“When Johnny Comes Marching Home” is a song from the Civil War era that expresses the yearning by loved ones for their solders — their sons and husbands — to come marching home safely. It has endured now for over 150 years, and shows no signs of disappearing any time soon.

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore wrote a song during the Civil War that continues to march its way through the years. This song, a yearning for loved ones to return safely from war, is “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”. Today this song endures, and it is part of many players’ piano repertoires of American Classics.

Gilmore was a Union Army Bandmaster and an excellent soloist on the cornet. He came to the United States in 1849 from Ireland, arriving in Boston. In 1861, his own ‘Patrick Gilmore’s Band’ enlisted in the Union Army. They were part of the 24th Massachusetts Infantry.

As the cruelties of war would have it, this band of musicians had dual roles. They performed as stretcher-bearers during the Civil War in places like Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, and others.

Not too many years later, Gilmore promoted peace after seeing so much war – with his Peace Jubilees. One, called the National Peace Jubilee (1869), consisted of over 1,000 instrumentalists and 10,000 singers.

Another, called the World Peace Jubilee (1872) consisted of 2,000 instrumentalists and 20,000 singers. These were impressive stagings on par with today’s modern musical and entertainment extravaganzas.

In fact, the 1872 World event had none other than Johann Strauss with orchestra as featured performers. Of course, this was at a cost of $100,000 and it was Strauss’s only visit to the United States.

Still inspired by his hope for peace and for soldiers to come home from war to a life they once knew, Gilmore wrote When Johnny Comes Marching Home in 1863 in New Orleans. At the time, he was Grand Master of the Union Army. He had the task of reorganizing the State of Louisiana’s military bands. During his tenure, the song made it from Gilmore’s creative mind onto music paper. It began a fantastic journey for this piece of music, one that continues to this day.

Some feel the song is similar to the Irish tune “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”. This song tells the story of a soldier returning from war with crippling injuries. Gilmore stated that he adapted the song from an African American spiritual song. He wrote the song for his sister, Annie Gilmore, as a cry to her true love, John O’Rourke. A Union Army soldier, O’Rourke was the future brother-in-law of Patrick Gilmore.

When completed the song grew in popularity. It did indeed inspire hope in war-weary listeners, becoming popular in the North as well as the South.
It became a published piece of sheet music in 1863 when Henry Tolman and Company of Boston printed it. Dedicated to the Union’s Army and Navy, it really was a tribute to brave soldiers. It is interesting that Gilmore published it under another name, Louis Lambert, although a reference to his band was included. Some of Gilmore’s other works were, Good News from Home and 22nd Regiment March, among others.
You can hear When Johnny Comes Marching Home in films like ‘Stalag 17′ and ‘How the West was Won.’ The song plays as background music in a ‘Gone with the Wind’ scene.

In his life, Patrick Gilmore created Gilmore’s Concert Garden, which was to become the very first Madison Square Garden. He was also Music Director in 1876 in Philadelphia for the U.S. Centennial celebrations.
He received the honor of the name ‘Father of the American Band’ from John Philip Sousa. Sousa had the honor of the name ‘The March King’. Gilmore laid groundwork for composers like Sousa.

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, born on Christmas day in 1829 in Ballygar, Ireland, died in St. Louis in 1892. His legacy as a master bandleader, musician, and composer marches on.

Playing & Arranging American Patriotic Songs

Will listening to music make you smarter? Will learning to play a musical instrument make your brain grow larger than normal?

Questions like these ones have been popping up all over the place in the past few years, and not just in scientific journals either.

In recent times the media has been fascinated by the research surrounding brain development and music, eagerly reporting on the latest studies to the delight of the music-loving parents of young children.

But all this information – and some misinformation too – has led to generalized confusion about the role of music and music training in the development of the human brain. The bottom line is this: if you’re confused by all you read about music study and brain development, you’re certainly not alone.

In part, this is due to the manner in which the phrase “the Mozart Effect” has been popularized by the media and bandied about to describe any situation in which music has a positive effect on cognition or behavior.

In fact the Mozart Effect refers specifically to a 1993 research finding by Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky and published in the prestigious journal Nature. The scientists found that 36 college students who listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata performed higher on a subsequent spatial-temporal task than after they listened to relaxation instructions or silence.

An enchanted media reported this interesting research as “Mozart makes you smarter” – a huge over-simplification of the original results.

As Rauscher explains in a later paper, the Mozart Effect was studied only in adults, lasted only for a few minutes and was found only for spatial temporal reasoning. Nevertheless, the finding has since launched an industry that includes books, CDs and websites claiming that listening to classical music can make children more intelligent.

The scientific controversy – not to mention the popular confusion – surrounding the Mozart Effect, has given rise to a corresponding perplexity for parents. They wonder: “Should my kids even bother with music education?”

In fact the answer to this question is still a resounding yes, since numerous research studies do prove that studying music contributes unequivocally to the positive development of the human brain. Other researchers have since replicated the original 1993 finding that listening to Mozart improves spatial reasoning. And further research by Rauscher and her colleagues in 1994 showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers demonstrated a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ, a skill important for certain types of mathematical reasoning.

In particular, it is early music training that appears to most strengthen the connections between brain neurons and perhaps even leads to the establishment of new pathways. But research shows music training has more than a casual relationship to the long-term development of specific parts of the brain too.

In 1994 Discover magazine published an article which discussed research by Gottfried Schlaug, Herman Steinmetz and their colleagues at the University of Dusseldorf. The group compared magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brains of 27 classically trained right-handed male piano or string players, with those of 27 right-handed male non-musicians.

