TIPS FOR LEFT & RIGHT HAND COORDINATION Practice piano by isolating one hand at a time. by Jenny Leigh Hodgins Single-Minded Focus Learn to play piano with both hands based on a single-minded focus on goal-oriented, multi-step tasks. Approaching piano practice in this manner has proven highly effective for me. One Hand Only For example, choose one hand to work on at a time. Isolate the bass part in the left hand. Then, break down your left hand practice into feasible chunks; work on only playing the correct notes for example. Practice the left hand part while fully focusing on the first selected goal (correct notes). Don’t worry about the rhythm, the fingering or any other aspect other than what you’ve chosen to focus on practicing (correct notes).  STOP. Evaluate. Stop. Evaluate.
After you play through the section with full focus on that one goal, stop and evaluate. If successful at playing that particular section with no hesitation, move on to the next goal and repeat the process. Multiply Your Focus Then add the first two goals together (correct notes and rhythm) and practice that until you are able to play through successfully without any hesitation. Add the third goal, and so on. Repeat Procedure With Opposite Hand Switch to the opposite hand and repeat the process of focusing only on one goal at a time, stopping to evaluate, then repeating until you master each section and goal. Then repeat until you are successfully able to master multiple focus goals with the musical section chosen for that hand. Put Both Hands Together Finally, choose a small section, one goal (correct notes) and play both hands together. Do not jump to this part of practice until everything prior to this point has been successfully mastered. The same process applies when practicing hands together. Handling Mistakes If you make mistakes, stop immediately and evaluate why, then go back and practice until that issue is resolved. For example, if you played through a few measures correctly and then made mistakes, determine what happened. Usually the problem is that mentally you dropped the ball. Were you daydreaming about lunch? Were you distracted by someone walking past your window? Refresh Focus Go back to the trouble spot and refresh your single-minded focus on the practice aspects you’ve chosen. Once you achieve success, play through a larger section, or the entire musical composition. Be sure to apply the exact same practice strategy and address any mistakes immediately. Otherwise, you may make the common mistake of practicing your mistakes repeatedly (This is how many students typically practice and defeat progress!), ingraining them further into your mental memory and making things more difficult to correct. One Last Note (heh heh) Practicing piano with clear goals, one hundred percent mental focus, evaluation and troubleshooting issues is an incredibly effective way to progress as a piano player. However, if you run into difficulty, besides lack of focus on a particular goal, the most common culprit for difficulty in piano practice is practicing too fast! So, if you are having problems with the above-described practice strategy, SLOW DOWN and try again! Most of the time, slowing the tempo resolves the problem. Like, comment and share this blog with someone who may benefit from this information! SIGN UP for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com
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 The right piano keyboard is essential for successful piano lessons. By Jenny Leigh Hodgins Are you an adult who’s looking forward to finally learn piano? Do you have a teenager eager to explore music? Are you a parent looking to start your child’s first piano lesson? Having a quality instrument is critical for successful piano learning. There are many ways to learn piano. From note-reading to aural training, from digital exploration and beyond. Regardless, the quality of a keyboard instrument is essential to successful music progress. Some of the most important points to consider are:
WHAT’S YOUR COMMITMENT? If you have always wanted to learn piano, and now have the time and energy to devote to it, a piano may be a great investment. For adults, buying a quality piano is a beautiful addition to decor, adding value to your home. Practicing on a quality-crafted piano inspires hours of dedicated musical progress. Making a strong commitment to your love of piano music is a great reason to buy a good piano. If you have a young child, or a teenager with sudden interest in piano, your child's attention span may not be clear. How long will your child stay motivated for the long haul of musical study? For these cases, consider an electronic keyboard. A digital piano may be an inexpensive investment to explore your child's interest. An electronic keyboard is usually less expensive than a piano. A 61-key, light-action digital keyboard would be acceptable as a smaller investment for initial music exploration. After a year of piano study, I recommend investing in either a