Anyone that’s learning to play the piano knows that you only become proficient at a new skill with plenty of practice. A roll up piano is something that you might find useful in helping you master the art of playing the piano. Many people that take Piano lessons don’t have a piano at home due to the fact that a piano can be an expensive proposition. Owning a piano can also be difficult for some due to the space it takes up. This is where the roll up piano comes into play.

A roll up piano can fit into your purse and be played anywhere. It is battery operated and small but unrolls into a decent sized mat with regular sized keys, which can give you the practice you want with realistic sounds. These units typically run for under $100.00 and can be a great asset to someone who wants to practice in various locations or for someone who doesn’t own a piano at all and wants to practice outside their classroom.

A roll up piano can make a great gift, too. If you have someone in your life that is either a proficient player that doesn’t own one or someone interested in learning to play, this can be a thoughtful gift that’s much less expensive than buying a baby grand piano or even an electronic keyboard. Many people that have used these units rave about the quality that comes from them. They have great sound and many sound options such as organ, harpsichord, violin, trumpet, sax and more. This can be not only for the piano enthusiast but also for any music lover. A child or an adult would get a kick out of a great gift like the roll up piano.

Some other tips for learning to play piano better:

Pianists know that practice makes perfect. Here are a few tips to enhance your musical flair and be a better piano player:

· Always warm up before playing. Your fingers need to stretch and become nimble with your practice drills to help you play well. Even concert pianists know the value of a warm up.

· Play every day. If you play every day, you will become more proficient, quicker

· Learn music theory. The more time you spend learning the theory behind music such as reading music and tempos, the quicker you will be able to simply open up a music book and play whatever song you like.

· Use the Internet. The Internet has lots of free information including practice sheets, downloadable music and even online courses that can help you to become more talented at tickling the ivories.

With time and determination, just about anyone can learn a new skill. Whether you are a young child or an adult in your golden years, you can learn to master learning a new language, play a musical instrument or any other undertaking you are willing to put effort into and practice into.

Hunter Pyle
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/beginning-steps-to-learning-and-practicing-to-be-a-pianist-99625.html

i’m currently making videos on a 4day-week basis to get the lessons going so any feedback would be accepted kindly!

enjoy!

Duration : 0:4:3

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Enjoy!
Matt

Duration : 0:9:34

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As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency and founder of ReelMusician.com, I can tell you that reviewing demos can be both a curse and a blessing. Even as demos pile up on the desks in A&R offices and music industry professional’s office floors as well, I can almost guarantee that the vast majority of demos 1) won’t have a chance, 2) don’t get listened to, at least by the major A&R folks and not through a pres-screening process utilizing college interns, and 3) it might not even be the music itself, but the packaging and marketing colors, etc that are used for the artist press kit that result in the artist contract denial. What makes for a master quality demo? What makes for a master quality demo that will get listened to? These are great questions and I can tell you that a host of folks will have all kinds of ideas and suggestions; I will consider some gut level thinking and ideas that I have mentally compiled through the years that I’ve always felt would be an asset not only musically, but from a marketing perspective as well. Hopefully there will be some nugget of truth that you can capitalize on to further your music career and song demos.

As we begin to look at master quality demos and what makes them up, what are your goals and ambitions? The reason I am asking this is because not only does it help to mentally prepare you and help you set goals for your career, but it also helps set the blueprint for where and what your demo ought to be sounding and looking like. There is a big difference in submitting your demo to A&R folks and to the club owner trying to gain playing gigs. But regardless of where you are submitting your demo, you have to exude a professionalism and character of not only your music, but in the credibility of the act as well. That last statement is critical. If your act is perceived as credible with the ball rolling and with some key elements in place, you are much more likely to be 1) reviewed by the actual A&R director and 2) any enthusiasm might snowball down the halls of the record company ultimately landing you a record deal.

