Posts Tagged ‘play piano’

If I already play guitar, can I catch on to piano playing faster than if I didn’t?

Monday, April 6th, 2009
Guitar & piano playing

If I already play guitar, can I catch on to piano playing faster than if I didn’t?
Already knowing the guitar has it advantages when learning piano (although it depends on your training, experience, and abilities). If you learned to read music as part of your guitar studies, you’ll be able to apply that knowledge to learning the piano. For example, if you know the notes of a G chord are G, B, and D, or know that the notes of an A minor chord are A, C, and E, you simply have to find the corresponding keys on the piano to play the chord. Having knowledge of key and time signatures, and understanding the basic “road map” of music (it’s symbols and designations), puts you on a faster track when learning piano.
When it comes to the physical part of playing the piano, knowing how to form chords on guitar may not be of great help. The techniques are different as well as your relationship with the instrument (sitting in front of a piano rather than holding a guitar). Plus, on guitar, chords and melodies are formed with the left hand (if you are right-handed), whereas chords and melodies are played with both hands on piano. However, the strength and dexterity you developed in your hands playing guitar can make piano playing easier.
Many guitar techniques can be reproduced on piano. Playing an arpeggio (a series of notes of one of more chords) on piano is not unlike playing it on guitar. Instead of playing the piano keys to create the arpeggio, a guitarist holds a chord and plays its individual strings.
Once understood, chord inversions can be readily transferred from guitar to piano. An inversion is the same notes of a chord played in a different order (e.g., the notes C, E, and G being played as G, E, C). As a guitar player, you learned that chords can be played in many different ways. The same holds true for piano, though it can be argued that a piano is more versatile when it comes to forming chords.
Other aspects of playing such as tone and rhythm also transfer well. However, most would say creating a pure tone on guitar (for all strings played) is more difficult than on piano. A certain amount of strength is needed to press down the strings of a guitar, while the piano is more forgiving and requires sensitivity and touch more than strength. Having a good sense of rhythm is as important on piano as guitar. But as a piano player, rhythm and tempo comes from pressing the piano keys in a certain, consistent pattern. No longer will you be strumming to create the desired rhythm.
If you are used to playing sheet music (whether it be for guitar, piano, or both), you already have an idea how the two instruments work together. And you should be familiar with the guitar symbols that appear above a lot of music written for piano. Perhaps, without being aware of it, you’ve been forming a sense about how the piano is played.
Finally, you will be using different muscle groups and techniques when playing the piano. This can be a challenge at first but after a month or so, you’ll become comfortable with pressing keys instead of strings and you’ll begin to feel at home on the piano.

Do you know about our online catalog for piano players?

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Online catalog for PlayPiano.com

Do you know about our online catalog for piano players? It is a rich resource for all kinds and levels of piano players, covering everything from chords to music theory to arranging, technique, practice, styles, and tons more. Visit it at Play Piano Online Catalog

Learning Music as an Adult

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Learn music as an adult

While we have all heard stories of child prodigies and the importance of learning music as a child, an adult can still learn to play an instrument quite well. Even with no prior experience, the right training can help an adult learn to play music just as well as a child. The main thing is to find the right way to learn, whether it’s through a tutor or self-study.

Adult learners come with their own baggage, often from childhood lessons. Adult piano students may have had bad experiences with music lessons as a child. These can range from scary instructors to endless exercises or abusive teacher-student relationships. Sometimes a teacher may have punished the student for not being skilled enough, while other times a teacher may have pushed a promising student too hard. This is one of the hurdles that come with learning music as an adult.

Accepting the teacher as an authority figure is another difficulty that comes with learning music as an adult. An adult has learned to be independent. An adult wants to take part in the development of curriculum and wants to be able to self-evaluate. It may be difficult for an adult to simply listen and take instruction from a music instructor. So the best avenue for learning music as an adult may be to self-tutor or to find an instructor who teaches by long distance via the internet. There are many wonderful piano courses available nowdays on the web: just type in something like “play piano” on any search engine, and you’ll find several.

Though the process of learning music as an adult is different from a child’s, it’s not necessarily harder. For a child, making music is magical, while an adult sees the work involved to get to the music making stage. It’s mainly a mental hurdle that must be overcome. Also, learning music as a child is part of the natural development process, while learning music as an adult is usually part of a larger goal. For example, an adult learns how to play an instrument to join the church worship team.

