Rugged Cross. You can download the free sheet music at The Church Pianist. If you're looking for more songs to play in your church or for your own personal enjoyment, be sure and stop by, More Free Hymn Arrangements.

I think you will definitely want to visit Olive Huisman and her website, Hymn Arrangements. You'll find a free arrangement of Amazing Grace in the Key of F. If you read piano music then spend some time printing out these songs, especially Old Rugged Cross.

More Friday Freebies

Music Symbols

Rhythm Printables

Music and Apps

Sheet Music for Piano


-- LadyD


"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

5 Sites for Free Music Worksheets

Welcome to Friday Freebie! I thought I'd get back to the swing of things this summer. If you're looking for free print outs to help with your own music studies, or perhaps to share with your students, then hopefully this list will help. Sometimes building your own music resources is a great addition to your music library, as well as purchased music books and dvds.

List

1. Opus Music Worksheets

Here you'll find flash cards for tempos and worksheets on time signatures, rests and note values.

2. Pianoanne

These teeny tiny flash cards are just right to place over the piano keys for teaching purposes. You'll find tons of teaching aides here, along with major and minor references numerous free printables.

3. Fun and Learn Music

This is the place to learn Treble Clef and Bass Clef notes. You'll find tons of note reading, interval, sharps, whole steps work sheets  and much more at this site.

4. Jennifer Pins Music

For the younger child at home, let's say the 4 year olds on up, you can find charts on music rhythm values and more for the beginner. Even a Christmas ornament that is so easy to make.

5. Music Motivation

Jerald Simon has a great website with some valuable PDF resources. Take a look around, especially for more in-depth studies of scales and chords for the intermediate and advanced.

Happy Friday!







"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Mailbag Monday: What Are Chord Inversions?

Free Improv Book Plus Children's Jazz

Recently, I came across a book review that caught my eye and LOVED it! Naturally, I just had to reblog about it. Yes, I am on http://pinterest.com/ladydpiano/ and you can see the board that I post about music books for children there. This particular post is about John Coltrane's Giant Steps. You can see the entire review at turtleandrobot.wordpress.com

Are you familiar with the song Giant Steps? The raindrops provide the tempo, the box is the foundation and the snowflake is the harmony. Oh, and the kitten is the melody. It's a picture book for ages 4 and up. The reviews are 4/5 stars.

John Coltrane's Giant Steps

If you are serious about wanting to learn this song and mastering it,
here is a link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltrane_changes


* Friday Freebie Improv Book *

You don't want to miss this!

Richard Grayson provides a link for his free improvisation handbook.
Offered at http://musicmattersblog.com/2013/01/23/free-improvisation-handbook-by-richard-grayson/

Basically, you'll learn Pentatonic scales and how to improvise using just 4 chords.  

Free Music Coloring Pages

http://www.coloring.ws/music1.htm 

coloringplanet.com

Free printable coloring pages 

So, I will say this a million times over... I highly recommend and endorse Mr. Willie Myette for Jazz instructions. You can find him at http://www.jazzpianolessons.com/ No, I am not an affiliate partner and yes, I used to be one of his students and am familiar with his lessons and products. I watch his videos on YouTube when I have the time (after all, I am a grandma of 5) and I think he is the best Jazz teacher online. So, if you like Jazz, please take the time and watch his style.

 This hardcover book is about Florence Mills artistic life in New York. The book received 4/5 stars.

Harlem's Little Blackbird So,  Jermaine Griggs over at Hear and Play has made available a music resource for the vocal artists called Vocals. I believe it's a 10 Disc system of learning.

John Coltrane - Giant Steps

Oh, another book about music that I reviewed... just in case you missed the blog post,
Book Review: Blueprint By Kirk Franklin Oh, how I love this guy. Do you have a favorite gospel song of his?

Blessings,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Good King Wenceslas

English: "King Wenceslas". Made by Hudson, Scott & Sons for Huntley & Palmers, 1913. Victoria and Albert Museum no. M.367-1983. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Historical Note

"The beloved Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" tells the story of a real tenth-century king who was well known for his generosity and Christian spirit.

Vaclav Wenceslas was born in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Born into the royal family, Wenceslas was raised by his grandmother to be a devout Christian. His father died when he was only thirteen years old, and five years later Wenceslas became king. Young King Wenceslas ruled the land fairly, gave aid to the poor, and sought to spread Christianity throughout Bohemia.

In 1853 John Mason Neale, an Anglican priest who lived in England, heard stories of the Bohemian king's kindness and wrote "Good King Wenceslas" to inspire children to be generous on Saint Stephen's Day (December 26). The music for the song comes from a spring carol that was first published in 1582.

The Christmas song portrays Wenceslas the way the people of his time knew him - a compassionate man who was especially kind to children, orphans, and slaves."

It's a very traditional Christmas song, here it is in the Key of F, played with 4/4 time signature. I like it because just about every word is associated with a chord change. Hope you like it, too.

L.H. / R.H.

F/ACF  Good

E/ACF King

D/ADF Wen-

C/BbEG ces-

FF/ACF las

FF/ACF look'd

AF/C out

BbF/BbD on

AF/C the

BbF/A feast

G/BbCE of

F/ACF Ste-

F/ACF phen.

F/ACF When

E/ACF the

D/ADF snow

C/BbEG lay

FF/ACF round

FF/ACF a-

AF/C bout,

BbF/BbD deep

AF/C and

BbF/BbD crisp

G/BbCE and

F/ACF e-

F/ACF ven.

FF/FAC bright-

FF/DFBb ly

FF/CFA shown

C/CEG the

FF/CFA moon

C/CEG that

DD/ADF night,

BbF/BbD though

AF/C the

BbF/BbD frost

G/BbCE was

F/ACF cru-

F/ACF el

F/AC When

E/AC a

DF/AD poor

C/BbCE man

Bb/BbDF came

A/ACF in

G/BbDG sight

FF/FAC gath-

FF/DFBb ring

FF/CFA win-

C/BbEG ter

FF/ACF fu-

FF/DFBb

FF/ACF el.

Silent Night

I was reading a beautiful picture book about how Father Mohr and Franz Gruber went to work in the final hours of the evening and came to write one of the world's best-known and best-loved Christmas songs - "Silent Night." It also tells how this simple song quickly spread from country to country and from language to language, and how its message of hope and peace continues to be shared throughout the world - even in times of war and strife.

 Here are the chords in the Key of Bb, with 6/8 time signature.

L.H. / R.H.

BbBb/DF Si-

BbBb/EbG

BbBb/DF lent

BbF/BbD night!

BbBb/DF Ho-

BbBb/EbG

BbBb/DF ly

BbF/BbD night!

FA/EbC All

FA/EbC is

FC/EbA calm,

BbBb/ DBb all

BbF/DBb is

BbBb/DF bright

EbBb/EbG Round

EbBb/EbG yon

EbG/GBb vir-

EbA/FA

EbBb/EbG gin

BbBb/DF mother

BbBb/DF and

BbF/BbD child!

Eb/BbG Ho-

EbBb/EbG ly

EbG/GBb in-

EbA/FA fant

EbBb/EbG so

BbBb/DF ten-

BbBb/EbG der

BbBb/DF and

BbF/BbD mild,

FA/EbC Sleep

FA/EbC in

FC/EbEB heav

FA/EbC en-

FC/EbA ly

BbBb/DBb peace

BbF/FD

F/DBb Sleep

F/DF

F/BbD in

FF/AF heav-

FF/AEb en-

FEb/AC ly

BbD/Bb peace.