But let’s get back to your demo. At ReelMusician.com we compile demos for songwriters and for jingle singers trying to break into the jingle singing market and I can tell you from experience, that it’s difficult to create a master quality demo when the song itself is not master quality song demo material. So be honest about any material you are recording. Is this top 10 if given the chance, or is this a filler, b side song? Yes, you can take a fair song and make it “listenable” to with a great production, but it still reasons that a fair or b side song cut is still a fair or b side song. You look back through the years at songs that held your attention and were almost mesmerizing and this is before the onslaught of incredible and affordable recording gear. These songs were just plain great songs even without the slickest of today’s recording abilities.

As you record, don’t rely on a bunch of “recording tricks” or padding type effects that detract and try to uphold an otherwise fair song. Many individuals with a lot more authority can speak about effects, etc than I, but I will say that less is more, and you ought to be concerned about the quality of the song and production utilizing all effects that are needed and not just effects thrown in there without reason or cause.

Who are using for players on your demos? Obviously if you are a band you are recording your whole group, but if you are a solo act or a writer creating master demos, then consider a couple of options. If money is not an object, then go for the whole rhythm section and keyboard pads, etc. One thing that you need to know and understand is that it is better to use fewer players who are just incredible, than to have the full rhythm section with less experienced players or players that just can’t support your song. I remember years back when I was first starting out before all of our TV and radio credits, that for the sake of having a full sound I compromised the overall production for players, while more affordable, not as seasoned and consequently my productions were not as strong until I learned that valuable lesson. And even today, I will choose to use a first string guitar or piano player in lieu of a full rhythm section on projects if that’s what the song and production call for. Always get the best musicians – It always pays. These players oftentimes have ideas and broaden your production and bring incredible artistical elements that you wouldn’t have thought of – Which leads me to my next point.

Keyboards are incredible and there is a vast array of sounds and pads that can be used to create all kinds of emotional tones in your music, but don’t get caught in the, “I have a keyboard, mic and computer syndrome. Your music will suffer. You want the creativity of other players. They bring the musical magic that most of us, quite honestly, aren’t creative enough to capture, but with their experience, and talent, they are able to deliver not only incredible rips, but a professionalism your demo might not never otherwise of had. Utilize the best players possible whenever you can. I can tell you that our demos at ReelMusician.com sound incredible because of our effort in obtaining the best players – Get the best!

With a few moments left, let’s look at some important final notes and ideas. Don’t get discouraged after recording a song you thought would turn out differently. You know, without sounding cliché, productions and songs do getter with time and practice. Always look at money spent on demos as schooling. Where would you go to learn the lessons you just learned? – From a textbook, of course not. Keep at it; be honest about your writing and productions. Continue to learn from great writers and producers. Listen to great classical writers as well and broaden your next pop ballad string arrangement. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Get the best players in an affordable, yet quality studio, and hopefully you’ll start recording the next top ten hit!

Tom Gauger
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/master-quality-demos-that-sizzle-52211.html

In high school, did you ever dream about starting your own rock band? Want to duplicate the soothing sounds of folk tunes for family and friends? Does your favorite musician work magic with a Gibson ES 335? Is Jimi Hendrix your idol? It doesn’t matter the reason why you want to play the guitar – a seed has been planted and now it is time to nurture the desire.

Where to begin? Playing guitar (whether for fun or professionally) takes patience and determination. By following a few tips, you can harness your passion or interest for the instrument. You will also find that fueling your creativity and developing this new form of expression will take time. Great guitar players do not blossom overnight.

Purchasing a Guitar

Before you start learning the ropes of guitar playing, you’re going to need an instrument to carry out your lessons. The type of music you wish to play will determine the kind of guitar you require. For example, an acoustic guitar is used to generate the sounds of country, ragtime or folk. The body of the guitar is large and hollow, creating a sound that many deem “natural.” Rock music often utilizes an electric guitar, which offers a rather distinctive amplified sound. Additional guitars to look into include the steel, solid body, archtop, resonator, bass and twelve-string guitar.