Intriguingly, they found that in the musicians’ planum temporale – a brain structure associated with auditory processing – was bigger in the left hemisphere and smaller in the right than in the non-musicians. The musicians also had a thicker nerve-fiber tract between the hemisphere. The differences were especially striking among musicians who began training before the age of seven.

According to Shlaug, music study also promotes growth of the corpus callosum, a sort of bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain. He found that among musicians who started their training before the age of seven, the corpus callosum is 10-15% thicker than in non-musicians.

At the time, Schlaug and other researchers speculated that a larger corpus callosum might improve motor control by speeding up communication between the hemispheres.

Since then, a study by Dartmouth music psychologist Petr Janata published by Science in 2002, has confirmed that music prompts greater connectivity between the brains left and right hemisphere and between the areas responsible for emotion and memory, than does almost any other stimulus.

Janata led a team of scientists who reported some areas of the brain are 5% larger in expert musicians than they are in people with little or no musical training, and that the auditory cortex in professional musicians is 130% denser than in non-musicians. In fact, among musicians who began their musical studies in early childhood, the corpus callosum, a four-inch bundle of nerve fibers connecting the left and right sides of the brain, can be up to 15% larger.

While it is now clear from research studies that brain region connectivity and some types of spatial reasoning functionality is improved by music training, there is growing evidence that detailed and skilled motor movements are also enhanced.

Apparently the corpus callosum in musicians is essential for tasks such as finger coordination. Like a weight-lifter’s biceps, this portion of the brain enlarges to accommodate the increased labour assigned to it.

In a study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings and reported in Neuroscience Letters in 2000, pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists, but less activity was detected in the pianists’ brains. The scientists concluded that compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements.

The study of music definitely affects the human brain and its development, in a staggering number of ways. But what to make of all the research, especially in terms of deciding the best course of music study or appreciation for yourself or your offspring?

A 2000 article by N M Weinberger in MuSICA Research Notes makes the following excellent point: Although the Mozart Effect may not list up to the unjustified hopes of the public, it has brought widespread interest in music research to the public. And listening to ten minutes of Mozart could get someone interested in listening to more unfamiliar music, opening up new vistas.

Irregardless of the hype surrounding the Mozart Effect, the overall academic evidence for music study as a tool to aid brain development, is compelling.

At the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco, Dr. Frank Wilson says his research shows instrumental practice enhances coordination, concentration and memory and also brings about the improvement of eyesight and hearing. His studies have shown that involvement in music connects and develops the motor systems of the brain, refining the entire neurological system in ways that cannot be done by any other activity. Dr. Wilson goes so far as to say he believes music instruction is actually ‘necessary’ for the total development of the brain.

So the bottom line is this: Music study and practice probably does aid in the development of the brain in various important ways. And after all, if you enjoy music, there is nothing to lose by trying, and everything to gain!

Most people who play an instrument of any kind have trouble with

rhythm. It’s the number one problem people mention when they

talk about learning music.

But I know a secret: It’s NOT their fault!

I know, because I had major problems with rhythm too, and it

took me years before I figured out how rhythm worked and how

easy it is once you grasp the logic of it.

The fault is in the way music is taught. You learn about quarter

notes and half notes and eighth notes and dotted notes and so

on, but they are just “floating around” on the staff — some

measures are longer than others — some notes are crammed

tightly into a measure — and overall it’s a mess.

It’s like the pilot of an airplane who can’t ever see the ground

and has no instruments to guide him, so he has no idea where he

is. He has no reference point, so distances are relative to him.

He doesn’t know whether he is going East, West, up, down — and

his chances of crashing and burning are excellent.

I was just like that pilot. I crashed and burned in rhythm time

after time. Let me tell you a painful TRUE story about one of my

“rhythm crashes.”

Duane Crashes & Burns

When I was in my late teens, I w as playing for a youth

group sing. I loved chords, and I used to do pretty

well playing most songs. But when it came to the “spirited”

songs — the ones with lots of rhythm and life, I was lost. I

overheard one of our youth leaders say “Let’s get someone on the

piano with some rhythm!”

Ouch! That really hurt. I knew it was true, but it’s not

fun to hear if from someone else, especially

someone you respect. Right then and there I made a decision: no

matter how long it took, I was going to MASTER RHYTHM. I was

going to learn every possible beat combination, and how to use

those beats in each song, and what to do in the right hand to

compliment what the left hand was doing. My search took me to

private teachers, music schools, combos, books of all sorts,

libraries, and listening to THOUSANDS of records, tapes, and

liv! e performances. I copied dow! n various rhythm patterns on 3″

by 5″ cards, and at night I would analyze them playing them over

and over again on the piano. It was HARD WORK for me. It didn’t

come easy, like chords had for me.

Chords were a snap, but not rhythm. It was difficult to read,

and hard to play. I found myself rushing, dragging, stumbling,

and generally fouling up. But as time went by, I got a little

better. I continued to make notes of rhythm patterns, and

started a collection of books and materials on rhythm.

By the time I got my Master’s Degree from Southern Oregon University, I

was starting to get the hang of it. I was beginning to

understand what rhythm was, and what made it tick. I began to

categorize rhythm patterns into different groups, such as rhythm

& blues, jazz, rock, dance patterns, marches, waltzes, fox

trots,! s! wing, boleros, discos, ballads, gospel, bossa-novas,

beguines, rumbas, cha chas, sambas, and so on. But it’s one

thing to know a rhythm, and another thing to EXECUTE it on the

piano. So I developed a system that is VISUAL — it allows you

to SEE a rhythm while you HEAR it played.

Once you SEE it on the baseline, it becomes obvious!

That is the problem with the way music is taught: rhythm has no

baseline! It’s like the pilot of an airplane who can’t ever see

the ground, so he has no idea where he is. Without a baseline,

how in the world can I expect to understand the rhythm of a song?

