Pianist ought to make piano hand workout routines a component of their routines to be able to sustain adroit flexible fingers. Musicians are also sportsman, only they use smaller muscles. Daily tendon and muscle exercises keeps them stretched and powerful. If you’re seeking to engage in many musical styles, exercise both hands on a daily basis.

One form of hand exercise is playing scales. Sit up tall on the piano bench. To ensure correct body alignment, make sure your posture is accurate. Situate your right hand on the keys. Begin with your thumb and use each of the following fingers to play the next key. Use different finger to play each note. Start off slow until you get the hang of it.

Practice expressing your notes clearly. Once you reach the top note, go the other way. Use your thumb to end the final note. The more comfortable you get, the faster you should begin to play.

To help relax your muscles, massage your hands and forearms. This minimizes stress while you play. Place a tennis sized ball on sturdy exterior. Gently and slowly, roll your forearm back and forth along the ball. Keep your shoulders loosened. Relax about 30 seconds after you’ve done this for a minute.

Now place your forearm palm-up on the table, and then move the ball to the other hand. Gently roll the ball over your wrist, hand and forearm. Do this exercise for 60 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Continue repeating this during the day.

According to Piano Fundamentals, stretching your palms help when you play. Set your left palm on top of your right palm. Your right arm will be facing left and your left are pointing right. Set your hands in front of your chest. Intertwine your pinky fingers and your thumbs.

Your three middle fingers should be touching your palms now. Gently press your hands together and spread your palms. Keep your hands like this for 10 seconds. Stop pressing your hands together and relax. Duplicate this exercise twice.

Curling your fingers helps rejuvenate and keep them limber. Place your right hand on the keys in proper position. Make your hand look like you’re grasping a ball by bending your fingers. Now put your fingers over the proper keys. Move your index finger swiftly, as if you were playing a short note.

Repeat this five times with each finger, relaxing four seconds between each time. Move on to your left hand. You can also exercise by striking the keys and holding them down for two seconds. Once you become comfortable, exercise using both hands together.

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As we all know, the piano is an elegant musical instrument that may look a wee bit intimidating to learn how to play it yourself. But if you want to save on expensive tuition fees, then you can teach yourself how to play piano as it can be done. This article will show you how to do it.

First of all, you need to decide what style or what kind of pianist you want to be. If you aspire to be a concert pianist, then you need to learn the classical styles of great composers such as Beethoven or Mozart. To learn classical piano, you must be able to read notes and thus this form may be more difficult to teach yourself.

But if you only want to learn the piano so that you can accompany a singer or play songs that you have written yourself, then you can start by just learning how to play piano chords and add in the frills and thrills later as you get more proficient as a piano player. Of course, learning this way is much easier.

Also there are many musical genre and you have to decide which genre you want to start with although as you get better, you can dabble with all the various genre whether they are jazz, classical, blues, new age, country or whatever style you like.

Of course, in order to learn how to play piano, you must have access to one. Yes, pianos are more expensive when compared to most other musical instruments. It is a good idea to buy one if you can afford it, if not there are many other ways you can practice on the piano such as in your school, church or approach friend and neighbors to allow you to practice on their pianos.

If you are a little embarrassed about letting people hear you practicing, then you need to invest in an electronic keyboard that you can plug in a pair of earphone so that nobody can hear you practicing but yourself. If you want to do that, just make sure you buy one with full sized keys because the there are cheaper versions with smaller sized keys. This is because if you are used to playing with smaller keys, then you may have problems when playing on real pianos with bigger keys later.

Once you are ready, you should look for piano lessons to start with. There are multitudes of beginner’s books, DVDs, CDs and online lessons which can help you to teach yourself to play piano easily. As everybody learn differently, do be mindful that you find the teaching format you are most comfortable with.

When teaching yourself, of course there will be times when you may be stumped on a lesson simply because you don’t understand it or are not using the right technique. However, if you choose to learn online, many of these teachers allow you to email them with your questions or you can also find different resources for references or simply ask someone you know who is already rather proficient in playing the piano.

Just like in learning everything else, consistency and determination is the key to success. Therefore you must practice regularly whenever you have the chance. Overtime, sooner than later, you too can become a good self taught pianist.

About the Author: Chris Chew is the resident author at Learn How To Play Piano Lessons and Learn How To Play Jazz Piano

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Are you a music teacher who intends to improve himself and gain professional growth? Well, read on as this article aims to cite and identify some relevant and effective piano teaching tips – applicable to all music teachers out there.

Music education as well as learning various musical instruments has become more and more interesting, competitive and in-demand. Aside from arts, science and technology, music generally has turned out to be both the passion and the profession of most music teachers, musicians and music educators.

