Q.
A. CHOOSING A PIANO TEACHER
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The most important concepts you want to learn from a piano teacher:
HOW TO PRACTICE. One of the questions teachers are constantly asked during interviews with new students is âHow much should I practice?â Itâs not how much you practice, but how well you practice that really counts. A student playing a piece of music over and over again making the same mistakes is hardly getting more than increased circulation in their fingers. The student who works over small sections, perfecting the sound of each phrase while studying their own physical motions, is improving their playing of a particular piece as well as improving their overall musicianship. Practicing is work, but if organized properly, it is enjoyable and soulfully rewarding.
PROFICIENT SIGHT READING (the strange term used to describe playing from printed music) is one of the most important skills a musician develops. First, it allows one to perform unknown music with a decent degree of fluency â normally, such a performance can be brought off proficiently if the music requires less than the technical level the pianist has attained. Second, it makes the work of learning a new piece immensely easier.
DEVELOP A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THEORY. Integrating theoretical concepts relevant to the music being studied is essential to musicianship. Scales and chords, which are the foundation of music theory, must not be taught as isolated exercises. Balanced teaching includes introducing each element of theory as it becomes needed to help a studentâs understanding of how music is put together.
Many âclassically trainedâ musicians are notorious for lacking an understanding of theory due to training not received. For the most part, they are typists who can only play from the printed page in front of them, maybe with feeling, but without any knowledge of why the notes sound like music. Ironically, many classical only piano teachers degrade rock and roll musicians, but pale by comparison when it comes to playing their instrument from a knowledge of theory rather than from reading sequences of notes.
MEMORIZING a piece of music and making it part of you is the goal almost every musician has towards a composition they love. The good teacher follows a comprehensive procedure for solid memorization: building a base of theory through scale recognition and chord progressions; teaching the steps and methods of memorizing; and allowing the student to experience how their ability to play by ear is developing as they bring the physical and intellectual elements together.
CONCEPTS THAT GO BEYOND WHAT IS ON THE PRINTED PAGE â there are many qualities about musical sounds that are too subtle to be communicated properly in symbols, or properties of music that composers or editors leave off the score. One example is the layering of simultaneous musical lines, so that the melody is louder than the low (quieter) and middle (quietest) voices. The growth of a musician is facilitated by teaching them that there is more to creating music than playing the right notes. Getting to the spiritual core of a music composition, whether it be classical,
jazz or popular, requires developing a range of physical and intellectual skills. One of the greatest joys of teaching is experiencing that first time a student changes from a player of notes into a musician. The hours of struggling finally pay off for them. They suddenly find, while playing a piece they have practiced diligently, that they hear the inside of the music.
Neil Miller, author of The Piano Lessons Book
Enter in Amazon.com search: Neil Miller Piano Lessons Book
Playing piano by ear?
Q. Hey, I've been playing piano for just over 2 years now (I'm 16), and I've completed my grade 6 ABRSM for piano. Due to changing college and increased work load, I've had to stop having piano lessons, and as such, it's now just me playing piano whenever I feel like it. I was originally hoping to complete my grade 8, but I've just lost motivation for that; I'm starting to feel really bored of having to practice endless amounts of scales and arppegios, alongside learning pieces that I just do not enjoy.
As a result I've been trying to learn piano music by ear. However, despite having tried several different pieces over a few weeks, I've been unable to progress beyond the basic melody of any song that I've tried. I have no idea where to start, nor how to combine a left hand with the melody, and so I normally end up playing the majority of keys until I find the one that sounds correct (and usually then, I'm still playing it incorrectly!) I've started to wonder if this is actually possible for people like me. The pieces I've been trying to play by ear include Iris (Goo Goo Dolls) Concerning Hobbits (Lord of the Rings) and Turkish March. So I ask, at the end of my long post, how do you actually start learning to play pieces by ear?
Sorry about the long post - and the section I have posted this in - I wasn't sure where this would be most relevant.
