Piano lessons are one of the best ways to enjoy the beauty of this instrument. For some, they always seem to play but are never actually able to play it nicely. Which is why taking piano lessons are truly a great way to enjoy the sound of music. There are many benefits to getting professionally taught, and can be a great way for young kids to learn the value of discipline, art, and music. Understanding chords all on your own is quite a tough task, especially if you have no idea which sounds are what notes. That is why piano lessons are needed to ensure success at playing the piano.

•What are the benefits of piano lessons?

One of the main benefits is the more time you are able to spend on learning. Most of the time, all we ever do is simply play the piano and touch all the notes at different times. This is actually very normal when you are just starting out. However, when you actually take piano lessons, you won’t have to do anything just to play the piano nicely, as you would know exactly what to do whenever you play. Taking lessons can also help you from gaining any bad habits from playing on your own. For example, some people play the piano with very hard hands, so it could be hard to adjust once it develops. When you first take lessons, your coach could always remind you to relax and not be so stiff whenever you’re playing. So it’s pretty useful to get lessons, as you could become a much better pianist if you are just willing to accept other peoples advice. Playing the world’s hardest songs won’t be accomplished immediately, but with the right coach and the correct foundation, you can be on your way to playing the songs you’ve always wanted.

•How to find an instructor.

You can easily find a reputable coach by utilizing the Internet. Go to Google and type in your area, along with “piano lessons”. You should see several websites or music schools pop up showcasing their amazing piano lessons. Despite the many instructors to choose from, try going to a music school who specializes in teaching the piano. Music schools are great to visit, as the teachers are very well trained at these schools. Remember again the results aren’t exactly instant and will take some time, but your hard work will definitely show in the end when you’re playing your favorite songs on the piano.

Playing the piano can be a great asset whether you want to do it for fun or you need it for school. Whatever the reason may be, taking piano lessons can be the best way to see yourself play at your fullest potential. Learning this instrument is quite a tough process and requires lots of work. So don’t give up if you don’t master your favorite songs quickly. Finding a teacher may be hard at first, but can easily be done once you use the Internet.

(Note: This article is not by Duane, but is a guest article)

For a cornucopia of great piano courses click on PlayPianoCatalog

If you or a family member are planning to take piano lessons, you’re going to need an instrument at home in order to practice. Like every big purchase, you must be armed with a lot of research before you purchase an instrument.

Should I purchase an electric or electronic keyboard?

Maybe, but probably not. Electric keyboards, any instrument with a traditional piano keyboard but plugs in to an outlet and has no strings is what we will call an electric keyboard. The ideal answer to this question is, no, you cannot.

These keyboards or synthesizers are incredible instruments and should not be looked at as the black sheep of the piano family but there are limitations with these instruments. First, unless you purchase a professional grade acoustic model, you probably won’t have the 88 keys that come on a traditional piano. At the beginning of your piano lessons you won’t need all of these keys but soon enough, you’ll run out of keys on that synthesizer.

Second, without a professional level acoustic piano, the keys won’t feel the same as a traditional piano and this will cause problems as you become a better player. In order to purchase an electric piano that closely simulates the feel of a real piano, you’ll pay as much as the cost of buying a new or quality used piano.

Of course, if you find a synthesizer that works well at an incredible price, you could use that until you start playing more complex music but at some point you will probably need a real piano. Having a real piano is ideal but if your only option is a synthesizer, that will be just fine for the beginning stages.
How much should I pay for a piano?

You’ve probably noticed that pianos range from affordable to more money than even the nicest home. If money weren’t an issue (wouldn’t that be nice) you would be best served to purchase an intermediate model piano that would last you as long as you played. If you get a beginning model, it may require a lot of tuning or break after a few years. You don’t need a luxury, professional line piano unless you play for a long time and decide that you want to make a career of piano or have the financial means to do it.
Remember, some people purchase pianos for their children and when they grow older and move out, moms and dads want the piano to go with them. You can find great used pianos for bargain prices in your community. Before purchasing, pay a piano technician to check the condition of the sound board and keys.
What brands should I focus on?

