I wish you could have seen me play the piano when I was just learning. I was the nearest thing to "hopeless" that you could imagine. I was into baseball, not music; and my heroes were Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. (And by the way, I still have a picture of those 3 guys on my wall.) My dream was to hit baseballs like them, not to play the piano.
But an opportunity to play with a combo presented itself to me when I was a freshman in high school. Seems the piano player of the group had graduated the previous year, and nobody else played piano well enough to play in the school jazz combo. I didn't know zilch about playing in a group, and I didn't know chords. But I was excited to have the opportunity to play with older guys, and so I took the job.
The lead sax player told me I really should know chords in order to play in the group, so I searched through a music magazine until I found an ad for a chord chart. It cost two bucks, as I recall, so I sent off for it. When I received it in the mail I slipped it behind the keys on my parents old upright piano, and promptly learned to play my first chord; Dm7. I LOVED the sound of it, and was hooked for life on chords. The 2nd chord I learned was Cmaj7, then Em7, then Ebm7; and before that first night was over I had learned to play "Frankie & Johnnie"; the tune in my right hand, and those fabulous 7th chords in my left hand!
I loved it! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! And it even sounded good enough to impress some of my friends the next day. I suppose that simple chord chart that cost me two bucks has been worth several million over the course of my lifetime. And much more than that, has been worth quadrillions in pleasure and satisfaction and relaxation and lots more.
Even though I came in the back door as far as piano playing was concerned, I learned fast because of what I knew about chords, so college was a snap, and so was my post-graduate Masters Degree at Southern Oregon University. After high school I studied with several of the finest private teachers on the West Coast, including a year with THE finest teacher; his name was Dave; and his studio was on Cauhenga Blvd. in Hollywood. As I would come for my piano lesson, I would often pass a big name recording artist coming to their lesson; and anyone who was anyone in Hollywood in those days took lessons from Dave.
Dave taught me 2 fundamental principles about piano playing:
1. The piano is NOT played with the hands; it is played with the brain. The hands are just tools.
2. If you master chord relationships, you can master music.
I've got little fat hands with short fingers. Hardly the ideal hands for piano playing.
I've also got a lousy sense of rhythm.
But you know what? Because of those two principles Dave taught me, I can play "above" my fat hands and my weak rhythm.
Above?
Yes.
Above.
Once a person "gets into the flow" of understanding chord relationships and then letting the brain knowledge flow into the hands, that person plays "above" his ability.
And the great thing about it is this: It's not some secret formula hidden in the archives of some dusty music conservatory in Prague. Instead it's an open book; there are courses galore on the internet you can take for peanuts compared to a traditional music conservatory. The internet age has provided a way for the average person to become an above-average musician!
Playing of piano is a quite simple task. Anyone interested in it can play it with proper tuition and in turn practice. The various keys on the keyboard of the piano will relate to the notes and it is not necessary to know about the notes names. By just pressing the key on the piano will correspond to the note of the music written. The image in red colour on the piano keyboard indicates the notes and the black colour indicates the keys.
The keys of the piano have to be touched very flippantly and smoothly. If the keys are operated severely with the eagerness to play the notes at the correct time, then the same will end up with very difficulty. Relaxed playing will yield the required result.
It is advisable to play the piano with the notes that is familiar. Sometimes, it will be required for the player to look at the notes and play the piano close to the written notes. When the player is not familiar with the letters of the keyboard, playing with a new song will be a burden in terms of both the music as well the notes and the key for the same. The beginner has to start playing the piano that is fun for him and this will slowly develop his skill.
When the person is playing the piano by just listening to the song, then he should choose those songs that are familiar like theme music or even famous folk songs. He can also choose the television advertisement jingles. When the player plays the piano by ear, he can be rest assured for the development of his fluidity. The player can also try playing some songs that are melodious by adding some harmony to it at the required place. Then this will turn as a new music that the player would not have heard before.
A good practice is that the player has to play the music that he heard before going to bed. Playing the music with the piano should be the last job he has to do before his night sleep. This will erase all the memories of the action that has been done during the day by the player and this will be overwritten.
The player is expected to play any song whether fully or partially with correct rhythm. The perfect rhythm can be obtained only by proper practice.
To learn the piano easily, it is better to cut the key notes and stick it in the appropriate position of the key that will enable the player to play the exact key according to the notes.
The correct place to get different type of music is the library. The interested player can have a visit to the library and take the notes and start practicing and thus get familiarized with various songs.
Both Duane Shinn & Adam Boulton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Duane Shinn has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Music and Keyboard Synthesizer. Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled