Pop/Jazz/Blues/Rock'n'roll Pianist
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Here are some free learn how to play piano lessons and articles by well respected performer and piano teacher maestro Ron Worthy.
How to play the piano fast when learning a new piece article
Piano teachers everywhere always coached their students "be sure to practice playing the piano slowly." Often the result of this is a feeling of inhibition, which leads to tedium and then to boredom and finally, the piano student giving up learning playing the piano altogether.
Just picture yourself filled with excitement and yearning to learn a new tune you have heard and suddenly you were reminded of what your piano teacher used to say: "Don't touch those keys! Sit erect, play the piano slowly, stay strictly in time, now watch your fingering...", now, how did that do to your enthusiasm of learning a new song? It's a total dampener, wasn't it?
The fact is, a certain amount of slow practices and attention to smaller scaling detail is of course necessary. But there is something seriously missing in this approach, so much so that many of us ended up playing what amounts to no more than a series of sterile boring technical piano exercises. Hey, we are supposed to be enjoying making wonderful piano music with our fingers, aren't we? So what is happening here?
Now, can we overcome this problem? You will be glad to know that the answer is a resounding "Yes we can".
Firstly, it is important to remember that music comes to life through shading, dynamics, differences in touch and feel, the shapes of its phrases, the rhythmic vitality that is so much a part of the right tempo. These qualities and techniques will be missing in a slow, rigid "practice" version of a piece of music. The qualities are just as essential as correct fingering, and they cannot come across without careful work.
So, perhaps we should change that common learning piano strategy of "be sure to practice slowly" to "practice as fast as possible."
Errr........hang on a moment. It is not that simple as the above statement. This will leave many questions unanswered and calls for more discussion.
The slow part of practicing the piano helps to teach our fingers where to go and makes it much easier to learn a new music piece and piano tabs. However, in order learn how to create beautiful tunes, how to make the music piece "sing," we must practice it at a tempo that will reveal the musical relationships and subtleties of the musical form.
Pianists must have the chance to experiment with touch and phrasing while practicing on the piano and there is little chance of boredom when so many exciting elements are infused into each practice session.
In my online multimedia learn to play piano fast e-book, I have included many basic piano exercises with background music to assist you in acquiring this level of keyboard performance.
In other words, you will be practising with other instrumentalists and musicians. That will be exciting and fun, don't you think so? You will hear the drums, bass and an unobtrusive piano accompaniment that provides a harmonic blanket for you to practice your course piano lessons! It is like you are now performing in a three piece combo band instead of just practicing the piano alone in a boring way.
Click here to see Ron's online play piano lessons.
Ron Worthy, Piano performer and teacher
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Common questions about learning how to play the piano for beginners
1. How long will it take me to start seeing results when I start to learn how to play the piano?
You will see results immediately if you have the right piano teacher and you practise on the piano for 5 to 15 minutes everyday. I am not kidding you. You see, if daily piano practice becomes an addiction, you will be able to easily construct chords, play melodies and start enjoying playing your favorite songs everyday.
2. How long and often do I have to practice if I want to play piano well?
Everyday for at least 15 minutes a day. You see, learning how to play the piano is all about repetition. It is sort of like muscle memory. The more repetition you play, the more the chords and tunes will embedded and internalised in you.
3. I am not interested in learning how to read music or music notes. Can I learn how to how to "play by ear?"
Yes, of course you can play by ear and this skill will come naturally. As a matter of fact, most pianist once trained will be able to play by ear. Once you practice specific chord progressions, your ability to recognize popular tune changes will have been developed and reached maturity. You will be able to hear a song on the radio and "pick" out the notes and chords with your ears, easily!
4. How can I learn and play jazz and gospel music on the piano?
You will need to learn chords and chord progressions that characterize "traditional" and "contemporary" jazz and gospel music. You will need to know how to add or subtract chord tones to create the sound and style want! Ron Worthy's piano course will teach you how.
Now here is the best part. When you master the piano chord progressions, not only will you be able to play gospel music, you will also be able to play any musical genre such as blues, pop, rock, swing and jazz piano, just to name a few musical genre. Ron Worthy's piano lessons will show you how.
5. Why is it that some pianists play with so much confidence and accuracy, while others are must still struggle to perform after years of piano study?
Stamina and repetition are the reasons! You will need to learn specific exercises to promote finger independence and strength. Always remember, "Practice Makes Perfect" is a misnomer. It is "Perfect Practice Makes Perfect!" I mean, if you keep practising the wrong piano techniques, you will only perfect the wrong playing methods. So get it right from the start and practice the correct way of playing the piano. Click here to see how to play piano with confidence.
