10 Quick Tips About Piano Practice

commons.wikimedia.org

 Mailbox Monday

Question: The children don't know how to practice their songs. Can you help?

Yes, thanks for asking this frequent question that is so common with many households.

I have written at least three articles on the subject. So, without copying and pasting all the information here in this blog post, I thought I'd share the links with you to look at in your free time.

I hope they will be helpful in your discipline as an artist to visit the piano each day and make the most of your piano lessons at home.

In 2005 I wrote: How To Practice The Piano In Five Easy Steps

In 20011 I wrote: Practice Tips

In 2015 I wrote: 10 Quick Tips About Piano Practice

 I decided to share the latest one with those in the beginner's corner.

1. Practice warm-ups first. When your hands are warmed-up properly, you will be able to approach a new song with greater ease and with less mistakes. Lack of tension produces more beautiful tones. Use scales and finger exercises for your warm-up. Always use curved fingers.
2. Practice slowly. Your brain cannot retain music information in detail when you play fast. It is necessary to play slowly and carefully at all times. Don't push your speed. Take it slow and steady. Play each warm-up slowly at first. When you can play smoothly and evenly you may gradually increase speed.
3. Practice short passages. Each day practice just one passage, and practice it very carefully and thoroughly. In the long run, this makes for a better practice session. When you have a short piece or song to work on, you will not feel overwhelmed.
4. Practice at the same time. First thing in the morning you are refreshed and ready to go. For others, school and homework come first. Follow up with a practice session in the afternoon or early evening.
5. Practice chart. A practice chart or journal is a record of your practice sessions, including what you practice and for how long. At the end of each practice session, write down exactly which piece you studied and the number of minutes spent on it. Make a specific list, set goals and try to meet them. Check each goal as you complete it. Make practicing a game or challenge.
6. Practice with correct fingering. Learn a song with the sequence of notes stepping up and down the keyboard. Learn the form of the movements to play the piece comfortably. Learn to be fluent in responding to finger numbers. If you are consistent with your fingering, you will be very secure and confident when playing in front of others. I can't emphasize good posture enough because it makes playing easier and enjoyable.
7. Practice right where you left off when you made a mistake. Students always start from the beginning of a song. They become very good at playing the beginning of a piece, but tend to be less proficient towards the end. Start over at the measure where you hit the wrong note.

8. Practice counting out loud. Counting out loud is good advice for the beginner student, especially during slow practice in the early stages of learning a song. It is an effective way to develop your sense of rhythm. Hearing your voice and your hands helps you with coordination between two hands as well as the timing of the piece. Counting the beat will help you play rhythms correctly. Counting out loud gets much easier with practice.
9. Practice each hand separately to the end. Take a few measures and within that segment play the Left Hand several times until you can play it comfortably with a rounded hand. Do the same with the Right Hand. Next play both hands slowly until you can play the segment comfortably before advancing to the next section. Decide if you want to practice each line or a couple of measures 2-3 times. Use a little weight when dropping into a key to make louder tones.
10. Practice looking at the music. As much as possible, try not to look down at your hands but look at your sheet music. It's fine to occasionally look down at your hands, especially after the piece has been learned. When you look at your hands just try to remember where you are on the sheet music, and do not move your head. Just move your eyes. When you look back up at the sheet music it will be easier to find your place on the sheet music.

All the best,

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

If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider following on Bloglovin' Keep in touch with me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, too!

Related articles

• Mailbox Monday: One More Step Along The World I Go
• Monday Music Quote: Johannes Brahms
• Most Popular Posts on LadyDpiano
• Primary and Secondary Triads Figured Bass
• Altering Chords

3 Quick Tips About the Earliest Age

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

Monday Mailbox

"Please advise me what you think is the earliest age at which a child may begin to study the piano."

Teacher Talk

No age is too early to begin piano lessons. I say the earlier the better! It's a green light to begin if the child is musical and eager to learn, and if the teacher is stimulating and imaginative enough.

But one must realize:

That expression at the piano during the preschool years is purely physical - the joy of swing, movement and sound; therefore all stiffness and conscious striving must be guarded against. After all, they're just kids and their tiny hands are not fully developed. Plus, their attention span is limited.
   
