Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 - 5 Comments
Just like the human body, the anatomy of an acoustic piano is quite fascinating! There are many different moving “body parts” and “limbs” that must work together perfectly to make the oh so wonderful noise that we call piano music. In this blog post, I wanted to continue the theme of learning more about the piano itself, and dissect an acoustic piano. (more…)
Read MoreTuesday, May 22nd, 2018 - 12 Comments
The other morning while I was practicing at my piano, I had a thought, “I know my students love the piano, but do they know how the piano came to be???” That inspired me to sit down and write a quick little article about the fascinating history of the piano. Now, not only will you love playing this wonderful instrument, but you’ll also have a much deeper appreciation for it! (more…)
Read MoreWednesday, May 16th, 2018 - 7 Comments
Hey gang! Do you ever find yourself thinking “I just can’t seem to play this right hand melody smoothly!” Well don’t worry. In today’s video blog post, I’ll be following up on a previous video about right hand fluidity. You can find that first video by clicking here. (more…)
Read MoreTuesday, May 8th, 2018 - 3 Comments
In a previous blog post, I talked about 5 incredible ways playing the piano helps strengthen your mind (you can find that post by CLICKING HERE). In this post, I want to let you in on four awesome ways the piano also helps keep your body happy and healthy – the piano truly is a miracle instrument huh?
Read MoreThursday, May 3rd, 2018 - No Comments
In a recent video, I covered how to figure out what key would be the right one to sing a tune in. You can find that video at the link below:
In the video above, I take the inverse and say, what if a singer comes up to you and starts singing a tune in some key, and as a piano player, they want you to start playing along with them? (more…)
Read MoreMonday, April 23rd, 2018 - 14 Comments
When you have gotten to the point of being able to sit down at your keyboard or piano and finally play a tune you know and love, you experience no better feeling. However, what you may be unaware of is that not only have you accomplished the immense task of learning to play and enjoy a song, but you have also made your brain stronger and healthier!
In this article, I’ll dive into 5 mental health benefits you get by playing the piano, and why your brain will forever thank you for doing it!
Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 - 11 Comments
Hi gang – I wanted to share a question I received recently, and my response, as it is something I’ve answered many times in the past and I think it will be of some value to a lot of you reading this blog who have taken classical piano lessons in the past. I hope this helps you as you are exploring the possibilities of learning non-classical styles in the way we do. (more…)
Read MoreThursday, April 5th, 2018 - 14 Comments
Have you ever seen or heard a singer walk up to a piano accompanist and tell them what key they want to sing a tune in, then wondered how in the heck all that works, or how to figure out “YOUR” key for a tune?
That question about vocal ranges and the connection to different keys is a complex one to describe in words, yet not very difficult to understand once it kind of sinks in. I’ll give it a quick try here in this blog video (click the image above to watch)!
Read MoreMonday, March 26th, 2018 - 2 Comments
Just a quick note concerning a lot of people who don’t play at all sharing with me that they have such a dream to be able to sit down and have some fun playing the piano, yet it seems SO insurmountable a task to take on.
A different, yet similar, version of that comment comes from folks who do in fact play piano at some level, but have strictly played using a traditional classical approach requiring them to play only what they can read from the printed sheet.
In both cases the path from where they are now to where they imagine the ability to play either from a lead sheet, or from no sheet music at all, seems not long, but totally non-existent! To have the creative ability to kind of create an arrangement of some song on the fly and “from within” just seems like a total mental block. (more…)
Read MoreWednesday, March 21st, 2018 - 7 Comments
In today’s quick lesson, I’ll cover the myth that you have to have long, skinny fingers to play the piano well. It’s simply not true! Even if you have small fingers, I’ll provide you with some simple but effective ways to play smoothly on the piano.
Read More