Piano Tutorial & Tips

When studying the piano, a student encounters a myriad piano styles. To master the instrument, at least several of these styles must be learned, and all if at all possible. Knowledge of various playing styles enables a pianist to enjoy and play in any genre and to cross-polinate styles to create a fusion he or she can call their own.

Many modern piano styles are based on the blues. The blues involve an emphasis on the major and minor pentatonic scales, with an additional note included. The flatted fifth is added to the minor pentatonic to create the blues scale. Many blues songs are based on a simple chord progression, known as 12-bar blues. This uses the I, IV and V chords of a scale to create a foundation for melodies and solos.

For example, rock piano was born out of the blues and then took on a life of it’s own in the stylings of Jerry Lee Lewis, Michael McDonald, Elton John, Billy Joel, and many others.

Cocktail piano is a style generally connected with Liberace, Eddy Duchin, Roger Williams, and others who play popular tunes with lots of great technique — lots of notes, runs, flourishes, and so on. But I hate to categorize and of thesegreat pianists, as many of them play in other styles as well.

Boogie-woogie is a piano style based on the blues. It started as a solo piano style, but has expanded into other genres, such as county-western and gospel. It differs from the blues in that it is considered dance music, while blues music traditionally expresses sadness and frustration.

Rhythm and blues piano is based on blues, jazz, and gospel styles. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on the rhythm of the song. Most R&B has a particular swing to it, with a strong feel of syncopation in the rhythm. Syncopation involves placing the stress on a normally unstressed beat. This often results in an almost off-time feel to the untrained ear.

Ragtime piano also incorporates syncopation. Ragtime uses syncopation in its melodies by placing melodic notes between the stressed beats of the rhythm. Ragtime is often considered the first completely American genre, even predating jazz.

Jazz piano encompasses such a broad palate of styles that it is impossible to describe. Many piano styles incorporate ideas borrowed from jazz, such as improvisation. An emphasis on extended chord forms and chord re-harmonization also stems from jazz piano.

New age piano often involves less chord changes than other styles, instead relying on simpler progressions and polychords. It often imitates the sound of nature -babling brooks, wind, rain, and so on. A polychord occurs when two different chords are played at once. This technique is taken from earlier classical works by composers such as Stravinsky.

Gospel piano is often similar to the blues, jazz and R&B. It emphasizes certain extended chords, such as the 11th, and usually has the swinging feel associated with jazz and R&B. The apparent simplicity of gospel songs often hides the fact that they are, indeed, quite musically complex. Syncopation is highly stressed in gospel music, as it contributes to the overall spiritual feel of the music.

Country and western piano has similar roots as blues piano. Both styles stem from earlier folk styles, often developed by the less fortunate people of the era. Many early country songs stem from Appalachian folk songs. Country and western piano is highlighted by very bright playing, with simple chord progressions underneath the melody. One of the greats in this styles is Floyd Cramer.

Traditional sacred piano styles involve the playing of liturgical songs and hymns. These can range from the harmonically and rhythmically complex to simple two and three chord songs. Many hymns stem from folk songs of centuries past. The variety of sacred piano styles is as numerous as the liturgical songs themselves. These piano stylesoften involve a strict reading of notation, with less of an emphasis on personal interpretation than other styles.

The classical piano style is probably the most varied of all the styles. Classical music is older than other styles, and is considered to the proper grounds for musical instruction. Many elements of other piano styles come from classical music, and nearly all forms of musical theory are used in classical music. Andre Previn is the classic example of a well-trained classical pianist crossing over into the world of jazz, and with great success. Classical music usually requires intense training to master, though there many simpler pieces designed with the novice player in mind.

Though classical is often considered the high point of music, this “ain’t necessarily so.” For instance, many players who are “classically trained” have trouble adapting to the feel and sincerity of the blues. For this reason, a well-rounded player should be adaptable and learn as much about each of these piano styles as possible. In this way, a pianist is ready for any musical challenge. And besides, who knows where the future of music lies?

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Practice makes your perfectly better at something. Allot a time to practice your lessons at least 30 minutes to 1 hour so you can advance to the next level of your piano lessons.