That music existed before notes - therefore the child must, for a time, be unhampered by the       printed page. Rote or ear-playing should be the rule until the piano is thoroughly explored, and the approach to it is confident and easy. Note reading should of course be taught, but not simultaneously with the playing of "pieces," however short. The length of this rote period, depends, naturally upon the child's ability.

That all music played should be short, often less than a four measure phrase, for even that much may be too complicated technically for the preschool child. Such motives as the following may be played all over the keyboard and in many keys.

Bass notes: left hand plays C and right hand plays F (two times)
Treble notes: left hand plays Bb, Ab, Gb and right hand plays Bb

The idea in each case is complete, yet simple enough to be expressed happily and musically. Any teacher can "make up" dozens of these short, amusing figures for the beginner.

There is so much excellent material for beginners available to teachers and parents. Here's a list of a few that I use and am familiar with. These are helpful for kindergarten and early elementary kids.

Beginner Books: Primer Level



10 Easy Lessons Piano Young Beginner



A Charlie Brown Christmas: Beginning Piano Solos

If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider following on Bloglovin' Keep in touch with me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, too!

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

Related articles

• The History of Reading Music Notes
• 5 Things About Sight Reading Music
• Primary and Secondary Triads Figured Bass

Back To School: Piano Lessons

Cover via Amazon

I'm getting ready to head up a new school year of teaching piano to home school students, as well as those who attend public and private schools. Oh, and I love to teach adults because I enjoy spending more time with them at a slower pace. Usually an hour lesson provides lots of learning time and the younger ones enjoy a fast-paced half hour time slot.

Beginner's Corner

As you've probably gathered online as well as from your own personal experience, all piano teachers use different methods, piano books and teaching approaches with their lessons. I am always being asked, "What books do you use?" and my answer usually is... 'it depends.'

For beginners, I like these four little pink books!
Bastien Piano Basics Primer Level - Learn to Play Four Book Set - Includes Primer Level Piano, Theory, Technic, and Performance Books

Music Theory Primer Level:

1. Rhythm in Music
2. Music Alphabet
3. Time Signatures
4. The Staff
5. The Grand staff
6. Clef Signs
7. Dynamics
8. Measuring Intervals
9. Slurs and Ties
10. Chords
11. Sharps and Flats
12. Middle C Position, C Position and G Position

When my students finish these books, which usually takes them the entire school year, they then move on to Level 1B. Keep in mind that I supplement their notebooks with free music sheets, music games, work sheets and ear training. Lots to do in such a short amount of time.
Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Lesson Book Level 1B

Music Theory - Level 1B

1. C Position Review, G Position Review and Middle C Position

2. Review Melodic and Harmonic Intervals

3. Incomplete Measure

4. Review Dynamic Signs

5. Accent Sign

6. Tempo Marks

7. Eighth Notes

8. New Time Signatures and New Concepts

9. Damper Pedal

10. Eighth Rest

11. Measuring Half Steps and Whole Steps, Tetrachords

12. Major Scale

Young students and adults who are ready to move on will enjoy a new learning experience with

Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book: Level 2

Music Theory: Level 2

1. Time Signature Changes and Tempo Changes

2. New Rhythm Patterns

3. Shape of Intervals

4. Playing 6the in G Position

5. Fluency in a piece that changes registers frequently

6. Moving hands to 8va position and more frequent left hand positions

7. Harmonic 6ths moving stepwise

8. Blues Scales, Major Scales ascending, descending and contrary motion

9. Measuring 7ths, Playing Harmonic 7ths

10. Reviewing tetrachords and major scale patterns

11. Triad Vocabulary, Blocked and Broken Chords, V7 chord

12. Chord Progressions

Another resource I recommend, 300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course
Adults, College kids and High School students like this reference book. It's a great theory reference guide to have on hand. You'll be filling in the blanks with pencil a lot!

Hope you have a great school year with many blessings and opportunities for you to share your talents and musical gifts!

 If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider following on Bloglovin'
Keep in touch with me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, too!


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

Related articles

• So, You Want Your Child To Be A Pianist?
• Kindergarten Music: Bingo-March Song
• 5 Sites for Free Music Worksheets
• Free App Tools for Learning and Practice
• Free Music Apps for iPads
• HomeSchoolPiano ~ Schoolhouse Review

Primary Chords to Know

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Awhile back I wrote a post about three chords, the-chords-c-f-and-g. I thought I would elaborate a bit more since you've probably heard music teacher's say that you only need to know just a few chords to play any song. So, what are those chords? Here's a few points to know.

