Learn To Play The Piano - The Best Online Piano Lessons

By Jerri Player

Want To learn how to play the piano? It can be super easy to pick up if you use the right guide. You will be surprised at how fast you can learn the basics, and not only be playing chop-sticks but be playing more complicated compositions as well. Learning the piano isn't very difficult, but you will have to get a firm grasp of the basics - like reading music.

A surprising number of people can actually play the piano, without being able to read sheet music. This can become problematic, and hold you back form becoming the best pianist you can, and is not the way you should go about it. Take the little bit of extra time and learn to read music as well as play the piano. You'll also learn how to play the piano as you read your music, you know kinda like typing and not looking at your keys. You will learn to do the same thing when you play the piano. Follow the steps in the course and you will be playing like a real piano artist in no time.

Another little tip for beginner piano players is that not only do you need to be able to read your music as you play but you need to be reading ahead of the actual notes your playing. You stay ahead of yourself while playing so your rendition will flow smoothly. While this may be difficult at first, with a little practice you'll be playing music you have never played before, and sound good doing it!

Try to keep a very light touch on the keys when you play the piano, as it's much more difficult to play well if you are stiff and tense when playing. Don't be so concerned about that next note that you can't relax while you play! Playing the piano is supposed to be relaxing! Also, as you learn to play, you will learn to play by ear, as you should, because this can be the most enjoyable way to play a song you know well. Playing songs you know well, will actually help you play songs you don't know so well. Like a lot of things in life, playing the piano well is all about practice, practice, and more practice!

If you are just starting out, but want to be the best pianist possible, you really need to learn your scales (of course) and chords. You might be surprised at how many people can play the piano some but don't know their scale let alone their chords! Don't let this be you! Learn your scales and chords as you learn to read piano sheet music. Do you ever desire to write your own music for the piano? If so (and who wouldn't?) this is another very good reason to learn everything you can about reading and writing your very own music. - 32524

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How to Tell the Key of a Piano Song

By Michelle Edward

One key or another is always assigned to each and every music piece. It may be in the key of Bb or maybe even the key of E. The beginning of the score is used to determine the key signature that will be used throughout the piece, like if there are flats or sharps that will be used and which scale it is to be played or sung in.

There is a key signature in all pieces of music. It is signified just after the clef (the staff) and includes symbols for flats (b) and sharps (#). When you take a careful look at the start of each of the lines in the music you will surely recognize a grouping of flats or sharps (never both at once). They appear either on a space or on a line of the music staff and are put there to signify the notes that will be affected by them. To say it a different way, if the #, or sharp, is placed on the top of a music staff, the F note will be played as F#. This means that anytime the note F is played, no matter if it is in the staff's first space, on top of the staff, or below or above the staff (this will be signified by the ledger lines) it will be played as F#.

If the music requires that the note be played in a different way, not as a flat or sharp as indicated in the key signature, there will be an accidental just in front of the note to indicate it being played as a natural note. An example of this would be if the piece has been indicated to play all F notes as sharp but in one section it is needed played as a natural, the accidental will be placed just before the note that is different.

The key signature is put in place so that the sharps and flats will be limited on the actual notes in the piece of music. Basically, by putting the # in the signature key it avoids the writer from having to put a sharp or flat by each note when the F is in the music. It lets the musician know that each and every time the F note is required that it should be played as F#. The lines of music will not be as cluttered this way and it will be much easier to be read.

The most common key signatures are listed below along with the notes that are affected by them:

Key of C: No sharps or flats
Key of G: One sharp (F#)
Key of D: Two sharps (F# and C#)
Key of A: Three sharps (F#, C# and G#)
Key of E: Four sharps (F#, C#, G# and D#)
Key of F: One flat (Bb)
Key of Bb: Two flats (Bb and Eb)
Key of Eb: Three flats (Bb, Eb, and Ab)

There is also a relative minor for each key. The similarities of the relative minor and the major are nearly all the same (though started in a different place, the scales are the same) they are not thought of as the same. The note that is found a minor third down from the major (key) is considered to be the relative minor. It is also known as the sixth note in the major scale. The A note is the six note of the C major scale, for example. This means that the relative minor to the C scale is an A minor. It is extremely common for music to use a particular key's relative minor so if you know about them it makes understanding the chord progression in a song much easier to comprehend.