Here are piano tutorials that you can use to guide you in playing the piano:

• Learn what note each of the fingers in your right and left hand represent.
• Learn to play the piece first before adding the foot pedal as accompaniment.
• Do not spend so much time on the chord combination and warm up exercises likewise with the main music. Keep a balanced practice plan for both activities.
• Learning the basics and terminology will help your piano tutorials at the right beat, the right tempo with the right amount of softness and speed.
• As you go along, practice proper timing and rhythm.
• Practice to use any or all of the fingers simultaneously, they must be above the keys at all times waiting for their turn.
• Ideally, the hand position above the keyboard should be in level with your shoulders which is the reference point for the hands.
• The forearms are positioned in a way parallel to the floor, the wrists are flat, and the fingers are curved. They are moved in a relaxed manner to freely move the arms sideways supported by the shoulders.
• During a recital, your hands shake wildly as sign of nervousness; calm them down by sitting on your hands minutes before you begin to play.
• Always listen to the tunes and pitches so you’ll know you’re on the right track.
• Play slowly but surely, it is better to play slowly so you can hit all the notes rather than play fast and play out of tune.
• Practice playing the chord piano to revolutionize your piano tutorials and make your music sound pleasant and brilliant.

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Have you started playing your scales yet? If you have, then you realize the value of practice and repetition. You need to play the scales every time you practice so that you can learn to play them without even having to think about it. The scales need to become second nature in your piano playing.They need to be something you can play effortlessly and you will show dramatic improvements in your piano songs if you’ve taken the time to learn the scales well. If you have not been playing scales yet and are looking for piano scales for the beginner than you should know that the best place you can find them is on the Internet.

All of the piano introductory courses show the beginner how to play certain scales. You will need to find a course that lays it all out in a very simple way so that you can start playing them immediately and practice them until you know them perfectly. The best course for learning piano scales for the beginner offers both written material and videos (Just waiting.. in process) so that you can see firsthand how they should be done.

To become a true master of the piano you are going to need to know how to play the scales very well. It is an integral part of any piano course, and as long as they are presented in a very easy to use way, you will have no problem learning them as long as you commit yourself to practice.

When you are beginning you are going to want the simplest scales to practice. There is no use in going to a higher level scale before you are very good at the beginner ones. This can be in problem for many people that want to race ahead and learn very quickly. Going to the next step before conquering the first one is fatal when you are taking piano lessons. You must do each step in order, and you need to start with very simple scalesbefore you even think about tackling harder ones.

It may take some patience on your part, but if you stick to the piano scalesfor the beginner you will find that it was well worth it. Through programs with your skills you will find them much easier to perform because you took the time to do the beginner ones right the first time. Practicing scales will make your songs sound lovely and alive because scales get your hands used to moving quickly and smoothly. You can become a master of the scales.

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Playing in front of a congregation each Sunday is no easy feat. Make sure you are well prepared before giving your best for God and before others.

1) Practice the piano and more preferably the songs you will be playing early in the week and often.

2) Sing while you play so you can have a feel for how well your playing will mesh with the singing.

3) If you use sheet music make sure it is organized and ready to go. Write up your introductions and endings or make sure the ones you have used before are the ones you will want to use this time.

4) If you are accompanying a soloist make sure you set aside good time to practice.

5) If you are still working on your craft then make sure you are studying your piano lessons and practicing those in ADDITION TO practicing your Sunday songs. Don’t stagnate. Add to your skills. Learn new songs or new ways of playing old favorites.

6) If you are the worship planner also a nice resource to have is an index that lists songs by scripture,by topic, and by key.

7) Don’t give up because you don’t have a piano. A keyboard will keep you going until the Lord sees fit to bless you with a piano. Truly. This happened to me.

Do you want to play in a particular style? You could just purchase music that is arranged in the style you want to play. But an easier option is to learn what specific notes or chords are making that special sound.

Use these ideas for how you can keep yourself together so come Sunday morning you can concentrate on making a joyful noise for the Lord!

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A piano chord chart is a very useful tool, particularly if you’re in the beginner piano lessons stage. Chords provide the basis and structure of your piano playing. The more you learn about chords, the easier will be for you to play many styles of music.

A Basic Chart for Chords on Piano

The piano chord chart available for you to download provides the basic mayor, minor and seventh chords. After you memorize many chords you’ll be able to cover other music areas such as: playing from a book, writing songs, piano accompaniment, improvisation, arranging, etc.

Pretty much all popular music, regardless of the style, shows the chord symbols on the staff. If you take a look at a classical piano piece, you’ll notice there are no chord symbols above the notes. Of course classical composers used chords and harmonies as the basis of their music, but it wasn’t customary then to write chord symbols.

Even today, you’ll discover that many people play classical music, and sometimes popular music, with little or no knowledge of chords. This is because they’re playing the notes exactly the way they appear on the sheet music. However, this piano chord chart will get you started, and when you know how to play piano chords, a whole new world opens before you!

Some time ago, I received a phone call from a woman saying that her teenage son heard me play piano at a private reunion, and he got my phone number from a friend. She wanted to know if I could play piano accompaniment for her son for his upcoming recital. She sounded desperate “I’ve asked 3 teachers if they could accompany my son on the saxophone, but they said they can’t do it”.

I thought it was very strange that none of the teachers could play along with her son. After I met with the mother she showed me the sheet music of the two popular songs planned for the recital. They were what we call lead sheets, in other words, sheet music with only the melody and the chord symbols above the melody notes, no left hand notes.

The reason why none of the teachers could play the accompaniment is because, although they knew how to play piano chords, they didn’t know how to use them in an accompaniment. In other words, they couldn’t do an arrangement based on chords (more about this on future lessons). As you learn more chords from this piano chord chart, you’ll see how resourceful chords can be.

I realize that you probably are not at this stage yet, but I just wanted to give you an example of the many possibilities available to you once you become proficient with your chords. This is a basic piano chord chart, and later on I’ll include a more complete chart in case you want to learn play chords on piano for more advanced players.

If you were blessed with a special ear for music, then it will be easier for you to learn chords and you’ll appreciate even more the importance and advantage of having this chord knowledge to improve your piano playing.

For now, just focus on mastering the chords on this piano chord chart and you’ll be able to play hundreds of songs. One of the fastest ways to learn piano is learning a good number of chords and knowing how to read the melody notes. So, start practicing these chords and have fun with your music!

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Are there really secrets to becoming a really good piano player? Or is it just a matter of practice, practice, practice?

Practice is necessary, of course, but you could practice until the cows come home without understanding what you’re doing at the piano, and all you would end up with is fingers that behave obediently to whatever the sheet music or score tells them to do.

Understanding how music works in terms of form and content is the key to productive practice. Then you are not just playing mechanically by rote like a machine, but you can get “inside” the music and eventually let it flow out of your brain and heart as well as your hands.

There are at least 33 elements that contribute to becoming a good pianist, There are probably more, but without these 33 principles a pianist cannot hope to rise to the level of his ability.”

So yes – there really are secrets to becoming the piano player of your dreams. It’s not that anyone is purposefully trying to keep a secret from you, but it’s a rare teacher who has the ability to not only play well but to be able to explain music theory – chords, melody, rhythm, dynamics, and all the other elements that contribute to playing the piano well and with feeling.

In our piano teaching studio at Piano University we have identified 33 distinct skill that must be developed if a person wants to play up to the limit of her or his potential. Here they are :

1 - Hand & Body Position — Should you look down at your hands? How to use “eye flips”

2 - The key to productive practice — Spaced repetition

3 - Attitude — how it affects your learning

4 - How & when to pedal. Using explosive dynamics

5 - Exposure: why it’s critically important

6 - Ear Training — Intervals from 2nds to 13ths

7 - Fingering — which finger do you use when?

8 - Chord substitutions that create fantastic sounds

9 - Chord recognition — how to recognize what chord is being used

10 - Musical vocabulary: tempo words, form words

11- Arranging: how is your “bag of tricks” coming along? “Head arrangements”

12 - Melodic sense: how does the melody relate to the chords?

13 - Sight-reading: 7 fundamentals you just cannot ignore

14 - Key orientation: Can you think in the key you’re playing in?

15 - Scanning the score before you start playing

16 - Mental practice — how to learn music in bed

17 - Repertoire: Why you need one to be prepared for any opportunity

18 - Goal setting: How good can you get? Is there a limit?

19 - Rhythm awareness — samba, bossa nova, bolero, etc.

20 - Why knowing music history is important to you

21 - Idea stealing — how and where & from who

22 - 12-bar blues; creating a motif; “blue notes”

23 - Extended chords: 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, suspensions

24 - Technique acquisition: rubber balls, fingering drills

25 - Harmonization: Using I, IV & V to harmonize

26 - Key identification: Recognizing key signatures

27 - Voicing: Open, closed, registers, color tones

28 - Improvisation: Making music right out of your head

29 - Harmony & theory: How much should you know?

30 - Stylistic devices: Western, boogie, jazz, etc.

31 - Analysis: How to understand what you’re hearing

32 - Riffs & runs & fills: How to develop them

33 - Cross-pollination: The best of all worlds!

While reading music is important, the individual who develops these 33 basic skills will be light years ahead of the person who simply plays sheet music the way it is written. There is no longer any reason to be “tied to thewritten music” when you can master these techniques that allow you to play from the heart.

