1st Piano

by David L. Doolin Sounds like a strange title for an article on how to play the piano doesn’t it. However, singers employ some tricks that we piano players can learn from. Here are five important ones. (1) Phrase it like a singer. Think the words to the song as you play. Many times we are so engaged in the notes on the page that we forget that most popular music is also meant to be sung. Singers naturally slow down and pause slightly at the end of a phrase to take a breath. So should we. Most of our listeners are unconsciously thinking the words to themselves as they hear the music. Unless we observe these natural pauses that singers use, our playing comes off as stiff and unemotional. Certain parts of the song may also need a tempo change. The chorus for example is usually the high point of the song emotionally. For that reason a singer may increase the tempo slightly. We should do the same. Often times the end of the song may need a slight slowing down or ritard. So...

by Clyde Dennis Not sure what's happening with me on this one, but it seems like the more I listen to it, the better Urban Gypsy gets. Urban Gypsy stated simply is one of Marc Antoine's best CDs to date. Unfortunately, it's not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can't force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Urban Gypsy. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish. These days it's a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs. Overall Urban Gypsy is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definitely a worthy addition to any Jazz collection. Truly an outstanding Jazz CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply sup...

It is an illusion brought about by the record store racks that discrete stylistic barriers separate the music we love into camps of genre. Every music is a bastard at heart. While the contemporary apparatus for the consumption of music reinforces the notion of genre (notable exception: the internet), with Top 40 radio stations, hip-hop magazines, and the segmented organization of the Grammys, listeners realize deep down that all this division is a lot of baloney. Music is music. Yet, despite the intuitive understanding that the theory of genre doesn't stand up under scrutiny, it remains a powerful principle in our culture (or more accurately, our culture industry). Not only do genres define the radio station to which you tune in and instruct you what clubs to avoid on a Friday night, genre is deeply interwoven with people's identities. High schools are the perfect laboratory for music-based social identity. The goths all seance together to the accompaniment of Mans...

Are you frustrated because you are making such slow progress in learning to play the piano? Do you feel inept, incompetent, uncoordinated or untalented because it takes so long to master your favorite song? Think of it: When you can send an email to someone in Australia and receive a reply within seconds, you may be tempted to think that developing your keyboard skills should be a much faster process than it is. We live in the Information Age where you can get immediate answers: "just Google it"; quick fixes: "download the update and restart"; and instant gratification: "click here to listen to five versions of your favorite song". If you're like me, you're thrilled by many of the benefits of living in the 21st century! But what happens when you want to bake a cake, learn to drive or build your dream house? Dr. Wayne Dyer puts it this way: "You can't rush the growth of a tomato plant". What I'm leading up to is th...

Are you looking for the online music community site to promote your unassigned bands? If so, you can consider Music Nation to make your dream come true, being the new artists. You just need to sign up freely in here and create your profile page directly, upload your videos such as in YouTube, MP3s, photos, slideshows, etc. Music Nation is a great online music community site for your unassigned bands such as American Idol meets YouTube. You can connect and interact with your fans. Your fans can view and share your music (for almost all music genres) easily. If your bands get a lot of play then you will get a chance, signed by MusicNation.com's partner Epic Records . You can also entering your bands to the Music Nation's competitions such as "Bebo OnStage (February 11th - March 3rd)" , in which Epic Records will bestow to the Grand Prize winner a recording contract. Moreover, one fan favorite from the head-to-head voting will get $500! For unassigned son...

I teach many students each week, and all of them are interested in one thing: playing high notes on the trumpet. I'm not sure where this fascination that higher is better came from (well, I guess we could Maynard Ferguson for this), but it is typically the area that most students, old and young, want to improve on. Unfortunately, students are often pressured to play high. A first part trumpet player in high school is expected to play up to an above the staff C; sometimes, up to D. Because the student does not want to disappoint the director or look foolish in front of the rest of the band (the trumpet is a very loud instrument, and mistakes are projected just as much as correct notes), he or she will do anything to create these high notes. Often, an incorrect method is used. Most common is using too much pressure. Some pressure is required to play the trumpet. However, too much pressure can create problems, such as loose teeth and fatigue. As a victim of too much pr...

By Clyde Lee Dennis Freddie Hubbard has released him most recent album entitled Sky Dive. Sky Dive will grab your attention right from the very first note with Povo and won't let go until the very last note of the very last song Naturally, which by the way is another great track. Sky Dive has a nicely varied, mix of 6 tracks that are very well written songs by this clearly outstanding artist. Most of the songs display a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Clearly drawing from what I can only imagine are him own personal experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions like love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They're all here. Overall Sky Dive is an outstanding release. Quite possibly Freddie Hubbard's best to date. Really sensational from beginning to end. If you're even mildly into Jazz music you'll enjoy this album. While this entire album is really very good some of my...

The acoustic guitar have had a mystery about them for a long time. What is it about them that makes you want to grab it and start playing? Is it because you want to see how you will look playing it? May be it is a desire for you to learn how to play one but you are afraid. You may be wondering how hard can it be? How long will it take for you to learn how to pick that guitar? With so much going on how will you ever have the time to learn. You have never played an acoustic guitar, but yet you are drawn to it with a burning desire to learn. May be you feel somewhat afraid because it seems to be hard because of all the finger movement. You want to be able to produce beautiful music and not sound like you are breaking the strings. You should not be afraid to learn how to play the guitar, because you could be the one who brings soulful music to people ears. You can not be afraid to fail, no one who learned to play got it right the first time nor the second. You just have to k...

There are so many publications of easy piano classics out there that it can be difficult for the beginning pianist to know where to begin. Whether you are looking for paper-based anthologies from the store, or searching for music on the Web, it's good to have a basic understanding of what you're looking for. The history of beginning piano, in fact, is quite interesting, and involves many of our most favorite composers. For Classical and Romantic era composers, a reliable and sometimes necessary way to earn one's bread and butter was to teach a full schedule of young, budding pianists. Mozart, for one, probably taught his fair share of J.S. Bach's instructional pieces -- which were highly popular even then -- but at some point, for such a brilliant and prolific composer, it becomes only natural to compose easy pieces of one's own to use in piano lessons. After all, amidst composing great, ambitious operas and symphonies, it's easy to forget about t...