Like most products, this is largely a matter of opinion. Most musical instruments in the intermediate category are handmade so there can be beautiful sounding instruments as well as musical lemons in every brand. Most people buying a musical instrument will play multiple instruments from the same make and model before deciding on one. Brand names like Steinway and Baldwin and Yamaha and Kawaii are commonly considered trusted names but others may be just as good. If I could afford a Bosendorfer, that would be my first choice, but certainly not for a beginner. This is another one of those times were a piano technician can help you and paying them a little bit of money to evaluate the instrument is money well spent.
How often should I have my piano tuned?

Tuning not only makes the piano sound good, it keeps the strings properly tensioned. Consistent tension not only keeps the strings sounding good but it also keeps the proper and even tension on the soundboard which helps to keep it from cracking. When you tune a piano once every 6 months to a year, it will stay in tune longer and the tone of the piano will improve. (By the way, you cannot tune a piano yourself. If you have a DIY type of person in the house, don’t let them touch the piano.)

Bottom Line

Keep reading. Before heading out to purchase an instrument, learn everything you can about what to look for in a quality piano. There are plenty of resources on this site as well as piano manufacturer sites, consumer sites, blogs, and forums.

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.

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

Why do I need to learn scales and chords and music theory? Well, if you have the talent of a Mozart or Bach or Erroll Garner or Oscar Peterson or Dave Brubeck, you probably don’t. But if you’re like the rest of us — and 99.9% of us are - the more you learn about music, the better. After all, chords are formed from scales, and scales are the building-blocks of melody. And of course there would be no rhythm without the juxtapostion of note values and chord lengths. If you are at all interested in increasing your knowledge of music in any of these areas, come on over to http://www.playpianocatalog.com and browse through our 300-plus courses.

It is very easy to locate the key of a song when there are sharps in the key signature (major keys — we’ll discuss relative minor keys later) simply by locating the last sharp to the right in the key signature in a piece of music and going up one-half step. Watch this short video and your instantly understand:

PlayPianoCatalog.com

When there are flats in the key signature, how do you locate the key of the song? It’s easy. Just count down 4 scale degrees and that is the key. Another way to say it is: the next to the last flat in the key signture IS the key. Watch this short video and you’ll understand:

If you have need of learning something about music in a short, specialized format, be sure to check out our Specialized DVD’s on just one focused topic at a time. Click on Short Specialized DVD’s

Polytonality involves playing two chords at the same time, usually in opposite hands. But you can also play in two keys at the same time. There is a world of discovery waiting for the pianist who experiments in this area. Listen to this podast and you’ll understand. Double-click on the player below - it will take a few seconds to start playing.

Enhanced Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Enharmonic notes are simply notes that have more than one name. Just as you might be known by not only your given name, but also by your nickname, so notes can have more than one name. The same is true for enharmonic chords — they can be known by multiple names as well. For example, the Db major chord sounds exactly the same as the C# major chord, but looks different on printed music, and has two different names: C# major and Db major.

Quite often we don’t take the time to analyze the music we play, but if we did we would often find it much easier to understand than we would otherwise think in terms of chord progressions and musical form. Take a familiar tune such as Greensleeves and break it down to its basic components and we find a simple chord progression that repeats in four measure increments, then a contrasting section of four measures, followed by 4 measures that kind of combines the first section with the release - a very logical musical form. Watch this short piano lesson video then apply it to other songs!

This is a simple lesson for absolute beginners demonstrating how to create a “walk the stairs” boogie pattern in the left hand. Most boogies follow the 12-bar blues format, so we are walking the stairs on the I chord, the IV chord and the V chord in the key of C.

You can create motion in your songs by adding passing tones to your repertoire of piano techniques. Look for opportunities to add a 2nd or a 6th or a 7th under the right hand melody — non-harmonic tones that “pass through” the chords you are playing in the right hand.

For a complete course in using passing tones please go to Passing Tones To Add Motion & Interest To Your Songs

The word “poly” means, of course, “many”, so polytonality in this context means “more than one tonality” — more than one chord at a given instant. There are at least three situations in which you can use polytonality to your advantage in piano playing:

1. When the melody you are playing uses a non-harmonic tone;
2. When the chord you are on is a dominant 7th;
3. When you are in a tri-tone substitution situation.

Listen and watch this short video and I think you’ll get the idea.

‘When The Saints Go Marching In” was written in 1896 and is in the public domain. In this video Duane demonstrates how easy it is for beginners — even people who don’t play the piano at all — to play the melody in their right hands with only 5 notes using 5 fingers. In the left hand the only chord that is imperative is the C chord, but more complete if the F and G7 chord are added.