But with a baseline, it’s a snap.

I wish I could show you in this article how it works, but printed words alone

don’t quite convey the idea. Please go to the web page now to

get a better idea how it will help you solve all your rhythm

problems: How To Solve Your Rhythm Problems

The mambo is one of several Latin-American rhythms that has developed into a style of dance. Although not as popular as it once was, it still is a contagious rhythm that makes feet dance

The mambo is a Cuban genre of music and dance that combines traditional Cuban music with the highly Americanized forms of swing and big band. It’s a very syncopated type of music, a style that finds its footing in rhythm as opposed to melody (though melody, of course, plays its role). Mambo is always played in 4/4 time and uses an amalgamation of American big band instruments and those found in traditional Latin styles; mambo bands will typically have a horn section in a addition to the very percussive bongos, timbales and congas.

Though mambo is a decidedly Cuban style, it’s roots are far more European than Latin. The very first mambo was based heavily on English and French ballroom dancing music, and it was rarely intended for dancing. Though it certainly carried an inherent dance ability, early mambo was music for the sake of music; no dance had been assigned to it, nor did it seem like one would be. The early mambo thrived as a piece of music alone until the 1940s when Damaso Perez Prado, a Cuban bandleader, began specializing in the form. His version of the mambo brought people to their feet and led to the famous mambo dance’s creation. Prado is also credited with bringing mambo music and it’s accompanying dance to the United States, though the form sustained a bit of a shift as a result of the cultural change. Prado altered the mambo to make it slightly more commercial, more ready for 1950s American consumption, and watched the form become an almost instant craze. Prado’s role in composing and popularizing the form earned him the title “Mambo King.”

But like most instant crazes, mambo faded out of American popularity nearly as quickly as it arrived. Though the form is still heard and danced today, it morphed into a variety of different styles, including the pachanga, a mambo-like dance that also faded quickly. Mambo recently saw a resurgence of popularity in the late 1990s with a rock and roll based mambo revival, but that too was extremely short-lived.

The William Tell Overture

Mention the song title “William Tell Overture,” and a lot of people might scratch their heads in confusion. But hum a few bars, and there are few people who don’t recognize this classic tune. It’s so famous that it’s been covered by literally hundreds of artists since its composition in the early 1800s. Modern recording artists still turn out renditions of the “William Tell Overture” today because of the public’s instant connection to its familiarity.

Though everyone recognizes it, many are not aware of the history and the context from which the song originated. It was composed by Gioachino Rossini for his 39th and most famous opera, William Tell. The man on whom the opera is based is a figure surrounded by mystery and lore. William Tell, although well-known in Switzerland as a national hero, is arguably a somewhat controversial figure. Some historians debate whether the man even existed. If he did, was he really the legendary figure he has been lauded as being?

Regardless of such questions, school children around the world can recite the story of William Tell, the man who shoots the apple off of the head of his son with his crossbow. According to legend, Tell, who was something of a renegade, refused to bow to the statue of a contentious ruler. As punishment, he was forced to either shoot the apple, or subject both himself and his son to execution. An expert marksman, he successfully saved the life of both himself and his son with a single shot. (He reportedly said afterward that he had one arrow in reserve for his punisher, should he have failed his son.)

It’s a grand story that is told fondly in many classrooms. But, like many legends, his has probably been embellished over the centuries, if indeed the man lived at all. Despite the questions about his life, he is still recognized as a Swiss hero. Perhaps it is this cloud of intrigue that has inspired so many artistic works based on the legend of William Tell.

The opera William Tell was based on a previous work, a play written by Friedrich Schiller. The musical version of the hero’s life is a four- hour work characterized by complicated and demanding scores. Since its first public performance at the Paris Opera in 1829, it has been edited and recreated in less-demanding versions over the following centuries.

In the years after its first performance it was censored and banned by various governing authorities for its controversial glorification of a revolutionary character. As censorship often does, this tended only to fuel the public’s interest even more. This may be one of the reasons the legend of this Swiss hero became so dramatically retold, embellished, and exaggerated.

The overture itself is written in four distinctive sections, with each leading seamlessly to the next. Rarely has any song without lyrics been sung so frequently. While the composer Rossini might be pleased with how his work has become so ingrained into modern culture, he may be less impressed with the reasons why. The “William Tell Overture” catapulted into popularity when it was used as the theme music for the television series “The Lone Ranger.” Appearing first as a radio broadcast in 1933, followed by the television series, the “William Tell Overture” may be forever associated with the media hit. Politically incorrect though it was by today’s standards, “The Lone Ranger” continues to be credited with indelibly etching the overture in the minds of popular culture.

Today the song is parodied more than any other classical song, with versions found on the CDs of modern artists and even on YouTube. It graces sporting events, and it is particularly associated with horse racing. Even those who can’t identify it by name refer to it as “The Lone Ranger Song,” and usually they can’t help but hum or whistle along when they hear it played.

Watch this short video on the difference between playing music from a written score as opposed to playing from a lead sheet in a fake book:

How To PLAY More Notes Without READING More Notes

For those who have been playing piano for several years, learning to play from a fake book can be a useful skill. In order to play from one, you need to have an understanding of chord theory. You should also be familiar with the names of chords. Once you know chords, a fake book provides the wherewithal for you to play just about any song without the entire musical score written out.

A fake book contains songs that are not written in their original, full score. Instead it is a series of pages also known as lead sheets. Each lead sheet contains the lyrics and melody line to a single song along with the chord symbols such as G7, Fm7, etc. Often, a fake book contains only the treble clef notes (melody line), although some include a rudimentary bass clef score. The accompanying chords are notated in the places they should be played, usually over the word in the lyrics that they go with.