1. Every key has three chords known as primary chords.
2. They are groups of notes built on the 1st note of the scale, the 4th note of that scale and the 5th    note of the scale.
3. These notes occur more than any other chord in a song but remember there are more chords throught a song.
4.  Build the I Chord from C (in the Key of C) = CEG
5.  Build the IV Chord from F = FAC
6.  Build the V Chord from G = GBD
7.  Remember the I, IV, V is based on the scale of that particular key.

Absolute C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Absolute F

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Absolute G

Db Eb F# Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb F# Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

You need to know these 3 chords so that you can play and sing in every key, in addition to C.

Key / Chords

G: G, C, D

D: D, G, A

A: A, D, E

E: E, A, B

B: B, E, F#

F: F, Bb, C

Bb: Bb. Eb, F

Eb: Eb, Ab, Bb

Ab: Ab, Db, Eb

Db: Db, Gb, Ab

Gb: Gb, Cb, Db

By learning these 3 chords to any key, you can start off with Silent Night and then practice singing and playing this Christmas song in all the other keys. Are you familiar with the story of Silent Night? Here it is, www.wnyc.org.

For music instruction on learning piano chords, visit Chords 101 & 102 for the audio series.

Have fun with it. I think playing Christmas Carols is a great confidence booster to your piano playing!

If you find that you're an intermediate player, then check out the other silent-night-arrangements.

Order this DVD resource for ChristmasKeys1 to get a jump start on the season's music.

Blessings,







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

Beginner's Corner: Ledger Lines

Ledger line example (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Ledger Lines

Sometimes the five lines of the treble clef and the five lines of the bass clef are
not enough to write down all the notes a composer wants to use.

The really low and really high notes go above or below the staff, but they can't
just hang in empty space. To make room for notes that don't fit on the staff musicians
use ledger lines.

They are short lines stacked above or below the regular lines of each staff. Think of
ledger lines as additional steps above or below the staff. A definition and picture is
demonstrated at http://www.thefreedictionary.com

By adding the staff, ledger lines provide means for indicating pitches either higher or
lower than the limits of the five-line staff.

A note on the space above or the space below the staff does not require a ledger line.
So, at times a musical sounds may be either higher or lower than those pitches represented
by lines and spaces of the staff. The means of writing such pitches are provided by ledger lines.

I think it's probably a good idea to learn how to read ledger lines, especially for those high
octave endings and low bass tone endings. A foundation for learning the staff, clefs and ledger
lines can be found at http://www.8notes.com

In the above photo, the higher note is called "High C" but no, it's not the highest C
on the piano. Remember that the line notes, starting with the first line, is E, G, B, D, F.
Therefore, the first ledger line is A and the note sitting on the 2nd line is C.

Now, the lower note is resting on the A line. The first line is Middle C and counting the music alphabet backwards we arrive at A. I think one of the coolest photos to explain all this theory
can be found at http://www.dummies.com

For more additional online information regarding ledger lines, visit http://www.tedvieira.com/onlinelessons/sightreading101

Photo Credit: Susanparadis.wordpress.com

 A very valuable print out to use for testing yourself and students is the use of flash cards.
Some great ones can be found, here

Ledger lines in different languages are called:

• linea aggiunta (It)
• ligne ajoutée / supplémentaire (Fr)
• Hilfslinie (Ger)

They are important to learn how to read them and where to play those note on the piano,
especially when you see the octave sign, 8va (meaning a note or section will be played an
octave higher.)

You may be interested in the Gospel Music Training Center, visit gmtc

Have a great week ahead!





"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

All Through The Night (Basic Chords)

 So on Friday's I review the week of email that comes
in from my readers and decide on what to share with
you, especially since Friday's post is for the beginner.

Once you've learned a few chords in the Key of C,
it's time to add in some minor chords, especially Am
and Em. For the following easy song, your left hand
chords  will be on the white keys, except for the D chord.

For the bass walk down C, goes to B note and lands 
on  Am. Have fun with the song.

