This is an article by a busy adult student of mine who is learning to play the piano right along side four of her children:

Many folks these days are commitment-challenged and that can hinder one when learning piano. On the other hand, for those of us Type A individuals, we have to remember that it’s okay to be mediocre occasionally, too. I was waiting for the “perfect time” to start piano with the kids, a time when we could really focus and give the necessary practice sessions which it would require. That time never came. But we still went forward. Rather than 30 minutes a day for piano practice, we might give 15 minutes, three or four times a week. We are making progress, albeit at a slower pace, and although that’s not the ideal, it’s not bad, either. Personally, for me, it’s Bad, because I have been raised to think of everything in a good-bad, good-bad, good-bad type of way. If I’m not achieving 110% in every area of life, I must be slacking. The mindset is to knock myself out and move rapidly to the top. I’m trying to instill this love of achievement (hopefully to a lesser extent) in my kids, the oldest of which is beginning college this month at age 14, while still in high school. Dual enrollment. Not bad for a child who just learned English as a second language a few years back. And he’s pushing ahead in his budding tennis career, doubling up on his daily drills. That’s a lot going on, not to mention his congregational involvement and other activities and interests. Plus, there’s family time—the kids love to be together as a family and we need time for that. Our proverbial plates are full enough and since piano is not the main course, it can become lost somewhere on the salad plate of life. Believe me, I know: with four children, two parents, two dogs, two homes, and assorted additional issues of life, we feel like we’re juggling plenty of plates… while walking a tightrope between activities. I want all of us to learn piano and I have come to realize that we can still succeed even if we don’t have the100% commitment factor. The big chunks of time necessarily go to commitment to marriage (over 30 years at last count in our case), children (at the tween and teen years, they somehow need even more time), and God. These are things that require time and attention. But it doesn’t mean that the other interests of life can’t succeed, as well. I mean, I need to pluck my eyebrows and dish out 3 meals a day. It gets done even without a burning passion. I rise before the crack of dawn and coach my oldest son’s tennis development, whether I feel like hitting the courts or not. I check the underbellies of the dogs for ticks or fleas or rashes. Occasionally, there’s a floor to mop or vacuum, a bathroom or kitchen to clean, another load of laundry to toss in. I do spot inspections of the children’s rooms, where you definitely can’t make a coin bounce on the freshly-made bed, most of the time, I don’t even know where the bedsheet disappeared. Maybe it ran off with the cow and the spoon…. Sometime sandwiched inbetween, I do my own work. We’re all busy. Life has a way of moving on, whether or not we’re keeping pace. I’d rather have the kids brush their teeth for 30 seconds than not at all, make their beds halfway than not at all, learn a sport or musical instrument in a semi-satisfactory way than not at all. When you’re in a very busy phase of life, mediocre can be meaningful, too. Just put the objections aside and get started.

———– Copyright 2011 – Alexandra Bartologimignano (Alexandra aims to be an above-mediocre person, jetting here and there with her two boys, two girls, and one husband, while chronicling their larger-than-life adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.) ———–

This podcast is part one of a two-part series on the blues scale — what it is, how it is used, and how it is formed. Listen how to include a minor 3rd, diminished 5th, and minor 7th to add all kinds of color to a plain major scale:

The Blues Scale Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For more complete information on playing the blues, click on “Blues, Boogie, & Rhythm & Blues”

In addition to the normal notes of a chord, you can add notes called “color tones”. They are called that because they add color and interest to a song. Some of the color tones you can add are 6ths, 7ths, major 7ths, 9ths, flatted 9ths, flatted 10ths, 11ths, 13ths, and combinations of all of these. Watch this short video that explains color tones:

To learn about a course on Color Tones, click here.

Everyone who has ever taken a piano lesson knows what a scale is and has probably had to practice them endlessly. The most common type of music scale is a major scale, but every major scale has a relative minor scale. They are called “relative minor scales” because they are related to a major scale. For example, the A minor scale is related to the C major scale because it uses the same notes — it just starts and ends on a different key. In other words, if I played the C scale but played it from A to A, I would be playing the A minor natural scale.