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Pop music, on the other hand, has primarily come into usage to describe music that evolved out of the rock ‘n roll revolution of the mid-1950’s and continues in a definable path to today. Pop music is not usually written, performed and recorded as a symphony, suite, or concerto. Pop music gets something of a tough time these days.

Music

Music is one of the most basic experiences for human beings. Musicians are offended by this because we think music should engage you. The definition of pop music is purposefully flexible as the music that is identified as pop is constantly changing. At any particular point in time it may be easiest to identify pop music as that which is successful on the pop music charts. For the past 50 years the most successful musical styles on the pop charts have continually changed and evolved. However, there are some consistent patterns in what is identified as pop music. This would include an extremely wide range of music from vaudeville and minstrel shows to heavy metal. Pop music, on the other hand, has primarily come into usage to describe music that evolved out of the rock ‘n roll revolution of the mid-1950’s and continues in a definable path to today. This means the music that sells the most copies, draws the largest concert audiences, and is played most often on the radio.

Jazz

It’s not serious or straightforward enough to be called jazz. These often were by piano trios, playing light classics and sanitized jazz and featuring titles like, “Cocktail Time” and “Cocktails, Anyone. It derives from the Blues, in its essence, and has had more contaminations with pop music than Jazz. This style has become rich of musical subgenres: Soul, Funk or funky pop (not to confuse with the jazz funk developed from Miles Davis in `60s and ‘70s), until arriving to Hip Hop, belong to it. It conciliates pop melodies with jazz and above all with blues sounds and rhythms. Dance rhythm and blues piano album “Modern jazz dance “Piano Fender Rhodes improvisations on rhythm and blues anddance rhythms. His jazz improvisations bring you to the magic, spiritual and mystic sense of music based on Gurdjieff ’s teaching. It was not terribly difficult to decide how to separate jazz music from pop music. The idea is that you should read this book first, then the history of jazz music and the history of rock music. Latin music started working its way in even as early as the Forties and Fifties in jazz.

The definition of pop music is purposefully flexible as the music that is identified as pop is constantly changing. At any particular point in time it may be easiest to identify pop music as that which is successful on the pop music charts. However, there are some consistent patterns in what is identified as pop music. It is tempting to confuse pop musicwith popular music.

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Don’t Let The Music Move You!

If you turn on the TV nowadays, chances are that you’re going to see piano players swaying and in some cases, jumping up and down while they play. This has been a controversial topic in learning how to play the piano. Students often mimic what they see on screen, thinking that it’s the right thing to do. What they don’t realize is that many of these performers simply jump around for show- if you saw them practicing, they would probably look very different.

Some people argue that posture is something that goes with the style of playing. While classical music calls for a more dignified pose, blues and jazz is more relaxed, right? Wrong- you simply have to look at jazz legends like Fats Weller to see that jazz has nothing to do with onstage antics. The general rule has always been that a pianist should have a dignified posture and should remain calm and quiet through the performance. Surprisingly enough, this has nothing to do with looks and everything to do with giving a good performance.

Posture Problems

Many people who are learning how to play the piano might be surprised to learn that some piano greats had bad playing postures. Glenn Gould, for example had notoriously bad sitting posture when he played. Did it affect his playing? Of course it did- Gould suffered from back pain, numb fingers and immense pain in the shoulders and neck. Many observers believe that it was his bad posture that led to his early death. Without the pain in his neck and back, there’s a good chance he would have played for many more years.

It is clear from this that learning how to play the piano means learning the right posture. People who develop difficulties in the back, arms, neck, shoulders and fingers are simply not sitting correctly. Having the right hand position is important as well; placing the hands incorrectly can lead to wrist and finger pain. It will also inhibit your ability to reach certain notes and chords. It’s also important to make sure your piano stool is of the right height and at the correct distance from the keys.

Posture can literally make or break a good piano player. Mastering the correct hand positions and posture is the key to learning how to play the piano.

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Your piano is your soul mate. Once you start playing it, you two are hopelessly entwined, enjoying a world of your own, mindless of what goes on outside your world. It is therefore absolutely important that you take care of your piano properly.

Taking care of your piano does not only entail having it tuned up every two to five years. It would also appreciate a daily maintenance from the owner himself. What good would it do to a piano if it would just be left at one corner of the house, untouched for sometime? Absolutely nothing, and it would just gather dust and rust.

One of the best ways to maintain its good condition is to play it often. Just like a human being, this piece of entertainment equipment needs exercise so as not to expire soon. Through regular playing, you are not only practicing to become a better pianist, you can also play and check if your piano is still in perfect tune.

