Play Piano Like a PRO!

How to Make Hip Hop Beats - Shh! Something Big Is Coming... Like Music To My Ears!

2011-11-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

Thought I would send you a quick email out as I have some very exciting news and I just could not keep it to myself!

You like urban music right?

Dumb question - Of course you do!

Well let me ask you a question:

"Have you ever thought about making your own beats and music?"

Chances are that you have, although if you are anything like me when
I was looking for some info on how to do this from scratch - there is not a lot of info and or the systems cost way too much!

Of course - if you have a recording studio or a bunch of money to keep going to one - you are fine! Although alot of us are not in the position to part with that much cash, right?

Well there is something on the horizon that will really shake up the music world pretty soon. . ...

.. .Not sure if you've heard but Dub Turbo is due to be released soon

What is Dub Turbo? Watch A great video demo and see for yourself in 2 minutes.

>>>>>>> <Click Here!>

It is a new to market DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and the best thing is it caters for pros and the complete beginner alike!

If you just want to get to making music, and you don't want the hassle of having to learn music theory or take expensive production courses - then you need to check it out!

Check out the demo they have going on at their site - I was really impressed with the over all project:

>>>>>>> <Click Here!>

I'm going to do a proper review of this and be in touch in the near future, for now I'm having way too much fun making killer beats :) So far I've made 4 in a matter of 23 minutes before I thought "I gotta tell my VIP list about this" - so enjoy!

Till next time

Ron

Play Piano - Important Material You Should Memorize to Play Piano!

2010-05-25T16:03:00.003-04:00

How should chords be learned?
What should be the greatest distance between the hands when playing root open position chords?
What is a reaction to a chord symbol?
The combination of a lowered 7th tone and a minor 3rd produces what kind of 7th chord?
Which notes should you try to double in the open root position?
What is the lowest note on the piano that you can play as a root note?
Where is the lowered 7th tone located?
The combination of a lowered 7th tone and a major 3rd produces what kind of 7th chord?
If you are playing the root of the chord below low E, what should you do?

To learn these answers, you need to join my membership program!

Just Click Here to Join for $1

You really got a hold on me - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

2010-04-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

Play Piano - Playing Keyboard Bass Lines

2010-04-04T14:25:00.003-04:00

Left Hand Technique for Keyboards

In recent years, with advances in electronic keyboard technology and decreases in music performance budgets, the keyboardist has been called upon increasingly to play multiple roles.

Among these roles is that of a bass player.

My piano instruction eBooks and DVDs provide a "step-by-step" approach to learning how to play left hand bass lines at the keyboard.

My case studies and exercises cover the chord progressions and styles that the player will encounter in the real world.

Players of all levels will benefit from the focus on:

walking bass lines
playing in a "two-feel"
waltz time
latin styles
putting both hands together

To order your DVDs and eBook, go to: www.MrRonsMusic.com

(301) 755-5821

Guidelines for Playing Piano by Ear to Write Music!

2009-07-18T12:32:00.004-04:00

Begin your sketches with a simple, basic idea: a sound you like, a group of pitches, and interesting harmony, an attractive rhythm, an idea for lyrics, and so on.

Next step: think out a number of possibilities for developing, expanding, exploiting, and contrasting your basic idea.

For example:

A group of pitches can be played forward, backward, up side down, or with its order rearranged.
You can keep the overall shape of a pitch group (the way it moves up and down), but change it by opening up or tightening the distance (interval) from one note to the next.
The same pitch group can be varied by changing its speed, meter, or rhythm... or by changing its "color" through changes of instrumental register (high vs. low).
A rhythmic idea, no matter how simple, can be stretched, tightened up, fragmented, or transformed into a a repeated figure.
A rhythmic idea can be applied to different pitch groups, or used to give movement to your favorite chord progression.
A harmony can be intensified by adding "color" tones (7th, 9th, added 6th, suspended tones, etc.); or softened by subtracting chord tones; or given a refreshed sound by the way you voice the harmony on the piano.

Try to keep a relaxed attitude toward your study of piano, and an open mind about new ideas that almost always turn up while you're experimenting with your sketches.

Above all, don't lock yourself into one way of thinking. After a certain point, a piece may have its own ideas about the way it should develop; don't try to force it into a cookie mold!

Let it grow and breathe.

Play Piano - Father's Day Weekend Sale on Select Products!

2009-06-20T17:10:00.002-04:00

Enjoy 25 to 50% Discounts on Select Products...

Dedicated to ALL Fathers Around the World!

Play Piano - How to Learn to Play Piano

2009-06-09T12:41:00.003-04:00

How to Practice to Play Piano!

Whether you are practicing an exercise or a tune, it is important to always make it sound musical and to give it a sense of "flow."

Flow means that you can play it smoothly and without hesitation - the HANDS and BRAIN are calm and unhurried as you move from measure to measure in the song.

Perhaps the most useful skill in practicing music is the ability to sense when the music is not flowing, to isolate the problem area, and to FIX it!

Fixing the problem usually involves two strategies:

slowing the tempo; and/or
simplifying the problem (i.e. practicing a smaller piece of material and separating the hands.)

This all goes against our natural instinct, which is to try to play something as we imagine it should sound, even though there is NO flow!

Here is an important guideline which I call the Rule of Flow:

Never increase the practice tempo on a piece of material until you can play it perfectly!

Practicing something much faster than you can play it perfectly may be gratifying to your ego, but you are not really learning it.

The truth is that you cannot play something fast until you can play it slowly!

To learn more, I invite you to visit the following resources:

www.MrRonsMusic.com

www.PlayPianoTonight.com

www.PlaySmoothJazzPiano.com

www.PlayPianoLikeAPro.com

www.PlayPianoAndReadMusic.com

Piano Lessons Personal Coaching

2009-05-07T15:55:00.002-04:00

Our New Inner Circle "Personal Coaching" Program Overview

A number of students have requested clarifications of our recent re-launch of www.PlayPianoAndReadMusic.com's Inner Circle.

Below you will find our Q&A.

Who is this for... I mean, what skill level? It's for ALL skill levels. From the complete "newbie" up to the professional performer or music educator. Please understand that certain music performance concepts are not taught in schools. The quality of the information provided is based on the "real-life" stage experiences and education background of the instructor?
How will I receive my personal coaching? You will receive "video instruction" that is skill-appropriate for your specific needs. This is not a "one size fits all" program as characterized by the majority of piano lesson programs on the Internet today.
Let's say, if I'm having a problem "hearing" a note or chord progression of a song I'm trying to learn by ear or play with sheet music, can you help me? YES! I will provide a video and/or "lead sheet" that will help you to truly understand the harmonic implications of the song.
What about summer vacations... can I suspend my subscription and re-subscribe after I return? YES!
I'm not an adult, as such how can I subscribe to the Inner Circle? Just ask your parent(s) or guardian(s) to contact me by phone at: (301) 565-0358.

I hope you found the Q&A helpful in your decision to subscribe to the Inner Circle.

Now, if you still doubt my expertise, just view my FREE videos at Youtube! Just imagine the quality of instruction offered in the Inner Circle!

Once you subscribe, you login details will be sent within 24 hours. I will then contact you to discuss your specific need for that month!

Play Piano Like a PRO!

2009-03-01T14:02:00.001-05:00

Bud Powell Trio - Just One Of Those Things

2009-02-24T23:49:00.001-05:00

Mozart, Twinkle Little Star Variations, Anna Larsen (age 6)

2009-02-08T21:09:00.001-05:00

Here's How to Learn to Play Piano... by a 6 year old!

Play Piano - Brand New Affiliate Program

2008-12-22T21:27:00.004-05:00

Make 50% monthly recurring commissions on this brand new piano lessons membership site that teaches ANYBODY to play piano and read music. Sales are assured because the monthly subscription cost is less than a "movie" ticket... $10.00!

It's FREE to join... Click Here!

Earn Monthly Residual Income Referring People to Our New Piano Lessons Membership Site!

2008-12-11T13:03:00.004-05:00

That's right!

Since the launch of our new Affiliate Program, we've received so many emails thanking us for showing them how to play piano and make some easy chase on the side, just by referring people to our new Piano Lessons Membership site.

Here's How it Works

First you join CLICKBANK to get your Affiliate ID nickname!

Once you get your "hoplink" you just refer people to our site through your link.

Now remember, you create a hyperlink using your affiliate hoplink. You don't have to do ANY selling. I've done that through my web site!

The monthly subscription is $10. Therefore you will receive $5 for each person that subscribes every month. The more people subscribe, the more money you'll make each month.