Watch this short video and you’ll understand:

For a complete course in all kinds of scales, click on All About Scales & How To Use Them

Everything has intervals. Runners measure their success by the interval between their start and finish time. In math, an interval is the distance between two numbers (integers for you math wizzes). Although music is often seen as artsy and not based on anything concrete, music is actually very much based on math and today we’re going to look at an example of that.

In music, an interval is the distance between two notes and is expressed based on scale degrees. Let’s look at how to identify the basic intervals.

Let’s start with identifying the interval between C and E. If we count up from C (count C as #1) there are three scale degrees between C and E (C,D,E equals 3). For this reason, the interval between C and E is a third (3rd). What is the interval between D and A? If you count D as #1 and count up to A, there are 5 scale degrees between D and A which makes the interval a fifth (5th)

Nothing in music is that simple, though. There are different types of these intervals. There are Major 3rds, minor 3rds, Perfect 4ths, and minor 6ths to name a few but it’s not as complicated as it sounds. The amount of half steps between each interval defines the specific type of interval. Let’s look at a few.
What is the interval between C and Eb? Let’s count the half steps (C to Db, Db to D, D to Eb equals 3 half steps) 3 half steps equals a minor 3rd. Try this one on your own. What is the interval between D and A? Remember to count the half steps. The easiest way to do that is to count them on a piano. Then figure out the name: (“m” equals minor, “M” equals Major, “P” equals Perfect)

Did you say that the interval was a Perfect 5th? If you did, you got it right! Good job!
Before we call this lesson complete, two more quick facts: The reason that the fourths and fifths are called Perfect has to do with some advanced concepts grounded in acoustics but the short answer is that a perfect interval is more pure and stable than major intervals.

There are also diminished and augmented intervals as well as tritones. All of these advanced intervals will be addressed in later articles. For now, practice identifying the basic intervals and you will be well on your way to understanding the important points.

All music theory (the study of how music is constructed) is based on identifying intervals so put some work in to this lesson before moving on to more advanced topics.

For more musical knowledge, come on over to Play Piano Catalog and browse the many courses in music.

How To Turn a Chord Into a “Cascading Waterfall Run”

It’s pretty easy to take most any chord (4 note chords are easier than 3 note chords, generally, simply because of the way your hand is constructed) and turn it into a “cascading waterfall” of sound.
For a complete course in creating piano runs, please click here: Piano Runs Galore!

Before we talk about musical form, we have to talk about symmetry. If we were to describe symmetry in one word, we would probably pick balance. Our bodies, for example, have symmetry. We have two eyes, both of which are spread evenly away from the center line of our head, where our nose is located. Everything that we have two of is positioned an equal distance from the centerline of our body. In nature, symmetry is all over.

Have you ever watched a movie that seemed like it suddenly ended? The action was just starting to ramp up but then suddenly the resolution and then the credit. This is a symmetry problem and low budget movies are plagued with them because symmetry in art is very difficult to master.

In music, anybody who writes music of any genre has to understand symmetry. Anybody who has gone to an orchestra concert and heard a Haydn symphony may have come away wondering why it was so long and why the same music repeated so many times. One contributing factor to the length of any symphony is the symmetry and symmetry is accomplished by applying a specific musical form.

Although all composers have a different methodology for planning out a piece of music, most will write a main theme, a series of secondary motives, and other notable musical moments. Next, they lay out how those will be arranged.

They might say that there will be some introductory material, then the main theme, then transitional or development material, then the first secondary theme, etc. This is the act of laying out the form of the piece and in order for a piece to sound right, an equal amount of main and accompanying themes has to be achieved. Some pieces of music use specific, more formal musical forms.

Some of these forms include the rondo, sonata, strophic, Ternary, and Binary. Each of these forms have a specific order of events that must take place in order for that particular form to be used but how do they work?