With the purchase of a guitar, there are other necessary pieces of basic equipment. A guitar pick is required to help play the chords of your instrument. The size of guitar pick is quite small, prompting easy breakage and it can also be easily misplaced. This is why beginners should have a good number of guitar picks on hand. When purchasing picks, the medium gauge varieties are suggested because they are less apt to break. You should also invest in a comfortable chair.

Getting Lessons

While some guitar players are able to naturally experiment with chords by ear and strum along with less guidance, others require the assistance of structured lessons. There are numerous ways to learn how to play the guitar. If you are able to afford a private tutor, you can take advantage of one-on-one instruction, which may speed up the learning process. Sometimes, beginners benefit from group learning, which provides a wealth of constructive criticism. The Internet also offers a way for beginners to privately learn online. Some websites offer a computer keyboard lesson on learning scales, which some beginners find quite easy.

Whichever approach you take in learning to play guitar, you should know that setting goals for yourself makes the process more rewarding. Achieving personal milestones further motivates your desire to find a common ground with the instrument and who knows how far your lessons will take you.

Recognizing why you want to play guitar in the first place will also help you to better accomplish your goals. Some people want to learn to play for fun, peaking with a performance in front of family and friends. Others would like to share their talents with a slightly larger crowd, probably visiting a few coffee shops or open-mic nights. Then there are the masses of learners who have bigger dreams of taking to a stage in front of thousands. No matter what the goal is, you can’t get there without loads of practice.

What You Will Learn

guitar lessons usually start with building a basic foundation, such as how to properly hold the guitar and establishing correct posture when playing. There is a wide range of techniques involved in playing the guitar and after a few lessons, you may start to find your niche.

One of the most important things to focus on when playing a guitar is understanding and mastering the chords. There are books and charts to help you along this important part of the process. There are many different chords to familiarize yourself with and taking them one at a time will lead to better results.

Additional areas of guitar instruction may include learning how to properly hold a pick, memorizing scales, tackling music theory and selecting a music style. Instrument maintenance, such as tuning and caring for your guitar is also of importance.

Sticking With It

Staying motivated is one of the best things you can do when learning to play the guitar. It is easy to become frustrated with a new project and abandon it before truly experiencing any benefits. On some days, you may have to dig deep to reclaim your passion and dedication. Other days, you could be composing the next pop hit. Give the process a chance and remember that it takes time to get the hang of this instrument. The best thing you can do is continue to practice and soon, you will reap the rewards of hard work and focus.

Kevin Sinclair
http://www.articlesbase.com/article-writing-articles/you-can-learn-to-play-the-guitar-76993.html

Every since about 1709 when Christofori announced that he had invented an instrument to upscale the harpsichord,the piano has been the premier musical instrument in terms of popularity and versatility.

The harpsichord played all at one volume level-no soft or loud. So when an instrument was invented that played both soft and loud it was appropriately named the “pianoforte” (which means “soft-loud”-later the name was shorted to just “piano”).

People throughout the world have been entranced with the harmonic sound of the piano – it’s richness and fullness in enabling musicians to play many notes at once or in rapid succession.

Most instruments are not solo instruments in the sense that they require an accompanianist, but not so with the piano. It can play alone as well as with combos, orchestras, or whatever. It’s unique sound qualities make it the first choice in musical instruments for millions of folks the world over.

Because of that fact, multitudes of people around the world have purchased pianos and continue to purchase pianos in hopes of mastering the “musical monster with 88 ivory teeth”. Some of the dominant manufacturers are Steinway, Yamaha, Baldwin, Kawaii, Bosendorfer and many others. Pianos come in various shapes and sizes, including:

Grand Pianos:

Parlor Grand. Size 4′5″ to 5′5″

Baby Grand. Size 5′0″ to 6′5″

Medium Studio Grand. Size 5′6″ to 6′5″

Semi-Concert Grand. Size 6′6″ to 8′0″.

Concert Grand. Most concert grands are 9′ in length

Upright Pianos:

Spinet. Size 35″ to 39″ tall.

Console. 40″ to 44″ tall.

Studio: 45″ to 47″ tall.

Professional. 48″ to 52″ tall.