With this, music teachers around the globe are motivated and inspired to learn new tricks, strategies and techniques more than to what they are used to. Here are some of the useful piano teaching tips that can make you both effective and efficient:

Time and stress management. Music teaching as well as teaching any other subjects requires time, effort and other resources. When you leave your classroom or private music studio, your work doesn’t stop. Sometimes you bring your work along with you at home – accomplishing unfinished businesses, unchecked and unrecorded activities, worksheets and quizzes.

With these tedious tasks, you need to learn how to manage your time and organize your workloads. Proper time management draws you closer to a more successful and happy teacher life; thus, eliminating risks and chances of getting stressed out.

Continuous learning. Music teachers enhance their skills and achieve professional growth through various workshops, seminars and conferences. These series of training sessions help them in building enough self-confidence and self-esteem in teaching individuals from different ages with different lifestyles.

With the kind of professional development they have, they have become fully-equipped with the right skills, knowledge and expertise. Also, they tend to update themselves with the latest piano teaching tips as well as the newest and most effective music teaching strategies.

Professionalism. This term has a wide array of meanings and significance. From one level to another, this needs continuous learning, dedication and passion. This also refers to good and reliable customer service, work ethics, and business integrity that are often grouped together and mixed up in other people’s minds as one big concept. Others see this as one’s personal commitment to anything that he does, thinks, says and feels.

It is true that music teaching is one big responsibility and noble profession; thus, it requires much time, effort and resources. To be tagged as a professional, music teachers must learn how to handle different kinds of learners, situations and circumstances with all composure, character and fairness.

Consequently, music and piano teachers must willingly improve themselves for more effective comprehensive, innovative and interactive teaching strategies and techniques – making their students appreciate and love both learning music and music as a whole. As music educators, remember that you can inspire your students in many ways and touch their lives as well – more than just motivating and encouraging them to learn.

The above piano teaching tips allow many music teachers around the globe consider themselves professionals and have become worthy of respect, trust and appreciation at all times. So make yourselves equipped with the right weapons to make your students and parents realize that teaching is both your profession and passion – teaching music by heart.

More piano teaching tips are available on this music teacher website – Earl Marsden

Music Education Articles

Article Source: Piano Teaching Tips for Highly Motivated Music Teachers

If you’re like most people who take piano lessons, you do! Whether you’re young or old or somewhere in between, you aspire to make beautiful music and… right away!

You’ve probably heard the old joke: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall” asks the inquisitive tourist. “Practice, practice, practice!” replies the wise old responder.

But wouldn’t you much prefer to learn the secret to sounding good just for your own satisfaction and enjoyment?

That’s probably why you take piano lessons… However, most piano students forget to pay attention to the very areas that would enable them to sound great!

Do you do one or more of the following?

1. Ignore the timing by not counting or tapping your foot.

2. Play everything at the same volume.

3. Disregard the key signature and just start playing the piece.

4. Use too much pedal.

5. “Type” or bang the keys and disconnect one note from another.

6. Allow the accompaniment (usually the left hand part) to overpower or drown out the melody.

7. Listen to talk radio instead of spending some of your time listening to music.

If you recognized any of the above habits as things you do, congratulations! Now you know why you aren’t sounding like a pro yet.

(Parents: Have you noticed these traits in your children who take lessons?)

Obviously, you want to sound good! (And you parents want your kids to sound good, don’t you?) So instead of treating piano practice like a chore, here are seven ways to start you on the way to Carnegie Hall:

1. Pay attention to the timing: count or tap your foot.

2. Notice the dynamics (indications for differences in volume) and follow them.

3. Look at the key signature before you start to play and mark all of the sharps or flats if you need to.

4. Use the pedal with care. (Pedal changes are often marked in classical pieces, and should be made in songs with each chord change.)

5. Employ correct fingering as you work towards playing smoothly and connected (unless the music asks for staccato: detached playing).

6. Listen for the melody. Can you always hear it while you are playing?

7. Focus on spending some time listening to music every week. (With wonderful tools like iPods, MP3 players and the internet, it’s easy to find recorded versions of the pieces that you play as well as music that motivates and inspires you.)

Give these suggestions a try. Start today. You’ll be surprised at how much better you sound!

Copyright © 2007 by Ed Mascari – EdMascariPianoStudio.com About the Author: Ed Mascari has been teaching piano privately to children and adults for nearly three decades. He is a seasoned performer (pianist/ jazz organist) of show tunes, jazz and popular music as well as a published classical composer and church musician. Go to EdMascariPianoStudio.com for info.