Friday Freebie

If you're interested in free piano duet music, visit Natalie's blog, here

Perhaps you'd like your own free music copy of Sugar Plum Fairy

Improve Your Piano Playing
Access Free Piano Tutorials Here 

Warmly,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• How To Play: Do You Hear What I Hear
• How To Play: Christmas Time Is Here
• How To Play Don't Grow Weary
• Silent Night: Jazz Piano

Free App Tools for Learning and Practice

apps (Photo credit: FabioHofnik)

For iPhones and iPads, I have been using more of their wonderful apps, informative learning tools for my students and personal enjoyment. Have a look:

1. SoundCloud

Record your music! Capture your practice, songs you’re writing, or anything else, and upload them to the Web using this app. Then, easily share them via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Foursquare for feedback. (Free)

2. Newzik HD

You can search any song and get the lyrics and chords for it. This application is a mobile songbook and notation book. It allows you to read the lyrics, chords and the music score. (Free)

3. Music Theory Calculator

This application isn’t really a calculator, but like a calculator, it does help to make figuring things out a little bit faster. Packed with the names of scales, chords, and intervals, this app is a must-have reference tool for any learner. Music Theory Calculator plays and displays note names for scales, chords, and intervals. Much like an ordinary calculator speeds up math, Music Theory Calculator speeds up the process of making music. Use it to find and demonstrate over 1,500 scales, chords, and intervals. From “C major” to “G9” to “F whole-tone” to “C# Altered Dominant”, Music Theory Calculator will give you the note names and an audio example in an instant. ($.99)

4. Scales & Modes for iPad

Scales & Modes is an interactive visual and audio reference for the diatonic scales and modes that are fundamental in music theory. View major and minor modes on the musical staff, see fingerings for both keyboard and guitar, and listen to the scales note by note, in any key. Violin and bass guitar fingerings are also available as an in app. Both major and the minor scales are explained in detail for a thorough understanding of using them in a modal context. This interactive visual and audio reference tool is perfect for learning music theory, offering access to diatonic scales and modes as the touch of a button. ($1.99)

5. iNoteTrainer

Improve your piano note reading skills with this educational music game. This simple game challenges you to correctly identify notes in the treble and bass clefs as quickly as you can. A great game for anyone learning to read music. This musical training game helps aspiring pianists improve their note-reading skills by challenging them to correctly identify notes as quickly as possible. ($3.99)

6. iLovePiano

For playing the piano you need to know what keys you should press and how they are named. This application can be a great introduction to learning piano. It features lessons on note names, piano key names and locations, note representations on sheet music, and ear training. ($2.99)

7. Tenuto

Tenuto is a collection of thirteen customizable exercises designed to enhance your musicality. From recognizing chords on a keyboard to identifying intervals by ear, it has an exercise for you. Tenuto also includes five musical calculators for accidentals, intervals, chords, analysis symbols, and twelve-tone matrices. Use the 12 customizable exercises in this app to practice and enhance your musical abilities, from learning the keys on a piano to recognizing chords. ($3.99)

8. Play By Ear - Ear Training

Play By Ear is a call-and-response ear training application that helps you develop the ability to hear pitches and play them back on your instrument by ear. Unlike other applications which force you to press buttons to indicate the notes you've heard, Play By Ear uses pitch recognition so you can play the notes back on your instrument. Help give yourself the ears of a musician by trying out this ear training app. It offers call-and-response training that will help you develop your ability to understand and play any music you hear. (Free)

9. Do Re Mi Ear Training

A portable Solfège practice partner! Develop pitch recognition, memory, and transcription ability by repeating musical phrases. Take advantage of spare moments to brush up on your music theory and transcription skills! Here you’ll find another ear training app, which can help musical novices with the recognition, memory, and transcription of different pitches. ($4.99)

10. What Note Is This

"If you have always wanted to be able to read music or you are studying an instrument, this is a very helpful and worthwhile app. It makes learning to read notes a lot more interesting!" - PadGadget.com Reading music can be a valuable skill for a young musician, and this app can help to build that ability, testing and motivating note-learning on a piano. ($.99)

11. Rainbow Music Notes

A must-have for young children to learn piano notes. Young music learners will love this application that makes learning notes fun through games, colors, and feedback. ($1.99)

12. Piano Lesson PianoMan

The online mode BATTLE ARENA!
Connecting via a network, you can play against 4 people on a piano battle! This application is similar to Rock Band or Guitar Hero in that it challenges users to play a selected song as notes come up on the screen. Users can even play against each other to really test their skills. (Free)

More apps for iPads can be found on a former post, Free Music Apps for iPads

Also, if you are a singer and want to improve on your vocals, my friends over at Hear and Play are offering a great sale on Vocal Mastery System. You might want to check this out.

