Play Piano By Ear

Image by Mikey G Ottawa via Flickr

I found this very cool article online this morning written by Isaac Whitfield.
It's  called Play Piano By Ear  - Practice Is The Key. I couldn't agree more. I hope you find some interesting tips to help you bring your piano playing to the next level.


Practice is a big part of learning to play piano by ear, but another is natural ability and some musical background. If you have a family member who is a musician and seems to be able to play anything they want, that is natural ability. If not, then there are ways of learning, but it will take a lot of practice to achieve your goal.

Pitch
Those who are lucky to have been born with perfect pitch have no problem at all learning to play piano by ear. If not, more practice! Begin by sitting at your piano. Now close your eyes and strike a note. Without looking at what note you played, identify it. Were you close? Get it right on the money? Keep at it. This is a big part of playing by ear. Note: Make sure your piano is tuned!

Listen And Listen Some More
Play a favorite song on your CD player, and just as the first drill, try to identify what notes are being played. Listen to just the melody. Play it again and listen to the bass line. Play it again and try to identify any other instruments being played. Learn everything about the song. Choose a song that has some easy piano parts in it.

Play The Melody
Now that you have studied this song with your ears, try to play the melody, one note at a time from memory. Play the first few bars over and over. Turn your CD back on and play the first few bars or whatever you can remember. Keep at it until you have learned the basic melody.
 
Association
A big part to learning to play piano by ear is to associate what you hear with the notes on your keyboard. By mastering the first drill of playing a note and identifying it with your eyes closed, this association will hit you like a ton of bricks someday and you will yell-I got it!
 
Take It Slow
Learn the melody first, then begin putting some bass lines into it. If you know basic chords and scales this process will be easier. Hop online and check out some video tutorials. There are audio lessons available as well, created specifically for ear training.
By following these tips learning to play piano by ear can be achieved, but the big word here is practice!

Performance and Practice

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There is a perception that performing and practicing music are two different activities.
Certainly learning the principals of music is an important exercise. That way true performing can be done.

The relationship between performing and practicing is deeply joined together.

Performing itself becomes the greater learning experience because there is tremendous energy that is experienced during a live performance especially in front of a receptive audience.

When the performer picks up on the audience’s energy it seems to push him to new heights of artistic achievement.

Once you experience the adrenaline high of performing before a live audience that thrill becomes enclosed in each practice time.

The true purpose of developing musical ability is evident and the focus of practicing the piano changes.

Now the performing becomes a true learning experience and practicing becomes a preparation to concentrate and magnify that experience.

And so the musician has become an artist bringing artistic discipline to his practice time.

You’re gaining greater control of your instrument and maximizing your overall performance.

You are experiencing true transformation from being a musician to becoming an artist.

Aware of your greater improvement in concentrating, you now have ease in performing. It’s what we call “soul.”

Perhaps this sounds complicated but as music is something that we artists enjoy, practice should be enjoyed, too.

Now you are soaring and taking important steps towards new heights of artistic achievement.


My piano recitals over the years are more than a performance for the musician but rather a family gathering to be enjoyed by all, especially the young artist playing his or her well practiced piece with heart and soul.

One year I gave each one of my piano students a sports bottle with music symbols on it for a gift from teacher to student. The recital was a huge success and the music sports bottles were well received!

http://www.qondio.com/performance-and-practice 

 Just a different perspective on performance and practice.

-- LadyD I Write for Fortitude. Fortitude is for people who write with passion. http://fo.rtitu.de/1014

Practice with the Circle of Fifths

I was pleased to receive this very informative article on the Circle of Fifths from Willie Myette. I feel it's a very important resource for all musicians to use. In fact,
I call it "the musician's bible" and incorporate it in my piano student's lessons. I have posted the entire article here:


The Circle of Fifths (part 1)

by Willie on September 17, 2009

"The circle of fifths is a fantastic practice tool. It can help you practice scales more effectively, learn key signatures and even learn basic and advanced harmonization techniques.

In this article, I am going to show you some circle of fifths “tricks” that will help you maximize your practice.

What is the Circle of Fifths?
The circle of fifths is all 12 keys of music written on a wheel or “circle”. The keys are divided into intervals of a fifth. Looking at the circle of fifths below, you’ll notice that at the top is ‘C’ and moving clockwise, we move through all twelve keys by intervals of a fifth. So we start with C, then go to G, D, E, A, B, F# (or Gb…same note), Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F and end back at C.

If you go counter-clockwise (to the left) we move through all twelve keys by fourths. Starting with C, we move a fourth to F, Bb, Eb and so on.

How to incorporate the Circle of Fifths into your practice routine

Perhaps the easiest way to use the circle of fifths is to use it as a scale practice tool. Let me explain…

When practicing scales (Major, minor, etc…) I often see students get very good at playing their scales in easy keys like the key of C, F or G. However, when it comes to more challenging keys like Gb, Ab, etc., students become a bit “shy”. This is usually because they have practiced a lot in the easy keys but not as much in the difficult keys.

Many times, this imbalance of scale practice is because students sit down, practice three or four scales then move on to something else. The next day, they sit down, start with the same scales and never end up practicing those more difficult keys.

You can break this pattern by using the circle of fifths. Download and print the circle, then while practicing, mark which of the keys you practiced. For example, circle the keys you practice on day 1, put a triangle around those you practice on day 2, a box around the scales practiced on day 3 and so on.

Using this method, you can be sure that you get through all keys both easy and difficult."

http://www.jazzpianolessons.com/2009/09/17/the-circle-of-fifths

Check out Circle of Fifths for more information:

http://ladydpiano.blogspot.com/2009/08/learn-circle-of-fifths-patterns.html

All the best,
~ LadyD

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Esperanza Spalding- Jazz By Ear

A friend of mine from a guitar forum posted a clip of Esperanza Spalding performing live from Copenhagen. Her style of jazz singing and playing, well I give her 10+ stars! Those following jazz ought to keep an ear on the bassist ESPERANZA SPALDING, who is going about things her own way.

There are many gifted singers in jazz today, and no shortage of accomplished acoustic bass players. But few jazz artists can be both. Read more about Esperanza
http://www.npr.org/templates/story.php?storyid=90478162

Esperanza likes to say it was an accident that she started playing the bass, and it was a miracle she ever made it to Berklee. It's probably an even bigger miracle that she stayed. But while fate and chance may have played a part in getting Esperanza where she is today, talent like hers is no accident.
http://www.berklee.edu/profiles/spalding.html Take a look and listen for yourself. You ask me why I wrote about a jazz bassist? Well, listen to the piano player. I love how he plays those rootless chords. There is so much air and space in his playing. That's where the expression: "Less is more" is applied. Enjoy! By the way, with her enormous talent, her music dips into samba, bop, straight-up jazz, pop, funk, latin, afro-cuban, and many other territories. See for yourself!






http://www.LadyDpiano.com