I bought my first fake book when I was 16 or 17, and it cost $25. — a fortune back then for a teenager. They were illegal then too — but sold under the take by many music stores. Now of course they are entirely legal, and contain a thousand or more songs per book and cost about the same as I paid way back when.

Fake books are intended as guides so experienced musicians are able to play any song without the benefit of the full musical score. If you’ve ever seen jazz musicians at work, you may have witnessed this concept in action. Jazz relies heavily upon improvisation. A jazz band may use a fake book to ensure that each member is playing in the same key. The musicians can then improvise the rest of the song. In other words, they can fill in the spaces between chords with other notes.

It is likely that fake books originated as a convenient way for musicians to have access to lots of songs. Their use also sparked copyright debates, however unintentionally. Early versions, and many versions that are in print today, often deny royalties to the copyright holders of the original song(s). Fake books may contain hundreds of unauthorized versions of songs. There are so many on the market that it is a difficult area to police.

Another place that fake books are commonly found is in churches. Churches often have a large library of songs that they use during regular worship services. It can be a storage problem to keep sheet music for hundreds and hundreds of songs for each band member. Instead, some churches use fake books because they take up less space. Band members are then able to play the same song in the same key, while improvising between chords. Churches usually purchase a license that gives them the legal right to use all of the songs in public performance. This way, there is no need to worry about paying royalties to individual copyright holders, and there are no prohibitions against photocopying music.

As already mentioned, reading a fake book requires a good knowledge of chords. A musician who knows the name of all of the basic chords should be able to play any song off of a lead sheet. Even musicians who aren’t gifted at improvising can at least provide accompaniment to a song by using a lead sheet.

If you are interested in playing from a fake book, consider taking the course on “How To PLAY More Notes Without READING More Notes”

I was in Vienna last week, the home of many of the great classical composers and musicians. I visited Mozart’s apartment where he lived for a couple years, and also visited Hungary where Franz Liszt was born.

Liszt was born in 1811 in the Kingdom of Hungary, which was then a part of the Hapsburg Empire. His nationality is often disputed, since many records were destroyed by the Ottoman Turks. Usually he is claimed as either Hungarian or German, though a small group recognizes him as a Slovak. Adding to the debate, his musical character is often described as French.

His father had dreams of being a musician, and he studied piano, violin, and guitar while attending university. Because of his poverty, he had to give up his musical lessons and was employed by Prince Nikolaus II Esterhazy. On several occasions he sat in with an orchestra on second cello, keeping his musical love alive.

Liszt’s father claimed that by the age of nine the boy had played through all of the works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and others. He was forced to buy over eight thousand pages of new music by the masters so that young Franz could keep playing. In 1820 he played to an elite group of socialites who offered to buy his education abroad, but it took two more years before the prince would consider a leave of absence for his father.

Franz’s early lessons in Vienna were hard for him because his instructor forced him to learn proper fingerings. Liszt attempted to outsmart his teacher by telling his father the teacher was trying to show him illogical fingerings. Lessons continued after Liszt’s father realized his son’s trickery.

Early performances in Vienna established him as a child prodigy, but tragedy soon struck. His father’s sudden death and a failed love affair in France threw him into depression. He didn’t play or compose for a few years, until revolution took over Paris.

Travels and tours throughout Europe allowed Liszt to meet many noted composers and artists of the day. He had many love affairs and a few children as well. Eventually he ended up in Weimar, where he wrote the Liebestraum.

The Liebestraum is a delicate piece of music written in his own romantic style. Playing it requires dexterity in both hands and a grasp of sensitivity that takes time to master. No classical pianist’s repertoire is complete without the Liebestraum.

Liebestraum is German for “dreams of love.” The name Liebestraum is often used to refer to the third of the pieces, though it is actually the name of the entire set. The three parts are based on poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. Each poem describes a different type of love: exalted love, erotic love, and mature love.

The third movement of the Liebestraum is the best known. It is also a reliable test of a pianist’s ability. At the time, a version of the Liebestraum for piano and high voice and another for piano two-hands was published.

Throughout his varied life, Franz Liszt created mesmerizing works, including the Faust Symphony and the Liebestraum. He is often called the greatest pianist who ever lived.

If you are a near-beginner but still would love to play and enjoy some of the classics, please check out Classical Piano For Beginners & Near Beginners

Between 1817 and 1823, Ludwig van Beethoven composed Symphony No.9 in D Minor, Opus 125 “Choral.” Nestled in the fourth movement of this classical masterpiece is ‘Ode to Joy.’ It’s a composition of exquisite beauty, which to this day continues to give pleasure to listeners of fine music.

Beethoven finalized this masterwork of symphonic construction in 1824. The Ninth Symphony was the last complete symphony he composed.

The Ode to Joy section of the music originates from a work by Friedrich von Schiller. This German poet, playwright, and historian wrote a poem entitled ‘Ode to Happiness’ in 1785. Beethoven, inspired by this poem, used it as the basis for Ode to Joy as the finale of his great symphony.
Beethoven’s attraction to Schiller’s poem began in his more youthful days. When he was twenty-two, he had a desire to put music to the poem. In fact, by 1811, some of the text of Ode to Happiness found its way into the sketches for Beethoven’s seventh and eighth symphonies.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. He was the second-oldest child of Johann van Beethoven, a man of musical background himself. Johann was a court musician and tenor in Bonn’s Electoral court. Ludwig followed into music and gave his first piano performance in public at the tender age of eight.

For a short period, Franz Joseph Haydn taught Beethoven. The young Beethoven even had the opportunity to play for Mozart. By 1795 Beethoven’s reputation as an excellent pianist was solid. His talents as an improviser were impressive, and he had the gift of composing ‘off-the-cuff’ with flair.