Playing the tune of a song in a “single-finger” style leaves much to be desired in terms of fullness. One way to make a stronger melody is to play it in octaves with an interval of a 3rds under the top octave note. Watch this short video:

The word “arpeggio” means broken chord, so on this video Duane demonstates how to not only put chords beneath the right hand melody, but how to break up those chords to create more motion than a block chord would provide. Notice that it is important to make the melody note stand out — you don’t want the broken chords to overpower the tune of the song. And be careful not to overdo it — use this technique sparingly and in combination with other techniques.

If you aren’t already signed up for our free online newsletter, come on over to Free Piano Lessons Online and sign up!

To get a really full sound in your right hand, try putting in not only the notes of the chord under the melody, but also try to incorporate a color tone of some kind, such as a 6th, 7th, major 7th, or 9th. You can overdo it, of course, but this short video demonstates how it is done.

There are a zillion piano teachers available, but by far the majority of them do

not cover all the basics of piano playing. They might teach you how to read music -

play the written music on a score or sheet music — but many of them leave out the

study of music theory, proper fingering, technique, chord studies, and so on.

Here is a list of subjects that should be included in piano lessons:

1. How to read music. It goes without saying that the ability to read music is one

of the top skills in piano playing, but often it is the only one covered.

2. Proper fingering of piano scale passages and chords.

3. Proper positioning at the keyboard for arms and fingers.

4. Development of a repetoire of piano songs in a variety of styles: classical,

pop, folk, etc.

5. The study of music theory including intervals, scales, chords, cadences, chord

progressions and etc.

6. At least a touch of arranging and improvisation so the student is not afraid to

venture away from the written music.

There are other subjects, but these six make a solid basis for long term piano

lessons.

- Many, many adults today learned to play the piano when they were young, but gave it up at some point. Although some of these people don’t miss it, there are others that secretly desire to play piano again.

Some have no interest, but many have a hidden goal to someday start playing the piano again. And when they do start taking up lessons again, they’d prefer it to be with a modern teacher who knows the difference between Bach and the Beatles. Also, it’s difficult to add regular lessons to their schedules which are already full.

How do you do this, then?

There are two linked circumstances present in today’s world that give adults a new chance to learn to play piano in a way that was never possible before. Today, we have the Internet, a continually growing treasure trove of information. Until around year 2000, aspiring pianists usually took lessons from teachers who were of practical distance from their residences. That’s no longer the case. Many piano teachers even give online lessons using the cyber world. There are also DVDs and CDs that have been produced to assist the learner during all stages of piano playing, from the beginner to the advanced. Also, they are simple to find. Searching for such phrases as “piano lessons for adults” or “piano playing for adults” on a site such as Google will bring forth many possibilities for those looking to learn. (Give it a try and find out for yourself)

The other step has always been around, but often hasn’t been described well enough for people to understand. To put it simply, there are three ways to learn how to play the piano, and adults may choose to use one, two, or all three in any combination, and will learn far better than if they used only one method.

The three ways are:
First) Reading music from the score which is printed. The majority of piano lessons require the ability to read sheet music and make your fingers do what your mind tells them to do. The customary way to teach piano was with repeated technical exercises and drills, and reading music pieces starting from the very simplest piece engaging only the thumbs, gradually working one’s way up to complex classical works like the “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven or the challenging “Prelude in C# minor” by Rachmaninoff. You can find an online instructor to teach you how to read musical scores. Some search terms you can try to find these people include “learn to read music” and “classical piano lessons online.”

Second) Playing something by only hearing it first. Not many people could play the piano entirely through auditory perception and these people no longer need piano lessons because they can play any piece of any style they want. Playing by ear can be taught to some extent, but anyone who thinks they can end up playing like Ray Charles is kidding himself or herself. But in reality, most people can acquire the skills of recognizing a tune by ear, and by adding a couple of chords to the melody, can have a lot of fun entertaining their family and friends.

Third) Using chord symbols to play with. “Fake books” are popular with professional pianists, especially those who specialize in jazz. Fake books are song collections in a format known as “lead sheet”, meaning that the melody is written in addition to the chord symbols needed to harmonize with the melody. This method requires merely learning some simple chords found in the songs you intend to learn; and reading the melody in the treble clef, which is considerably easier than learning to read dense clusters of musical notes in both clefs.