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1. Practicing piano slowly

Most accurate work is created at slow speeds in “slow motion”. This is when the brain can process notes, rhythms, tone, relaxation, good posture, counting, and accuracy with all simultaneously.

Slow practicing creates a “focused” picture of exactly what you are doing for your brain. Fast runs create a “blurry” version of your song. When you try to retrieve it from memory and play you get a blurry version back that is usually filled with all kinds of errors and mistakes.

2. Create a “big” sound

Music is 50% tone and 50% rhythm. You must create enough power at at the piano on each note for a rich, full tone. This is the most beautiful tone the piano can create.

This is where musical expression is clearly heard, not with a weak “half tone.” When attempting this full tone, remember to keep your fingers curved. They will want to collapse.

3. Create your own internal “clock”

Rhythmic precision is 50% of the music. Not all of us are born with a precise sense of timing, but we have a brain that is more than capable of creating this precision.

Take an extra step to create this “clock.” The mind is a very precise instrument.

4. Curve your fingers

If you collapse your knuckles when playing, you must try to push the knuckles out to a curved position. This is the starting “power” position in playing, and you will want to keep your hand position in a consistently proper playing position.

Do not let random habits of different finger shapes creep into your precise technique.

You can visit learning piano-video lesson for more information.

How To Construct Basic Chords on the Piano

The easiest way to start learning how to build chords is to practice their constructions in the key of C Major. You’re just playing all white keys.

All you have to do is play every other white key to create a 3-note chord. A 3-note chord is called a triad. A 4-note chord is called a 7th chord. And a 5-note chord is called a 9th chord.

Now you have the option of playing your chords in one hand or you may use both hands! It depends upon the sound you want to produce.

How to Improvise Melodies

There’s something irresistible about a real melody. If you can convince the listener that they’re hearing a melody when you improvise, they will stay riveted to every note.

Well, you can – and it’s not really that difficult. The one element that is common to almost all good melodies is: repetition.

Repetition.

Repetition and more repetition. I’m referring specifically to the repetition of ideas (motifs, as they are often called). Sometimes the idea is repeated exactly as it occurred the first time, as in the Holiday tune “Jingle Bells.”

More often, the motif occurs higher or lower than it did originally. The notes are different but the rhythm and the shape of the line remain intact, as in “Happy Birthday.” This type of repetition can be defined as “pitch-shifting.”

What I’m describing here is a process often called motific development: the spinning out of ideas through the use of repetition, pitch-shifting, and extension.

So that’s it … if you want your improvisations or solos to sound like a melody, you need to use a lot of repetition.

Ironically many musicians avoid using repetition for fear of sounding repetitious, i.e., boring. You bore a listener if you try to elicit the same emotional reaction from him/her two or three times in a row, but that’s not what you’re doing when you repeat an idea.

When you first introduce an idea, it’s new. The listener waits with open anticipation to hear how the idea spins itself out. But when you repeat the idea, their reaction is very different. Now they can gain a certain sense of control, by connecting what they’re hearing to what went before.

Just listen to some of your favorite songs, and you will definitely hear repetition!

Ron Worthy is the owner of MrRonsMusic.com. He is a Music Eductor and Performer. His site offers online piano instruction for all ages. He specializes in Rock, Pop, Blues and Smooth Jazz Piano disciplines.

Playing piano is very creative and artistically fulfilling. Each person plays their own unique rhythm and sincerity. Still, you need to have the motivation to continue improving your piano skills.

Here are some of tips to help you create or build your motivation power for piano lessons.

ALWAYS PERFORM:

One great way to create and build your motivation is to perform in front of others in different ways. Set up an informal concert with a couple of pieces in the setting of your own home. Your family will be your public and you will feel really happy while performing in front of your loved ones.

Of course you have to plan ahead in order to suggest a performance and in order to prepare yourself.

BUT IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO PERFORM?

Another way to perform is – you perform alone. Imagine that you are among the crowd and everyone’s seeing you. But in this case you need to be serious and strict during your performance. If you want to help your imagination a bit you can put empty chairs in front of you representing the audience.

This activity will create self confidence in you and it will enable you to learn in a more positive manner. This is also an excellent time to record your performance for later evaluation. The act of recording is like having a critic in the public.

LISTEN TO PIANO MUSIC:

You have to look upwards in order to climb to a higher level in your piano playing and this will be accomplished by listening to piano players on an higher artistic level than yourself.

Finally, here is a piano playing quote from an unknown author:

“One man gets nothing but discord out of a piano; another gets harmony. No one claims the piano is at fault. Life is about the same. The discord is there, and the harmony is there. Study to play it correctly, and it will give forth the beauty; play it falsely, and it will give forth the ugliness. Life is not at fault.”