It's a NO BRAINER!

Students are so happy because they're earning extra income easily! Your success is assured because the subscription is so AFFORDABLE. I know we could ALL use some extra cash in the "tight" economic times!

So I encourage you to join our team, and help promote our New Membership Site and make an easy residual monthly income!

Play Piano and Read Music Holiday Savings!

2008-11-28T15:34:00.004-05:00

Introducing a "Fix-Term" Piano Lesson Membership Site that ANYBODY can Afford!

Click Here to Learn About It!

Also, MrRonsMusic.com offers Holiday Savings for ALL his FREE Newsletter Subscribers!

Click Here to SAVE BIG!

Play Piano -It's Time for Change - Creativity Comes from KNOWLEDGE!

2008-11-10T23:44:00.004-05:00

It is necessary to have a musical vocabulary in order to create music.

Just as one must know words to state thoughts, so must one know the vocabulary of music aurally and orally before improvising.

Just as one must be able to THINK and WRITE words, phrases and sentences before expressing thoughts on paper, so must one be able to HEAR, THINK, and WRITE notes and know how to organize them into patterns, phrases, and forms in order to compose.

The fastest way to do the aforementioned, is through the consistent study of scales and arpeggios !

As you should know, I have always emphasized the study of scales and arpeggios to learn to play piano.

Occasionally, a student will write me declaring that they already know their scales!

I smile to myself, knowing that they probably can't play the scales in the manner I'm going to teach you today.

In celebration of Veterans Day and the Presidential Election of Barak Obama, I am honored to offer 50% discounts on select products!

Understand, I do know that many households are not in a financial position to invest at this time... of this FREE lesson is dedicated ALL people around the world, that are really feeling the "financial crunch!"

How to Practice Scales

Your goal should be to ultimately play a scale four octaves!

But today, I'm going to share an approach that will enhance your playing in ONE session.

IMAGINE what you'll sound like if you practice this way all the time... you'll be a "beast!"

If you practice your scales or a scale in the following manner daily for at least 15 to 30 minutes, you'll be a different player in ONE week!

Are you ready? Leg's go:

Choose a comfortable tempo (40 or 60 beats per minute on your metronome or count).
The attached scale model is in C Major. DO NOT be confused by the notation. it's written two octaves below middle C. Just make the necessary adjustment on your keyboard to be able to play it FOUR octaves!
Play the C Major scale one octave (ascending and descending).
Once you return to the C note, play the C Major scale two octaves by dividing the beat in half!
Once you complete your descension from two octaves, play the C Major scale three octaves by dividing the best using "triplets!"
Lastly, play the C Major scale four octaves using 16th notes. That's right... you will be "squeezing" four notes into the beat!

Now... don't worry if you didn't understand the instructions above, because all you have to do is COUNT 1 2 3 4, to feel the pulse of the BEAT for the one octave scale; and continue to COUNT 1 2 3 4 and you will hear how the beat is sub-divided, when you listen to the audio references.

I attempted to embed (2) audio examples... one demonstrates the scale model at 60 beats per minute. And the other scale model is 120 beats per minute.

Your goal is to strive for 120 beats per minute. But this can't be done over night!

With continued practice your skill level will improve DRAMATICALLY!

Please Note: If 60 beats per minute is TOO fast, start slower. I don't care if it's slower then 40 beats per minute. DO WHAT IS COMFORTABLE FOR YOU!

If you don't have a metronome, then you MUST count out loud!

Now just imagine... if you practiced ALL 12 Major and 12 Minor Harmonic scales in this fashion daily,there wouldn't be anything you couldn't play with a little practice!

So, if you're financially able, I encourage you to invest in my latest Video eBook, entitled How to Practice Scales and Arpeggios to Play Piano With Precision and FEEL!

IF YOU CAN'T... you will still benefit from this FREE lesson, because everybody doesn't have the discipline to practice in this manner!

Play Piano - It's Time for Change!

2008-11-07T23:35:00.002-05:00

RAW Production's Veterans Day Sale!

That's right...

Prices are SLASHED!

We are going to TEACH YOU how to translate CHORD SYMBOLS to create your own SOUND!

But, realistically... you "gotta" learn the NOMENCLATURE!

How to Learn Music Easily to Play Piano

2008-09-28T09:46:00.003-04:00

Good Musicians "See What They Hear and Hear What They See!"

All People Capable of Linguistic Literacy Are Also Capable of Musical Literacy

Musical literacy should not be the property of a chosen few, but a general knowledge of all.

Not too many centuries ago, the ability to read words was the privilege of the elite. The common man was thought to be incapable of so erudite an exercise as reading.

Today, in a time of universal linguistic literacy, this view point seems absurd. There is no reason to support that human beings are less capable of learning to read music than words.

Music reading, like word reading, is a skill that not only can, but should be taught. If the language of music becomes a known language, enjoyment of music will certainly increase, and the quality of life itself improve.

Singing is the Best Foundation for Musicianship

The youngest infants produce musical sounds. Singing is as natural an activity to the child as speaking. To use this native ability to foster and cultivate the voice - the instrument everyone has - is both practical and effective when studying the piano.

Throughout history, great musicians have known the important of singing in music education. Musical knowledge acquired through singing is internalized in a way that musical knowledge acquired through an instrument - an external appendage - can never be.

If You Can't Sing It... You Can't Play It!

Sometimes I receive emails or phone calls from students asking how they can "pick-out" a melody they've hear and play it on the piano.

When I ask if they can sing the melody, they usually can't! Always remember, that you MUST be able to at least sing the melodic line you're trying to play.

One of the easiest ways to start singing is to sing the diatonic scale, using the syllables: d0-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do.

In music education, this is called Tonic solfa. Tonic solfa is a system of syllables. Do is considered to be the keynote or tonal center in all major keys and is considered to be the keynote or tonal center in all minor keys.

The Goal of All My Online Programs

My approach to the study of music is through experience in:

performance
perceptive listening, analysis, and evaluation
compositional and improvisational processes and techniques

You will acquire musical knowledge and gain understanding through:

active involvement in musical learning
a study of the music of all styles
an in-depth study of major concepts or a series of concepts in music
personal discovery and the immediate use of and application of music concepts, skills, and information

Just remember, you assume increased responsibility for your own learning and you will develop the capacity to formulate and express your own musical judgments and values.

To summarize, I'll quote the great Hungarian music educator, Zoltan Kodaly:

"It is the richness of both the musical experiences themselves and the memory of them that makes a good musician. Individual singing plus listening to music (by means of active and passive well-arranged experiences) develops the ear to such an extent that one understands music one has heard with as much clarity as though one were looking at a score: if necessary - and if time permits - one should be able to reproduce such a score.

This, and certainly no less, is what we expect from a student of a language; and music is a manifestation of the human spirit to a language. It's great men have conveyed to mankind things unutterable in any other language. If we do not want such things to remain dead treasures we must do our utmost to make the greatest number of people understand their secrets."

How to Play the Piano - Eurhythmics, Solfege and Improvisation

2008-09-19T14:15:00.002-04:00

"Dalcroze Eurhythmics" is an approach to music education based on the premise that rhythm is the primary element in music, and the source for all musical rhythm may be found in the natural rhythms of the human body.

The total method consists of three parts:

Eurhythmics
Solfege
Improvisation

Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, while a professor of Harmony and Solfege at the Conservatory of Music in Geneva, discovered that many of his pupils, although technically advanced on their instruments, were unable to feel and express music.

The couldn't deal with even the simplest problems of rhythm.
Their sense of pitch, tonality, and intonation was defective.
They possessed a mechanical rather than a musical grasp of the art of music.
They couldn't hear the harmonies they were writing in their theory assignments.
They were not able to invent simple melodies of chord sequences.
Their lack of sensitivity created problems in their individual performances.

Dalcroze spent his life inventing ways to help his students develop their abilities to feel, hear, invent; sense and imagine, connect, remember, read, and write; perform and interpret music.

Dakcroze's thoughts went beyond the subject of music teaching.

What is the source of music? Human emotions are translated into musical motion.
Where do we sense emotions? In various parts of the body.
How does the body express these internal feelings to the external world? In posture, gestures, and movements of various kinds: automatic, some are spontaneous and others are the results of thought or will.
By what instrument does a human being translate inner emotions into music? By human emotion.
What is the first instrument that must be trained in music? The human body!

I personally subscribe to this philosophy!

To this end,the daily practice of scales and arpeggios is indispensable.

The Reasons for Training in Rhythm

The aspects of music that make the most definite appeal to the senses are RHYTHM and MOVEMENT.