piano or an 88-key, weighted-action keyboard. Over time, a student’s repertoire grows. This will encourage accurate, physical technique, and the full piano range. CHECK YOUR SPACE & SURROUNDINGS A beautiful grand piano brings artistic flair to a large room. Piano playing brings lively fun to the entertainment of guests. Playing piano in the home adds festivity with holiday music. It also fills the home with beloved musical expression year-round. If you’ve got the space and the budget, no investment brings as much enjoyment to a home. If you don’t have a large space, consider a smaller baby grand, or an upright piano. Playing a real piano offers authenticity. The action of a real piano (how the wooden keys respond to the touch of your fingers) lets the player achieve healthy technique. An acoustic piano sends an organic, gorgeous, sound reverberating throughout your home. For even tighter spaces and budgets, consider an electronic keyboard. An extra advantage of having a digital piano is the use of headphones. This feature allows music practice at any hour without disrupting others.  Digital keyboards open the door to computer-based music. WHAT’S YOUR STYLE
Consider your personal preferences when choosing the right keyboard. If the touch of a real piano is inspirational for you, buying a piano may be infinitely more satisfying. Traditional classical and jazz repertoire is often preferred played on a real piano. The popularity of modern music is another point in favor of purchasing an electronic keyboard. Teens and adults may be more inclined toward digital music production. Digital keyboards open the door to computer-made music. Using a digital piano and a computer allows you to create music with virtual instruments. In our technology-driven world, much of the future's music-making will be digital-based. This offers opportunities for electronic music-production. Music technology offers opportunities in composing for video games, commercials, film and TV. HOW BIG IS YOUR BUDGET When selecting a keyboard, consider your budget now. Weigh that budget against the longevity of the instrument’s life and use. One of the best investments you can make is buying a piano. This is because of the value of a piano's craftsmanship and longevity. The piano's beauty as an aspect of your home decor adds artistic value, too. If you’re tight on funds or space, start with a smaller digital piano or upright acoustic piano. Consider upgrading a necessity when your music skills progress. Get an instrument that suits your current needs, to last as long as possible, based on what you can afford. WRAP IT UP Are you looking to explore contemporary music with a digital piano? Delve into the vast musical repertoire from the traditional masters? Or tread lightly into the first moments of piano learning? Whatever your interest, there is a perfect instrument for you. You will make the best piano keyboard choice for you when you consider your commitment, style, available space, and budget. How to Find A Good Piano Teacher Like, comment and share this blog with someone who may benefit from this information! SIGN UP for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
These are a few things that I have done over the years as a pianist and they have worked well to improve my technique and keep dexterity and fluency in my fingers. Consistency Counts One of the most critical things you can do to improve your technique is practice it consistently. In other words, practice every single day. Do not miss a day. Even if you can only play for five minutes, do not miss a day. How Much Technique If you have two hours to practice daily, start with the idea of one hour of technique practice per day. The second hour spent on actual repertoire makes sense toward decent progress. During your piano technique practice, incorporate scales, etudes and other exercises such as those found in a good Hanon exercise book. Scales, Accents and Varying Accents Start learning all major and minor scales in 4 octaves. Play around with the rhythm patterns of the scales. For example, try playing a scale using the rhythm pattern of straight quarter note rhythms. Then accent the first beat (quarter note) as you play all four octaves of a scale. Then play the scale again (or another scale) as you alternate the accent to the second beat, then to the third beat, then the fourth beat as you play through each scale. Use Varied Rhythmic Patterns Use alternating rhythms; i.e., play your scales using the rhythm pattern of a dotted eighth note followed by a 16th note. Then switch to the rhythm pattern of a 16th note followed by a dotted eighth note. Then try an eighth note followed by two 16 notes. Then reverse that to two 16th notes followed by an eighth note. Use Varying Accents For each of the previous rhythm patterns, place an accent on the first note of each pattern. Then alternate the accent to fall on the second note of the rhythm pattern, creating a syncopated feel. Then, accent the third note of the rhythm pattern, and so