Q. I've been playing the piano for several years now.And for the past few years,I was appointed as the church's pianist.So,I was wondering if anyone can give tips on how to play childrens' songs by chords- I learn arpeggieos and scales but am lack of creativeness on how to elaborate my usage of chords on the piano while playing..Help me!
A. To play in a jazz style, a very easy and basic approach would be to start with a third and seventh in the left hand with a ninth and fifth or thirteenth in the right hand. This is the easiest and most basic jazz piano voicing. The notes would be lowered or augmented due to the type of chord, if it is a dominant chord, the seventh would be lowered; if it was a minor chord, the third and seventh would be lowered; if it was a major, it would not be changed; if it was diminished, it would be a minor third, fifth, and double minor seventh; if it was half diminished, it would be minor third, fifth, and seventh. These are the most common chords. If the accompaniments played were not to have any jazz influence, arpeggiating in the left hand while playing a chord in the right hand or playing bass notes while playing a chord in the right hand are other alternatives. There are many ways to play, just be creative. Octaves and thirds can be used in either hand. As long as the notes that are being played do not clash with the melody in the songs, anything is fine. Another suggestion is to look at books of hymn arrangements. These books have many developed ideas that can be transfered over to your own playing. If it is a certain style trying to be attained, such as jazz or Franz Liszt, then listen to more of that music and try to play more of that music. It will develop your ideas of how to play the childrens' songs! Good luck.
Piano tips for a beginner/intermediate?
Q. So, I started playing piano like a year and a half ago, any tips? I think I'm going to try to memorize the major and minor circle of 5ths, I've heard thats very handy.
A. I'll just give a list of things that I can think of off the top of my head:
-Improve your sight reading. I realized my mistake a little late. In order to be a good pianist, you need good sight reading skills. If you get the chance to see someone play something perfectly the first time they see it, it is a major motivator. One of my teachers once opened up a book of Bach and started playing different fugues with multiple voices. IT WAS INSANE. Totally blew my mind. I didn't know that was even possible.
-Learn your scales. Don't just learn how each scale works. Learn to read them in your music! There was a series of notes going straight up with many sharps and naturals that I was trying to play. I said to my teacher, "I can't play this! When I read it, I see nothing but sharps and naturals!" and my teacher simply replied, "When I read this, I see the D minor scale." It really opened my eyes to how my teacher sight reads music compared to how I read it. Always look for these patterns and try your best to decipher broken chords.
-I don't want to sound like I'm advertising, but this book is the best book on piano technique and "touch" that I have ever read. Literally. After reading the book, I was able to play better because of the advice it held. It's called "Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers (Great Pianists: In Their Own Words)"
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Pianists-Piano-Playing-Paderewski/dp/0486408450/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290343791&sr=1-2
-Sit up straight and relax your shoulders. Actually relax all parts of your body, but especially your shoulders. Playing while tense is actually really common and I do it myself too much. When I first caught myself with tense shoulders, I tried relaxing them. Every time resulted in failure. I couldn't quite figure out why, until I decided on sitting up as straight as possible. It turns out that when you sit up stright, your shoulders are naturally pushed downward. If you're hunched over, then your shoulders are scruched up. This can lead to unnatural behavior and unnecessary movement.
-Speaking of which, don't use unnecessary movement in your fingers. This may seem like a somewhat obvious statement, but you might be surprised. For instance, when practicing and learning to play a new piece, you might get the urge to pick your hand up from note to note. This isn't good. If possible, try to teach yourself to reach with your fingers as you play. Try playing something without your fingers leaving the keys. Try for a smooth transaction. Play EVERYTHING (except staccato) as smooth as possible!
-Don't be shy when it comes to dynamics. This, I would say is one of the most common mistakes all new players make. Playing everything at the same volume level is boring - no matter how good the composition is!!! Make sure you emphasis everything you do! If it says piano, you play very soft. If it says forte, don't be shy and make your notes heard! But this takes a lot of control! You need to play as clear as possible. Clarity + Commitment = Good quality. With your dynamics, also don't shy away from the emotions you feel. The audience will know instantly how you feel about the piece.
I must stress this one point above them all: Commitment is key! Even if you hit the wrong note, hit it with confidence! And if you do mess up, don't stop. This is also another mistake. Don't stop and recorrect yourself. It is just not worth it. You waste people's time and it distracts them from the music. Professionals make mistakes all the time. But most of the time we don't notice it because they move through it! My teacher has always said to commit and push through it and nobody is going to remember that you missed the G sharp way back at the beginning.
That's really the key to playing good on the piano. Play Clearly, Smoothly, with as much Emotion as you can dish out and Commit to it til the end. Paint a clear picture of what you believe the piece should sound like. Music is about freedom and playing as "musically" as possible. Don't let let the strictness of music tie you down. Music is an art.
Edit: Wow this is waaaay too long... sorry XD
Can you play piano by ear?
Q. I find it so hard to! I try to do stuff to songs that I can't find sheet music for anywhere but I just can't do it!! Who here can and if you have any tips on helping me could you also mention. Thanks
A. I can sort of play the piano by ear. I can play the notes and do simplified versions of complicated songs, or play chord patterns. For me, music comes naturally, but I still have to fine-tune my skill. I'm not as good at reading sheet music so learning by ear at first was limiting. Not sure if there's a sure way or any tips on how to improve. For some people lessons help and others it takes a lot longer to improve their musical abilities.
I cannot play something exact because I don't have the patience to listen to all of the notes.
*I would just look up chords online or get a book if you want to learn. Once you learn all of the chords on the piano, it's a lot easier to play songs. A lot of songs have the chords posted online.
*Try singing the solfege scale (do, re, mi...) while playing on the piano starting on middle C. Than try just singing "do, mi, sol..." and skipping around a bit. After awhile, don't play all of the notes on the piano, sing the notes and then play them to see how accurate you were.
When you want to learn songs, start with simple melodies i.e. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Once you've got it down, add embellishments. A lot of playing by ear is memorizing/remembering. [Remembering the pitch] You can still find some sites that give out free sheet music or you can buy books.
The thing is, if you can't quite hear the pitches even when you sing them, then this is obviously much harder. Most people aren't truly tone-deaf but you should be able to hear if you're singing the wrong note while you play the piano. Your voice is like an instrument so if you can memorize and learn to hear the notes in your mind before you play than that will help you learn to play by ear. :)
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Title : How to play the piano in jazz style?
Description : Q. I've been playing the piano for several years now.And for the past few years,I was appointed as the church's pianist.So,I was wo...