Easy Piano Lessons

• Fun, efficient and effective tool for learning music theory
• Builds automaticity for note recognition, scales, intervals and key signatures
• Addictive, game-like format with clean, easy-to-use interface
• MIDI keyboard compatible
• Worldwide scoreboard with monthly competition for the top players

Yamaha P95B Digital Piano

To learn to play the piano you obviously need a piano or keyboard on which to practice, if you don’t already have one the Yamaha P-95 might be just what you need to get started.

The Yamaha P-95 gives musicians the dynamic, high-quality sound and natural piano touch response they expect from Yamaha, along with a high-quality built-in speaker system. All this packed into a slim, exceptionally affordable instrument that’s always ready to play when you are. No compromises, just Yamaha quality.

10 Voices including Grand Piano, EP, Jazz Organ, Choir and Strings.

50 built-in piano songs (standard repertoire)

The minor scale is a simple pattern of whole tones and half tones that must be followed when we play from any key. If we wanted to play say the A minor scale we would just hit all the white keys starting from an A key up to the next A key. If only it was that simple.

The process of pressing all the white keys from A to the next A is just the natural minor in A. There exists other types of minor scales such as harmonic and melodic. I find that melodic is the hardest of the three.

Expanding upon what is a whole tone and half tone, I can make it a little more clearer. A half tone is when we play from one key to the next. There are usually 88 keys on the keyboard and they are black or white. If for instance we hit the C key and then play C#/Bb we have played a half tone. It is quite simple. A whole tone is just two half tones. A whole tone is like playing from C to the next D key.

Now that we have understood what tones are, I will explain to you the patterns that we must learn when we learn how to play piano. The patterns are as such:

Natural Minor: W, H, W, W, H, W, W
Harmonic Minor: W, H, W, W, H, W, H
Melodic Minor: W, H, W, W, W, W, H

I have denoted a whole tone as W and a half tone as H.

Going into a little detail a harmonic minor is similar to a natural minor but the seventh note is raised by a half tone. In the case of a melodic minor the sixth and seventh tones of a natural minor are raised by half a tone. There is a slight twist in the melodic minor in that we play the minor naturally on the way down the scale. Only on the way up do we follow the pattern of W, H, W, W, W, W, H.

In the case of a melodic, we can think of it as two tetrachords with whole tone in the middle.

Minor tetrachord: whole tone, half tone and whole tone
Major tetrachord: whole, whole and then half

When we first learn how to play scales in minor I suggest we learn the natural pattern first. After we have mastered that we learn the harmonic and then the melodic last. Remember that the key to playing the scales is loads of practise. Practise it for an hour or so a day and get used to the pattern. You need to commit the patterns to memory and hopefully get them into our muscle memory.

Learning how to play piano requires us to start small and build our skills up till we get to a point where we can play a whole piano piece. I recommend that people use a metronome when playing the scales. A metronome helps you keep the correct tempo as you play the scales. A key mistake that lot of beginners make is playing at the wrong tempo or a mixed tempo.

Mastering the major and minor scales is necessary before we move on to playing chords. I believe that chords will come naturally once we know our scales properly. There is no substitute for practise. The key to being a successful piano player is to practise. Throw in a few hours of practise when you can and touch up on your scales.

In conclusion, the theory behind minor scales has been discussed in detail in this article. We have learnt all about the three types of scales in minor. The major scale is a lot easier than the minor one. We should first learn the major scale and then move on to learning the minor.

Learn more about how to play piano by learning online through this blog: http://how-to-play-piano-lessons.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chun-Lam_S_Lo
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Play-Piano—Theory-Behind-Minor-Scales&id=4362839

There are 88 keys on the piano keyboard. Most pianists use about 1/3 of this number most of the time. Why?

Well, if you’re playing sheet music, the answer lies in how the composer used the piano. If you’re creating your own music, the answer lies in experimenting with the possibilities.

Now, most of my own music is played near the middle of the keyboard. It’s not planned that way but this is the area of the piano I naturally gravitate towards when sitting down to play. Of course, I do and have used most notes available on the piano and it would be a shame not to. But I allow the music to tell me where it wants to go. If I sit down with a predetermined agenda to play high notes, then I am not listening to my intuition.

Although I have to admit that in Lesson 5: “Winter Scene” I wanted to create a crisp wintry sound so I started further up the keyboard with the left hand and played higher register notes in my right. But most times, I will let my intuition guide me and 9 times out of 10 begin at the middle of the keyboard.

There is nothing wrong or uncreative about this at all. In fact, it doesn’t really matter where you begin because once started, the heart and mind work together as one bringing you the ideal music. It is the only true music that could come out of you because you listen to what your heart wants to play. If you play a few bass notes to begin with fine. Want to start at the high end of the piano, OK.

The key here is authenticity. Some compositions and improvisations sound contrived because they were – that is they were thought up. There really is nothing wrong per se with this approach – as long as you let the music guide you. For example, you may decide you want to do as I did and create a certain mood piece. However, once you get the general idea for the music, let it guide you to where it wants to go – that is, listen, listen, listen for what is coming next. This approach never fails and will most always yield good results.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Weiss
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Use-the-Entire-Piano-Keyboard&id=53574

The piano teaching “establishment” has been around for hundreds of years, and although there are new technology and teaching methods, the basic approach hasn’t changed all that much. Why?

Maybe they think it’s somehow required that you go through years of lessons, exercises, scales, blah, blah, blah before you should be allowed to sound good on the piano.

If all you want to do is make songs sound REALLY GOOD on the piano, with professional chords and smooth chord progressions, why in the world should you have to wait years, if you could learn to do it in a week or two.

“Professional Piano Chords For Everyday Pianists” is a digital e-book. You’ll instantly download it as an easy-to-use PDF file.

Here are just a few of the things you’ll learn in “Professional Piano Chords For Everyday Pianists”:

The absolute fastest way to learn any new chord, so you can play it the instant you see the chord symbol.

The single 3-chord progression found in 70-90% of all popular music that just might change the way you listen to and play music on the piano forever.

The very special chord that can open the doors to a whole new world of piano playing (it did for me) – and exactly how and when to use it.

Exactly where to play chords on the keyboard so they sound the best – not too muddy, and not too thin, but just right.

A VERY simple method for adding bass notes to your beautiful new chords – it may look overly simple, but it can make your playing sound like a true professional in no time.

How to play a chord progression so that it sounds good – it’s called voice leading, and it is one of the secrets to professional-sounding piano that very few people learn how to do properly – except for you!

Clear, Simple Chord Charts Show You Exactly
How To Play Like The Pros – OBVIOUSLY, These Are The Beginning Chords Just To Show You How I Illustrate Chords In The Book – We’ll Move WELL Beyond These Basic Chords