Rhythm and dynamic energy are entirely dependent on movement and I find their best model in muscular systems. ALL degrees of tempo can be experienced, understood, and expressed with the body.

KINESTHESIA: The Missing Link

Dalcroze postulated that whenever the body moves, the sensation of movement is converted into feelings that are sent through the nervous system to the brain which, in turn, converts that sensory information into knowledge.

The BRAIN judges the information and ISSUES ORDERS to the body again through the nervous system.

The brain converts feelings into sensory information about direction, weight, force, accent quality, speed, duration, points of arrival and departure, straight and curved flow paths, placements of limbs, angles or joints, and changes in the center of gravity.

These orders are given to protect YOU from injury and to find the most effective ways to move through the mental phenomena of attention, concentration, memory, will power, and imagination.

Today this process is called the "kinesthetic" sense. We all have it... which is why you don't walk into walls?

To hone your kinesthetic sense, YOU MUST practice scales and arpeggios SLOWLY!

My students, young and old, have achieved success in playing the piano through my carefully crafted piano teaching methods that are connected in a constant spiral of learning:

hearing to moving;
moving to feeling;
feeling to sensing;
sensing to analyzing;
analyzing to reading;
reading to writing;
writing to improvising; and
improvising to performance.

I know it works, because it worked for me!

Your Blue Print for Effective Piano Practice!

2008-08-17T15:42:00.003-04:00

Here's Your Blue Print for Effective Daily Practice!

Play and LOOK at the chord.
Name the chord out loud as you are playing and looking at it.
FEEL the chord muscularly.
Listen to the chord.
Repeat the first four steps until you feel the chord is memorized.
For spaced repetition, play the chord at 2 to 5 minute intervals during your practice. (Repeat the first 4 steps whenever necessary)
For more spaced repetition, pay the chord for a few seconds at various times of the day. (Don't wait 24 hour until)
Use the chord in your repertoire.

"Doo Wop" Groups of the 50's

2008-07-27T17:27:00.012-04:00

These are some pics of my recent vacation in Las Vegas.

The performers in black, w/the female vocalist is the legendary group, the Platters. The guy (third from the left) is my childhood friend, Derek David!

We started performing together while in elementary school.

The first song we did as a "duo" was "Poison Ivory" by the Coasters.

Derek also plays the "hell" of a piano. He plays "piano by ear!" Always had from a child... never studied a day in his life!

Now below the pic of Derek, is the famous Motown female group, the Marvelettes, of "Hey Mr. Postman..." fame.

Now these aren't the original performers, but their hits live on!

And the group dressed in blue suits are the Coasters... "Poison Ivory"... "Charlie Brown"... and many other hits!

Mr. Ron's Music 6th Year Anniversary!

2008-07-01T18:38:00.007-04:00

Mr. Ron's Music is Celebrating it's 6th Year Anniversary Online!

In celebration of this year's 4th of July Holiday and MrRonsMusic.com's 6th Year Anniversary, Ron Worthy is offering a generous discount for his celebrated Online Multimedia eBook, entitled: Piano Tricks of the Trade.

For a limited time, you can save $30 and download the eBook for only $67.

How to Play Piano June 2008 Tele-Seminar

2008-06-25T13:37:00.004-04:00

Ron Worthy's June 26th, 2008 Tele-Seminar Will Start in 28 Hours!

Just wanted you to know that my 2008 Teleseminar will be held tomorrow, Thursday, June 26th at 7:30 pm, (EST).

You don't want to miss this one...

You will learn the primary and secondary colors of music to help you play piano by ear and understand how to easily learn to interpret lead sheets and memorize songs, to play them with out music!

I can only accommodate 250 callers, so PLEASE arrive 10 minutes early to assure yourself a slot!

Here' How to Participate

The "dial in" number is: 1 (218) 486-1300

When prompted, enter your "bridge number:" 436796

Here's a very enlightening video and interview that you should enjoy!

Click to View the Video!

Ron Worthy

Playing the Piano - "Pitfalls" to Avoid When Studying Piano for the First Time!

2008-05-23T15:24:00.005-04:00

Too often, deceitful online merchants that offer 15+ "bundled" DVDs, guaranteeing the success of the piano aspirant, mesmerize adults seeking online piano instruction, through their storefront image.

The problem with purchasing "zillions" of DVDs is that the adult student spends more time operating their DVD player as opposed to using that energy in the application of scales, arpeggios and harmonic studies. If learning the piano was as easy as watching a DVD, everybody would play the piano well!

Now understand, video references are helpful, BUT you don't need a video for each and every concept when clear and concise written instruction will suffice. This is why I "pepper" my eBooks (electronic book) with short video clips, for additional clarification.

95% of ALL Play Piano Review Sites Are a JOKE!

They're jokes because they are not owned by professional music educators or performers. Super Affiliates promote all types of sites: "How to Train Your Dog... How to Play Golf... How to Play Guitar..." just to name a few.

These so-called SMART GUYS are professional marketers. They have "big pockets," as such, they spend thousands of dollars daily in Pay for Click Advertisements (PPC), hoping that someone will click on their consumer product ad! These are called "sponsored ads." Perhaps these ads are surrounding this article now!

So please be intelligent in your research. As my father use to tell me: "Believe none of what you read, and half of what you see!" BUT, you can trust what you're reading here!

I've been providing online piano instruction for well over 6 years, and I've seen online piano programs "come and go!" So be careful. BEWARE of the "Smart Guy" reviews. They're SMART business people that know how to sell product, but they don't have the expertise in music eductation to guide your study of piano credibly and effectively. C'mon, do you honestly think spending $200 for 15 DVDs, that you will learn how to play piano? Heck, I "give away" practical piano methods for FREE through a number of Video Directories!

Lastly, the most important pitfall to avoid is the selection of your piano teacher or online piano instruction program.

Read this very carefully... All adults (18+ years old) MUST be taught differently than a grade school-aged student. The teaching methods are unique. Only an instructor that has the history of studying piano as a child, up to their adulthood, understands this fact.

Can you imagine trying to learn to ride a bike at 18 years of age... trying to find the "sense of balance;" not to mention other inhibitions and fears associate to adulthood?

Now imagine trying to rid yourself of those impediments along with inferior piano instruction. Your success at playing the piano and creating the music you desire is FUTILE. You'll be frustrated and give up. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! You assumed the instructor would provide the needed learning tools and strategies to achieve your playing goals.

Remember, everybody that teaches piano, can't play with feel - that's right! "They don't have rhythm!" Their sound is too VANILLA!

Don't believe me... just visit: www.YouTube.com

Now Here's the Good News!

Here's the truth... the study of piano is about RHYTHM! Just because someone is "degreed" in music, doesn't necessarily mean they can keep a beat!

My students have achieved success worldwide. So it can be done with the proper instruction and students' desire to discipline themselves to adhere to a consistent practice routine that is in concert with their lifestyles!

In summary, I am reminded of Duke Ellington's classic standard, "It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing!"

To your success,

Ron Worthy

Play Piano - Can You Handle the TRUTH?

2008-05-22T01:44:00.003-04:00

When You Understand Harmony, You Will be able to Arrange a SIMPLE and EASY Child's Nursery Rhyme... Visually and Aurally!

That's right... you won't need "sheet music" or "video" to understand the construction of chords - to play piano.

Purchasing 20 DVDs to "learn piano," is an unwise investment.

Did your guardian/teacher provide videos for you to learn addition, subtraction and multiplication?

C'mon... if you can't play a scale smoothly and consistently, you CAN'T play a Song!

To your success,

Ron Worthy

How to Play the Piano - Here's How to Play Left Hand Bass Accompaniments!!

2008-05-18T19:36:00.004-04:00

First, you have to be able to locate the 5th TONE of any chord!

That's right... to play piano with feel, you MUST understand that the root and the 5th of ANY chord establishes the harmonic foundation in your left hand.

For an example, the C Major chord is spelled: C E G

The ROOT is C and the 5th tone is: G

Just try it on your keyboard... in 4/4 time... play C for the first 2 beats, and play G for beats 3 and 4.

Repeat the pattern.

Now once you can maintain the pattern... play a C Major chord in your right hand!

Always remember to FOCUS on the Left Hand. The pulse of YOUR music is there!

Don't forget, your ability to play piano is based on how well your left hand is DEVELOPED!

To your success,

Ron

How to Play the Piano - For Adults Only!

2008-03-17T19:30:00.004-04:00

You’re never too old to start learning how to play the piano. There are SO many online instruction programs today, that I know it can be very confusing. It is my intent that this article will shed some light into your search to find the most appropriate course for your specific needs.