Every since the invention of the piano, parents have signed their children up for piano lessons in hope they would become the next Mozart, or a least be able to entertain family and friends. But for every 100 kids that start Piano lessons, probably less than 20% or so actually continue with the lessons long enough to play decently. Still, it is a good education in music, and certainly good for developing self-discipline and focus.

To really master piano playing, a beginning student must gradually learn many different disciplines and aspects of music including:

*Sight-reading sheet music (or the score of a classical piece);
*Fingering of scale passages and chord formations; *Keyboard chords, from major chords to minor chords to augmented chords to diminished chords to 7th chords and more;
*Music theory, including major scales, minor scales, whole-tone and chromatic scales, and the “church modes”, plus some specialty scales such as the Mediterranean scale, the blues scale, and so on;
*Key orientation including knowledge of the tonic note or tonic tone, triads, arpeggios, the concept of key (key of C, key of Eb, key of F#, etc.)
*Intervals including unisons, inversions, chords-both primary and secondary:
*Figured bass, chord symbols;
*Dynamics and dynamic markings such as sforzando, presto, largo, allegro, etc,
*Many other aspects including pedaling, body position, ear-training, music appreciation, a study of the great composers such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, etc., interpretation, arranging, and a host of related subjects in the harmony and music theory areas.

This often involves years of learning at home with a teacher ( sometimes supplemented by online music lessons) and numerous music books, chord charts, fingering diagrams and musical scores. Meanwhile the student learns to play songs and classical pieces galore that contribute to the warmth of the home and the enjoyment of the family.

And if the student fails to become another Brubeck or Garner, he or she has still benefited tremendously in terms of music education, appreciation, the ability to concentrate, and many other qualities that flow out of having taken piano lessons. Plus he or she has brought the sound of music into their parent’s home, and hopefully will continue with it when they form their own family.

Duane Shinn
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-immense-popularity-of-the-piano-continues-to-this-day-79722.html

To learn how to read piano notes it is essential to learn some basic theory. Nothing to complicated, just enough so you understand what the notes are called. This is actually easier than you might think because there are only seven notes to learn. These notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B. These are all the white notes. The black notes are the sharps and flats and you won’t even need these to start with.

There are various ways you can learn to play the piano. There are tutor books for beginners and there are piano courses that you can download to your computer. Tuition book such as “The Complete Piano Player” and “The Complete Keyboard Player” can be ordered online or at your local music shop. Piano courses are normally downloaded from music sites, which specialise in Piano lessons.

Tutor books Vs piano courses

Tutor books are probably the cheapest option and it is possible to learn to play the piano with this method. However, they are really designed to be used by a piano teacher with a pupil. Unless you have some basic knowledge of music, it is possible to pick up some bad habits, which you may not be immediately aware of. A teacher would prevent this before it starts.

A piano course or piano lessons software is by far the better option. Many of these courses include audio and video files, which can literally show you how to play the piano without those nasty bad habits, which many learners can pick up without the proper direction.

Look, listen, copy and play

Most piano learning courses come bundled with lessons that will take you from beginner to advanced. The simplicity of how these courses are laid out is one of the reasons they have become so successful. The video and audio files are the key to your success. You just copy what is on the video or audio file until what you are playing matches what is being shown and that’s it, move on to the next lesson. Don’t expect to learn to play overnight, it’s a gradual process and the piano software system is almost like having your own personal piano teacher 24/7.

Whichever method you choose, try to make your practice time a habit. If you were going to a piano teacher, you would need to practice every day. You should do the same if you intend to learn by yourself. All beginners need a minimum of half an hour per day learning and practice time, anything after that is just having fun time.

Mike Shaw
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/how-to-learn-piano-notes-without-a-teacher-472932.html

Most of us who took Piano lessons as kids are all too familiar with scales, and most of us hated practicing them with a passion. But understanding scales and what they do is critical to the process of improvisation as well as key orientation and just a general understanding of what’s happening in the song we are playing.

