Learning the Piano: Lesson 5 - Compiling Everything Together

Learning the Piano: Lesson 5 - Compiling Everything Together
Nathan Cheng
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, Norman Monath

Though basic, with the information I learned in the last four lessons, I can begin to dabble in songs and pieces. Monath says, "My purpose in starting you that way was... to let you prove to yourself that you had the dexterity to necessary to play chords and melodies together; to help you learn how to read the treble clef notes in a more musically satisfying way than would have been the case if you just played notes with your right hand; and to let you see for yourself how even the simplest of piano arrangement can result in beautiful sounds" (Monath 55). Monath summarizes the objectives of the last four lessons, and begins to bridge them to each other.

Monath introduces chromatic scales-- scales that ascend/descend in half-step intervals (Monath 56). A better way to grasp chromatic scales are that they are scales that alternate from flat note to natural note and from sharp note to natural note respectively.

A chromatic scale

In addition to chromatic scales, this lesson also contains songs that contain elements of the previous four lessons. In these images I play a rendition of Auld Lang Syne that contains a unique key signature (Lesson 4), a right hand melody (Lesson 3), chord cues (Lesson 2), and well, notes (Lesson 1).

I had originally planned to upload a video of the song, but the audio quality of my recording was shoddy

Sheet music used

Conclusively, these five lessons into learning the piano have been a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed learning and playing throughout, and the lessons have been instrumental to my growth. I believe that I may continue to teach myself piano in the future, provided I have the time. To my fellow bloggers, how would you say your journey into your new skill has impacted you? Would you continue doing it in the future?

Monath, Norman. How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Learning the Piano: Lesson 4 - Black Keys (Sharps and Flats)

Learning the Piano: Lesson 4 - Black Keys (Sharps and Flats)

Nathan Cheng
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, Norman Monath

The next step in the journey of learning a piano is to learn about the intricacies of of sharps and flats. The sharp/flat notes are located on the black keys of the piano. Having no name themselves, their titles are derived from their surrounding notes (Monath 49). For instance, a black key in between the A and B notes would be interchangeably called A sharp or B flat.

Note how the black keys have two names-- One denoting a half-step down (flat) from the higher note and one denoting a half-step up (Sharp) from the lower note

Consequentially, sharps and flats have their own symbols in sheet music to let the musician know to play a note either sharp, flat, or natural (to not be sharp or flat).

Symbols from left to right: sharp, flat, natural

Also, a composer may want a note in an entire song to be flatted or sharped, so they may write instructions in the key signature. When referring to these unique key signatures Norman Monath writes, "The most commonly used key signatures you will come across... are the following seven" (Monath 52). The graphic that illustrates what he means is below.

Seven most common key signatures

With all this in mind, Monath provides examples of different renditions of songs in different key signatures. This indicates to the student that while the renditions contain different notes, they have the same sound in relation to each other.

Renditions of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

One of my attempts at the different renditions

All in all, I think that the addition of black keys into my knowledge of the piano will help me in learning more complex songs. It was quite fun to play music with the same rhythm with different notes but still have the same result of a familiar melody. My question is, have you ever committed yourself to doing something that requires a lot of patience to master?

Monath, Norman. How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Learning the Piano: Lesson 3 - Chords

Learning the Piano: Lesson 3 - Chords
Nathan Cheng
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, Norman Monath

To begin this post, let's define what a chord is. According to How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, "A chord is a combination of three or more tones sounded simultaneously..." (Monath 37). Typical chords consist of notes that are certain distances from each other, called intervals. When these notes are played at the same time, the sound is pleasing. This also explains why one can't just slam their hand on a piano expecting a beautiful sound to emanate from it, as certain combinations of notes have to be pressed to form a pleasing sound (Monath 38).

Silent Night sheet music. Chord cues are circled in red

The first chords taught by the book are the C, F, and G chords. All three chords consist of three notes one note apart from each other and are played with one's left hand. This may sound confusing but the graphic below should help.

Fingerings for C, F, and G chords in reference to Middle C

How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons also mentions other uses for chords besides supporting the melody in a song. An example of this is called a vamp. A vamp is pretty much when a pianist plays a chord a few times as an improvised introduction into a song (Monath 44).

My attempt to do a vamp with the C chord

Verily, chords are a new branch of music I have no experience in, and How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons clarified them very well. The instrument I am proficient in, the Bb clarinet does not possess the ability to play chords, so producing and hearing a chord on the piano was certainly a new and favorable experience. I personally can't wait to combine the chords I've learned with new melodies to play more complex songs that I couldn't have played on the clarinet.

To those who play an instrument; what memories do you fondly look back to with your instrument?

Monath, Norman. How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons. Simon & Schuster, 1994. 

Learning the Piano: Lesson 2 - Playing Melodies

Learning the Piano: Lesson 2 - Playing Melodies
Nathan Cheng
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, Norman Monath

The next step in learning an instrument after memorizing the notes is beginning to experiment with reading music in order to play melodies and songs. The book goes over the treble clef notes and mentions the use of middle C as a reference for other notes. It also mentions ways to remember the treble notes; the notes in between the lines can be remembered as "FACE" and the notes on the lines can be remembered with the acronym "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (Monath 31).

However, some things to note are that at this point the melodies/songs that are provided in How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons do not have any sharp or flat keys; more commonly referred to as the black keys (Monath 34). Also, I chose to ignore the chord marks, as the next lesson (Lesson 3) is about chords and I didn't want to give myself any bad habits before learning about them. Another article to remember is that the book also states to not worry about using certain fingers to press a key, it says, "...don't concern yourself at this point with which fingers to use" (Monath, 35). With all that being said, here are images of my attempts to play the book's version of Silent Night.

Sheet music provided

All in all, it didn't take too long to play this piece. It was very straightforward and the fact that the melody was very recognizable helped. I think that the book is certainly helping me on my venture into the piano. It's very concise and its explanation of the material is clear. Then again, this lesson focused on playing melodies with treble clef notes, I'm not sure how I'll do with bass clef notes and chords on the next lesson.

What were your first thoughts when taking the first steps in learning a new instrument?

Monath, Norman. How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Learning the Piano: The Basics

Learning the Piano: The Basics
Nathan Cheng
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons, Norman Monath

Learning a new instrument can be equally challenging and rewarding. Hopefully, as one's skills with the instrument progresses, so does their enjoyment. Learning the piano has always been something I had thought of doing (seeing as how there's a piano in my living room) but never had the time to do.

However, acquainting myself with a completely new instrument seemed... daunting. My contextual knowledge of music stems from being in school band where I play the clarinet. The thing with the clarinet is that it is limited to playing one note at a time. On the other hand, a piano can play multiple notes, which means it is able to play melodies and harmonies and chords.

In "How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons", Norman Monath explains in his introduction, "You will learn how to play melodies with your right hand... and how to play chords in different ways so that you can add interest and expressiveness to your renditions" (Monath 16). This excerpt illustrates the complexity of the piano (compared to a clarinet). It's ability to play chords and melodies makes it differ from other instruments (Monath 16).

Playing notes on right hand

Playing the notes with my right hand was fairly straightforward. I'm familiar with the notes since it is the same treble clef (The swirly symbol at the far left of a sheet of music that dictates what the notes are) as the clarinet. For reference, here is the treble clef and its notes.

Treble Clef

Treble clef notes

Playing notes on left hand

However, acquainting myself with the bass clef notes on my left hand was, to be frank, a lot harder than I had perceived. Learning how to play chords was easy, but playing notes in the bass clef with my non-dominant hand was challenging. Since the notes are written the same way as the treble clef, I almost always instinctively think of the treble clef note, not the bass clef note. For reference, here is the bass clef and its notes.

Bass Clef

Bass clef notes

Verily, I think that memorizing the notes on the bass clef will be the most challenging aspect of learning piano, though once I pass this hurdle I think that this endeavor into the piano will have its rewards.

My question is; To those who play instruments on the bass clef, is there any acronyms or tricks to remembering the notes? For the treble clef, the acronym "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" can be useful for remembering the notes on the lines, and knowing that the notes on the spaces between the lines spell "FACE" is another trick to recalling the notes. Is there anything similar to the aforementioned that works with bass clef?

Monath, Norman. How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Piano and Swing Feel

What is the hardest style of music to play?

Answers may vary depending on who you are, but I am in strong belief that Jazz is the hardest style of music to play.

All of my past posts apply to jazz; Preparation, Originality, Rhythm, and Minor/Major chords. Jazz is quite basically the mother load of music. It incorporates various feels, sounds, and rhythms. This is why Mr. Palmer introduced the swing feel last. For those who don't know, Jazz is primarily triplets. Practically every note played in jazz is in the placement of triplets. If you were to play eighth note triplets all the way through a sheet of jazz music, it is more then likely that you would of played in the spot of all written notes.

Mr. Palmer represents this by making us play eighth note triplets continuously, according to him "continue to play triplets each time three eighth notes are joined by one beam" (Palmer 142). After attempting, and completing this, I suddenly got more of a feel for swing as a whole. Now i am in the jazz band for Kentridge, and i do understand swing. But i never really thought of it in the manner of triplets. By applying my new knowledge of Jazz, it is ten times easier to play the swing feel.

Me practicing triplets by playing a B flat chord

Piano: Minor Vs. Major?

What sounds better; major chords or minor chords?

I rarely use minor chords in my personal music, I stick with the same C scale, and all of its major chords. But this doesn't necessarly mean i like the sound the best. Any experienced piano player would tell you they love minor chords, and the reasoning is simple. They sound good. Major chords don't express emotion as well as minor chords. Every time you are watching a movie or show, and you begin to cry at whatever scene you're watching; there is a 99.99% chance that the composer was using minor chords in that segment. For those who don't know, minor chords are theoretically the opposite of major chords, and they have a strong influence of sharps and flats. According to Mr. Palmer, "Every MAJOR KEY has a RELATIVE MINOR KEY" (Palmer 128). So which one sounds better? the answer is neither.