Learning music as an adult can also be difficult because of ingrained personality traits. Even the most outwardly confident adults get insecure when someone points out their flaws. So it goes with learning music. If a tutor is used, an adult can get embarrassed when the tutor corrects a mistaken note or technique. Some adults may have difficulty breathing and concentrating when they’re highly nervous. All of these can lead to a difficult learning environment.

Adults also demand comfort. This is why adults often learn an instrument in their own home. Children are less demanding about the hardness of a piano bench, for example. Adults may have back problems or other conditions that require a high comfort level.

So the basic ingredients for learning music as an adult are adaptable tutoring, reason for learning, confidence and comfort. By taking these key points and seeking the best method of learning for yourself, you can become an adult musical genius — well, maybe not a genius — maybe just a person who has more fun. Or maybe you’ll be the guy or gal at parties who knows how to play the latest song everyone is talking about. With the right teaching, grown ups can enjoy playing music wherever they go.

10 Top Reasons You Should Learn to Play ‘Chord’ Piano

Monday, July 21st, 2008

Everybody should be able to play at least a little chord piano...

EVERYBODY Ought to Learn to Play At Least a Little Chord Piano!

There are roughly umpteen zillion reasons why you should learn

enough chords to be able to “chord a song” at the piano.

By “chord a song”, I mean the ability to play 3 or 4 chords on

the piano in some sort of rhythm while you or someone else sings

the tune. To do this, you don’t need to be a Van Cliburn; all you

need to do is learn a few basic chords and be able to more back

and forth between them in some organized rhythmic pattern.

For example, did you realize that all of these songs (and

hundreds more) can be sung or played with just 3 chords?

Auld Lang Syne

Amazing Grace

Kum Ba Ya

Silent Night

Joy To The World

Jingle Bells

Happy Birthday

Down In The Valley

On Top Of Old Smoky…

and hundreds or maybe thousands more!

Add just one more chord to the basic 3, and you can play another

thousand songs or so. So why not learn a few chords and start

your chording career?

Here are my top 10 reasons for learning “chord piano”:

1) It’s easy. Learn 3 chords and start in — it’s not rocket

science!

2) Even though it’s easy to get started, you don’t have to stop

there. You can learn more and more chords and more rhythm

patterns and get really good if you choose to.

3) You’ll be able to play “Happy Birthday” while the gang sings

it, since it only has 3 simple chords.

4) You’ll be able to play half-a-dozen Christmas carols like “Joy

To The World”, “Silent Night” because they too have just 3 simple

chords. In case you haven’t noticed, Christmas comes every year,

so every year you’ll get better as you participate in family

gatherings.

5) You can help your kids learn to play the piano, guitar, or

most any other instrument by learning chords. Most teachers don’t

teach chords, so you’ll be giving your kids an advantage by

learning chords.

6) People will admire you. It’s true. Musicians are popular.

Anyone who can play anything is in demand at parties and social

gatherings. And if you can “chord” while others sing, you’re

bound to be popular.

7) Piano playing using chords is good for your brain. Studies

have shown that people who actively participate in music do their

brain lots of good. And since chords require 3 or 4 notes at a

time instead of one, you are giving your brain a good workout.

8) Piano playing, particularly using chords, is good exercise for

your wrists and fingers. (Take the time to learn about correct

hand position, though!)

9) Piano playing is excellent therapy for the stress of life.

Many professional people come home from a hard days work and

relax by expressing their emotions on the keyboard. Play a few

dark and angry chords, and you’ll be surprised how much better

you feel!

10) Piano playing is a blast. It’s just plain old fun. So learn 3

or 4 chords and get going. Maybe you’ll stop there and enjoy it

the rest of your life.

But just maybe you’ll love it so much that you keep going and

turn yourself into an excellent piano player who can read music

as well as play chords!

To get started, go to http://www.chordpiano.com

New 30-Second Video About The “Crash Course” In Exciting Piano Playing

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Here’s a 30-second video about the “Crash Course In Exciting Piano Playing”. It’s amazing how much information they packed into 30 seconds — see what you think when you click on the link below:

“Crash Course In Exciting Piano Playing”