on. Try using a triplet rhythm pattern, placing an accent on the first note of each triplet pattern. Then accent the second note, then the third note of each triplet pattern as you play a four-octave scale. Go Slow Choose some of these varying rhythm patterns for your four-octave scale practice. Use a metronome at a very slow tempo and focus on very clearly articulating each of those accented notes within the rhythmic patterns with relaxed hand placement and curved finger-tips. As you get more fluent, speed up the tempo. Using Dynamics Another idea is to use the above rhythms and accents at the same tempo adding dynamics. For example, start your scale at fortissimo and as you play your scale going up the keyboard, decrescendo until you are playing pianissimo at the high range of the keyboard. Then reverse those dynamics. Or play the entire ascending scale passage fortissimo then alternate when you descend by playing the entire descending scale passage at the dynamic level of pianissimo. Change the dynamic levels to whatever you’d like, incorporating crescendo, decrescendo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, and so on. Like, comment and share this blog with others. SIGN UP for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com by Jenny Leigh Hodgins I recommend two approaches to composing for piano: Improvise to generate free-flowing ideas, or Create a blueprint based (strictly or loosely) on music theory (i.e., form, key signature, tempo, range, motif/themes). COMPOSE BY IMPROVISING A: Determine A Chord Progression Start simple. For example, use C major key and this chord progression: C, Am, F major, G7. Typical ‘Heart and Soul’ chord progression. If you can’t remember the order, write these on paper. B: Practice Playing Play each chord’s bass home tone (C,A,F,G) with your LH, and perhaps the chord triad itself in your right hand. Play each chord/bass tone for one measure. Experiment within that perimeter by using RHYTHM only to alter the feel/groove of your progression. C: Use MELODY Once you have a chord progression and a bass line mastered, drop the chord triads from RH and use RH to play around with notes in the C major scale as you continue playing your LH bass line progression. For me, I like to use a DAW’s drum loop to find a groove and play along with that for tempo and rhythmic phrasing/groove. You can also alternate between playing the chords and the melody to make things more varied. D: Practice Specific Piano Styles Since you are interested primarily in PIANO, use the above basic improvisation exercises to practice specific piano styles: walking bass, chords with color tones (7, 9, 11, 13ths), arpeggios, triads, 6ths, octaves, doubled notes, etc… Just repeat the chord progression using one or more of those (or other) piano techniques. These are some of my ideas for improvising outside of the jazz tradition. Of course, pick your own chord progressions for more challenging, intriguing and fresh music. COMPOSE BY BLUEPRINT A: Song Form For the blueprint approach, either on paper or using a DAW, I like to map out a song FORM (ABAB, ABABCBB, AABB, et) first to set a parameter of structure. Write out 16 blank measures and call that A section. Follow that with another 16 bars as B section, and so on. Or limit to 8 bars per section. Possibly add a C section with few or more bars or equal–whatever you want for your structure. An even numbers of bars seems to feel better for most contemporary music, though. Alternately, you could copy the form of a favorite song or blues style as a template. B: Determine Harmonic Progression Once you have a form or structure for your music mapped out, determine a chord progression for each section. Usually the B section changes keys to the dominant chord or something else to be less predictable and sound different from the A section. For example if A section uses that C major progression above (C, Am, F, G), then the B section would start in the key of G major (or often Am, the minor 6th of C major). Then go back to your original chord/key in the next A section. C: Discover Melodic Motifs Once your form, key and chord progressions are drafted (this may change, pending how your melody transpires! Be flexible and go where you musical ideas take you, of course!), using notes within that progression/key (C major in the A section), play around with melodic motifs that fit within that key/chord progression. A good rule of thumb is to make something, then repeat it, then CHANGE it very slightly. AAA1. Or, same, same, slightly varied. The ear likes patterns and repetition. But not TOO much! Continue until you have a few motifs/lines to complete your A section. Then CHANGE to the new key in the B section and play around with creating a motif/line/melody that is completely different than what you did in A section. For example, if you used lots of busy, faster rhythmic phrases in the A section, use longer, slower rhythmic phrases with lots of rests and breathing space within the B section. Or, if your A