Play By Ear: Merry Christmas!

You can read the entire article by Andrew Eales I wanted to share a few snippets with you because I'm a firm believer in ear training. As teachers, we spend way too much time in method books insisting that our students become excellent note readers. We forget to balance our teaching methods with listening to note sounds, key tone centers and identifying intervals. My students are becoming more aware of tonality – what key they are playing in and where to find “home base.”

Below are a few quotes from Andrew's article, "Sound Before Symbol": Lessons from History.

“There is no such thing as a proper age for a child to start playing the piano. I avoid saying ‘to start his musical education’ because I believe that an education in music should start very early, perhaps years before the child ever actually learns how to read notes, or can find his way among the black and white keys.” -- Andor Foldes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was playing the keyboard by the age of three, and improvising and composing by the age of five. At the age of six however, he still depended on his father Leopold to notate his pieces for him. One of the foremost musicians of his generation, Leopold was able to offer his son the best musical education, so it is instructive to note that he encouraged him to develop his musical ability, while only teaching reading and writing at an appropriate stage in that onward development.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) similarly came from a musical family, and was taught to play informally at home until the age of seven. At that point he started formal piano lessons, and at the age of ten he finally started to be taught music theory. He followed a classic progression from exploring sound and playing informally to taking formal lessons and learning to read, and finally learning structured academic knowledge.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) – by all accounts a superb sight-reader – became a celebrity teacher who assumed his advanced students could read the notation fluently. His high level teaching centred around aural transmission through his demonstration of the essence of music in a way that the notation can only hint at. This provided a model that influenced many subsequent teachers, underlining how aural transmission of musical ideas is of crucial importance even for the most advanced players.

Béla Bartók (1881-1945), according to recollections written by his mother Paula, started to show musical aptitude at the age of 18 months. By the age of 3 he was drumming in time to her playing, and by 4 he was already playing the piano by ear. Formal tuition, once again, came later. Based on this foundation of aural learning – “sound before symbol” – young Béla had made extraordinary progress by the age of 11, as we read in Kenneth Chalmers’ excellent biography:

“One of the fundamental mistakes in pianoforte teaching has been that only one sense was appealed to, and that the wrong one. Music reaches heart and brain through the ear, yet we have usually tried to teach it through the eye. It was always “look” and never “listen”. Children were introduced to notation before they had consciously observed any of the musical phenomena which the notation symbolises. They should learn those facts of pitch and time through listening, comparing, judging, naming, and then use notation as a means of expression.”
“A pupil so taught is not a slave to notation but its master.” -- Mrs. J. Spencer Curwen

Below are some fabulous music resources from Hear and Play for your personal music library.

Advanced Gospel Courses

300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course

Back Pocket Band Software

Instant Transposer Software

Songrobot Software

Songtutor Software

Pitch Ear Training Software

Jazz Intensive Training Center

*affiliate links in post*

I hope 2015 has been kind to you and that the new year ahead will take your piano playing to new levels. Thank you, dear readers.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

Virtual Keyboard: New Software Tool

Dear Readers,


I always blog about a music dvd I've just discovered or a piano dvd that works for us musicians.


I recently received this bit of news launching a new virtual keyboard. When I watched the video, what caught my eye was the fact that you could learn new jazz songs, plus adding free midis. Here's the note:
What if a robot could teach you songs?

Sounds crazy but with the power of technology,
there's now a way to turn your computer into a
song-teaching machine... that never sleeps,
never charges by the hour... doesn't get
frustrated... and repeats as much as you want!

My friends over at Hear & Play Music are the ones
behind it and just created a video demonstration
at:

Virtual Keyboard

(I only wish I had this little magic tool when
I was young!)

They call it the "Song Robot!" You simply load
song files into it and it shows you, on demand,
how to play them on a big virtual keyboard.

There's a full video demonstration at:
Song Robot

Here's what it does:

* It can slow down songs, "turtle speed."

* It transposes songs to all 12 keys so you're
  not stuck in ONE key.

* You have the choice of learning with huge, red
  colored notes that light up or a real-looking
  3d version of a piano.

* You can stop, pause, rewind, fast forward.

