The piano is a very popular musical instrument both in households and in professional performances. The versatility of the piano as an instrument allows one to play a wide range of music. And learning to play the piano is usually the first step in developing musical aptitude especially with the younger children. Being able to play the piano is a musical skill that many can find useful, particularly composers, singers and teachers. Or, one may learn how to play the piano just for the sheer fun of it, for one’s personal enjoyment of the music and the instrument.
It is ideal to start learning the piano as a child, even before school age. Yet, there are many who begin to take piano lessons when they’re already adults. There are advantages to taking piano lessons even at a late age. And if you are a matured individual thinking of taking piano lessons, you do not have to think twice about it. The added skill can provide you with a new hobby that can help take away the stresses of everyday living. It can serve as an outlet for your creative energies and opportunity to bring out your latent musical talent.
While traditional piano lessons span for years before an average student can play well, there are modern approaches to learning the piano that can help you play better in a much shorter time frame. These modern courses take you through an introduction to the piano and teach you how to read basic notes and about rhythm. Then you can proceed to intermediate piano lessons.
Short as the modules are, you still need to exert efforts if you really want to learn how to play the piano. The key is constant practice, working on the lessons, and doing the exercises.
The best way to learn how to play the instrument is by taking piano lessons with a teacher, twice a week. The hourly rate of private piano lessons can run to thirty dollars or more depending on the teacher or the establishment. But if you would consider that the early musicians did not take formal lessons, you may want to try learning on your own. You can also check the many piano learning kits that come with special software, audio recording and video lessons. These piano learning courses were developed by professional pianists.
With the help of modern technology, you can learn how to play the piano without incurring a hefty sum on piano teachers. Or, you may opt to take the many free online piano lessons available through the Internet. You can always search for piano lessons and the results would include both free and paid programs. Learn how to play the piano online and you will enjoy playing this magnificent instrument for life.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Even Adults Can Learn The Piano
Do you spend time wondering what life would be like if you had learned to play the piano and write music as a child? You need to step out of this kind of thinking. Instead, start thinking about how relaxing it would be to learn the piano now. Wouldn't it make for a relaxing evening four years from now to sit at your piano and play your favorite musical pieces? Unless you're naturally tone deaf, you can. And even if you are tone deaf, you can learn sight reading and rhythm. Music has something positive and relaxing for all of us to enjoy in playing and hearing it, regardless of how we hear and process music. You may not learn things as quickly as an adult, but you should have better study habits and discipline as an adult to make up the difference. All you need is a good piano teacher and sincere dedication to learn the piano at any age.
What makes the piano – whether acoustic or digital piano - a beautiful and unique musical instrument is the ability of a single individual to play complex harmonies. There are few other instruments that can play complex harmony in the hands of a single musician, and arguably none of them put out the pure tones of grand piano. Nearly all of the instruments capable of complex harmony under one musician are keyboard instruments that can be easily played by a pianist. With other instruments you can play a single part in a large group harmony, which is a rewarding pursuit of its own. But with the piano you can sit alone by yourself and make beautiful music into the night, or sit in a concert hall and make beautiful music for others. This is why most musicians, no matter what the instrument of choice, learn to play the piano as well. It teaches you to think in harmonies. Few successful composers were not pianists first.
I have one final thought to express on adults learning the piano. Go out and get yourself a good piano teacher with experience teaching adults. Do-it-yourself piano courses can teach you to play musical pieces on the piano, but later on if you continue to love and pursue the piano, you will find that you spend years in lessons unlearning bad habits that are inhibiting your growth as a pianist. Even many of the self-taught greats had to go through a re-learning period to get the fundamentals down to become better virtuosos. It is much better to learn the piano the right way at first so you will always be spending your time learning the piano building on your skills instead of rebuilding your piano skills.
What makes the piano – whether acoustic or digital piano - a beautiful and unique musical instrument is the ability of a single individual to play complex harmonies. There are few other instruments that can play complex harmony in the hands of a single musician, and arguably none of them put out the pure tones of grand piano. Nearly all of the instruments capable of complex harmony under one musician are keyboard instruments that can be easily played by a pianist. With other instruments you can play a single part in a large group harmony, which is a rewarding pursuit of its own. But with the piano you can sit alone by yourself and make beautiful music into the night, or sit in a concert hall and make beautiful music for others. This is why most musicians, no matter what the instrument of choice, learn to play the piano as well. It teaches you to think in harmonies. Few successful composers were not pianists first.