At first, I strongly suggest that you do some deep soul searching and decide what style of music you want to REALLY play. There are so many styles of music and at this stage in your life; you should only focus on the style of music that you really enjoy.

Second, decide how much time you want to spend learning to play the piano. Now, if you’re only concerned with playing with the least amount of mental and physical effort, I advise you to seriously consider purchasing an inexpensive keyboard that offers instrumental accompaniment features. You don’t need to “take lessons” for this type of recreational enjoyment.

These electronic keyboards usually provide a manual that shows you how to build very easy chords. Additionally, these electronic keyboards also include accompaniment styles, (i.e. Rock, Pop, Jazz, Polka, etc). As a matter of fact, some keyboards guide you through the learning process by providing keys that “light up” to help you land on the correct note!

Third, if you’re really interested in learning how to make music on the piano, and can consistently set aside at least 15 to 30 minutes a day, then you should definitely continue your search for the online program that speaks to your specific needs and lifestyle.

The Majority of Play Piano Review Sites Are Not Credible

Always remember that any “review site” was designed to make money from the web sites their reviewing. Believe ME! As smart business people, they are affiliates of all sites being reviewed. As such, no matter what site the customer decides to purchase through, they make an affiliate commission.

Their ultimate goal is to realize a return on their investment (ROI). Whatever piano lesson site makes them the most money, they will declare them to be the “best pick.” My sites have been in number one positions, through a number of review sites and as soon as another site allows them to make more money, my site is instantly ranked lower.

Pay close attention to web sites that appear in the “organic” rankings; not those on the “sponsored links” on the right side of a search engine. Affiliates and web site owners pay for those sponsored ads through “Pay Per Click” services. Those ads are just screaming “PICK ME!”

A passionate, credible and competent piano instructor will have written articles on piano pedagogy. Just do a “GOOGLE” search on the instructor’s name, to determine if this teacher has written articles on the subject.

The Learning Curve for Adult Students

The most difficult challenge you will face in your study is the ability to play in time. But there is hope. Just remember, YOU HAVE TO COUNT OUT LOUD in the beginning. Once your body starts “feeling” the pulse of the music, you won’t have to continue this verbal exercise.

The less difficult challenge is to discipline your self to practice slowly. ALL professional pianists practice slowly when learning a new PATTERN. If you don’t, you will forget the material you’ve practiced the NEXT DAY!

The GOOD NEWS!

Any adult can learn to play any style of piano they wish. Just make sure you set aside time to practice consistently. All it takes is just about 15 to 30 daily. Don’t practice in 1-hour spurts! If you’re serious about learning to play, only concentrate on the style of music you want to play, and don’t give up!

You can do it, and I know you can because my adult students are achieving success everyday, worldwide!

To your success,

Ron Worthy

How to Play the Piano - Practice Rhythm Changes!

2008-03-15T10:30:00.004-04:00

It is VERY important to practice "rhythm changes" regardless of your level of experience.

To play piano by ear and start creating music, you should focus on learning rhythm changes because you will learn 12 chords, within that key.

You will also, learn substitute chords and passing harmonies that you can use to add "spice" to some of your favorite songs.

It's been said that the great Jazz Sax Player, Charlie "Bird" Parker, practiced his improvisations using rhythm changes. He would practice them in ALL 12 keys.

So, if you're serious about learning to play the piano, don't be a slave to "accompaniment tracks" or be glued to 10 or 15 "how to" DVDs.

All you need is one or two videos that illustrate a concept and go and practice!

I guarantee if you just learn the rhythm change sequence in C Major, and memorize it, you will be another pianist in a week!

My online How to Play the Piano e-Book serves as your textbook for LIFE! And remember VIDEOS are embedded in the eBook.

To your success,

Ron

Play Piano - How to Improvise Using the ii-V7-I Chord Progression!

2008-02-23T16:48:00.004-05:00

Learn the Notes of the Staff & the Keyboard to PLAY PIANO!

2008-02-22T20:28:00.005-05:00

Do YOU Want to Learn the Notes of the STAFF and

KEYS on the PIANO... Quickly? Then... CLICK HERE!

Play Piano - You Can Only Play Piano as Fast as You Can Play SLOW!

2008-02-21T18:10:00.002-05:00

Here's the reason why people quit playing the piano...

The main reason students, young or old, quit studying piano is because of RHYTHM challenges.

Yes, maintaining a CONSISTENT tempo... a BEAT! And it doesn't have to be FAST.

I hear it all the time on "gigs," when I take breaks and audience members come over to talk with me!

90% of all adults, that "took piano lessons" when they were children, QUIT because they could never get to the point where they could play ONE simple SONG (from beginning to end), in time!

Perhaps, they couldn't play with both hands... they could play the melody in the right, but when it came time to play the left hand, it was a "TRAIN WRECK!"

OR

They didn't like the literature they were being taught!

OR

They hated to practice scales... they were TOO boring!

But as quiet as it is kept, the MAJOR impediment was RHYTHM!

YES... it's an age-old problem... timing!

Any child that was able to play a song completely, in time, continued their studies - Those that didn't, QUIT!

Why I Included Accompaniment Tracks in ALL of my Play Piano Multimedia eBooks...

An easy and fun way to develop the skill to play "in time" is to play along with a consistent rhythmic pattern. Preferably a "drum machine!"

You can practice your scales, arpeggios, etc. with it, and it won't sound too sterile. It forces you to play in time!

Now, if the tempo is too fast, just slow it down.

If you don't have access to a drum machine, use a METRONOME.

But here's the trick: practice with the "click" sounding on beats 2 and 4.

Imagine the the CLICK on beats 2 and 4 is the back beat of the snare drum!

Here's an example: Count 1 and turn the metronome when you say 2, so that it clicks on 2; No click on count 3, click on count 4.

You'll just have to play around with it, but you must COUNT OUT LOUD, to see what I'm talking about! THIS ALSO HELPS IN DEVELOPING YOUR FEEL to learn piano!

You Can Only Play As FAST As You Can Play SLOW!

That's right... Anytime you admire a piano player that's performing a song at "warp" speed, BELIEVE ME, they can also play it must as SLOW!

When you practice, remember there is a PRACTICE tempo. It's almost like YOGA.

Practice, like you're playing in "slow motion" to give YOUR muscles and mind enough time to MEMORIZE THE MOVEMENTS AND THE NOTES!

Now that was a Million DOLLARS worth of information... that's why I gave it away, cause' you couldn't afford it!... (smile)

Professional performers practice slowly ALL THE TIME. It does require discipline. I guess that's why everybody can't do it!

But, I guarantee if you apply the tips you've just read, you will indeed see results in your playing and enjoy your study.

Ron Worthy is a Pianist/Songwriter/Educator. He offers online piano instruction at:

http://www.MrRonsMusic.com http://www.PlayPianoTonight.com http://www.PlaySmoothJazzPiano.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_Worthy

Join Play Piano Tonight's Affiliate Program

2007-07-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

Play Piano Tonight.com Has Just Launched It's Affiliate Program for the Promotion of it's Recently Released Multimedia Online eBook!

That's right... this New eBook is selling like "hot cakes!"

This guide, that includes Video Clips and Instrumental Accompaniment Tracks, was written especially for the Beginner students that wants to learn how to play the songs they hear on the radio and CDs!

The Play Piano Tonight.com Affiliate Program is also an exclusive "CLICKBANK" administered program. Therefore, all you have to do is register as a CLICKBANK affiliate to receive your "hoplink," and you can start making money immediately, just sending visitors to the site.

After you register, remember to go to the ClickBank's Marketplace and enter: Fun & Entertainment for the main Category; Music for the Subcategory and enter play piano for the keywords. Then "click" GO!

You will find the Play Piano Tonight Multimedia eBook hoplink on the 3rd page.

This new eBook was written by, Ron Worthy, the owner of www.mrronsmusic.com, the original "Play Piano Like a PRO" online piano lessons web site. So you know it's a winner.

PlayPianoTonight.com continues to enjoy a Google Organic Top 10 Ranking for numerous keywords in the Online Piano Lessons marketing niche.

Affiliates are earning $38.80 for each sale!

Don't delay any longer, and hurry over to the site to get started TODAY!

Play Piano - Hanon Exercise No. 1

2007-06-19T10:11:00.001-04:00

This is the 1st of 60 Exercises you should practice daily to acquire finger independence, accuracy and speed in your playing!

Piano Performance is About Memorization!