* You can even load your favorite audio files
  and have it remove vocals so you can practice
  (they can even be slowed down and put in all
  12 keys... real albums!)

Visit:
Piano Robot

For a limited time, they're making you an
unbeatable deal on the song files... and
throwing the song robot in at no cost!

Once you get your hands on this, you'll see
why so many are excited about it.

Visit:
Check Out Song Robot

I just might jump on this great deal myself!

All the best,
D.

P.S. Drop me a line regarding chord charts to jazz songs from the 20's, 30's and 40's. Have a favorite?


"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

Learn to Play the Flatted 6th on Piano

Image by New York Public Library via Flickr

Learn to Play the Piano Easy - Flatted 6th Example




http://learngosppelbyear.com
- Learn how to play the piano fast and easy. Learn to play the piano with professional techniques. Learn how to play the piano by ear. This is absolutely the fastest and easiest way to learn to play the piano today.

Jamal speaks quickly through this scale but your ear picks up this cool mysterious sound that I love, especially being Greek! lol Anyways, he's pulling the D to Eb. Jamal
plays with broken, arpeggiated chords in the l.h. and reaches for those octaves. here are some of the chords that I hear him play:

C/G Ab Ab

C G/Ab C D Ab

C G C/G E

C G/Ab C D Bb

/G E

/Ab C D G

/F Ab C G (F minor)

C/G Ab C Eb

C/G Ab C Eb Bb

G C/G D E

G/Ab D F

The melodic minor second (m2), which is formed by playing two notes one step apart on the piano, is the smallest interval that can be played with two different notes. It represents the smallest possible amount singers are usually asked to slide their voices while singing. This interval has the connotation of something slipping or sliding when it's played slowly. It can sound mysterious, sad or strange.

The melodic minor sixth (m6) is formed by playing notes that are eight steps apart on the piano. This interval is quite dissonant and is very active sounding. This is a very wide interval and is used infrequently in melodies.

http://www.songtrellis.com/concepts/interval

* A whole step up from C is D -- the 2nd tone of the C major scale.
* A whole step up from D is E -- the 3rd tone of the C major scale.
* A half step up from E is F -- the 4th tone of the C major scale.
* A whole step up from F is G -- the 5th tone of the C major scale.
* A whole step up from G is A -- the 6th tone of the C major scale.
* A whole step up from A is B -- the 7th tone of the C major scale.
* A half step up from B is C -- the 8th tone of the C major scale.

So the C major scale consists of the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C -- no sharps or flats!

There are seven different tones in the major scale. The 1st and 8th tones are called the root, tonic, or key note. They are the same note but are an octave apart.


http://www.ezfolk.com/guitar/Tutroials/Music_Theory/Major_Scale/major_scale.html

Have fun practicing with the flatted sixth and let me know how it goes for you.

Warmest Regards,
~ D.

Half Off Sale - The Secrets to Playing Piano by Ear Course Book

Over at Hearandplay.com, Jermaine Griggs is having a 50% off sale on one of his courses, learning to play the piano by ear. No, it's not a Dvd to watch but rather a music theory book loaded with tones of information for all you musicians.

300pg.Course-50%off Sale

The 300 page course book takes an easy approach to concepts that otherwise seem unreachable for those of us that use the self teaching approach. Although many of the concepts I've read before in other methods, I find amazing that Jermaine seems to expose every idea with the simplicity that makes it so easy to understand. I find myself referring to this popular book often.

For more information visit:

http://ladydpiano.blogspot.com/2008/10/play-piano-by-ear-course.html

The first 5 chapters of the book were a basic review of music theory and sight reading that anyone that's had some music lessons would know. The rest of the book is absolutely amazing. Jermaine Griggs shows how you can build on one another, like how to take triads like a Cmaj chord and build on it to a 7th chord, then a 9th, then a 13th. This book is full of "meat" of music theory and tips. EVERY MUSICIAN, WHETHER BEGINNING OR ADVANCED NEEDS TO GET THIS BOOK!

The 300 page course book is worth the money. It's good to learn music theory and how to apply it. The 300 page course is a theory book with bonus CD (sound library- audio examples). Jermaine's course covers beginning techniques, music theory, chords, progressions, improvisation, and more! You will want to order the 300 page course book, The Secrets To Playing Piano By Ear today. The half price sale is great!