Let’s look at the rondo form. The Rondo form has the form ABACADA. This may seem like some strange code but let’s look at it. Each of these letters is an identification device for different sections of a piece of music. First, the “A” theme is the main theme of the piece. If you were to walk away whistling anything in this piece of music, it will probably be the “A” theme. It’s the motive that this whole piece is constructed around.

Next, the “B” theme is going to be another theme that sounds different from the “A” theme but is based on the “A” theme somehow. (You may not notice it but if you look hard enough, you’ll see it.) Next, we return to the “A” theme and restate it just as it was when we heard it the first time. Then we go to the “C” theme. This is another theme that sounds totally different but is based on the “A” theme somehow.
This pattern can repeat for as many different themes as the composer would like but in order for it to be a piece of music in rondo form, it must always return to the “A” theme before going to another theme.
This is only one example of the many musical forms available.

Many popular songs have musical forms such as ABA, ABCA, ABAB, and so on. Many of the older hymns use the form AB, which of course means verse-chorus, and that can repeat for several times and usually does.

Next time you listen to a piece of music see if you can map out the form of it and see how symmetry is used to make a piece of music flow correctly.

And by the way, the secret to memorizing music is to figure out the form of that particular piece or song. For a course in memorizing music, please click on How To Memorize Music Quickly

There are literally TONS of things you can do to make your piano songs come to life and be far more interesting. In this short video I demonstate just three of those many ways, including a filler you can use on slower tunes as well as uptempo songs, plus a rapid-fire way of breaking up a chord into a “run”.

For a complete course in runs and fills, please go to “Piano Runs & Fills Galore!”

This video is the 3rd in a series about how to create your own unique chord substitutions for most any song. By creating a chord sub, you automatically put your own spin on a tune, as your listeners are used to hearing the same chord progressions in a given song, but you surprise them with a new and different chord.

Watch this short video, then toggle down on this blog to review the first two videos in this series.

For a complete course in Chord Substitutions, please click on “Chord Substitutions”

The “Walk On Up Blues/Gospel Chord Progression” is an obvious but useful technique in the toolbox of the pianist. After all, the I to IV progression is used all the time in music, so there are multiple times in most songs where this technique — or some variety of it — can be used.

For more good stuff like this, come on over to Praise & Gospel Piano!

Beethoven was never much for rules so why obey them for one of his most famous pieces?

Even the title of the piece popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata bears reference to Beethoven’s love of not doing things the way people expected. He called it Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia which means Sonata in the style of a fantasy or literally “Almost a fantasy”.

Listen to most music on the radio today and it follows a very similar style: It starts with a little bit of instrumental introduction, then the singer sings what is known as the verse. Then it goes in to the chorus, that’s the part that you often remember about the song which is why it is also called the hook in most songs. Then the song goes back to the verse, sometimes with different words and after that, the chorus again. Then we get to the bridge where the song changes pretty drastically but eventually makes its way back to the chorus (often played twice) and then a little instrumental at the end. The whole song takes about 4 minutes but rarely more than 5 minutes. Songs on the radio today are fairly predictable.

In Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven’s day, they had the Sonata. It was a very predictable style and although we’ll save a discussion of sonata form for another article, what defined a sonata form was a fast and lively beginning with a slow movement somewhere in the middle and ending with a medium and then fast tempo movements or just a fast movement. Moonlight Sonata is slow, medium, fast.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, a Fantasy is often a piece of music based on an improvisatory style. In other words, by throwing in the word Fantasy (fantasia) Beethoven is giving himself license to do whatever he wants. (Not that he needed it. He often did whatever he wanted anyway)

Every piece of art has to have a story and if they don’t, we romantic humans with big hearts will often make up a story to give a piece of art more personality. Here are the two stories behind Moonlight Sonata. Beethoven wasn’t much in to giving piano lessons to people and there seems to be evidence that he wasn’t all that personable as a general rule but around 1800 Beethoven was giving lessons to a royal family who was most likely paying him well when he met Countess Giulietta Guicciardi.