2007-03-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

Piano Performance is About YOUR Ability to Memorize!

To do anything consistently in life, it must be memorized!

Just think about it...

Anything that you do well now, is because you have memorized and/or internalized the steps in doing it, which is why it is effortless now!

Students write me all the time wanting to learn how to play a specific style of music or a specific song.

What these students don't understand is that you need to memorize at least one song, scale or chord. Now this does require some time, patience and discipline. But the rewards are well worth the effort.

Once you've learned one song and can play it by memory, it will be a lot easier to learn to play another song, because you will know what techniques to use to memorize the song.

The first thing you should do...
If you're working on a song, and you can play it from beginning to end, I urge you start memorizing it now!

This will probably take at least two weeks or more. But start with "little" steps! (i.e. memorize two or three measures at a time)

Believe me... it works! I recently memorized Chopin's Prelude in C Minor for my Mid-Term Exam.

Now I'm working on the dynamics and shadings to make the song come to life.

I know what I'm talking about and it works!

More importantly, you will enjoy your time spent at the piano even more, when you no longer rely on the sheet music to play.

Can you imagine "romancing" your significant other using a "how to" manual while attempting to do it? That would be ridiculous!

OR...

Can you imagine wanting to become a writer without knowing the alphabet?

Believe me [[firstname]], there are people that want to learn to play the piano by ear, and don't want to take the time to learn their scales and chords!

There are no magic bullets!

So remember, to play even the simplest song, you should strive to memorize it!

How do you think people that can't read music play by ear?

They MEMORIZE everything they practice and play... they have too!

Now, what I've done is provided the materials and resources for you to pick and choose what you personally want to memorize to play!

My Online Multimedia E-Book will serve as your text book for life! It's only $67.00.

Always remember, the quality of your playing will be directly related to your understanding keyboard harmony.

This does not have anything to do with reading music.

Stevie Wonder doesn't read music, but he knows his chords!

The Dominant 7th Tree of Scale Choices

2007-01-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

The two most important notes in any scale are the 3rd and 7th.

When soloing, they tell the listener what the quality is: major, minor, dominant 7th , etc.

The 3rd tells you if the quality is major or minor.

The 7th tells you whether the sound is stable or wanting to move on to another chord.

The 3rd's and 7th's are the stable tones. They are often played on beats 1 and 3.

In 4/4 time beats 1 and 3 seem to want roots, 3rd's, 5th's and 7th's. The flat 9th (b9) is also emphasized a lot over dominant 7th chord/scales.

Placing chord tones on the beat and especially beats 1 and 3 helps establish the ever changing tonality for the listener. This may be one of the most important devices in music. ALL MUSIC!

It is very important to be familiar with the chord tones: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.

Knowing where they are on your keyboard is like knowing where the kitchen, bathroom, telephone and front door are.

Any of the scales (qualities/sounds) listed below may be played when a dominant 7th chord/scale RESOLVES to a chord/scale whose ROOT lies up a perfect fourth.

A perfect fourth equals 5 half-steps.

The Dominant 7th Tree of Scale Choices

3rd's and 7th's are bolded!

Dominant 7th = C7 = C D E F G A Bb C. This is the basic dominant 7th sound. Be careful how you treat the 4th note of the scale.

Bebop Scale = C7 = C D E F G A Bb B C. Play the B natural as a passing tone, always on the upbeat, never on the downbeat.

Lydian Dominant = C7+4 = C D E F# G A Bb C. The +4 was/is a favorite note in Jazz. It used to be called a flat 5th.

Whole Tone = C7+5 = C D E F# G# Bb C. This scale only has six tones. It is a symetrical scale used often in cartoon music and Debussy or Ravel. It also has a +4.

Diminished = C7b9 = C Db D# E F# G A Bb C. This scale has 8 different tones and is symetrical. It, too, is used a lot in cartoon music.

Diminished Whole Tone = C7+9 = C Db Eb E F# G# Ab Bb C. This scale has four altered tones and they create beautiful tension in music.

Spanish or Jewish Scale = C7(b9) = C Db E F G Ab Bb C. This scale is used often when playing in a minor key. It is the same as F harmonic minor.

Chromatic Scale = C7 = C Db D Eb E F F# G G# A Bb B C. This is the musical alphabet. ALL other scales are derived from this scale. It has 12 different tones.

With practice, you will be able to play any note at any time, against any chord/scale symbol.

This takes some time and comes as you become more and more familiar with the various sounds that make up the harmonic jazz stew.

There is really no end to what you can do harmonically.

The mind keeps thinking of new things to try!

Right Brain - Left Brain

2006-12-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

Jazz musicians have always mentally heard music then worked and practiced until they could play those ideas on their instrument.

Knowing the fingerings, scales and chords (arpeggios) to each of the chords/scales in the harmony is fundamental.

But, don't make the mistake of taking a lifetime to learn the fundamentals and never take time to enjoy MAKING MUSIC.

Sometimes we forget to balance the learning of scales, chords, fingerings, technique, etc. with the joy of playing a simple melody that we hear in our head.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MUSICIANS are those who can balance the left-brain knowledge with the creative right-brain.

If you can only play by ear (right-brain), you'll find yourself limited to only what-you-know.

Conversely, if you over emphasize the left-brain you may end up sounding like a well-oiled jazz machine, but not too inspiring or original.

I strongly suggest using an approach that allows both sides of the brain to be used.

Cooperation is a key word here and I'm suggesting you cooperate with yourself.

Practice with the scales, chords, patterns, licks and get so you can weave through the harmony without really thinking about it.

But also be spontaneous, creative surprising, imaginative and take chances over the various chord progressions and keys that are on recordings.

At ALL times, be listening intently to what you are hearing. Then try to analyze it. The object is to have both sides of the brain working together, in harmony with each other.

Since the human voice is second only to the mind when it comes to visualizing melodies, we should all sing more.

When we sing a phrase, even though it is rough-sounding, our ears get a chance to actually hear what our mind is thinking. This is very important when it comes to learning to improvise.

The Piano is a Drum Set

2006-05-12T18:46:00.000-04:00

Too many pianists seem to have forgotten that their instrument is classified as part of the percussion family. They spend so much energy and focus on the minute details, such as which note goes where, that they lose (or never get) the visceral connection with their instrument, the relaxed physicality that drummers have.

It’s no mystery why drummers tend to make the best jazz pianists. Listen to the great Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. He was originally a drummer, and you can always hear it in his playing. To be able to spontaneously craft beautiful melodies on the piano while functioning also as a percussionist is just one of the many tightropes you must learn to walk as a musician.

In the following metaphor I have used absolutes to make appoint strongly. I’ve minimized the important of individual notes in favor of the larger elements of rhythm and shape. Certainly this is an injustice to a more complex truth. Undeniably, tension and release, occurring as one melody note moves to the next, is a vital and emotional part of music.

However, much of the emotional content in music is to be found in its larger elements: the rhythms and the contours of the line as opposed to the individual notes.

If you want to express your emotions freely, you need to be able to focus your attention on those elements. And you can only do that when the smaller, mechanical tasks have been “hard-wired” into your hands. For instance, shifting scales as the harmony changes is not a creative act. It is largely a bookkeeping issue that should be delegated to your hands – it should become automatic.

In order to thoroughly program your hands to handle the mechanical aspects of playing, you need to spend years focusing on them – working out note-choice, fingering, and technique minutiae. And you need to know theory: the task of analyzing a tune for scale-choice (another non-creative act) should feel automatic. But all of this disciplined detail work is a means to an end, and you’ll progress much more quickly if you have a clear image of that end.

Image an odd-looking keyboard with keys, just two touch-sensitive drumheads where the keys used to be.

The drumheads are digital and there is also a built-in computer that can instantly analyze chord to determine the most appropriate improvising scales. You simply insert a card that has a recording of your style of playing, so the computer can adjust its scale analysis to match your style.

Before you play, you insert the sheet music into the data slot. During your solo you tap rhythms on the right drumhead, shifting your right and left to indicate higher or lower pitch. While your right hand is busy tapping, you comp on the other drumhead with your left hand –again, just by tapping the rhythm you want. The computer selects one of your favorite voicings for each chord. Your only concern is the rhythm.

Playing this piano is almost as easy as playing a set of bongo drums. You can express your rhythmic impulses freely through the instrument without the usual complications of being in the right key, making transitions from scale to scale, or searching for the right voicing.

Do you want to buy this piano? Sorry, it hasn’t been invented yet!