section note ranges are low, then use higher ranges of notes within the B section. Another idea for creating the melodic motif is to limit the amount of melodic notes used and focus more on the rhythmic patterns of those limited notes used. Think of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony: only 2 melodic notes used in the opening line (dun dun dun DUN) and four rhythmic notes/durations. But WOW he repeated that phrase and developed it into a massive symphony of greatness! There are SO many things you can do, and so many books have good suggestions for your question, so check some of them out! Hope this gave you good food for thought! Like, comment and share this blog with others. SIGN UP for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com by Jenny Leigh Hodgins WHERE TO LOOK As a piano teacher for 25+ years, I’ve looked at this search from the opposite direction of marketing my studio to attract able students. So when someone asks me how to find a good piano teacher, I know the places to look. SEARCH BASED ON YOUR GOAL There are things to consider when narrowing the search, such as your goals and the characteristics of a teacher that put you at ease or motivate you best. For those looking for a grandiose career as a concert pianist, consider a move to a city well-known for accessibility to a professional music career track such as NY, LA or Nashville. For those interested primarily in the merits of music study and/or uninterested or unable to live near a music industry hub, try your local university’s music department. Typically, the music department will have a list of graduate students available for teaching as well as local piano teachers. Look especially for graduate level students who are studying piano pedagogy in particular. VALID RESOURCES Another option is an online search for reputable sources. The Music Teachers National Association’s searchable online database of teachers by state has earned the association’s National Certified Teachers of Music credential (NCTM). Teacher members of The National Piano Guild aim toward non-competitive goal-setting and awards. Teachers involved in national music organizations such as these tend to be motivated at a higher level toward student success. Another good resource for young children in particular is MusikGarten. The MusikGarten teaching method is holistic, kinesthetic, and frankly, fun for children ages 5 to 9. Similar to Suzuki method, MusikGarten’s approach is to begin learning music aurally. However, MusikGarten also incorporates movement, drumming, singing, notation-reading, in a small-group, eventually combining all these layers of foundation into piano performance. Teachers who are certified in this method tend to be excellent instructors, and teach a well-rounded approach. WORD OF MOUTH There are other resources, such as church or grocery bulletin boards/newsletters, ads in local family-directed newspapers, and local music stores. But whether you have children looking to start music lessons for the first time, to continue lessons started, or for adults wanting to learn the instrument, the best way to find a quality piano teacher is the old fashioned way; word of mouth. One of the best ways to find a quality piano teacher is through hearing and seeing an educator’s efforts with your own eyes and ears! Find someone who plays piano well. Ask for their teacher’s contact info. If you don’t know anyone who plays piano, watch local newspapers or church announcements for local piano recitals or concerts and attend (Holiday season is a great time for this!). Check local university, music school and music store websites for upcoming events. COMPASSION IS QUALITY Teachers who are dedicated enough to host recitals are usually quite capable, and care enough about students to enable regular progress in pIano study. Pay attention to each student’s finger dexterity, posture, reading, memorization, hand position (Watch out for tension!), and especially confidence and poise. The proof is in the pudding! Check with retirement center activity directors for a list of teachers who’ve brought student piano recitals to the facility. That is a great way to find a quality piano teacher because someone who cares enough about students to host performance opportunities is a teacher who works toward results. Going the extra mile to incorporate community service by bringing music performances to retirement home residents shows a compassionate, contributive quality teacher. WRAP UP In summary, you’ll find a good piano teacher through word of mouth, a local recital, an internet hunt for MusikGarten teachers, National Certified Teachers of Music, the National Piano Guild, a local university, music school or, music store. Next Steps: Having found a teacher, you’ll need to make your own goals for piano study clear. Like, comment and share this blog with others. SIGN UP for more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness at YourCreativeChord.com  Learning piano requires the right keyboard. |