The word “scale” comes from the Latin word “la scala” which means “the ladder”. So a scale is a ladder of notes that starts at the bottom — called the root note — and proceeds upwards to the top of the ladder — called the octave note.

There are several kinds of scales, the most common being the major scale, followed by three different types of minor scales. After that there are several specialty scales, including the blues scale used widely in jazz, R&B, blues, and quite a bit in pop music.

The “blues scale” is really a combination of the major diatonic scale (the “regular” scale we all grew up with) plus three additional notes:

The flatted 3rd;
The flatted 5th (or sharp 4th — same thing);
The flatted 7th

As a result the blues scale really contains 11 notes — the 8 of the normal diatonic scale — and the 3 “blue notes”. These are used in various combinations, as we shall see, to create a “bluesy sound”.

The blues started not as a piano style, but as a vocal style, and of course the human voice can sing “in the cracks” between the notes on the keyboard. So when we play blues on the keyboard, we try to imitate the human voice by playing BOTH the 3rd and the flat 3rd — BOTH the 5th and the flat 5th — BOTH the 7th and the flat 7th. We would play in the cracks if we could, but we can’t, so we do the best we can by combining the intervals to imitate the quarter steps that a human voice can sing. (Certain instruments can do that too — for example, the trombone. Since it has a slide, it can hit an infinite number of tones between any two keyboard notes.)

So in the key of C, for example, the blues scale would include:
C, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, B, and the octave C.

In the key of F the blues scale would include:
F, G, Ab, A, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, E, and the octave F.

In the key of G the blues scale would include:
G, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, E, F, F#, and the octave G.

So in improvising you can craft a melody out of any or all of these notes. Start by creating a motif out of just 3 or 4 notes, then repeat that motif as you change chords.

For example, if you were in the Key of C, you might create a motif such as C, C, G, Bb C and repeat it in various rhythms as you play the C7 chord in your left hand, then again as you move to the F7 chord, and so on.

With practice and experimentation you can play your own variety of the blues as you master the blues scale.

Duane Shinn
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-blues-scale-cool-stuff-you-can-do-with-it-95353.html

Have you ever thought what it’s like to just sit down at a piano and start playing music on demand? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a world famous keyboard player like Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson? Do you say, I would love to learn but I don’t have the time? You’re not on your own.

People have legitimate concerns, which stop them making that all important decision to start learning to play the piano. Yes you want to be a great pianist but negative thoughts creep in to your head like will it be to hard to learn to play a piano. You have to be positive, if you want to learn to play the piano, do it. There’s no magic wand, the more you practice on the piano the better you will be.

Money, time and patience will be needed when starting to learn how to play the piano. You will need to set up an ongoing budget for piano lessons and teachers and of course, you have to buy a piano or keyboard. You might also be able to find a try before you buy scheme. Lots of high quality pianos and keyboards are available that will easily fit your budget. A good piano that is tuned correctly will provide more pleasure when playing it.

The next stage after you have bought a piano is to find a good piano teacher. There are many learning and teaching styles, although they all ultimately teach you to play the piano, you may want to go in one direction, for instance gospel music instead of classical music.

When you start learning to play the piano is not going to give you immediate results, it’s something you do an a daily basis, its best to integrate piano lessons and practice in to your daily life so you play the piano every day without giving it a second thought. Some days you will want to give it up and other days you’ll be glad you started. Organising your time will get considerably easier as you advance with the help of your Piano lessons.

There will also be an improvement in what I call background benefits, these are not immediately noticeable and include recognising music patterns, coordination and memory, and you may not notice the improvement at first but believe me it’s happening in the background. Finally, after all your practice and hard work you can show people, maybe your family to start with what a great player you are.

The secret to learning the piano is not giving up, it’s not going to be too long before you start to see and hear results. I you cant immediately find a piano teacher you can still learn to play the piano online, there are many websites that provide piano learning software that will help you learn the piano. Piano software courses are fantastic value for money, many of these courses are bundled with videos and audio files, which can help you to learn to play the piano.

Mike Shaw
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/use-your-time-wisely-learning-how-to-play-the-piano-716844.html