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What piano courses should I order?

      Many people write and ask me questions such as "What should I order? You have so many courses I don't know where to start." Or "I'm an intermediate -- what should I take?"

      It doesn't do much good to use the terms "advanced", or "intermediate", because a person can be an advanced sight-reader and play all kinds of classical stuff, yet not have a clue about how to use chords. And vice-versa.

     First of all, please read the descriptions of each course you're interested in carefully. I have taken lots of time to tell about each course in detail. Listen to the audio file, too, if there is one available on that particular course. Doing that will often help you decide what you need to take.

     If you are a beginner, just getting started in piano playing, the very best thing you could take would be the " CRASH COURSE! -- Weekly Video Lessons In Your Home For A Solid Year -- 52 Weeks!" it is an INCREDIBLE course that has you playing both by CHORDS and by NOTES -- you learn each, and then you learn how to combine chord-playing with note-reading for the best of both worlds! You can read all about it at: www.pianolessonsbyvideo.com

     If you already play fairly well, and are serious about taking your piano playing to the next level, then by all means sign up for " PRO SECRETS! -- A 36 Month Course On The Secrets Of The Pros!" There's nothing else like it anywhere, but you have to be willing to drill hard every day for 3 years. Read more about it at: www.piano-playing-by-ear.com

     If you want to learn to improvise, then take Piano Improvising - a 7-Month Course  at www.pianoplayingwithchords.com/

     If you're somewhere in the middle -- you play, but you want to play better, then...

                ...IF you can form ALL the 12 major chords, ALL the 12 minor chords, ALL the 12 augmented chords, ALL the 12 diminished chords, ALL the 6th and 7th chords....then you DON'T need to order " How To Play Chord Piano....In Ten Days!". Otherwise, start there, and get a sound foundation on how chords are formed and how to use them. (The course also reviews how to read the melody of a song, while your left hand plays the chords.) Click on this link to read more about it: www.chordpiano.com/piano-chords .

     But....

                ...Presuming you can do all that, and REALLY know all those chords and how to use them, but you want your playing to sound fuller, then I would suggest:

" How To Dress Up 'Naked' Music On The Piano" -- 101 different techniques you can use to "dress up" your piano playing so it doesn't sound so "bare". Go to www.pianoplaying.com to read more about it.

     Or....

                ...if you know the basic chords listed above, but want to learn how to form and play "super chords" such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, suspensions and the like, then I would recommend that you take either " All The Chords In The Whole Wide World!", or " Super-Chords Made Super Simple" . All those are found at www.playpiano.com/

   But....

                ...let's say you want to play piano or keyboard at your church -- go to Gospel Piano. We have several other dynamite courses for you, depending upon what kind of church you attend and what the music is like there. You can get a good idea of what is appropriate by reading through the listing of courses at: www.playpiano.com .

     Well, hopefully that gives you a good idea of what you should order. All of our courses are "POD" -- published on demand. That means they DON'T come off the shelf, like in a store. Rather, when we receive your order, we CUSTOM ASSEMBLE it for YOU -- it is duplicated from the master, labeled, the printed material is assembled, then the entire course is packaged and shipped either via Priority Mail or UPS insured, depending on the size of the order.

     Thanks, and I'll look forward to your order!

                                                                                    Duane

                                                                                    (for Bev, Muriel, Poppy, etc.)

PS: If you STILL don't know what to order, here's what to do:

Make a 5 minute cassette tape of you playing a song or two, and tell me on the tape exactly in what ways you would like to improve. Enclose a buck for return postage, and I'll get right back to you with my best recommendation. If I can't help you, I'll tell you that, too. Honest. I promise.  Normally I charge for this, but in this case I'll waive the fee. There will be no charge for this service since you subscribe to my newsletter, but I would appreciate it if you would enclose enough for return postage -- probably five bucks would do it.

Mail the cassette to:

Free critique by Duane, Keyboard Workshop, Box 700, Medford, OR 97501

Or if you prefer, you can email an MP3 to me -- but please talk to me as well as play -- I need to know what you are thinking!

(By the way, I am never available by telephone -- I gave that up years ago for obvious reasons! With something on the order of 50,000 students, I would spend all day and all night on the phone...)

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