A. You have a great advantage having gone through a couple years of piano lessons. All that basic recognition of notes, keys and established dexterity pay off big. Playing by ear isn't discussed much in standard lessons and the scope of exactly what it is, is so broad, it's hard to get a handle without some good direction.
The good news is you're not that far away from success. Start concentrating on learning the basic 24 major and minor chords and developing the right kind of mindset. Got to the blog "Everything You Need To Know To Play by Ear" and get the free book "The Play By Ear Discovery" and that -in part- will set you on your way.
You're the same age I was when I discovered what I wanted to know and figured out exactly how I was going to do it on my own. Check in with me there and you'll find the things you are looking for.
Practicing piano?
Q. I want to get good at the piano and i heard this guy on the radio play a very challenging song (one of those songs where there is no main motive or theme to it, just technical godliness)
I decided that it is very worth it and wanted to practice. But i dont know how to practice. My teachers dont believe in me (i dont blame them) and they never go over techinque with me.
Im oblivious to how or what im suppose to do when practicing.
All that you can fill me in about would help
A. Sounds to me like something is wrong with your teachers, not you.
CHOOSING A PIANO TEACHER
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The most important concepts you want to learn from a piano teacher:
HOW TO PRACTICE. One of the questions teachers are constantly asked during interviews with new students is âHow much should I practice?â Itâs not how much you practice, but how well you practice that really counts. A student playing a piece of music over and over again making the same mistakes is hardly getting more than increased circulation in their fingers. The student who works over small sections, perfecting the sound of each phrase while studying their own physical motions, is improving their playing of a particular piece as well as improving their overall musicianship. Practicing is work, but if organized properly, it is enjoyable and soulfully rewarding.
PROFICIENT SIGHT READING (the strange term used to describe playing from printed music) is one of the most important skills a musician develops. First, it allows one to perform unknown music with a decent degree of fluency â normally, such a performance can be brought off proficiently if the music requires less than the technical level the pianist has attained. Second, it makes the work of learning a new piece immensely easier.
DEVELOP A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THEORY. Integrating theoretical concepts relevant to the music being studied is essential to musicianship. Scales and chords, which are the foundation of music theory, must not be taught as isolated exercises. Balanced teaching includes introducing each element of theory as it becomes needed to help a studentâs understanding of how music is put together.
Many âclassically trainedâ musicians are notorious for lacking an understanding of theory due to training not received. For the most part, they are typists who can only play from the printed page in front of them, maybe with feeling, but without any knowledge of why the notes sound like music. Ironically, many classical only piano teachers degrade rock and roll musicians, but pale by comparison when it comes to playing their instrument from a knowledge of theory rather than from reading sequences of notes.
MEMORIZING a piece of music and making it part of you is the goal almost every musician has towards a composition they love. The good teacher follows a comprehensive procedure for solid memorization: building a base of theory through scale recognition and chord progressions; teaching the steps and methods of memorizing; and allowing the student to experience how their ability to play by ear is developing as they bring the physical and intellectual elements together.
CONCEPTS THAT GO BEYOND WHAT IS ON THE PRINTED PAGE â there are many qualities about musical sounds that are too subtle to be communicated properly in symbols, or properties of music that composers or editors leave off the score. One example is the layering of simultaneous musical lines, so that the melody is louder than the low (quieter) and middle (quietest) voices. The growth of a musician is facilitated by teaching them that there is more to creating music than playing the right notes. Getting to the spiritual core of a music composition, whether it be classical,
jazz or popular, requires developing a range of physical and intellectual skills. One of the greatest joys of teaching is experiencing that first time a student changes from a player of notes into a musician. The hours of struggling finally pay off for them. They suddenly find, while playing a piece they have practiced diligently, that they hear the inside of the music.
Neil Miller, author of The Piano Lessons Book
Enter in Amazon.com search: Neil Miller Piano Lessons Book
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Title : I want to learn how to play piano. What composers should I learn?
Description : Q. A. CHOOSING A PIANO TEACHER WHAT TO LOOK FOR The most important concepts you want to learn from a piano teacher: HOW TO PRACTICE. One o...