How to find piano playing lessons
(guest post - not by Duane)

If you are one of the many people who love music, then you most likely have thought about learning how to play an instrument. Though might sound simple, it takes years of practice to be able to play an instrument well. Some people are lucky enough to have been born with some natural talent, but in order to fully become amazing at a certain instrument, it takes a lot of hard work and patience. One of the simplest yet still challenging instruments to learn is the piano and i’m sure you have tried to play a few times in the past. If you are serious about learning to play the instrument, piano playing lessons are available at almost every city and you just have to take a somewhat strategic approach towards finding the perfect one for you.

Piano Playing Lessons And The Teacher

In order to make the experience worth while, you must realize that the teacher must be very patient and knowledgeable about piano playing. You simply do not want to work with a person who does not have the passion to teach. This is very hard to decipher beforehand but the best way to figuring out about a teacher is through the internet. You will be able to find several reviews on the teacher and if you are not able to find any, it is best to skip them because you want to have the utmost confidence that this teacher will be able to teach you well. Learn how to choose the teacher correctly and you will be one step closer to playing the piano.

Piano Playing Lessons And The Hidden Price Of Using The Wrong Teacher

The price of the lessons is also very important because you do not want to be spending a fortune on a few lessons. Though you might be very excited about the process now, you might not enjoy piano playing and you will just be wasting your money. Commonsense will also say that you should just go with the cheapest teacher and see how that goes. This is also a bad idea because you do not want to sacrifice quality just because you are trying to save a few dollars. You will then have to find a median where you are able to get great quality without having to pay a fortune. Sort through your options and you will definitely find a teacher that you can trust.

Piano playing lessons can be fun and sometimes they can be done with a group of people. This can actually be much cheaper and would be a good idea for those who want to simply just learn the basics. For those who have a true passion for the musical instrument and would like to enhance that talent that they already have, then a personal piano playing teacher would be the better option. No matter how great your teacher is, it will all depend on how hard you work and the time that you put into your practice. With just enough patience and hard work you will definitely be able to play the piano well one day.

Click here to find out if you are a naked piano player.

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.) —————-

I wish I had invented this!

One of my competitors, Jermaine Griggs, has invented a software robot that allows you to SEE songs being played on the keyboard — note by note — and you can slow the song down, rewind it, change keys, and all sorts of other things.

They call it the “Song Robot!” You simply load
song files into it and it shows you, on demand,
how to play them on a big virtual keyboard.

There’s a full video demonstration at:
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a283550&w=songrobot
Here’s what it does:

* It can slow down songs, “turtle speed.”

* It transposes songs to all 12 keys so you’re
not stuck in ONE key.

* You have the choice of learning with huge, red
colored notes that light up or a real-looking
3d version of a piano.

* You can stop, pause, rewind, fast forward.

* You can even load your favorite audio files
and have it remove vocals so you can practice
(they can even be slowed down and put in all
12 keys… real albums!)

Visit:
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a283550&w=songrobot
Like I said — I wish I had invented it, but I didn’t. But I’m glad that Jermaine did, as it is going to be a HUGE help to pianists all over the world!

What is stopping you from learning to play the piano? Do you think you are too old? Do you think your hands aren’t shaped well or your fingers are too fat (like mine!)? In my many years of teaching, I have heard all kinds of excuses, some that rival the classic “the dog ate my homework”.

What if you had no fingers or no hands or no arms? It didn’t stop this Chinese man — he plays with his toes! Click here to read his amazing story:

The man who plays the piano with his toes

Then watch the video:

Do you play the piano, but don’t really like the sound you are getting? Do all your songs tend to sound pretty much alike? Want to add some flavor to your piano playing? Here are some ideas for adding interest and flavor to your piano playing:

Click on any of the links below:

Making your piano playing fuller and more exciting.
Praise & Worship Piano Styles
Home study courses in improving your piano playing

To build a house you need quite a variety of different materials, among which are lumber, nails, glass, roofing, cement, and so on. If you make a cake you need certain materials too, such as flour, eggs, sugar, salt and etc. It’s exactly the same when it comes to piano playing. To create a piece on the piano you need various materials such as melody, harmony, rhythm. Watch this 8-minute video on the building blocks of piano playing:

Making Rapid Runs Out Of Arpeggios On The Piano

Our population is aging. People are living longer lives, and they are constantly looking for brain food to keep their mental prowess in peak condition. One of the best ways to keep those hamsters running might be sitting in the corner of your living room gathering dust. That old piano of grandma’s has more than its share of brain teasers.

If you’re looking for a perfect way to keep your mind sharp, piano playing is the solution. It exercises several different parts of the mind and body, while providing you with years of musical enjoyment. Whether you play piano currently or are thinking about starting, playing piano is great brain food.

In order to play piano, your hands must develop independent coordination. This is one of the basic ways to keep your mind sharp. Each hand must often perform entirely different movements, and the brain must tell each hand what to do. By learning separate hand coordination, you stimulate several different areas of the brain. Practice each hand separately, and then combine the movements of each hand.

Not everyone is born with perfect pitch, but many people can develop it. When you play piano, you train your ear to hear pitches and tones in relation to one another. This makes perfect pitch possible. Intervals stimulate your mind in slightly different ways. A perfect fifth will cause one reaction in your brain, while a seventh will cause an entirely separate reaction. This trains the mind to recognize pitches and intervals.

Sight reading offers the brain another workout, as the eyes must follow the music while the hands play it. The ability to sight read is similar to knowing a foreign language, yet also requires extreme hand-eye coordination. The eye muscles are also strengthened as they move up and down the staff across the page.

Analyze musical passages and learning the theory involved is another mental exercise when you play piano. It’s brain food at its finest. Chords, melodies, and changes are all rooted in complex musical theory. It pays dividends to learn and understand how music is put together.

When you play piano in the presence of others, you are participating in a valuable social exercise. History is filled with participants and spectators in the world of music. You have the ability to make others’ time more enjoyable. You also meet other musicians who can share knowledge with you, expanding your understanding of the piano.

Proper piano playing, whether done for leisure or profession, keeps the fingers nimble. It strengthens all the muscles of the hands, which helps in other lines of work. A maintenance man with strong hands is more valuable than one with weak digits.

Besides all this, piano playing is great fun. It lets you create your own tune for the day. The piano has provided society with over a hundred years of enjoyment and will do so for hundreds more. It’s not only an instrument; it’s a social communication tool and a brain exercise, as well. Play piano for your brain. It’s lot more fun than Sudoku, and it’s great at parties.