Music resource from Yoke Wong:

Learn To Play Your Favorite Christmas Carols Now
Covering Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, and many more
www.ChristmasPianoDVD.com


Best Wishes for Friday Freebie!







"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Friday Freebie: Music Symbols and Vocabulary
• You Can Accompany Yourself
• Beginner's Corner: Ledger Lines
• How To Play: Christmas Time Is Here

What Makes Hand Coordination Better?

Left hand writing the German word "Linkshänder" (left handed). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So many of you have asked for help in hand coordination. Usually when one has trouble playing both hands together on the piano, it is a result of one hand knowing the music better than the other. You will want to be consistent in both hands with the fingerings so that muscle memory is developed. Smooth playing results in correct fingering, not just knowing the notes.

You also want to maintain the same speed in each hand. This is challenging for many of us because we are dominant in one hand over the other. Both hands need to be comfortable but you've just got to know your left hand better. This is usually where the train wreck to the song begins. Be sure and keep your eyes on the music, too. If you keep looking at your hands and all around, you'll lose focus and your place in the music. I know it's challenging to learn a bass pattern over and over in your left hand, while one seems distracted by playing the melody and improvising in the right hand but believe me, it can be done with lots of practice. Train the left hand to be more independent.

Some more practicing tips for playing both hands together:

• When playing music from the grand staff, read the notes vertically (bottom to top) before moving on horizontally (left to right).
• Play the song a couple of times with the right hand by itself. Then play the song a few times with the left hand only. When you’re confident with the notes for each hand, you can try playing the song hands-together.
• Play slowly at first and speed up the tempo as you become more comfortable with the song.
  http://www.dummies.com 
  
  
  Learn the parts separately, the left hand and then the right hand.
  Mark where the notes are together.. (like beats...) Ex. If you have 4 quarter notes in the left hand and you have 8 eighth notes, mark when they're together so you don't get lost.
  
  
  Before you even attempt a difficult passage, make sure your note reading skills are up to par. If you can’t distinguish each note on the staff quickly, take a step back and master that first.  Trust us – it will make the process a lot easier! http://takelessons.com
  
  

  (Nearly always) play with both hands, don't try to separate them.
  Don't worry about skipping a note here or there in the harmony. If you don't get there in time,  just go on to the next one, or make up a harmony! Few listeners will be able to tell. After a while your left hand will develop a feel for where the notes might be expected to be. After a while, your right hand will be able to pick out the melody essentially by ear without having to pay so much attention to the notes on the page, thus allowing you to pay more attention to the left hands harmonies. These two trends will combine together to  make playing easier and easier. Doing a little bit of playing by ear, and a little bit of sight reading new music, will help to strengthen these trends. http://www.lofthouse.com

 My two cents, patience and perseverance. Plus, Hanon Exercises will definitely help! Did I mention memorizing a piece? This adds lots to the equation of easily moving both hands across the keys. Yes, it takes time to do so with lots of practice. Also, I have read that many drop bass notes in their left hand and just play a single note within each measure while the right hand moves more effortlessly. Try this approach if it's easier for you to separate two different rhythms but you may be over simplifying and missing out on some of the tones. Adding a metronome may help and yet it will frustrate many a musician.

A healthy approach to the dilemma of hand coordination is to have very relaxed hands. Also, keep in mind that it's the hand and forearm that support the finger movements. Continue with practicing scales and exercises in contrary motion, along with arpeggios to connect both hands playing music. Play single note runs, and chords, too.

Four-Way Keyboard System - Book One

 Pianoanne has some very cool teaching aides over at her site. Take a look at these, for Friday freebie!

Download the free workbook, Barnyard Friends.

 Let me know what works for you in putting both hands to the keys!
Have a great weekend! Time for Christmas music!

Blessings,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Friday Freebie: Rhythm Printables
• Friday Freebie: Music Symbols and Vocabulary
• Monday Mailbag: Piano Fingering