Below are some of the keys and their relative minors (keys):

A minor is the relative minor C
B minor is the relative minor for D
F# minor is the relative minor for A
G minor is the relative minor for Bb

When a musician is experienced and plays his music in a nontraditional setting, like when they play free style with not music to read, all he really needs to know is the key that the music was written in and he will be able to play the scales or melodies and the necessary chords that will allow them to play the song freestyle.

Finally, it is not unusual for a song to be written in more than one key - to change somewhere in the middle of a song. Such key changes can be a challenge for relatively new musicians. - 32524

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Find out more about how to tell the key of a song. Visit Michelle Edward's site on how to choose the best Casio keyboard for your needs.

Reading Piano Music is Easy to Learn

By Michelle Edward

With a little success under your belt, you can begin to tackle the job of learning to read music. Of course, many musicians do not know how to read music. They just hear a song and play it, as they say, by ear. These musicians can improvise on any simple themes and come up with elaborate renditions of popular songs. These players know their instruments as well as singers know their own voices.

You might be someone that is able to do that, but if you are just learning about the piano there's a good chance that you can really use the help that written music provides. There will be time for learning about chords and improvisation later on. Additionally, learning how to read music will open a new world to you. You will be able to learn songs that you've never even heard before and when you are ready to repeat your performance, the written sheet music guides you note by note.

There is a great deal to learn. You will have to find out how each note is depicted. You will have to know what the staffs are that the notes are written on and what they look like. You will have to learn how rhythm, sharps, and flats are represented. Once you learn these basics, you can start to build on the knowledge.

You can really learn a lot just by looking at a piece of music. If you already have a songbook, some sheet music, or a hymnal, take a moment to really look at it. If you don't have any kind of written music, either buy or borrow some.

You will notice that there are groups of five horizontal lines. If the music is for both hands, it will have two of these groups of lines connected together by a longer line along the side. The horizontal lines are called the staff. You can get staff paper that is already marked with these lines.

When you look to the left side of the staffs you will notice the clef marking. On the upper staff you will see the treble clef marking. The treble clef looks like a fancy S that's backwards with a single line running through the middle of it and curling underneath. When you first start learning how to play the piano, you will be playing the notes on the treble clef with your right hand.

On the lower staff of the two is the bass clef sign. It is something like a backwards C with two dots on the right side of it. This staff shows the lower notes, and you will begin by playing the notes shown on this staff with your left hand. The upper and lower staffs will repeat several times down the page. Look at your sheet music and identify the staffs. Now you are ready to learn the notes. - 32524

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Looking to find the best deal on children's piano lessons, then visit Michelle's site to find the best advice on learning piano notes for you.

7 Tips to Learn to Play Piano by Ear

By Erik Thiede

I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point in your life, you wished to learn to play piano by ear. It sure would be nice to play without having to study any notes. We're left to wonder, "Can we do that?"

It's actually not that hard. You definitely don't have to worry about joining prestigious royal schools of music to improve your piano-playing skills.

There are those who are just gifted. But even you can pick up superior piano skills along the way. Becoming a truly brilliant pianist requires a little work, persistence, and a whole lot of desire.

Here are a few helpful points for you:

1. Get to know the piano. When you want to be good at something, you need to know the ins and outs of it all, and the best place to start is with the instrument itself - the piano. It's vital that you want to know what the parts are called for easy reference and what kind of sounds or moods you can create with it. It's like strengthening the bond between you and your piano.

True enough, wanting to learn to play piano by ear will require you to kick off with the rudiments. The instrument itself is the root of your desire to play. Learn what you can about the keyboard and start playing wonderful music.