He fell in love with her (artists fall hard, you know) and wanted to marry her. Sadly, Beethoven being a commoner couldn’t marry royalty. Instead, she married another amateur composer. Beethoven dedicated this piece to her and judging by the not so happy sound of it, one wouldn’t think that it was an upcoming wedding gift. If you believe this story, you can certainly hear the sorrow of a broken heart present in this piece.

On the other hand, some stories, far more boring, say that Beethoven visited Lake Balaton, located in Hungary. (yawn) If a lake was his inspiration, it must have been raining when he visited. We’ll let you decide which story you like better.

The term “Moonlight Sonata” was given to this piece by Ludwig Rellstab who said that the piece sounded like moonlight shining down on Lake Lucerne. (Yes, another lake.) Beethoven didn’t live long enough to know of his piece as Moonlight Sonata.

The piece starts with a slow movement that is absolutely beautiful and when a pianist plays it, they can’t help but hear the sorrow that comes from the piece. It is commonly known that the first movement is played with dampers and very softly the entire way as to not only paint a picture of sorrow but also deep reflection by a tired soul. (As you learn it, see what the piece says to you.)
The second movement sounds much more like a classical period piece, a little more lighthearted than the movements surrounding it. This is probably the least liked movement as many people only know the first and last movements.

The third movement, a technically challenging and musically complicated composition speaks to anger and not just inner anger but anger that bursts out of the soul. As you listen to it, think about what the inspiration for such a piece would have been.

This piece was wildly popular in Beethoven’s day. In fact, he got tired of hearing it himself. He once said, “Surely, I’ve written better things”.

If you’re about to embark on learning this piece, you’re most likely starting with the first movement and quite possibly, not playing the second and third. That’s ok with Beethoven as some of his students and other musicians of the period often did not play complete sonatas.

Now that you know a little bit more about the piece, dive in and have a great time with it.

To learn the first movement of Moonlight Sonata (that’s the theme — the part everyone recognizes) click on the link below to learn about our audio CD course (not a video — an audio course with the original sheet music of the first movement):

Learn to play Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano

This piano lesson video is the second in a series of videos on how to create unique chord substitutions - making surprising chord changes that are individual for each song and each musical situation.

For a complete course in Chord Substitutions, please go to “Chord Substitutions: 3 Secrets of Creating Fresh Harmonies“

Is a music education really necessary or even beneficial for children? With American schools aiming to increase their standardized test scores and decrease their annual spending, it’s no wonder that electives such as music have been erased from the board. Music is considered a fluff subject that often falls by the wayside.

But is it? Statistics seem to indicate that an exposure to music can actually increase a child’s math ability, not to mention reasoning, creative thinking, scoring better on standardized tests, and making higher grades in high school. If it helps them brush their teeth, too, I’m all for it.

The reality is, in this day of slash and burn budget cuts, you may have to provide their music education in your own time, and on your own dime. If my early years of Intro to Music are any indication, that would not be entirely bad. You could direct their studies, and gain much more than the odd bits and pieces we learned way back when.

It was that turbulent time in history when all was being questioned in American society. Mainstream composers were not studied so much as slave work songs and Negro spirituals. How our grey-haired, white music teacher came to warble “Pick a Bale of Cotton” was anyone’s guess. To this day, I recall the lyrics, “Me and my partner can, pick a bale of cotton, Oh, me and my partner can, pick a bale a day. Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of cotton! Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of hay!”

At least that song was understandable, unlike “Jimmy Crack Corn and I Don’t Care”, which has, on the conservative side, I figure about 2,149 various interpretations. The song might refer to a mule eating the corn being trodden, or a slave’s corn rations being cut due to disobedience, or chitchatting among slaves who should have been working, or even has something to do with “gimme crack corn”, i.e., alcohol. As children, it was puzzling to be singing a song of dubious meaning and morals. Why was Jimmy Cracking Corn, and why didn’t anyone Care? We students didn’t seem to care much, either, but our then-master, the music teacher, wasn’t going away anytime soon.