Midi to All Through The Night 


Piano Chords to All Through The Night.

 C        Am        D     G

Sleep my child and peace attend thee 

 
 F        G       C
all through the night 

 
 C        Am      D        G
Guardian angels, God will send thee, 

 
 F    G            C
All  through the  night. 

 
F    Em   Dm Em  F    Em   Dm  Em
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping, 

 
Dm                D       G
Hill and dale in slumber steeping, 

 
C      Am         D        G
I, my loved one, watch am keeping, 

 
F    G           C
All through the night.  

C chord = CEG


Am = ACE


D = DF#A


G = GBD


F = FAC


Dm = DFA


Em = EGB
Become A Better Church Pianist Now!
Learn How To Play Hymns Using Color Chords
& Exciting Runs & Fillers

www.PianoArrangement.com






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

Beginner Music Steps: The Wheels on the Bus

Funny Looking Bus!

The Wheels on the Bus is a very simple song 
to learn and so easy to play in the Key of F. 

Sometimes all you need are two chords to 
complete a song. In this case, beginners already 
know that an F chord is FAC but I play the inversion, 
which is CFA and with the C7,
you would play CEBb.


So, if your left hand plays an F chord, C7, F, C7  
and end on an F chord, basically you're playing the
I chord (F) and the V chord (C7)... progression.

I'll give you the melody notes that you will need to
play with the right hand. As you move along, singing
to yourself, be listening for the left hand chord changes.

Melody Notes

Play these single notes with right hand:

C     F          F  F    F     A  C        A      F
The wheels on the bus go round and round.
G         E     C
round and round.
A        G     F
round and round.
C     F         F    F   F     A   C        A     F
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
G    C          C    F
all through the town!

Chord Chart


The Wheels on the Bus
    F          
The wheels on the bus go round and round

C7
Round and round

F
Round and round.

F
The wheels on the bus go round and round

C7               F
All through the town.


Listen to the Mp3 http://freekidsmusic.com/traditional-childrens-songs/wheels-on-the-bus/


 If you would like to learn more music theory 
with a course book, visit:
300pg Course Book

I also sent out September's newsletter. Hope you
get it in your inbox! I'm arranging lessons in 3 
separate levels... a little bit to go around for everyone.


Happy Friday! I hope you have a very relaxing 
Labor Day Weekend... enjoy!

Best,





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

Beginner: Steps to Success

Returning home from San Francisco, I was catching up on reader's emails, and I took a long look at many of your requests. I thought I would begin a series, Beginner Music Steps. That way, if you're an advanced player, just delete the post.

However, I have listened to so many discouraging and frustrated notes from beginners at the piano really wanting to learn the piano that I just knew I had to start at the beginning with lessons and instructions.

Steps to Success

Sometimes you may be asking yourself:

1. Did I play the right NOTES?

2. Did I remember to COUNT the RHYTHMS?

3. Did my song have a STEADY HEARTBEAT?

There's so much going on as you play the piano with rounded hands, counting aloud, and asking, "Was it steady without pauses?

Keeping your eyes on the music while listening, were there different dynamics? First, you've learned the notes in the Treble and Bass clef. It's so important to learn note names, (quarter, half, whole, etc.) and letter notes in C Position, (C, D, E, F, G). And yes, there's A and B notes, as well.

 Melodic Intervals

 

Another important step in learning music is to see and hear music intervals, that is the distance between tones measured in intervals. Notes played separately make a melody.

Melodic 2nds move from line to line to the next space or move from a space to the next line.  (C to D)

Melodic 3rds move from a line to the next line or from a space

to the next space. (C to E)

Melodic 4ths move from a line to a line, skipping a line. They may also move from a space to a line, skipping a space. (C to F)

Melodic 5ths move from a line to  aline, skipping a line. They may also move from a space to a space, skipping a space. (C to G)

Before we move on to another lesson with some beginner songs next week, along with the basic chord progressions of simple key signatures, be sure you know your music notes on the staff and you are practicing hearing the sounds of intervals in the melody line.

We'll be connecting both hands to a simple song next time. Be sure and leave me a comment below if you want. And take a look at the music resource (audio cd) with Jermaine Griggs teachings on piano chords. Chords 101 and 102

Best,






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