Beethoven began to notice signs of hearing loss around 1798. In 1801, he wrote a letter to his friend Karl Ameda that stated:

“My greatest faculty, my hearing, is greatly deteriorated.”

When his Ninth Symphony premiered on May 7, 1824, he could not hear its performance. This first public performance took place in Vienna’s Karntnertorm Theater. Of necessity, Beethoven’s deafness required another conductor to direct the symphony orchestra. Beethoven did stand next to this conductor during the performance in order to give tempo directions.

When the performance ended, and the audience erupted with emotion and applause, Beethoven didn’t notice. He stood with his back to the audience, facing the orchestra, still regulating tempo. Not until Fraulein Unger, a contralto, had him turn around did Beethoven witness the reception to his masterpiece.

The symphony as a whole is the work of a musical genius who labored over every facet of it. The famous Ode to Joy choral melody involved nose-to-the-grindstone work by Beethoven. It developed over many years – draft by draft – until he deemed it right. Although written for solo voice and chorus, Beethoven did consider an instrumental only version of the melody.

Through the years, the Ode to Joy has been a source of inspiration to peoples and cultures around the world. During China’s Cultural Revolution, it received some distinction as a work that speaks of progressive class struggle.

It was the Ode to Joy that provided musical inspiration in Europe in 1989. That year, after the Berlin Wall came crumbling down, Leonard Bernstein performed the piece in Berlin. It was renamed Ode to Freedom, the word ‘freedom’ replacing the word ‘joy’ in the text. This beautiful melody filled the air to celebrate the end of the dividing wall between East and West Germany.

Today the music of Ode to Joy is the official anthem of the European Union. Its German lyrics, however, are not, out of deference to the many languages that make up the Union.

Ode to Joy remains a piece of pure art. It continues to give hope, inspiration, and plain old musical joy to peoples all over the world.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could predict which chord would probably come next in a song?

I’ve got some good news for you.

It is possible. Not 100%, but somewhere on the order of 75% to 85% accurate.

That’s because music has FORM — like the skeleton that holds your flesh, muscles, and skin up. If you had no bones — no skeleton — your flesh and all the other parts of you would fall in a heap on the floor. Not a pretty picture. But because you DO have a skeleton, you are able to walk around and pretty accurately predict which way your next step will take you.

It’s the same in music. Music has FORM — a skeleton to hold it up, hold it together. And that skeleton is made out of chords — harmony — the tonal center of the song or piece.

Please go to the web page now:

How To Predict Which Chord Comes Next In a Song

There are so many publications of easy piano classics out there that it can be difficult for the beginning pianist to know where to begin. Whether you are looking for paper-based anthologies from the store, or searching for music on the Web, it’s good to have a basic understanding of what you’re looking for. The history of beginning piano, in fact, is quite interesting, and involves many of our most favorite composers.

For Classical and Romantic era composers, a reliable and sometimes necessary way to earn one’s bread and butter was to teach a full schedule of young, budding pianists. Mozart, for one, probably taught his fair share of J.S. Bach’s instructional pieces — which were highly popular even then — but at some point, for such a brilliant and prolific composer, it becomes only natural to compose easy pieces of one’s own to use in piano lessons.

After all, amidst composing great, ambitious operas and symphonies, it’s easy to forget about the basics. Sometimes, even for genius composers like Mozart, working with simpler, more rudimentary music forms is one of the best ways to hone one’s craft. If a composer can’t write simple songs for piano, how can he write complex works for multiple instruments?

This is how we get so many of the easy piano classics still used to instruct beginning pianists. Such music luminaries as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky composed countless works for this purpose, many of which, since their composition, have become well-known as pieces of music, not just as instructional pieces. This is only natural, of course. In my view, such brilliant composers as these were incapable of composing bad or boring music, even if they tried. Beethoven enthusiasts, for instance, will tell you that there is no Beethoven work that is not worth listening to over and over.

Today, many of the easy piano classics that we find in anthologies of all shapes and sizes have their origins in these instructional pieces by great composers. In most cases, each one of them is calculated for a specific teaching purpose, such as left-hand fingering, or learning how to play a certain type of chord or harmony. Often, these original purposes have been somewhat forgotten over time, but experienced piano teachers can usually get to the bottom of a piece’s original reason for existence.

Also, it’s important to remember that many of these pieces have evolved over time, with notes, instructions, and even modifications added by 200 years of heavy-handed publishers. Fortunately, once a given piece has been mastered as published, easy piano classics provide great opportunities for students to practice different dynamic structures and tempos. Plus, many of the chord progressions and basic melodies are perfect for improvisation, when a student reaches that level.

When considering which easy piano classics to learn, students are faced with a number of options. At stores and on Web music sites, you can find countless numbers of mixed anthologies for beginning piano, which contain pieces from famous Classical and Romantic luminaries as well as lesser-known but respectable composers from all eras of piano. For beginning pianists, it can be difficult to simply look at music and know if you like it, but a little experience — some trial and error — will make it easier to judge what you like.

Plus, if you know who your favorite composers are, there are plenty of beginning piano books devoted especially to single composers. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, in particular, composed more than enough easy piano pieces to fill several books. Also, you’re also likely to find adaptations of larger works — that is, pieces drawn from larger symphonies or operas, adapted by musicians other than the composer. These, of course, range from terrible to magnificent. As a beginning pianist, you must be prepared to buy some books that you will never use again after the first few attempts.

This is why the Web is such a great resource for beginning pianists. No longer is it necessary to buy entire, expensive books. Now, you can try out several different formats of easy piano classics before shelling out the money for paper anthologies and collections.

Plus there are wonderful DVD courses available for beginners that teach classics by the masters. For one such course, go to Classical Piano For Beginners.

