How To Play The Piano » playing the piano tips http://www.the-middle-c.com Piano playing tips and techniques for everyone Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:56:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Coolest Things About Playing The Piano http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-coolest-things-about-playing-the-piano.htm http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-coolest-things-about-playing-the-piano.htm#comments Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:22:09 +0000 ioventures http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-coolest-things-about-playing-the-piano.htm Learning how to play the piano is not as complicated as one generally expects. The versatility when learning how to play the piano makes it one of the most favored instruments. The piano can be used to play all types of music and as an accompaniment for other singers or instruments. Unfortunately, the decision to learn to play piano often gets passed off as one of those New Year resolutions or yet another goal to be achieved in the future. However, if you use the right method, learning to play can be one of the most rewarding goals you make. You can learn how to play the piano and meet your goal.

What’s So Cool About The Piano?

Playing the piano will never make you feel bored! You will always have a new song to learn or a new style to master. Learning becomes even more fun when the sheet music is available for many of your favorite songs. When you learn how to play the piano, your hand-eye coordination increases and it also helps in improving the thinking of your left and right parts of the brain. The abilities that you develop when you play the piano help in improving your coordination as well as your mental capabilities. When you learn how to play the piano, there always seems to be something new to learn. Learning just a few songs on the piano will help you to exercise your brain and at the same time give you a reputation for being a genius.

The Chord – Based Approach To Learning

When you learn how to play the piano at first, it is likely that the classical method would be adopted. This method seems boring with many hours spent on practicing scales, learning to read music and all the other techniques that are associated with learning to play piano. This method is effective because it builds the correct foundation. The chord-based method can be another way of learning how to play the piano is seen as a faster and more enjoyable approach to learning. This method will help you to understand how music is actually created and it is seen as a far more satisfying approach to learn playing the piano.

There are no shortcuts to learning how to play the piano. To master the piano takes a lot of hard work and commitment. There are certain tips however that will help you to master this grand instrument a bit more effectively. You should always be aware of your strengths and limitations and set yourself reasonable targets that can be achieved with hard work and dedication. Learning how to play the piano should always be an enjoyable process and not seen as a task which has to be endured.

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]]> http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-coolest-things-about-playing-the-piano.htm/feed 0 The Things You Need To Learn The Piano http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-things-you-need-to-learn-the-piano.htm http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-things-you-need-to-learn-the-piano.htm#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:18:12 +0000 ioventures http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-things-you-need-to-learn-the-piano.htm The piano is the instrument that everyone wants to learn. But how do you start to learn to play the piano? It’s easier than you might think. All it takes is some basic principles that will have you playing your first piano song more quickly than you ever thought you could.

First, the saying that “practice makes perfect”… throw it out the window! Memorize this: practice makes permanent! However you practice is going to be how you play so make sure that you are mastering the correct methods for playing the piano before you move on to more advanced techniques. Here are a few simple things that you will need to help you learn to play the piano more quickly.

  • A piano—let’s face it, it’s kind of hard to play without one.
  • A metronome.
  • A practice Schedule.
  • Interesting music.
  • Time set aside to practice.

Once you have the above things the rest of learning to play the piano falls into place. Learning to play the piano is all about the practice time. Set aside short, you heard me short, periods of time that you can have everyday to practice. You make more progress by having short, productive practice times rather than long, boring ones.
Start practicing the music that you like slowly. If you can’t do something slowly you’ll never do it quickly. Use the metronome so you can get a sense of time in your head and then work up to quicker speeds. After you have run through you piece a few times locate the problem areas. Work through them slowly to get out the kinks.
When you are at the beginning of learning to play the piano it helps to have a recording of the piece you are playing. Now that you are up to the right speed try playing along. You’ll have your very own concert (try to get the recordings of live concerts so you can have applause after you’re done.)
Once you’ve worked up to mastering a piece go ahead and try something a little more modern. You know how to play the piano; mix it up with something more impressive. Playing “Hot Cross Buns” for the rest of your life won’t leave you satisfied.

Remember to continue in the proper habits for learning to play the piano. Don’t forget to keep the practice schedule that you have set up for yourself. If you slip and go for too long in between playing you’ll have to start over. Who wants to work through things more than they have to? Following the above techniques and remember to continue advancing in your skills at playing the piano.

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]]> http://www.the-middle-c.com/the-things-you-need-to-learn-the-piano.htm/feed 0 Play The Piano: 10 Tips For Practicing http://www.the-middle-c.com/play-the-piano-10-tips-for-practicing.htm http://www.the-middle-c.com/play-the-piano-10-tips-for-practicing.htm#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:12:37 +0000 ioventures http://www.the-middle-c.com/play-the-piano-10-tips-for-practicing.htm As you learn to play the piano each new piece brings with it its own challenges. The more notes on the page the more daunting the piece can seem. Playing the piano is a rewarding experience but learning a new piece can have its own frustrations. There are a few tips for practicing the piano that will help the new piece come along more quickly and with faster results.

  1. Look over the whole piece before beginning to play. Notice any repeated sections. Once you learn that section you may have several spots in the piece already learned. Look at the tempo markings, the key signature and the dynamic markings of the song. Knowing what is coming is helpful.
  2. Break the song into smaller sections. Work on a line or two at a time or maybe even just a few measures depending on the difficulty. Tackling small goals will give you a sense of progression on the piece.
  3. Learn the left hand and right hand separately before attempting to play them together.
  4. Practice at a slow enough tempo to get the notes right. Practicing wrong only imprints it into your brain wrong and then must be un-learned later. When learning to play the piano playing correctly the first time will help you learn faster. So practice slowly even though you want to hear it faster.
  5. Practice with a metronome at least some of the time. It will help you to keep the entire piece in tempo. As we play the piano it is easy to play the easy parts or the parts we know faster than those that are more difficult. The end result is not a pleasing song to listen to if the tempo is not steady.
  6. Don’t start each practice session in the same spot. Work sections separately before putting the entire piece together. If you always start at the beginning than the beginning gets lots of practice and the rest gets neglected.
  7. Practice the same time of day if at all possible. That will help you to be consistent in your practicing. It also makes it more difficult to postpone your practicing when other things come up.
  8. Practice every day! 20 to 30 minutes every day will bring faster and better results than cramming your practicing into a few hours a couple of days a week.
  9. Don’t burn yourself out on one song. Work on several pieces at a time. One more challenging and a few simpler ones. That will keep your practice time more interesting.
  10. Notice your progress. When learning the piano its easy to feel there is so much still to learn. Stop and look at what you have accomplished in the last week or month. It will help to motivate you to keep on working hard.

Playing the piano is a skill to work on over a life time, enjoy the process. It is rewarding and relaxing. Learning to use your practice time wisely will bring greater and more noticeable results.

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