Most people have no idea that this kind of playing exists, or if they do, they mistakenly believe it is only for the professionals. Not true. The process is simple and will produce results fairly quickly. You might be amazing your friends in weeks instead of years with these quick results.

Any of these ways will work and are available online. Incorporating aspects of all three methods brings the best results; the combination of reading sheet music, playing by ear, and learning chords and their proper progression can help a person learn the most efficiently.

It doesn’t matter which method you pick, just pick one and start. You’ll find its great fun and boosts your self confidence.

There are literally millions of adults today who took piano lessons when they were growing up, but at some point along the way gave them up. Some couldn’t care less, but many have an urge down deep to take up piano playing again someday.

Over the years I have never heard anyone say “I’m glad I never learned to play the piano”, but I have heard hundreds say something like “I sure wish I had paid attention when I was a kid”, or “My piano teacher was too strict (or too boring), but I would love to get back to the piano some day.”

And most people that feel that way have the “round-tuit” problem that we all have; they mean well, but the busyness of life distracts them from starting to play again. And they really don’t want to take lessons again from the little old lady down the street who can’t tell the Beatles from Beethoven. Plus it’s hard to work regular lessons into their already-packed schedule.

So what’s the solution?

There are two inter-related factors that when combined create an opportunity for adults such as this unlike any in history.

1. For the first time ever there is the world-wide web and all its endless and growing sources of information. Up to nearly 2000AD an individual was limited to the piano teachers of the region in which he or she lived. But it’s not so anymore. Many piano teachers have moved their teaching into the cyber world of the internet in the form of online lessons. Others have DVDs and CDs available in all aspects of piano playing, from the basics of a beginner to the improvisations of an advanced player. And they are easy to find, too. Simply type in phrases such as “piano lessons for adults” or “how to play the piano” or “I want to learn piano chords” into any search engine such as Google, and up pops a vast array of intriguing possibilities. (Try it — you’ll see!)

2. The second factor is one that has always existed, but until recent times has not been articulated well so that the average person could understand the concept. And that is simply that there are 3 different ways to learn to play the piano, and adults can pick one of the three, two of the three, or all three in any combination, and come out with a synergy far better than any one method alone.

The 3 methods are:

1. Reading music from the printed score. Well over 95% of all piano lessons revolve around the ability to read a piece of sheet music, and the technical facility to make your fingers do what your mind tells them to do. This is the traditional method of piano lessons; scales, drills, finger exercises, and practice reading endless pieces from the very first “Left thumb, right thumb” piece to the most advanced classical piece such as Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” or Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C# minor”. And there are teachers online who can teach music reading. Search for them by typing in such phrases as “learn to read music” or “classical piano lessons online”.

2. Playing by ear. There are a very few individuals who can really play by ear, but they don’t need our help — they can play what they want any way they want. Playing by ear can be taught to some degree, but anyone who thinks they can end up playing like Ray Charles is kidding himself or herself. Still, normal individuals can learn to pick out a tune by ear and then match a chord to that melody, and eventually entertain themselves and others while having a ball.

3. Playing from chord symbols. Many professional pianists — especially jazz pianists — use “fake books”. Fake books are collections of songs in a “lead sheet” format, which means the melody of the song plus the chord symbols that go with the melody. To learn this form of playing you will need to learn chords — at least enough to play the songs you want to play — and you will need to learn to read the tune of the song in the treble clef — a skill much easier than learning to read masses of notes in both the treble and bass clefs.

Most people don’t even know that this form of playing exists, or if they do, they thing it is limited to pros. Not so. It is a straightforward process and produces good results after a relatively short period of time. In other words, you’ll be playing enough to enjoy yourself and maybe amaze your friends in a matter of weeks instead of years.

All of these methods are viable, and all can be learned from piano teachers online. But probably the best way of all is a synergy of the 3 ways: learn to read sheet music, develop your ear, and learn chords and how to use chord symbols to create your own styles of music.

Which ever method you pick is fine — just pick one and get going. A world of fun and satisfaction await!

For more information on the 3 methods adults can learn how to play the piano, watch my free short 5-minute video titled “I want to get back to piano playing!”

To get started come on over to the Play Piano Catalog