2. Study music theory. Playing your piano keys without any background on musical concepts and laws is like preparing food with a missing ingredient. Learning music theory is a vital part of any pianist's journey to greatness.

3. Learn scales and progressions. Scales and progressions are what make each piece distinctive, so be sure to learn them. You can learn to play piano by ear smoothly when you've mastered your scales.

4. Go for simple melodies then move on to harder ones. It's okay to dream big, but start off with unadorned melodies to begin with. Genuine progress takes time. Once you've gotten the hang of easy tunes, you can always choose harder songs to play afterward.

5. Hum the tune. Using your voice is just as vital as using your ears and fingers. It helps to master a tune when you sing the melody. It's easier to remember the notes and you get to learn to play piano by ear just as effortlessly.

6. Feel the rhythm. Listen to the tune not only with your ears, but with your heart and soul also. Involve your senses to make it truly heartfelt.

7. Consider piano lessons. Formal lessons can't hurt. You can easily choose from a variety of online courses that you think you need more practice on.

Hopefully, these 7 tips will help you in your desire to learn to play piano by ear. Do the work and browse through limitless resources on the Internet. Determination and plenty of practice can definitely take you a long way. - 32524

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With Everything You Can Get From Piano Lessons, Why Not Give It Your All?

By Adriana Noton

Piano lessons offer all of us a chance to do much more than learn how to play one of the most beautiful and complex instruments of our time. Those who can learn to play the piano well have achieved a significant accomplishment. Children and adults who master this very intriguing, very complex set of keys can look forward to a lifetime of benefits.

Piano lessons are more than a mere chance to play some music. While this can be an amazing gift in and of itself, it is far from the end of the road. If you give it its due time and commitment, you'll find that you are given multiple rewards along the way. Anyone who wants to devote the time and energy into learning to play the piano can do so. Most people who quit don't quit because the piano is too hard. They quit because there is a significant time commitment that some people are not ready to make.

If you give the piano ten years of consistent training you can expect to develop a level of mastery that few ever really experience. It might seem rather taxing when you think of it like this. A weekly lesson for ten years doesn't seem like much. It's the necessary practice time that can be a bit overwhelming. Yet devoting the time to the piano can pay off in many ways other than musically.

The benefits of learning how to play the piano are vast. Whether you are an adult or a child the benefits will impact you equally for the most part. Children might have more experience and a greater impact when it comes to mathematical benefits because they are in the educational system. This means that children are exposed to more challenging math than adults are on a regular basis. Piano players increase their math skills significantly year after year of playing.

Furthermore, adults and students who stayed with their structured piano music lessons had a higher degree of self reliance, a stronger sense of self esteem, and better reading comprehension skills. A School of Music can help with this. It is said that learning to play an instrument like the piano can lead to self reliance because you learn problem solving skills.

For instance, if you are playing and are suddenly faced with a chord that you have never seen before you already know that you have been equipped with the necessary knowledge to unencrypt it. You were given these skills at the very beginning of your piano career.

Further more, having a refined skill can be highly beneficial to the self esteem, even if no one ever hears you play. This is because you don't need the recognition of others. You already have the knowledge for yourself. Thus, you tend to feel better about you knowing that you have capabilities that even you haven't realized.

Yes, piano lessons teach you to play beautiful music. You can find your own genre and take your interest in any direction that you see fit. You can go from an amateur to a professional in a relatively short period of time. You can touch the sky when you learn how to feel that deep rumble in your chest and let the music flow through you out onto the keys. You have a skill for coping with stress for the rest of your life and resource to tap into whenever you are ready to provide a little entertainment. Whatever you choose, the best of the piano is there for you, along with so very much more. - 32524

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It's never too late to learn how how to play music. As one of North America's most respected and well-known School of Music, they offer Music Lessons and singing lessons at our two GTA locations. The first lesson is free!