It’s often playing in the places you go. Whether it’s in an art gallery, a unique specialty shop, or a restaurant, ambient music creates a mood. This music genre has seen a growth in popularity in the last 30 years. Some people refer to it as new age music.
Continue reading →Do You Think There Was a Fake Piano at the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics?
Sure makes me wonder, the way the piano was jiggling like it was made of cardboard or plastic — real pianos don’t normally dance…plus, the pedal action looked suspicious.
I don’t know for sure, and maybe we’ll never know. What do you think?
Continue reading →Reading piano notes may seem daunting at first, but it really isn’t if you ground yourself in the basics. The first step is learning the names of the notes. The great thing is that you only have seven to memorize.
Continue reading →Just what is it about the tritone chord progression that makes it so mysterious? Perhaps it has to do with its dissonant, clashing sound. It may have something to do with its dubious history. Whatever it is, the tritone chord progression in music made a comeback in music after several centuries of bad publicity.
Continue reading →Does the cold, cerebral feel of modern jazz leave you cold? Maybe you’d like to have a little bit of “gospel” in your jazz? Maybe you just want to take an old hymn and give
it some updating. Then you’ll need to load yourself with an arsenal of gospel jazz chords.
Continue reading →One of the simple joys in life is the ability to read music. Learning this skill will enable you to express yourself creatively at the piano, playing your favorite songs.
It’s not difficult to learn to read music if you understand its components.
Continue reading →The graceful flourishes of a well-played piano masterpiece are sounds that many people would love to create. From trained professionals to child prodigies, a brilliantly
played piano can steal the show. But great lessons are costly and involve scheduling time away from your busy life. So how do you learn how to play the piano or deepen your
knowledge of the instrument?
Continue reading →Does the idea of taking piano lessons make you cringe? Does it make you remember some old lady beating you over the knuckles with a ruler when you were eight years old for not practicing your scales enough? Do you think back to the old woman with thirty-three cats that stunk of urine and cheap perfume that your mother made you learn scales from when you were a child?
Continue reading →Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. And even after these musicians master their instruments or a particular song, playing by ear still plays a large role.
Continue reading →While we have all heard stories of child prodigies and the importance of learning music as a child, an adult can still learn to play an instrument quite well. Even with no prior experience, the right training can help an adult learn to play music just as well as a child. The main thing is to find the right way to learn, whether it’s through a tutor or self-study.
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