While our vocal lessons plodded along as we sang gems like “The Age of Aquarius” and “Windy” at school assemblies, there was a bright light on the horizon when instrumental lessons were introduced as an elective in the Fourth Grade. Pupils had to demonstrate an interest in an instrument, which already flattened the playing field considerably.

We were given an overview of the brass, wind, and stringed instruments, and then allowed to try out an instrument or two. I settled on the violin. Let’s just say that some students were more suited to blowing hot air and marching in bands as football halftime diversions. They had me pegged correctly as more attuned to a string quartet.

By Sixth Grade, I was actually doing pretty well on my instrument of choice, and it was suggested that I audition for a Youth Symphony. The instrumental music teacher encouraged those of us from families with means to pursue private lessons, which we did, as well. I ended up with a teacher who accompanied me on the harpischord, making all of the practice time worth it. Her husband played trumpet in a large symphony and I remember him taking me, along with three of his Eastern European counterparts, to a huge concert hall where I watched them perform.

I can vouch that my reasoning and creative thinking abilities improved dramatically when having to figure out: if I went to the restroom during the concert’s intermission, would I ever find my way back to the proper seat as a preteen on my own? Along with my inflated standardized test scores, and high school grades in general, one has to ask: was this increased mental ability bordering on genius due to music lessons?

I don’t know, but it couldn’t have hurt.

Guest post ———– Copyright 2011 – Alexandra Bartologimignano

(Alexandra is a jet-setter trying to keep her head above water in several countries with several languages, several children, one husband, and two cute dogs. She is learning piano with one of Duane’s courses in her spare moments and generally chronicles their adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.)

———–

Among the various ways to reharmonize a tune are three specific but easy methods. This is part one of a three part series, and deals with a simple question you can ask at any point in a song to come up with new and fresh chords: “Into What Other Chord Does This Note Fit?”

Watch this short video and you’ll understand:

Then come back here tomorrow and we’ll take up part two of the series.

Piano practice for adults — how to help your piano teacher make the most of your piano lessons.

Any truly positive change takes a lot of time, dedication, and patience – and that includes piano practice. Anyone who tells you differently, is trying to get some fast money out of you. You know how it works. You start with a dream and you jump in and get started. Then reality comes roaring back. You have a job, you have kids, you’re tired, and after one week of work, you don’t feel like you’re getting any better so you start playing less and less.

That doesn’t mean that your hard work has to be tedious and boring. Far from it.

When is your prime time?

For some people, they do all of their “chores” when they wake up so real life doesn’t pull them in all directions before the essentials get done. Others do their piano practicing at the end of the day after everything is done and they can relax. When is your prime time? Whenever your mind is most focused and ready to engage in your practice, that’s when you should do it. If you have a bad attitude towards practice, often it’s not because you don’t like the piano. It’s because it’s the wrong time of day. Often the things that drain most of your energy and drive are the highest on your priority list, right?

Play Something You Like

Don’t spend all of your practice time playing material you already know but maybe do 10 or 15 minutes of scales and other technical exercises and then play something you enjoyed learning. Remind yourself that at one time this piece was just as bad as other music you’re learning now but you got there and now it sounds beautiful. Everything you’re practicing now will follow the same path. Play something you like to remind yourself of how the journey ends.

Consistent Standards

How’s your posture? How do your fingers look? Where’s your head? Are you using proper piano fingering? It’s ok and highly appropriate to focus on improving one thing at a time but your standards should never change. Bad posture while you’re learning teaches you two things: the piece you’re learning and bad posture. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between good and bad habits. You have to teach it and the only way to teach it is to keep standards consistent. That’s why your teacher may tell you to practice with a mirror next to you so you can see your posture.