The point of this metaphor is to get you to envision what being a pianist is like after you’ve learned all your theory, scales, voicings, and other structure thoroughly. It’s a way for you to imagine the physical, loose, big-movement, conductor-like, drummer-like way of being at the instrument. It’s to help you keep that end vision in mind so that you don’t end up boxing yourself in. And it’s to remind you that the piano is a percussion instrument.

Learn more Piano “Tricks of the Trade,” you’re invited to visit Ron Worthy’s sites at: http://www.mrronsmusic.com and http://www.playpianotonight.com

See more progress on: learn jazz piano

Piano Fingering

2006-05-09T20:04:00.000-04:00

Fingering is best learned by application, but a few basic principles are in order.

Chopin anticipated modern pianism and sought to use the fingers according to their individual capabilities. He saw that the fingers act in coordination with the hand, although each has unique characteristics. He did not try to make the fingers equal by isolating them from hand and arm movements.

For example, the middle finger could be relied on to start a phrase or end one. When reaching into the upper register with an outstretched arm, the middle finger could support the weight of the arm. The thumb, since it is opposite to the other fingers, is able to convey movement directly to the keys. The fourth is a problem. It was created weak. Its tendon is connected to that of the third finger, and has to be trained to play anything more than a passing note. It is not a strong finger, though it can stop a legato run. Chopin's answer to the problem was to avoid the fourth finger, and ask the third and fifth fingers to work overtime.

Think of fingers one and three as bone fingers, since they carry direct line action of the arm to the keys. Consider the fifth finger as a frame finger. It cooperates with the thumb. The fifth finger is short, but it need not be weak. It works best in cooperation with the thumb, but it can support the hand and arm weight if used as a vertical pillar, using one and four because their use extends the hand and constricts the wrist. A free wrist can move about, and allow the hand more freedom. Think of a free wrist as your power source for chords.

The thumb is the key to the flexible motion of the hand. It can cramp when held underneath the hand. To unlock this constricting situation, slowly lift your entire arm level with your shoulder. Bobble the arm light in this outstretched position. Look at your thumb. It should be hanging freely from your hand. Now, let your arm down slowly and position of your thumb as it lies alongside your hand. Raise your wrist slightly and draw the fingers are ready to play - including the thumb.

Do the following simple actions and observe how your thumb naturally cooperates with your other fingers:

Pick up a sheet of paper
Hold a pen and sign your name
Turn a key in a lock

Did you notice how the thumb works in smooth cooperation with the other fingers?

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"How to Become a Better Sight-Reader!"

2005-08-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

If you are like most people, your performance of a piece of music "at first sight" could probably stand some improvement.

Oh, to be able to breeze through a brand new piece without all the stops and starts! What you may not realize is that sight-reading is an art in itself, separate and apart from pianistic ability.

Many convervatory musicians, even many soloist, are not the great sigt-readers you might expect. Sight-reading is a special craft within the art of music that won't come automatically. You must work at it just as you work at technique, or interpretation. You could have the technique of a Horowitz on the keyboard, or a Segovia on the guitar, but still be a laughable sight-reader.

There are many tricks to the sight-reading game, no matter which instrument you play. If these tricks can be used properly, and with regularity, two things will happen:

1) your sight-reading improves, of course, and 2) your over-all technique automatically improves. And if you regiment yourself to a daily sight-reading program, even just fifteen minutes' worth, your entire outlook on your instrument will change drastically in a matter of days!

If you practice scales, for example, you only improve your ability in playing scales. Nothing more. However, with sight reading practice, you improve your scale playing technique, your octave technique, your arpeggio technique, because you are using actual pieces which can encompass all of these techniques and more.

2005-08-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

2005-08-24T13:45:00.000-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Visualization Techniques for the Pianist

2005-07-27T23:52:00.000-04:00

Cell Phone "photo image" Captured July 25, 2005 at the U.S. Library of Congress. This reception was sponsored by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, in Commemoration of the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965.

Controlling the images of the mind through image projection has proven valuable not only for psychotherapy, but also as a learning aid.

Visualization can have as much impact on the subconscious, memory, and entire body as a "real" experience.

For example, it is sometimes more expeditious to memorize a song by reading and thinking it through than it is to play it. Some musicians like to work on a difficult passage by visualizing themselves playing it with perfect execution and technique. When visualizing, energy is channeled and concentration is pinpointed. The mind, and sometimes even the muscles will react and learn as if the music was actually being played.

I'm not suggesting you sell your instrument and spend all of your time meditating, but visualization is a means to very fast results.

Having negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves produces negative results. This is true even when we are unaware of the thoughts and feelings we are having. The first step for visualizing is to become aware of how you "program" yourself, that is what you "tell yourself," about your musical abilities and the way you play. The next step is to learn how visualization works. You can put it to work for you as a tremendous aid for learning, playing, or anything you choose.

The imagination is one of the main taps of our subconscious. The subconscious is the controlling force behind creativity. We are all in a never ending process of creating. (One guy I know has 11 kids.) We are creating our perception of life, creating our happiness or misery or whatever we choose. The more control we have over our creative resources, the better our music and more fulfilling our lives will be.

We can get the creative wheels turning, by relaxing and changing our state of mind. Deep breathing (also known as diaphramic breathing) the foundation of vocalizing is commonly used by musicians before playing and before going on stage. It relaxes the entire body and slows down the brain waves, which allows for clearer thinking. Uncontrolled nerves (as any singer knows) are a hindrance, especially to improvisation and songwriting, where a relaxed "letting go" attitude is necessary.

The reason that some days you're hot and some you're not is your changing frame of mind. A little mind control makes for a more consistent player and more rapid improvement.

For additional resources, visit: www.mrronsmusic.com/playpiano.htm

Does Reading Make Music?

2005-07-11T19:28:00.000-04:00

Smooth Jazz Artists
(L to R) Rick Braun & Richard Elliot
Performance at the 13th Annual Jazz Fest, June 5, 2005

When you read music you are deciphering the printed page and transferring the information to the keyboard. You might say that you are decoding what the composer or arranger put on the page . The symbols put on the paper by the composer are the only means he or she has to convey his/her musical ideas to the performer, hence to the listener.

But! Is decoding a page of printed music and transferring those symbols to sound really making music?

Not necessarily. That is only one step. We might say that reading the notes with our eyes and playing them with our fingers is putting the mechanics to work. If we stop studying the piece as soon as we are fairly fluent in playing the notes we have read, we may be good keyboard mechanics, but we may not be considered "musicians."

No doubt you have listened to a pianist and come away saying, "That performance really carried me away." On the other hand you have also probably heard much so-called "music" that left you cold—that did nothing for you. Perhaps one reason we enjoy listening to "ear" players is the fact that they are listening to what they play and are not distracted by the printed page.

"Ear" players MUST listen to themselves or they would have no idea of what comes next. The music is really speaking to them. Always remember that until music speaks to the player it cannot communicate anything to the listener.

What has all this got to do with reading music? You ask:"Is it wrong to try to learn to read? Since I can't play by ear, should I just forget about learning to play?"

The first question will take a bit of detail to take us from the printed page to good listening. Don't forget that the performer must be a good listener, if not the most critical of all listeners. If, as you perform, you become so engrossed in the printed notes, their pitch, their time, the touch, the dynamics—that you forget that all those things must fit together as a whole to make a good tone story, then you are a note reader, not a musician. But you must learn to read fluently if you can't play by ear.

There are comparatively few people who can play from memory or by ear everything that is on the page, fully and accurately. But, you don't hear them falter and fumble over the spots that are rough because they have learned how to "fake," how to cover their mistakes so the average listener is not aware of their bloopers.

So go ahead—learn to be a good reader. Not just a good letter reader, be a phrase-wise reader. Be aware of everything printed on the page, but read between the lines. Like a good actor, put yourself in the role and project your feelings to your listeners . Don't let your development stop with just reading pitch and time. Include those little nuances: the delicate shadings of volume, the elasticity of tempo�the phrases that punctuate your musical story. Those are the things that make music from the printed page.

Now you know your answer. It is not wrong to learn to read fluently. Reading, as well as good technique, is a vital part of a musician's craft. And the more automatic your reading and technique become, the easier it will be to learn new music. That, of course, is the one big advantage the fluent reader has over the ear player—the player who reads can learn new music he or she has never heard.

Perhaps your second question is also answered. Of course, you can enjoy music even if you have to dig out every note phrase by phrase. A few hints may help you decide how to choose your music and how to go about learning it. First:

Choose music that is well within your present level of playing so you won't have to work forever on once piece.

Don't worry about challenging yourself.