Playing piano is an art, so always play it like an art. This will keep you moving ahead in life in a positive manner. These types will surely help you in motivating and building your piano skills.

Lets get started with rocket piano.

Participate in Practice Sessions

No, this is not the time to nag your child to practice. Make practice fun! The next time you hear your child practicing, sit down beside him and try practicing his/her lessons together. If you still remember some of your past lessons you can motivate your child with some good advice.

On the other hand, if your child knows more than you, it’ll be fun for him/her to teach you his/her new found knowledge. Make practice an exciting bonding time to help boost both your musical abilities.

Ask Your Child’s Piano Teacher Important Questions

Talk to your child’s teacher about your own interest in playing the piano and ask investigative questions about pieces and composers. You can also inquire about concepts that you and your child do not understand.

The piano teacher would appreciate you taking an interest in your child’s progress. Just keep in mind that your child is the student and focus your discussions on improving your child’s performance.

Learning how to play the piano can be a fun and enjoyable experience for both you and your child. Your child will feel more motivated to practice if you express an interest to play as well.

Discuss lessons with your child’s instructor so that you can learn musical theories and help your child with lessons he/she does not understand. Learn the piano together and you will have more quality time with your child.

For more information, visit: learning how to play the piano.

Imagine how confusing it can be, trying to find the right course or teacher. And then, once you get the course, you’re left on your own. If you want to learn how to play piano quickly and easily, re-discover the “key” to success … and that’s having fun while learning piano.

You don’t know what to practice or how! That WILL NEVER HAPPEN – if you follow these tips:

Playing the piano is seen as a very intelligent skill, and with good reason. The skills you master when you learn to play piano will help increase your hand eye coordination and improve your left and right brain thinking. There is always something new to learn when you learn to play piano.

Just by learning a few songs on the piano, you’ll exercise your brain and gain a reputation as a semi-genius!

One of the fastest and most satisfying ways to learn to play piano is taking a chord-based approach. Most piano teachers will teach from a classical method. This includes those infamous scales, learning to read music, playing Fur Elise again and again…all the (boring) things we typically think of when we picture piano lessons.

The classical method does work, but it takes forever…which is why most teachers focus on this approach. Think about it. If you were a teacher, charging $40 an hour, would you go with a method that will take your students years to master? Or would you choose a method that has them improvising their own music and understanding musicianship within a few months?

Learning to play by chords, however, is better for the students and not the teachers. If your goal is to learn to play piano, a chord-based approach to learning will give you more satisfaction, more quickly than the classical method. Your time-spent learning will be greatly reduced and, better yet, you’ll actually understand how music is created.

So find a teacher, or website, that focuses on chord-based teaching, and you’ll be able to finally reach your perpetual “learn to play piano” goal.

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Repetition is the key to learning something deeply. It works most effectively when you are isolating a small amount of material, because the object of your focus will be more specific.

When you have the correct chord movement for part of an exercise or tune under you hands, repeat it continuously until is flows. You should notice a gradual increase in your comfort level as you continue repetitions, eventually remove your eyes from both the music and the keys, and keep repeating until the movements seem easy.

This activity is especially important for problem spots in harmonic exercise or tunes.

Try to have your hands in position, actually touching the notes before you strike a chord. This will reinforce your “hand memory” of the chord’s shape. When you are ready to play the chord, lift your hands an inch or two and drop the full weight of your hands on the keys, going to the bottom of the key bed.

At first, you probably will miss some notes, and that is OK; simply make the necessary corrections and continue with more repetitions, keeping that feeling of dropping.

This will achieve a fuller sound, and your hands will learn the shape of the chords much more quickly and securely.

Recite the chord roots as you play an exercise or drill chords. This will keep you aware of what you are playing, especially when you work with rootless voicings.

As you repeat a progression over and over, make a conscious note of the chord structure (i.e. root-7-3-5) which you are manipulating. This will reinforce your understanding and hearing of the harmony.

Whenever your hands need to leave the keys to start at a new location (i.e. practicing an individual voicing or ii-V7-I progression around the key circle), release the chord immediately, rather than sustaining it.

This will give you extra time (metronome clicks/drum sounds) to reset your hands for the new key.

Author: Mr. Ron – mrronsmusic.com Ron Worthy is a Music Educator and Performer. He provides an online piano instruction program for all ages. He offers proven tips, tools and tactics (that anyone can learn) to play Rock, Pop, Blues, R&B and Smooth Jazz Piano.