I have one final thought to express on adults learning the piano. Go out and get yourself a good piano teacher with experience teaching adults. Do-it-yourself piano courses can teach you to play musical pieces on the piano, but later on if you continue to love and pursue the piano, you will find that you spend years in lessons unlearning bad habits that are inhibiting your growth as a pianist. Even many of the self-taught greats had to go through a re-learning period to get the fundamentals down to become better virtuosos. It is much better to learn the piano the right way at first so you will always be spending your time learning the piano building on your skills instead of rebuilding your piano skills.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Popular 88 Key Digital Pianos Today
As electronics technology progresses rapidly, it is hard to determine what electronics information is current. Some core concepts to be aware of are that anything touting a keyboard that lacks at least touch sensitivity, instrument voices, connections to recording devices, vast musical libraries, and LED display is probably out of date. Given that all of the latest keyboards have these features, there must be other features that distinguish the good 88 key digital pianos from the rest.
There are some interesting features in the newer electronic keyboards with regard to convenience. Most of them now weigh only a few pounds, making them very easy to move. Like computers, most of them have also gotten more compact. Many people now put full 88 key digital pianos away when they are not using them. They generally will stay in tune forever, so you won't be needing a piano tuner. If you have a certain decor you need to match with your keyboard, have no fear. You can now buy these keyboards in all sorts of designs and some may even have changeable face plates like your cellphone.
Let's take a look at some of the features of some 88 key digital pianos that are popular today:
Yamaha P70
This 88 key digital piano features a graded hammer system with an analog piano feel to it. The pedals also feature a piano-like 127 levels of depth. It comes complete with a 6 watts per channel amplifier.
Yamaha p140s
This 88 key digital piano features a graded hammer system with an analog piano feel to it. The piano has 50 preset demo songs and instructional tutorials built into it. You can practice playing one hand at a time while the piano accompanies you. It also has a built in speaker system.
Yamaha ydp213
This 88 key digital piano features a graded hammer system with an analog piano feel to it. This piano features three pedals, the damper, soft, and sostenuto. It features excellent sound and is crafted to emulate the experience of playing a concert grand piano.
Kurzweil Mark 12i
This keyboard is focused on quality software programming and software features to augment the quality keyboard experience it provides. It has an upgradeable flash system ROM so that you can install upgrades to the system provided by the manufacturer. This piano has one of the largest sound libraries among digital pianos with 325 sounds available. As a bonus, this piano has some educational piano learning games in its software called “Edu-Games.” Such features available for the piano student include a variety of ear training games, a scale tester, and a chord dictionary. It also features the “Anyone Can Play” software that makes you sound like you are playing well even if you are not playing well. Another play-assist feature in the software is the “arpeggiator” which converts the chords you play into arpeggios.
Getting Piano Lessons on the Internet
Many of us wish we could play the piano. But we don't wish it enough to quit our jobs or spend less time with the family. The good news is that your computer can help you learn to play the piano on a schedule that fits in your schedule. There are now beginner piano lessons available on the Web. Let's take a brief look at some examples of what you'll find when you search for piano lessons online:
This site offers a variety of programs depending on your learning goals in terms of music style and playing style. You can receive your piano lessons on DVD.
This site has one hundred pages of sheet music. The site teaches piano using its own quick progress techniques to get you playing well known tunes in very little time.
This site offers some free piano lesson videos. The site teaches you the basic components of playing the piano such as basic fingering, scales, and chords.
This site offers lessons for all levels of piano skill from beginner to advanced pianist. Further, the site has different piano instruction packages available for different budgets.
These sites and other similar sites on the Web have several advantages in common over sitting down with a traditional piano teacher. One of the most obvious, which we have already covered, is that they are available at any time you are available to learn. If your only free moment during the day is at 10:30 pm then you can have your lessons at 10:30 pm. Not only that, you have the advantage of convenience. If you are sitting at your computer in your room at 10:30 pm, you can have your lesson there. If you are sitting at a computer connected to the Internet at a work terminal at 10:30 pm with a little portable keyboard, you can watch your lesson there.
Cost is another big advantage with online piano lessons. Lessons can be offered at much lower costs when they are mostly automated. The teacher does not have to spend an hour with you and charge you for that hour. The videos or lessons have already been done by the teacher. A related advantage is that you can take the same lesson over and over without additional cost. You won't get repeat classes from your local piano teachers for free. It stands to reason then if you like one type of music better than another you can watch the training video for that type of music more and master it better.
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