Would you go to a doctor who couldn’t tell your liver from your heart?

I don’t think so.

So why do millions of people take piano lessons from teachers who are great at sight-reading, technique, and all the other areas of piano playing that we all need to learn, but don’t have a clue about chords and progressions?

Oh, many of them “know chords” in an intellectual way, but do they know why chords are used when, and why they progress the way they do, and what to do with them and how to improvise and create piano styles out of them?

There are a few, but not many.

Just make sure when you select a piano teacher that he or she is strong on music theory, musical form, and chord progressions. Then all the traditional stuff that piano teachers teach makes sense.

(This is NOT an argument against sight-reading or technique or memorizing — all those are important elements of piano playing. Just make sure that the other elements mentioned above are included too.)

Weekly piano lessons by DVD in your home.

Students sometimes become confused by the language of music — I know I was confused sometimes as I was learning music in the early days. Language is like that: it sometimes complicates reality. It’s not that the thing itself is so complicated, but the words that are used to describe it are either not well defined, or have somewhat different meanings for different people.

“Harmony” is one of those words. Some view harmony as just another word for “chords”, but chords are really a sub-set of the subject of harmony. For example, a 2-part Bach Invention contains no “chords” as such, but as the two independent melodies interface, they create a harmonic sound, however brief.

For a more complete explanation of harmony, please go to my article on the subject by clicking on the word HARMONY.

The word “key” in music is kind of like the words “to”, “two”, and “too” in that they sometimes lead to confusing as to when to use which. A key signature tells the musician what sharps or flats are in a given song, and therefore it defines the key of the song. To be in a key means the piece of music is based on the scale of that key.

For example, a key signature with 4 flats — B, E, A, and D — indicates that the song is either in the key of Ab or it’s relative minor key, F minor. A key signature of 2 sharps — F and C — indicate that the piece is in the key of D or its relative minor key, B minor, and therefore uses the notes of the D scale in its formation.

So each key signature announced to the performer the scale of the key in which the song is written.

Key signatures are a type of musical notation that indicate which key the song is to be played in. But key signatures, despite the name, are not the same thing as key. Key signatures are simply notational devices; just as a note is the notational name for a pitch, key signatures are the notational names for keys. It is what it says it is: a signature, a simple piece of information that tips you off to the physical form (the key) to be played.

Key signatures appear right after the clef (before the time signature) and show a sharp or flat on the line or space corresponding to the note to be altered. Key signatures placed at the beginning of songs will carry through the entire song, unless other key signatures are noted after a double bar, canceling out the first. For instance, it’s entirely possible to start a song in the key of F but end it in the key of E flat; it all depends on the key signatures and where they’re placed throughout the song (a key signature can change at any point). Accidentals can also show up throughout a song and only once or twice flatten or sharpen a note that was not previously indicated; this cancels out the key signatures, as well, but only temporarily, for as long as the accidental lasts.

Beginners just learning to read music often have a hard time with key signatures because the key itself is not expressly written, and it’s sometimes difficult to remember what goes where. Key signatures with five flats or sharps have been known to terrorize new musicians — how in the world, they think, are we supposed to remember all these note changes while we’re playing the song? It’s obviously possible, though, and there are some rules that can help beginners identify and remember the key as it relates to the key signatures, rules that go beyond rote memorization. If there is more than one flat, the key is the note on the second to last flat. If there are any sharps at all, the key is a half step up from the last one noted. F major, a key frequently found in beginning sheet music, only has one flat (B), and C major has no sharps or flats at all. Key signatures, when viewed in light of these rules, are much easier for beginners to digest, ensuring that a proper knowledge of key signatures is on its way through the door.

Piano keys, on the other hand, are the physical keys – the 7 “white notes” and the 5 “black notes” – on a keyboard. Which piano keys are played in any given song depend on the key signature of the song, and therefore what key the song is in.

No wonder beginners sometimes scratch their heads!

Piano programs for beginners are at Piano Courses For Beginners & Near Beginners

Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student than the student does from the teacher. Hopefully, not too often, but today I would like to share with you some great practicing ideas that have come from my piano students over the years. Here are Five Great Practice Ideas I Learned From My Piano Students!

1. A Colonel in Virginia that I taught for several years got up at 4AM every weekday morning and practiced on an electronic keyboard with headphones so he wouldn’t disturb anyone at that time of the morning. “I love the early morning”, he said, “because it’s so quiet and peaceful and I’m fresh and raring to go. No phones are ringing, no people walking into the room, no disturbances at all. I practice for a half-hour, have breakfast, and then hit it for another half-hour — all before I have to show up for work. When I get home in the evening, if I’m too tired to practice, I don’t feel guilty because I’ve already got my licks in for the day. And if I’m up to practicing some more — well, it’s a bonus!”

2. An elementary school teacher in Indiana told me she took each piece I assigned her and transposed it into all 12 keys — not written out, but at the piano — in her head. She said “It doesn’t always sound so hot, but I find that if I keep at it day after day, I can at least get by in the most difficult keys, and it makes the easier keys seem real simple. And it gives me a perspective that I just wouldn’t get it I just played it in one key — the key it is written in. I’ve learned that each key has it’s own “feel”, and some keys are bright (like “D”) and some keys are mellow (like “Db”).

3. Another piano student with a similar idea, who was the Minister of Music in a Catholic church, said he took one whole month of the year and devoted it to mastering just one key. Since there are 12 months in the year and 12 Major keys, that works out perfectly. So in January he played everything he could find in the key of C, and transposed anything that wasn’t in C into C. In February he went up 1/2 step to the key of C# (also known as Db enharmonically) and played everything in Db and searched for pieces written in the key of Db, and so on. By the time the year was up, he had a pretty fair grasp on the 12 Major keys. I suggested that he devote the next year to the 12 minor keys, and the next year to the modes, and the next year to polytonality, etc., etc. — but as I recall he decided to just recycle through the 12 major keys, since he used them so much more than the ones I suggested.

