Get Adobe Flash player

Mastering The Piano


by Andy Penbram


Here is some info for any amateur piano player who wants to move onto more advanced piano lessons and really master the piano or keyboards. This could be a journey from beginners level passing thru intermediate and advanced levels till finally arriving at true master piano player level. On this path there are unhappily too many scholars who never get past the 1st most principal beginners level.

The 1st levels of piano or keyboard playing can be grouped into 2 separate kinds, persons who learn to read music and people who learn to play by ear without music. The beginner piano player who learns to read music will at first learn how to find all of the notes on the keyboard and associate them with the written notes on the musical staff. Simple tunes can then be performed by reading the music. The player who learns to play by ear will also learn how to find the notes on the keyboard and might even learn several basic chords at this time too.

With each one of the notes learned the beginner can now go forward onto an intermediate phase. This will usually comprise learning how to play a couple more difficult pieces for the pianist who is learning to read music. This could comprise reading off 2 staves and playing with both hands at the same time. Essential chord progressions and rhythms using both hands at once is what awaits the student who is learning to play by ear.

At the more advanced levels of playing the music reader must learn some reasonably hard pieces that will stretch their abilities and physically strengthen the fingers and the coordination. The student who has selected to play by ear will by this point be playing tunes integrated into the chord progressions. It'll be really likely that at this level they will be able to play most melodies that they hear and to also discover the chords with minimal effort.

To advance on to master level the 2 different systems of learning are sometimes combined. Playing by ear and reading music both come naturally to the true master. Each one of the 2 strategies have their benefits and disadvantages. Many players who have learned how to read music will become technically particularly talented but might lack expression and emotion. The opposite can be thought for the scholar who learns to play only by ear, they might find it tough to be more technical and will lack the discipline that makes the student who has learned to read music. There should be no problem for the genuine master to be well placed to read music and play by ear in the same way.

There are numerous home study programs available for download for beginner and intermediate scholars that may help you move onto the more advanced levels of playing. The nice thing about these courses is they have sound and video files so that you can be taught as if you had a piano teacher right there in your home.

Most significant of all however is that almost all the best programs will teach you how to read music and the way to play by ear at the same time. Being taught like this you'll have the foundation to move ahead onto far higher levels and will have the advantages of the 2 techniques of learning direct from the start




About the Author: