Q. Hi. I just started playing the piano. I can play songs by chords with just the left hand then just sing along. But when I try to put the melody, i get messed up. And also I get confused with the arpeggio on the left plus melody on the right. Any tips? Thanks.
A. When chord players sing while they play they play the chords with both hands. The rule is you only play the melody when nobody is singing it.
Try playing just chords with both hands and spread the chords out across the keyboard.
You're trying to gain independence so try not to do the same thing with both hands. Use a simple pattern in the left hand, like walking up and down to spell out the spread out chord, typing out the keys at an even rate. In the right, try to be more melody like and vary the timing like it's a little tune.
You could do the same thing actually playing the tune of course.
Using a pattern with the left and following that pattern as the chords change frees up your brain to play the melody.
Some players focus on learning to play the right hand melody stuff first. They get that down pat and then add the chords with the left. Others do the opposite and get the left hand stuff all set in their brain first. Those are methods from the play-by-chord school.
The play-by-reading music types learn both hands at the same time. Sheet music is an inefficient music data storage system so it's a tough slog learning a tune by reading. Most readers are memorizing the piece in chunks, getting one section down at a time.
Does anyone know any useful piano note sheet reader sites?
Q. I have some pirates of the Caribbean songs but i cant read the notes i am only a beginner please help!
A. Sinding piano sheet music
Subscribe now and have instant access to Sinding piano sheet music and to over 600 more pieces of other composers. All in high quality Adobe PDF format.
www.allpianosheetmusic.com/composers/piano_sheet_music_sinding.htm - Cached
Pianotabs.net - Piano tabs / notes / chords on how to play pop/rock ...
... can tell the reader all about how to play a song, the reader is supposed to have ... They will always be a lot earlier on the web than the sheet music ...
www.pianotabs.net/tabs.html - Cached
Are beginner piano courses at community colleges a joke?
Q. I just learned my school does them, and im a beginner, but would I be much better off with finding a personal teacher, or are these classes at the schools worth it? they are group piano lessons
A. Hi Jason,
Here's my experience with community college piano ...
I'll never forget the time I took my first piano class. It was at the Community College of Philadelphia 1984. It was a group class with 20 or so electronic keyboards arranged around the room. We each received a class text book titled "Class Piano." No shocker there.
I opened up the book and saw that I would be learning how to read music and play triads. I also saw that I would be playing very simple classical pieces. Now, while I enjoyed this and learned how to play these easy pieces, it just didn't do it for me. It was because as I soon as I put the book down, I was dumbfounded! I didn't know what to do on the piano without the book!
I soon realized that I didn't want to become a professional note reader. No. I wanted to be able to sit down at the piano, place my fingers on a chord that called to me, and just play. I wanted to express myself at the piano in the same way visual artists are able to take pen and paper and artfully color their inner worlds. Why was this so difficult to do?
It was at this time that I started to look for new ways to play. I came upon a book that taught a modern chord position which could be used right away to make music with. Amazing! No note reading. Just chords. And once I learned a few chords, I was able to create my own music. This open position chord structure allowed me to improvise music quite easily.
Another book influenced me as well. This one showed how to play chord progressions using 4, 8 and 16 bar phrases. With this chord charting technique, I could see that I could create my own pieces. It taught me the principles of repetition and contrast - the cornerstones to musical composition.
A few chords arranged for 8-bars is repeated 2 or more times giving you what is called an "A" section of music. Another few bars of different chord changes and the "B" section is produced. And all of this was taught within a very slim volume. Maybe 46 pages or so.
After a few years of working with this material, I synthesized both methods so beginning piano players can take a modern sounding chord and work with it within a set framework. The result is a method where students are able to improvise their own music right away!
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Title : Using both hands on the piano?
Description : Q. Hi. I just started playing the piano. I can play songs by chords with just the left hand then just sing along. But when I try to put the...