300pg.Course-50%off Sale

Happy 4th of July!
~ LadyD

http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Play Piano By Ear

Want to learn how to play the piano by ear?



Playing piano by ear 1



The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" 300pg Course - Learn the secrets to playing literally any song on the piano with a few simple, "easy-to-understand" techniques and principles! Join Jermaine Griggs in learning tons of music theory, concepts, and tricks that will help you to learn piano by ear! Thousands of musicians have already taken advantage of this excellent program ... why not you?

I personally recommend "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" and through my relationship with Jermaine, I've been able to get him to throw in a few bonus items (3 additional piano software programs).

The Secrets To Playing Piano By Ear

Playing piano by ear 2





Best wishes and much continued success on your journey to learning how to play the piano by ear. Jermaine Griggs shows you how with these great learn to play by ear videos.

~ LadyD

http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Gospel Musicians

Listen to these great Funky sounds! This guy is awesome!


Learn the X-treme Way to Play Worship by Ear!

NOW YOU CAN BECOME A GOSPEL ALL-STAR (Read Below) Dear Gospel Lover, Have you always been interested in playing Gospel music, but you never had enough time or the loads of money that it costs to hire a private teacher? Have you played simple melodies and a few chords in gospel music and now want to really get down with the best of 'em and hold down a full-fledged church service from "shout" to finish? If you said yes to either or both questions, I definitely suggest you keep reading this message. Click here for more details I'm really excited to tell you about an incredible new Gospel resource that is guaranteed to revolutionize the Gospel music industry and the way your church gets down at the very same time. Many musicians are extremely conscious and protective of letting any one else in on their secrets. To them, it's something very sacred and the key aspect that sets them apart from the rest of the group. That being the case, it makes what I've found even that more exciting! Click here link for more details I've found an amazing artist that, through his innovative Gospel instruction website, is willing to share with you ALL he's learned from his 15+ years of experience. Not only is he going to play for you... ...In a AMAZING ***26 HOURS***, ***7 DVDs***, ***3 1/2 hours of EXTRA one-on-one training, ***7 free personal music sessions***, AND a full MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE... Click this link for more details Rev. Jermaine Griggs is going to personally show, teach, and explain to you step-by-step and over-the-shoulder TONS of the licks and tricks that can be found in countless numbers of songs by the top church musicians around! I'm talking about Gospel icons that we all know and love like: Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence, Daryl Coley, The Kurt Carr Singers, Judith, Christie McAllister, John P. Kee, and more! The Gospel Keys "Deluxe Church Musician" DVD box set contains not 1 --- but 7 courses together! (EVERYTHING you need) CHURCH MUSICIAN DELUXE BOX SET 1. Gospel Keys 101 (1.5 hrs): Introducing Hymns & Congregational Songs! 2. Gospel Keys 202 (5.0 hrs): Mastering Worship Chords 3. Gospel Keys 300 (2.5 hrs): Up-tempo Praise and Charismatic Styles 4. Gospel Keys 500 (3.0 hrs): Experiencing Up-tempo Shouting Music 5. Gospel Keys Organ 350 (3.0 hrs): Praise and Devotional Songs 6. Gospel Keys Organ 450 (3.0 hrs): Advanced Worship Chords and Voicings 7. Gospel Keys X-treme (8.0 H-O-U-R-S): Urban & Contemporary Worship Click here to get started Click the link below to start praising the Lord through music the "Gospel Keys" way TODAY! Click this link for more details Wow, I know that's a lot. Gospel Keys don't play around over there. So, if you're really serious about taking your piano playing to the next level and adapting a crisp and professional as well sound, you owe it to yourself to take them up on this incredible deal. all the best, ~ Piano Diana P.S. - You might find more interesting information, techniques, or resources just by clicking around on their website.

http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Five Year Old Blind Genius Pianist

This child prodigy is currently in Singapore. You have to check out this video. She has an amazing ability to play by ear and is able to play accompaniment just by listening to someone sing. She is only five years old and blind, but Yoo Ye-Eun's little hands find the right notes on the black and white keys of her piano...



http://www.LadyDpiano.com