Don't dub yourself lazy just because you play easy pieces. Who cares what grade level your music is? Just play the melody so beautifully that everyone wants to hum along.

Keep the beat moving smoothly and with the proper accent so everyone will want to tap their toes.

Put in enough subtle changes of volume to make the phrases speak.

Deviate from the established beat just enough to enhance the natural flow of rhythm to make the music come alive.

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Tri-Tone Substitutions

2005-07-09T13:04:00.000-04:00

Jazz Bassist & Songwriter, Marcus Miller (June 5, 2005)

Capital Jazz Festival

Using Tri-Tone substitutions are a good way to develop good voice leading in your progressions and also to create harmonic tension.

The interval between the third and seventh of a dominant chord is a Tri-Tone. Since this interval doesn't occur in major seventh or minor chords, its presence defines the dominant chord.

What's so unusual about the Tri-Tone is that it's the third and seventh of two different dominant seventh chords. B and F, the third and seventh of G7, are the same notes as Cb and F, the seventh and third of Db7. Because of this, G7 and Db7 can substitute for each other.

Try experimenting with Tri-Tone substitutions. This will add color to your overall improvisations.

How to Create "Hip," Mature and Lush Harmonies

2005-07-06T15:09:00.000-04:00

Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in a single octave, the root on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the fifth on the top.

Usually chords are "voiced!"

This basically means that the positions of a chord's tones are scattered over the keyboard. The tones may be altered, doubled, added to, missing, and so forth.

There are a great variety of possibilities available in voicing chords. Voicing chords properly is an art within itself.

Using the correct voicing techniques in your playing will give your improvisation a "hip," mature and full sound.

Chords played in root position just does not seem to do the job when playing Rock, Pop, Blues Gospel and "Smooth Jazz" piano.

Learning and mastering good voice leading techniques in your playing is not difficult if you just follow some simple rules.

The most important notes in any chord is the 3rd and the 7th. The 3rd of the chord defines whether the chord is a major or minor chord. The 7th of the chord will define whether the chord is a dominant or major chord. Usually the bass player will play the root and fifth. The root and fifth are not essential tones and can be completely left out from your chord progressions. If you must use the root and fifth, try using it in your right hand not your left. This allows you to add your color tones in your right hand.
When you are taking a solo and not "comping" (accompanying) for another soloist, you should play your chord voicings in your left hand so that the right hand can be free to improvise, do fills, double the left hand, add extensions (color tones), etc.
The range of your voicings is also very important. A good rule of thumb to remember when voicing your chords is to always try to voice your chords around middle C. Keeping your voicings around middle C will sound full and clear. Limits of approximately an octave above or below will assure best results by preventing the voicing from assuming a quality of either thinness or muddiness.

http://www.mrronsmusic.com/playpiano.htm

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Automatic Control of Chords

2005-06-25T23:40:00.000-04:00

Learn How To Practice for a Three-Way (Automatic) Control of Chords
Correct practice is indispensable!

Your success or failure at the keyboard may well hinge on how quickly and accurately you can memorize a new chord. To be really efficient at this you must use your eyes, your ears, and the muscles of your hands. You must learn a chord so that you can recognize and play that chord the next day without hesitation. Let me explain how to practice to gain this three-way control.

VISUAL CONTROL - After playing a chord, take your hands off the keyboard. Then return to the chord remembering visually where the fingers were positioned. Notice particularly the pattern that was formed by the black and white keys and the location of the melody and root notes. (No two chords look exactly alike.) Repeat this procedure at least four or five times to learn a chord visually. And, as you are playing the chord, say its name OUT LOUD. You must associate the name of the chord with the actual notes you are playing, if the chord symbol is to have any real meaning later on.

TACTILE CONTROL - As you are playing the chord, try to feel it muscularly. Play each note of the chord, one note at a time, so that you use the muscles of the hand. You will develop a muscular memory for chords.

AURAL CONTROL - Listen to the chord. You'll want to know its sound so you can
instantly recognize and use it later on ... "by ear"!

How to Construct Basic Chords and Create Melodies on the Piano

2005-06-24T15:28:00.000-04:00

The easiest way to start learning how to build chords is to practice their constructions in the key of C Major. You're just playing all white keys.

All you have to do is play every other white key to create a 3-note chord. A 3-note chord is called a triad. A 4-note chord is called a 7th chord. And a 5-note chord is called a 9th chord.

Now you have the option of playing your chords in one hand or you may use both hands! It depends upon the sound you want to produce.

How to Improvise Melodies

There's something irresistible about a real melody. If you can convince the listener that they're hearing a melody when you improvise, they will stay riveted to every note.

Well, you can - and it's not really that difficult. The one element that is common to almost all good melodies is: repetition.

Repetition. Repetition and more repetition. I'm referring specifically to the repetition of ideas (motifs, as they are often called). Sometimes the idea is repeated exactly as it occurred the first time, as in the Holiday tune "Jingle Bells."

More often, the motif occurs higher or lower than it did originally. The notes are different but the rhythm and the shape of the line remain intact, as in "Happy Birthday." This type of repetition can be defined as "pitch-shifting."

What I'm describing here is a process often called motific development: the spinning out of ideas through the use of repetition, pitch-shifting, and extension.
So that's it... if you want your improvisations or solos to sound like a melody, you need to use a lot of repetition.

Ironically many musicians avoid using repetition for fear of sounding repetitious, i.e., boring. You bore a listener if you try to elicit the same emotional reaction from him/her two or three times in a row, but that's not what you're doing when you repeat an idea.

When you first introduce an idea, it's new. The listener waits with open anticipation to hear how the idea spins itself out. But when you repeat the idea, their reaction is very different. Now they can gain a certain sense of control, by connecting what they're hearing to what went before.

Just listen to some of your favorite songs, and you will definitely hear repetition!
Click here to start learning today!

Don't waste anymore time not pursuing your artistic dreams.

And don't forget, you also have the option to make a one-time investment of $29.97, to receive a 1 Year Membership to my Free Digital Music Lessons program. Now, if you forgot what you will receive, here it is again:

Free Digital Music - Over 400 free public domain titles in PDF format and 100 free public domain titles where you can transpose to any key and print! And, because the sound is sent as MIDI, it will play your keyboard or digital piano when you have it "hooked" up to your computer.

Copyright Digital Sheet Music - Thousands of your favorite songs in digital file format from Hal Leonard Corporation and Warner Brothers Publications! Print the first page for free!

Free Music Lessons - 24 lessons designed to teach the beginner how to read music. Learn the lesson, then watch, listen and play along with the sheet music!

Music Resources - Need manuscript paper in a hurry? How about a scales book or a Hanon exercise? Just go to the provided link and print it out!

Music Dictionary - Look up the definition to that music term using an online music dictionary.

Mr. Ron's - Original songs, lesson plans, exercises and worksheets.
Click this link to purchase a 1 year membership to Mr. Ron's Digital Sheet Music Lessons!

Repetition is the Key To Learning Something Deeply

2005-06-22T21:52:00.000-04:00

Repetition is the key to learning something deeply. It works most effectively when you are isolating a small amount of material, because the object of your focus will be more specific.

When you have the correct chord movement for part of an exercise or tune under you hands, repeat it continuously until is flows. You should notice a gradual increase in your comfort level as you continue repetitions, eventually remove your eyes from both the music and the keys, and keep repeating until the movements seem easy. This activity is especially important for problem spots in harmonic exercise or tunes.

Try to have your hands in position, actually touching the notes before you strike a chord. This will reinforce your "hand memory" of the chord's shape. When you are ready to play the chord, lift your hands an inch or two and drop the full weight of your hands on the keys, going to the bottom of the key bed.

At first, you probably will miss some notes, and that is OK; simply make the necessary corrections and continue with more repetitions, keeping that feeling of dropping. This will achieve a fuller sound, and your hands will learn the shape of the chords much more quickly and securely.

Recite the chord roots as you play an exercise or drill chords as characterized in my Beginner Piano "Tricks of the Trade" Midi Ebook and other "Mini" lessons. This will keep you aware of what you are playing, especially when you work with rootless voicings. As you repeat a progression over and over, make a conscious note of the chord structure (i.e. root-7-3-5) which you are manipulating. This will reinforce your understanding and hearing of the harmony.

Whenever your hands need to leave the keys to start at a new location (i.e. practicing an individual voicing or ii-V7-I progression around the key circle), release the chord immediately, rather than sustaining it. This will give you extra time (metronome clicks/drum sounds) to reset your hands for the new key.