4. Still another piano student took an idea from me and twisted it a bit. I suggested that she play along with pieces she liked on tapes and CD’s, so she would get a feel for the motion of the song. (I used to do that by the hour when I was a teen-ager, and it paid off big time for me!). She took the idea and tried it and liked it so much that she started getting videos of people playing the piano. She arranged her TV and video player so that she could be at her piano while the video was playing, and she would play along with the pianist on the screen, following her/his hand motions and arm motions and finger position and thereby getting a feeling for the flow of the music. (Patterning). Her creativity is paying off for her — she is advancing rapidly. (And by the way, don’t think she is “copying” the person she is watching — not at all. It’s the same principle as watching Michael Jordan moving toward the basket, or watching Sammy Sosa swing a bat — it just gets you in the right groove before you apply your own style to it.)

5. A doctor I have taught for years makes a idea file of things he has learned about piano playing over the years. He notes where in a given book or tape or video I discuss such and such a topic, and files that alphabetically. Then later when he needs to refer to that idea, he simply looks up the idea in his file, locates the video or cassette or book, and presto — he can review that idea or concept almost instantly. It’s like a card catalog in the library — makes finding things so much faster than flipping through endless books trying to find that idea you saw long ago.

With the advent of the computer a person could store and categorize ideas such as this very quickly.

Hope this gives you some ideas of your own! You might also get some ideas at Play Piano Catalog.

Another method of breaking up chords into patterns is the 3-1 breakup pattern where you play 3 notes of a chord and then 1, 3 and then 1, and so on. Watch the short video and you will understand immediately. But it takes a bit of practice to get the feel of it. Very useful for fills during the “empty spaces” in music.

It is easy for a musician such as myself to take for granted those truths about music that I have known since childhood, and forget that many people are just now entering the world of music, and are not familiar with many of the basic facts of life concerning music.

When I take my car to a mechanic I expect the mechanic to speak to my level of knowledge about cars – not his level of knowledge – and it’s annoying when they talk over my head about things they falsely assume I know.

Yet I am guilty of exactly the same “sin” when it comes to music – I often assume too much.

And so for those precious people who are not familiar with basic musical terms, I am going to write the next few articles about the basics of music, assuming nothing.

(Musicians will want to skip this article)

Notes are the musical notation representing a fixed pitch. While the word strictly refers to the physical notation of a pitch, it’s more commonly used to refer to both the pitch and the notation. When we’re trying to figure out a piece of music, we rarely ask which pitches are being played; we always ask which notes are being played. But if we try to describe a song as having the same note in several places, we’re technically wrong. Considering that each note is a separate notation, even if the pitch is the same, it’s impossible to have the same note in several places.

Notes are named after the first seven letters in the alphabet — A, B, C, D, E, F, and G — and keep the same letter value regardless of the octave. But since there are twelve notes in a diatonic scale (a “normal” scale we are all used to – there are other kinds, but they are way beyond the scope of this article), the seven notes can be altered. To get the extra five notes, we sharp (raise by a half-step) and flat (lower by a half-step); the sharp and flat notes are the black keys on a piano. (White keys can be raised and lowered also, but again, that is beyond the scope of this article.)

The types of notes and their values are based on the amount of time they take up in a song.

Whole notes (in the language of music theory they are known as “semi-breve” notes) are four beats, which is equal to one measure in 4/4 time. They are represented by a hollow, oval note with no stem.

Half notes (also known as “minim” notes) are half of a whole note, or two beats. They are written as a hollow note with a stem that points up when placed below the middle of the staff, up when placed above it.

Quarter notes (or “crochet” notes) represent a quarter of a whole note, or one beat in 4/4 time. They are the most recognizable note: a solid black note with a stem.

Eighth notes (or “quaver” notes) are one-eighth of a whole note and are written exactly like a quarter note, but with a flag attached to the stem. When more than one eighth note is placed side by side, a solid beam connects the adjacent notes.

Sixteenth notes (or “demi-quaver” notes) are one-sixteenth of a whole note and represented as an eighth note with two flags or two solid beams.

Thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes represent the section of a whole note indicated by their names; they are drawn as eighth or sixteenth notes with an additional flags.

A 32nd note is known as a demi-semi-quaver.

And believe it or not, a 64th note is known as a hemi-demi-semi-quaver.

It’s also important to mention that a note’s value can be changed by adding a dot. Dotted notes represent the value of the original note, plus one half. For instance, dotted half notes are held for three beats, dotted quarter notes for a beat and one half, and so on.

(For you musicians who shouldn’t be reading this anyway, yes – I am well aware that I made some generalities in this article, but it is for beginners.)

For more detail on types of notes, go to Wikipedia on Note Values.

For a musically minded person who is interested in testing the waters of piano lessons, but who is not quite sure if her commitment is all there, free online beginner keyboard lessons are a great way to quickly find out whether the piano is the right instrument to learn. After all, some people just don’t have the type of brain and fingers that are necessary to play the piano. It requires incredible hand eye coordination, plus a level of hand and finger agility that is rarely required in other areas of life.

I’ve known people who seem to be literally are incapable of playing notes on the piano. They try to play the most simple melody, and something odd happens — their fingers just can’t seem to do it. It’s no fault of theirs; it’s just an unfortunate result of the way they are wired. In most cases, these people are incredibly proficient in other ways. For example, my brother can’t play a lick of any musical instrument, but he can build a house from scratch. Me, I can play some of the most difficult piano pieces ever written, but I can’t hammer a nail straight.

