Piano Key1

Most piano players don t get better because they recycle their practice. They simply play what they practiced the first few months over the next 6 years (or more). If you want to become good at the piano in the shortest amount of time, you ve got to do it differently. The key is deliberate practice.

To practice deliberately means to purposely intend to improve performance. Here are a few key points to help you practice deliberately.

Have an intention have an intention whenever you sit down to practice the piano. It doesn t have to be written down, but you could say to yourself, for example, today I intend to improve my performance of Green

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Why the heck should I learn major scales?

If someone asked you, “what is a scale?” … would you be able to answer them?

Scales are important. They are the basis of melodies and chords. Without knowing your scales, you are a car mechanic without her tools.

What are scales? A good way to define a scale is to list the following characteristics:

-A scale is an organized series of pitches (…basically “notes”)
-A scale consist of a series of notes that differ in sound
-A scale is linked to the concept of “Major Keys” in that a song which utilizes a given scale is said to be in that key (For example: “Mary had a little lamb in C major”).

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II-V-I progressions are common in most types of popular music and mainstream jazz and more. If you can play II-V-I progressions you are in a lucky position. What then is a II-V-I progression? Well, come and see!

A C-major scale consists of seven notes: C D E F G A B

A C-major chord consists of the first, third and fifth notes in the C-major scale. This is called a triad.

A chord built from the first step of the scale can also be called I from the roman number one.

If I start on the second note of the C-major scale and construct a triad chord consisting of D F A, I have a chord built upon the second step of the

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So, you want to learn how to play piano by ear. You think this skill is reserved for those with “special” talent. You’re wrong about that!

What does it mean to play by ear? Simply that the musician understands the fundamentals of diatonic harmony. To understand this, you just need to know a little about chords.

For example, in the Key of C Major we have 7 chords. These are: C Maj. D min. E min. F Maj. G Maj. A min. and B half-diminished.

Notice that these chords are lined up in order and that they are triads. Most harmonic theory in the western world gives a number to these chords using roman numerals. Simply put, we can call the C Major

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What in the world is naked music?

You know it when you hear it, but the words that describe it sound strange, don t they? We ve all heard of popular music and rock music and gospel music and jazz music, but naked music?

Naked music is simply the notes on a piece of sheet music. It s naked not dressed up or arranged at all. No fills, no slurs, none of the ingredients that make a song come to life.

Not a single professional musician plays the music exactly as it appears on a piece of sheet music. Instead, they use the written music as a map, or an outline, and then proceed to do their

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