Happy Keyboarding,

Mr. Ron

The Eulogy of Duke Ellington, 5/27/74

2005-06-19T18:49:00.000-04:00

Part I

It is hard to do justice in words to a beloved friend, especially when the friend was a genius of the rarest kind.

So, first, the basic facts of his temporal existence: Edward Kennedy Ellington "Duke" Ellington, born in Washington, DC, 1899, died in New York, 1974.

Now some might claim him as a citizen of one or the other of those cities, but he was not. In the truest sense of the phrase, he was a citizen of the world. That is a cliche perhaps, but how few are those who deserve it as he did. He was loved throughout the whole world, at all levels of society, by Frenchmen and Germans, by English and Irish, by Arabs and Jews, by Indians and Pakistanis, by atheist and devout Catholics, and by communists and fascists alike.

So, no, not even this city in which, as he said, he paid rent and had his mailbox - not even New York can claim him exclusively for its own.

Of all the cities he conquered - more than Napoleon, and by much better methods - I remember particularly Buenos Aires when he went there the first time. He had played his fincal concert and sat in the car outside the theatre before going to the airport. People clutched at him through the opened windows, people who were crying, who thrust gifts on him, gifts on which they hadn't even written their names. It was one of the few times I saw him moved to tears.

As a musician, he hated categories. He didn't want to be restricted, and although he mistrusted the word "jazz," his definition of it was "freedom of expression." If he wished to write an opera, or music for a ballet, or for the symphony, or for a Broadway musical, or for a movie, he didn't want to feel confined to the idiom in which he was the unchallenged, acknowledged master.

As with musical categories, so with people categories. Categories of class, race, color, creed and money were obnoxious to him. He made his subtle, telling contributions to the civil rights struggle in musical statements - in Jump For Joy in 1941, in the Deep South Suite in 1946, and in My People in 1963. Long before black was officially beautiful - in 1928, to be precise - he had written Black Beauty and dedicated it to a great artist, Florence Mills. And with Black, Brown and Beige in 1943, he proudly delineated the black contribution to American history.

His scope constantly widened, and right up to the end he remained a creative force, his imagination stimulated by experience. There was much more he had to write, and would undoubtedly have written, but a miraculous aspect of his work is not merely the quality, but the quantity of it. Music was indeed his mistress. He wroked hard, did not spare himself, and virtuatlly died in harness. Only last fall, he set out on one of the most exhausting tours of his career. He premiered his third sacred concert in Westminster Abbey for the United Nations, did one-nighters in all the European capitals, went to Abyssinia and Zambia for the State Department, and returned to London for a command performance before Queen Elizabeth. When people asked if he would ever retire, he used to reply scornfully, "Retire to what?"

2005-06-16T17:45:00.000-04:00

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2005-06-16T17:32:00.000-04:00

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HOME ORDER NOW MORE INFORMATION FREE MUSIC LESSON SIGN UP FREE NOW I know you don’t have a lot of time, neither do I. So I’m going s..

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Your Top 3 Playing Goals

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2005-06-15T14:00:00.000-04:00

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2005-06-15T13:46:00.000-04:00

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2005-06-15T13:16:00.000-04:00

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The Role of the 21st Century Keyboard Artist

2005-06-03T18:42:00.000-04:00

Traditionally, keyboard players have played two different roles in the making of Jazz - first, as members of a rhythm section which usually includes bass, drums and possibly guitar, and second, as solo performers.

The history of Jazz is replete with performances in both areas. In recent years with advances in electronic keyboard development and decreases in music performance and recording budgets, the keyboardist is more and more required to play multiple roles.

All aspects of modern music are now required of the keyboardist - percussion, bass, horn parts, etc., in additon to the traditional accompanying and solo roles.

For years, organists have developed and played the role of bassists, as well as keyboardists. Pianists have done this less so, since traditionally they have played an acoustic instrument. Electronic keyboards have now made the dual role of pianist and bassist more prevalent.

Playing bass parts on the keyboard differs from traditional keyboard playing because the left hand must separate itself from the melody and chords that are typically played.

In medium to fast tempos the left hand can only play the bass part and is not free to play otherwise. The keyboardist, in these situations, must think in two separate parts - bass and keyboard. This is different from typical playing where the left and right hands are more or less integrated into a functional whole. Thus, playing left hand bass while playing chords and/or melodies in the right hand presents some problems to the average keyboardist. In essence, he or she must play two different instrumental roles at the same time.

My Online Program attempts to present some solutions to the problem of playing left hand bass lines and right hand chords at the same time.

So if you get an opportunity, you are welcome to visit: http://www.mrronsmusic.com/playpiano.htm

Play Piano Like a PRO!

2005-06-02T20:07:00.000-04:00

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Are You Right or Left Brained?

2005-05-26T18:37:00.000-04:00

You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.

Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.

If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.

Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.

Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.

If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.

Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

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2005-05-26T16:33:00.001-04:00

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2005-05-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

Learn to Play Piano, Online Piano Lessons, Piano Practice Tips, Online Midi Ebook, Learn Blues, Rock and Pop Piano

Free and affordable online instruction to play piano for all ages. Don't focus on speed, concentrate on accuracy to play piano.

How to Improve Your Tone on the Piano

2005-05-24T17:23:00.000-04:00

Here's a fairly simple thing to do which can improve your tone on the piano significantly.

Hear the sound of a scale in your head, nice and slow. Imagine each note as a deep, full tone (as if sung by a warm rich tenor voice). Now play that scale while imagining that the surface of each key is about 1/2" lower than it actually is. Drop each finger right through the actual key, as if it weren't there, to get to the imaginery key. Experience the feeling of weight into each note, and notice the effect on the sound.

Now try the same thing with a chord in the left hand. Pre-hear the chord in your head, resonant and warm, then drop all your fingers right through the actual surface of the keys as if they were lower then they are.

Try a few different chords, repeating each note until it has the right weight.

Now try it with some right-handed chords.

Now do it with some-two-handed chords.

Now play the melody to a song with your right (start with a ballad) and try to get the same sense of weight into each key.

Now play the melody in your left hand, then in octaves.

Finally, play the chords and melody together, all on the imaginary lower keyboard.

As you can see, I've combined two techniques here that are designed to help you get the richest, deepest sound.

One of them is to suspend your sense of the physical barrier of the keyboard surface, so that you can get "inside" the piano. The other one is to pre-hear the tone you want to produce.

If you have the right sound in your head before you play, your body will make the adjustments necessary to get that sound as if by natural selection.

If you find this to be difficult, don't be discouraged. Come back tomorrow and try it again. If you've been playing a different way, your body is going to fight this change. It may take a few days or weeks before you really make the switch.

To enroll in my Online Piano Instruction Program please visit the following sites:

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The Cycle of 5ths

2005-05-21T09:50:00.000-04:00

The cycle of fifths is an arrangement of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale, each note a fifth lower or a fourth higher than the preceding one.

Each chord name always leads clockwise to another chord which is a perfect fifth below.

Some people prefer a counter clockwise order. One thing to remember is that the progression to a root tone a perfect 5th below is identical to a perfect 4th above. The C goes to F which is a perfect 4th higher, or a perfect 5th lower.

You will find the cycle extremely valuable for playing by ear, composing your own songs, improvising and understanding music theory a lot faster.

Just take your time, and study one scale at a time. All of this is explained in my online piano lessons program.

Visit http://www.mrronsmusic.com/ or http://www.playpianotonight.com/ to purchase your online multimedia piano instruction course.

This is How to "Swing!"

2005-02-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

Remember what the late Duke Ellington said, "It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing!" If you want to learn how to swing, you need to practice counting in the following manner.

Recite:

1 Trip-let 2 Trip-let 3 Trip-let 4 Trip-let, 1 Trip-let 2 Trip-let 3 Trip-let 4 Trip-let.

Remember, don't try to count it silently in your head... it won't work. You must count it out loud! Gradually increase the speed. Try clapping as you are counting.

Pretty soon your head will start "bobbing" from side to side! When you find yourself doing that, you're "swinging!" http://www.mrronsmusic.com/playpiano.htm

Welcome to Mr. Ron's Music BLOG!

2005-02-09T16:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Musicians... Welcome to my Blog!

This is where you can communicate your desires, concerns and thoughts amongst your peers.

I plan to post rare photos of my performances and schedule dates. So, check in occasionally to see what's happening!

I will de-mystify the art of keyboard performance through intellectual, visual and aural ("playing by ear") presentations.

I invite you to visit: http://www.mrronsmusic.com/playpiano.htm To receive my FREE Online Introductory Lessons, contact:

mrronsmusic@getresponse.com

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