To find out if the piano is right for you, try doing a Web search for free online beginner keyboard lessons, and find a website that offers a few introductory lessons, or articles about how to get started on the piano. Naturally, there is a wide range of these types of lessons; some are very poor quality, while others are as good as pay instruction. The key is to find the right one.

Of course, what you can expect to learn from these is relatively simple, and I can basically sum it up for you here. First, you’ll learn about which notes on the piano are which. The notes range from A through G, and the white keys symbolize the pure forms of the lettered notes, while the black keys represent sharps and flats.

You’ll learn the C major scale, and how to play it. Basically, the key of C major is where all piano students start, because it includes all of the white notes and none of the black notes, making it the easiest key to play in.

To play the C Major scale with your right hand, place your thumb on middle C (which is usually below the first letter of your piano maker’s name), and start by playing the first three notes. Then, cross your thumb under to play the fourth note, and continue with the rest of the fingers in your hand. If you practice this a few times, and the scale begins to sound more fluid and musical, then you know you are doing well. If you can’t play this scale at all, no matter how hard you try, then you may want to look into carpentry.

After learning how to play the C Major scale with your right hand, most free online beginner keyboard lessons will instruct you how to do the same thing with your left hand, which is just as easy.

After that, you’ll begin to learn chords, and soon, you’ll progress to playing in other keys, probably starting out with G Major and F Major. After that, you’ll learn minor keys, beginning with A minor, which, in its standard form, includes all of the same notes as C Major, except it goes from A to A instead of C to C.

Soon, you’ll learn music notation, how to read the staff, and about the various types of symbols that are used in reading music. This is where piano playing really becomes fun, as you begin to progress into more complex pieces of music. Of course, thanks to free online beginner keyboard lessons, you should know by this point whether you want to continue with more serious lessons. If you feel that you have a proficiency for the instrument, then you may want to look into serious, pay lessons. After all, this is the best way to receive in-depth instruction.

Meanwhile, sign up for a few keyboard lessons online, such as Duane’s Piano Chords & Chord Progressions Newsletter. You’ll soon know if you have the interest and desire to pursue the keyboard or piano.

(This is a guest article – opinions not necessarily mine)

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to write a song especially for a special celebration, or to honor someone that you love? Some people seem to have a natural talent for writing songs. Perhaps you’ve always believed you aren’t one of those people. Think again. If you’ve ever had the inkling to write a song, you probably have what it takes. All you need are a few tools to help you get started.

Would it surprise you to know that many bestselling books, blockbuster movies, and even songs started out as nothing but a title? Believe it or not, starting with nothing but a title is your best bet. Forget lyrics for now. Don’t worry if you can’t read music and don’t play an instrument. Focus on a title. The title should be born from the heart of the song, your inspiration for writing a song. What is it that moved you to want to write a song in the first place? That’s what your title should be.

Some rules of thumb for titling your song: keep it fairly simple. Three to five words are usually best. Sometimes one or two words can capture the emotion as well as 3 or 4. More than five is typically too many, unless it’s a comedy song. The title will often appear as a line somewhere in the lyrics of the song. But this isn’t necessarily the case. The title may simply reflect the subject of the song, or even who the song is for/about (for example: “Nadia’s Theme”).

Once you have a title, you have a starting point, a place from which your thoughts can flow. Now you need to think structure. Most every song ever written follows a similar structure: a verse, chorus, another verse, chorus, bridge, and chorus. A good pop song usually has no more than 2 to 3 verses at most. Don’t stress out too much over stanza numbers. You’ll probably want more than one, but if you can’t come up with more than two your song will be just fine. Similarly, don’t go overboard. Most listeners will fall asleep long before the ninth stanza.

When it comes to the chorus, four to six lines are probably adequate. You may even have as many as eight, but more than that and your song may become drudgery. An experienced songwriter may pull off a ten-line chorus, but for your first try you should keep it simple.

The bridge of the song is something like a short interlude. It too should be fairly simple, no more than four to six lines in length. The bridge is the part of the song that ties all of your thoughts together. It might be the solution to the problem you are singing about. It might be an epiphany that has resulted from all of the other thoughts in the song. It should not present a new thought, however; otherwise it’s not really a bridge, and it’s just another verse. It should be a natural segue from the ideas presented in the verses to the chorus.

Once your words are complete, you can focus on the melody. If you read music and play an instrument, this part is probably easy for you. If you aren’t a skilled transcriptionist and you want to have the music scored out, you may need to enlist someone to transcribe for you. This is probably not a necessity, though, unless you plan to have it played by a band or you want to market it.

Chances are, for your first attempt, just you and a piano or guitar will suffice. If you don’t read music, you can find a musical friend to help, or even hire a professional. This is an especially good idea if you plan to present the song publicly.

Your first song doesn’t have to be a billboard hit. Music is meant to touch the soul. If that’s what your song has done, even for just a few people, then you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Writing songs just for your own personal benefit can be a good thing, even if no one else hears them. It can be very therapeutic, and it’s an excellent way to express your inner emotions. Once you start, you might find you have a knack for song writing after all.

(Guest article)

For the musical tools to create any kind of music see the Play Piano Catalog.

For many years I used the tri-tone chord progression — in fact it was one of my favorite chord substituions — but I didn’t know what it was called. I thought of it as a way to “slide in” to the next chord — a smooth way to move from one chord to another. And lots of my bass player friends used it too — but no one called it the tri-tone progression.

I have a cousin who teaches music in a major university with a PHD in music history, so after not seeing him for lots of years I asked him over dinner what the name of the progession I use all the time is…

You guessed it — the tri-tone substitution.