Q. I have taken piano for 20 years myself, and have recently stopped taking lessons because I had a child. I'd like to actually begin teaching lessons myself. Can anyone suggest a series of books that might be good for this purpose? I have been playing material of my choice for years and am out of touch with the latest lesson, theory, and technique books. Does anyone that teaches piano have a suggestion? Thank you!
A. There's a series of books by KENNETH BAKER called THE COMPLETE PIANO PLAYER
If you've played before you might want to go to a shop to look at them before you buy them. I'd suggest you only get books 2 and 3. They'll explain the basics to you of modern playing. The best theory books to get are by DULCIE HOLLAND the books are called MASTER YOUR THEORY. You'll need books 1 2 & 3. Don't bother with the higher level stuff, that goes into history and writing for other instrumentslike flute etc... These are actually workbooks and they''re pretty good.
Unfortunately, there aren't any theory books out there with EVERYTHING in them, it's really only basic stuff. I could write books about the stuff thats not in any books...
You might also want to get yourself a scale manual: SIMPSONS SCALE MANUAL has EVERYTHING IN IT!!! And I mean everything.
And a book with pictures of piano chords for referencing.
When you combine the four together, you should be able to play straight from sheetmusic or song books with competency.
All the best.
Cat
Is a 17 year old too old to take piano lessons?
Q. I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano and i have finally gotten my dad to come around to get me piano lessons (i've wanted them ever since i was 13)
I don't know how to read chords and i don't really know how to play anything at all but i do really want to learn ...... any advice?
A. In agreement with all the other responders - if you are still above ground and able to convert oxygen to carbon dioxide, then today is a perfect day to start. Call around and find the best teacher you can - not the stoner at the local music store - but a degreed, highly experienced teacher. You are the purchaser of services, so are well within your rights to ask these things - do not hold back! You should feel that at each lesson, you come away with some new knowledge, a reinforcement of what you have practiced the past week, and zeal to want to work harder and go further. Your teacher should be a positive force in your progress forward - but you can only move forward if you practice each day, the topics and amount that your teacher assigns. This does not mean hours and hours - it means playing with attention to detail, and calm fluency.
I admire you for your perseverance, and you desire to do this the right way. I hear hundreds of students every year, in my capacity as a judge, and 99 percent of the time, it is a pleasure to see and hear young people who are ion the right road - beginners, developing, advanced - but clearly satisfied and confident in what they do. A fine teacher will get you there. Please ignore anyone who says that you can teach yourself by buying some books and watching YouTube.
You can really move ahead quickly if you show up at your first lesson with some rudimentary knowledge of how to read music. For piano, you will need to know how to read both the treble and bass clefs. There are sites all over for this, as well as printed workbooks - this is easier than learning the field setup for any sport. Good luck!
What is the difference between "mode mixture" and "modulation"?
Q. I am currently studying for a Theory Placement exam, and am reading on 3rd semester Theory. I have taken an AP Music Theory course and got a 5 on the AP exam.
So, right now, I'm looking in my workbook, and am teaching myself about "mode mixture" (I've heard of this topic before as using "borrowed chords" from the relative major or minor of the main key). I'm analyzing a Schubert Piano Sonata (op. 120, first movement, meas. 104 - 120) and am analyzing some of these chords as "borrowed" chords in A major.
(This excerpt starts at the second system of the last page of the first movement and ends at the end of the fifth system (p. 4 of the whole .pdf file): http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/f/⦠)
I'm listening to this excerpt, and it *does* sound like a modulation to a minor to me at the start of the fourth system; however, how does one differentiate between "modulation" and "mode mixture" (i.e. "borrowed chords")? Thanks for the help. :)
A. Modulation is when you change tonic. If you're in the key of C major and modulate to A minor Tonic has changes from C to a. Or C minor to C major.
Mode mixture is when you borrow pitches from another mode. Such as having an F minor chord in the key of C major. In this case you've borrow the a-flat from the parallel minor key.
Where it can sometimes get tricky is when a borrowed chord is also used as a pivot chord.
Not all theorists agree about when exactly you've modulated especially when switching between parallel keys, and I'm not sure how the AP wants you to do it.
If you only have brief instances of another "key" then such as 2-3 chords and then a return to the original key then it's probably mixture. If it's more substantial and you hear that tonic has changed then it's modulation.
The way I analyzed this stuff throughout college was continue analyzing in the original key as long as possible. Then at the first chord that could be in the new key, show that below to say that starting at this chord you would at first interpret it as IV in the old key and vi in the new one that is retrospectively reinterpreted once the new key is more firmly established. You may have just 1 chord with two roman numerals, sometimes 3 or 4.
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Title : What beginning piano series works best for teaching piano?
Description : Q. I have taken piano for 20 years myself, and have recently stopped taking lessons because I had a child. I'd like to actually begin ...