It feels great to let your fingers glide over smooth and shiny ivory keyboards. It can’t be helped though, especially when you have little kids at home, to have little sticky hands pounding on the keys from time to time, unless you have strict off-limits rule on your piano. So, to keep your keyboard clean, shiny and non-sticky, try wiping a lemon or lemon-salt paste over the keys and then rinse with clean, wet cloth then polish with dry cloth.

Check out some of the things you must do in cleaning and taking care of your piano:

The Keys:

It is recommended to clean the keys with a light soap solution preferably that of Ivory brand

The Cabinet:

Some pianos, especially those with high-gloss finish should be handled with utmost care. Use a new soft cloth to wipe the cabinet. Do not use old towel converted into rags as the rough fabric can scratch the finishing. And the small particles, even dust can leave permanent graze over the glossy cover. To clean, wipe a damp rag over a small portion and then immediately wipe the area with dry cloth. The wet portion must not be left wet for more than a minute. Repeat process until the entire cabinet is cleaned.

To polish the cabinet, it is best to use piano polish. Furniture paste wax will do as well. An old upright piano with an old wood finish may be cleaned with one of those new orange spray cleaner/polisher. Do not use the usual aerosol cleaner on a piano as it contains alcohol that will react with the finishing or tarnish the varnish or lacquer paint on your piano surface. You can buy specially designed piano polisher and polishing cloth as well in most piano stores.

The piano should be positioned by the wall of the home and not along a concrete block or floor as they can cause unstable temperature due to dampness. Constant changing of temperature can cause your piano to go out of tune. But the foremost cause of the change in tune is the change in humidity.

Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important musical instrument.

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The top 10 piano songs of all time may be more a matter of personal preference than anything. Ask any piano student though, and he’ll likely name at least five of these 10. This list contains many of the “staples” of piano instructors worldwide:

1. Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” Take piano lessons a few years and you’ll certainly encounter this classical piece. Most every young piano student requests Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” early in his or her career.

2. Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer.” Joplin managed to capture audiences during an era when “Negro music” was still controversial. Classical musicians of the early 20th century would have balked at Joplin’s name appearing alongside the likes of Beethoven and Mozart. Today, few would exclude this ragtime song from a top 10 piano songs list.

3. Pachelbel’s “Canon in D major.” Simply referred to as “Pachelbel’s Canon,” it often gets left off of favorite piano songs lists. That’s because it was originally written for stringed instruments. Nevertheless, the piano adaptation is one that most every intermediate to advanced piano student plays during his or her career.

4. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Beethoven had one of the most prolific musical careers in history. It’s little wonder that his name appears more than once on the popularity list. His “Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor” is probably more widely recognized by its common name, the “Moonlight Sonata.”

5. Brahm’s “Hungarian Dance.” Brahm may be known better in mainstream culture for his “Lullaby.” Every piano student learns both his “Lullaby” and the “Hungarian Dance.” The “Hungarian Dance” typically refers to his “No. 5 in F sharp minor.” The “Hungarian Dance” is actually a series of 21 songs. A great many of them were simply adaptations ofexisting songs. “No. 5 in F sharp minor” was one of a few originals.

6. Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” This song appears as one of four movements in Claude Debussy’s “Suite Bergamasque.” The suite was probably based on Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name. Its soft, lilting sounds contrast beautifully with the rest of the suite’s joyful parts.

7. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Ludwig van Beethoven cracks the list again with this song from his last complete symphony: “Symphony No. 9.” It was unusual in regard to many of his works, as well as others of the time. It was based on Friedrich Schiller’s poem of the same name and included human voices as orchestral instruments.

8. “Minuet in G.” This familiar piece is somewhat controversial. It is historically attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, having appeared in Bach’s “Notebook for Anna Magdalena.” The book was a series of compositions dedicated to Bach’s wife. The authorship of “Minuet in G” and another work was called into question hundreds of years later. Many musical historians now attribute it to Bach’s contemporary, Christian Petzold. Controversy aside, it remains a loved favorite of pianists everywhere.

9. Mozart’s “Turkish March.” No top 10 piano songs list would be complete without a nod to Mozart. His “Turkish March” or “Turkish Rondo” is a difficult piece to play, usually only attempted after several years of piano lessons.

10. Billy Joel’s “Root Beer Rag.” It’s fitting to include at least one contemporary artist in a top ten piano songs list. Billy Joel’s career is often reduced to his influence on pop music. But soulful ballads like “The Piano Man” only provide a glimpse into his musical talent. Billy Joel is considered one of the most proficient pianists alive today. His “Root Beer Rag” is attempted by many advanced piano students. Most agree, however, that few execute this lightning-fast number quite like the master himself.

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