Q. I have developed a love towards piano music, and would like to take up lessons, however my friend is a pretty good piano player, and she has said that people learn instruments easier if they start at a younger age, whether she is right or not on that I can't take away her ability for playing the piano.
Any way I just was wondering if at 21 I am a little old to take up lessons, or if it would be ok?
What do you think?
A. Absolutely. I've had students (guitar) start in their 50s-60s etc. Anyone can learn. Granted, it's probably easier if you're so young you only know to do what your parents tell you ... by the time you're old enough to hate lessons you can already play :-) But at 21 you may never be a concert pianist (only 1 in 1,000,000 make that no matter their age when starting) but you'll certainly be able to play well enough to do whatever you want to do. Go for it ! No time like the present to get started!
Couple tips - you might want to try to find a teacher who will start you on music you like - vs. "Mary had a little lamb" and other primary piano method. Also -- I always try to teach playing by ear as well as reading music, both are important, but you'll have much more fun playing if you can just pick up and go with songs in your head, vs. always needing sheet music. If you're at a party and there's a piano in the room and a bunch of people who want to sing some songs... it's doubtful you'll have sheet music , or have it in the right key (pitch) for the singers. In that case you need to be able to play what's in your head and move it up or down the keyboard so folks can sing it.
On the other hand - you'll also want to learn to read music, particularly sight-reading. That's a skill that lets you grab a piece of music for a pit orchestra or to accompany a chorus, and play it right away. Great skill to have. This is all a year or two down the line, but the time to start is still right now.
I'm personally not a great keyboard player (my main instruments are guitar, brass, and winds) but I do play enough to teach beginners and so forth. One skill I developed early on was to approach the sheet music more like a guitarist would.... read the bass line and the melody... then use the chord symbols to fill in the rest (vs. playing it note-for-note off the sheet music). That's the "cheat sheet" way to learn how to accompany people.
So try to find a teacher who will help you learn to "comp" chords and bass lines by ear - not just reading notes. Best of luck to you.
Is it possible to teach yourself how to sing?
Q. Without spending money? I'm 19 years old, female. Ever since I was little, I drew, painted, and played the guitar and piano. I've always been very artistic. However, I can't sing. And that's one thing I WISH I could do soo bad! How can I teach myself, and is it possible? My voice needs some work, I can't hit high notes.
A. Yes it is possible to teach yourself. but as a cost efficient addition to self teaching I'd recommend joining a choir. Church, school, whatever, because there should be an instructor their who knows about music and sing and can actually spot problems you're having (video instructors just don't cut it).
My best advice to you is, join choir, watch and learn from videos. Learn to breath from you're diaphragm.You'll know good diaphragmatic breathing when you can say the whole alphabet in one breath, this will help with holding notes and singing in general. you're shoulders and chest should move much, your breath shouldn't come from your chest but rather the spot right above your stomach and below the lungs. Put your hand on your stomach and if you feel it expand and retract then you're doing it right.
listen to a song you like. Get a tape recorder or webcam with good enough sound quality and record the first line of the song. Then sing that line and see what you need to improve on. e.i. hit a higher note or lower note, breath in a certain spot or continue to next word with breathing. Also sing the actual note. NOT what you think it is. That's a big part of bad singing. If you can hit you're notes right then the rest becomes easier. Easiest why to learn notes is to find a piano or keyboard, or even just and online keyboard is fine you don't need to know anything fancy just basic notes and honestly you can just print a cheat sheet for that. Find online sheet music (there are a few free site) and play the basic notes (treble note, or the top set of lines) one by one. Hit the corresponding key and hold it while you sing the note. You're voice should blend in with the key not be on top of (higher) or below (lower) rather you should here a sort of resonance or vibration when you hit the exact same note. Continue through then whole song like this. This will teach you how to sing accurately. Actually you may want to record and play that back as well to really see if you're hitting it.
After that it's just tone and breathing control and technique. this you can learn from and instructor or pick up on you're own with the help of video but what I gave you here should be enough to give you a good start on singing. Singing accurately is key.
Um as for high notes. You should find out your vocal part. As in Soprano or Alto. Then both section are divided into firsts and seconds depending on who sings higher. After learning to sing accurately so you don't embarrass yourself (no offense meant) find someone learned in music and see if they can help you figure out what you are. maybe even go to a music store and ask. This will tell you how high your vocal range naturally should be able to go (not that it isn't possible to overlap ranges, this will just tell you your initial range.) once you find that you can work on high notes with in your range. Because what may be high for an alto might be medium note for a soprano and what may be high for a soprano may be impossible for an alto to hit. To hit a high note you HAVE to breath from you're diaphragm you should not feel your chest move AT ALL, only your upper stomach. then you imagine that the voice is coming from you head, like your forehead, this is called you're head voice and that technique helps you brain tell you're vocal chords to switch into head voice which is solely for high note. From there you just practice singing, maybe try "Meee" since its a classic high sound. Remember to round the sound or the high note won't sound to good, you can do this by making an "O"ish shape with your mouth e.i. you're mouth should end up more open vertically then horizontally but it does not have to be an exact O though. Record it and play it until you have the sound you're looking for and work with a keyboard. If you can't initially hit it, work you way up, please do warm ups, they really do help. run scales, look them up on youtube and sing along until you can hit the higher notes, frequent practice will help you improve. if at any point your throat hurts or feels sore. STOP. you are damaging you throat and voice. most likely this means you're singing on your throat and note from you're diaphragm. Aim for a natural voice when learning to sing. you can always learn to jazz it up later.
Hope I helped.. sorry i typed so much, just had to share what i've picked up over the years.
Feel free to e-mail me with any problems you run into or question or anything: RockerchicM@gmail.com
And remember. ANYONE, and I do mean anyone is capable of singing if they learn the right things and practice.
Can someone help me to determine the chords for piano for "Burn Us Up" By Shane and Shane?
Q. I would really appreciate it! I would like to learn the "cheat" chords because I am just learning piano..but if you can find sheet music that would be great too!
A. Hello
Mystery guitar man here
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Title : can you learn to play the piano at any age to a good standard?
Description : Q. I have developed a love towards piano music, and would like to take up lessons, however my friend is a pretty good piano player, and she...