You need a metronome

Metronomes used to be these big clunky looking things that cost a lot of money and looked like they were straight out of Beethoven’s day. Now, they cost as little as $15 and are about the size of a credit card. No musician is considered good if they can’t play at a consistent tempo. It will be annoying at first but quickly, you’ll get used to playing with it.

Bottom Line

Your piano lessons will help but they won’t make you a good piano player unless you make it happen. Your piano teacher will guide you down the road to being great but only your practice time will truly give you your dream of being a great pianist. Remember, positive change doesn’t come easy so hunker down and expect small changes over time but it won’t take long for you to look back and be amazed at the progress you’ve made.

For more good ideas on practicing, see Power Practice.

Copyright 2011 by Duane Shinn. Do not use without permission.

Would you like to learn some of the great classical piano pieces such as Beethovens “Fur Elise”, “Moonlight Sonata”, Chopin’s “Prelude in C Minor”, or Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” without having to be a very advanced pianist?

If so, click on the link below and take a look at these great courses:

http://www.playpianocatalog.com/clpico.html

A student of mine who writes a blog did an hilarious post about her kids learning piano at home. She (the Mom) used my Crash Course to stay a piano lesson or two ahead of the kids. If you are a home school parent, you will no doubt identify with this!

http://www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com/the-piano-project/.

PS: The Crash Course is at www.pianolessonsbyvideo.com

http://www.pianolesson.tv/

There are literally hundreds (or thousands) of different ways for any piano player to make his or her songs more interesting by adding the appropriate filler and/or piano run to a song. Watch this short video where I demonstrate just a couple ways:

For a complete course in creating runs and fills go to: http://www.pianolesson.tv/

Do you know anybody who seems like they can play any song and change it a little bit to make it sound even cooler? Have you ever heard a musician who plays a solo while the rest of the band plays along in the background? Playing music without the notes of the solo being written out is called improvisation and is a practice that often defines jazz music.

First, how does anybody play music without the help of the notes written out in front of them? The answer is simple: We don’t know for sure. To some it comes easy — to others, not so much. Some people have a seemingly unexplainable talent for listing to a piece of music and improvising over top of it while others who are otherwise very talented musicians can’t function without music.

Some people who improvise don’t need any music at all while others have something called a lead sheet in front of them. A lead sheet has the main melody of the song along with the names of the chord changes and where they occur. By watching this, the person improvising can construct melodies of their own based on the chords.

Can improvisation be taught? Yes it can but it’s important to start simple. Go online and find a lead sheet of a slow song that you enjoy. Each of the chords listed are based on scales so if you see a “C” listed, that is based on the C Major scale. As you’re just beginning, only use the first 5 notes of the scale for each chord and simply have some fun. Try to construct a melody using the five notes and then when the chord changes, construct a melody that is based on the new chord.

As you get better, you can use more notes, make your melodies more complicated, and possibly even use a few notes that are outside of the chord. Remember that the most important part of improvisation is to not plan out your melody too much. This should be fun so try something new each time and if sounds terrible, laugh it off and try again.

What’s the secret of good improvisation? Those who seem to have a talent for it understand that a lot of music has chord changes in very predictable patterns and for that reason, those who improvise a lot can hear those changes. Like everything else, artists who are naturally talented at improvisation have also practiced it a lot. Don’t forget that anything in music, regardless of your level of natural talent, will take a lot of practice.

If some have a natural talent for it, is improvisation something that can be taught? Yes it can! If you know somebody who seems to have a natural talent for improvisation while you struggle, don’t get frustration. Some people’s brains are simply wired for improvisation while others are better wired for reading music off of a page. The world of music needs both types of musicians.

Improvisation is truly one of those musical skills that should come not so much from a piece of paper but from inside of you. It’s an opportunity for you to express yourself as an artist. Have fun!

Listen to this short podcast on syncopation:

Enhanced Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download