Now, i could throw quotes at you such as "Music is a preference", but the truth is, change is the true beauty. This can be applied to any form of music. If you play the same 3 chords an entire song, chances are that it will be boring. Truly good music introduces different feels, different rhythms, different sounds. 

Mr. Palmer has started to develop this idea in the book. I've noticed a pattern in is work. After every major scale, he teaches the contrary minor scale. Then shortly after that, he combines the two scales into a song. Shortly after mastering A minor, we were introduced to "The Stranger" (Palmer 129), and shortly after learning D minor, we were introduced to "Scarborough Fair" (Palmer  135).

Mr. Palmer is trying to get the readers to play music with influence in both minor and major keys, which personally, is a great importance in good sounding music.

Me playing a major chord

Me playing a minor chord

Rhythm and its Importance

Why is it hard to understand rhythm?

In my opinion, music is polar. What i mean by this is, you either understand it, or you don't. Music has surrounded me my whole life; my aunt was in a band, and many family members have had somewhat of an experience with a musical instrument. There are people out there, that can't seem to get the idea of rhythm right. Whether they can't play in time, can't read music, or can't play at all. But me, i've always understood music. I can look at an instrument, or a sheet of music, and everything just makes sense. So i guess the answer, for me, is that it's not. 

Mr. Palmer has a hand exercise about halfway through the novel in which he puts our rhythmic understanding to the test. The challenge is really simple actually, all you have to do is play a C scale with one hand; In time. I completed this on my first try (No bragging intended). Now this section of the book is literally named "These Hands Were Made For Playing" (Palmer 102). He explains how you can't move on to the more challenging concepts until completing the exercise I addressed above. According to Mr. Palmer, "Rhythm may be the most essential part of music. It is a particularly important factor in playing a keyboard instrument" (Palmer 102). 

I have mastered rhythm, and am truly prepared to take my piano skills on to more challenging concepts.

Me using a metronome to practice time-keeping

Singing with the piano

 Hello everybody!

Today I started learning to play a song that was included in my book. "In Exercise 50, the key signature tells you the song is in C minor. The time signature is in 4/4 time. The tempo is andante with a metronome marking of quarter note equals 96, and mf tells you to play the song medium loud"(Halpin 78). This is the first thing I read in this book, I believe that when you analyze a music you often can play it easier with more confidence. Something that was mentioned in the book was, to sing the song if it is possible for a better rhythm and this was difficult due to the fact that I couldn't really multitask. I had to think about the note that was coming next and also try to match my pitch with the piano. After playing the piece, I went back to the first part where the book was analyzing the exercise. I understood that I have to analyze my music before playing and this helped me a lot because I could play it with more confidence and easier.

Piano Originality

What is the hardest part about playing piano?

I friend asked me this recently, and frankly, i didn't have much to say. After much thought, it came to me. For me, one of the hardest subjects in learning piano is being original.

I can play various songs for ever, but at the end of the day, the best part about music is its endless possibilities. What i mean is; it is an accomplishment to play famous songs, but there may be no better feeling then coming up with something yourself, regardless of the instrument. This is part of the reason why solos, in any song, mean a lot to the soloist. But truly being original is hard to come by. 

After learning about proper posture, and the traits of a standard keyboard, Mr. Palmer has started to go in depth on playing music. He first introduced "Ode to Joy", a classical song written by Beethoven. After playing this, and going into depth on more classical music, it has occurred to me what Mr. Palmer is trying to get at. 

Mr. Palmer has tried to get beginners the feel for music, and through time, they can apply to their own standards of music. As stated in the early stages of the book, "Music is an open door, feel free to walk through it" (Palmer 29). Upon reading these words, i was dumbfounded. The emotion, and motivation behind that quote really influenced me to try some stuff on my own. And so i did.

Me attempting to play various charts i have written

Samin Bahizad - Practicing left hand and playing octaves

 Hello,

After practicing my left hand I decided, this time, to practice my left hand again so I started from Exercise 13 again. In this lesson I understood what is allegro and the sign of f. "A few new symbols have been added to Exercise 13. The word allegro indicates the tempo, which means  'fast'. The f dynamic marking, which represents forte, means 'loud',"(Halpin, 30). After practicing my left hand again I tried to play octaves with the left hand. "In order to play an octave, you have to open up and stretch your left hand. The low note is played with your fifth finger, and the high note (located an octave above) is played with your thumb...Place your fifth finger on the low C key and your thumb on middle C and play Exercise 15... This is a good exercise to play often, so you can get accustomed to stretching the fingers on your left hand and getting the feel of playing octaves,"(Halpin, 31).

This was really because I have already practiced left hand so I was able to play octaves.

 

Playing piano with left hand!!!

Hello!
 I decided to challenge myself a little and try to play with my left hand which is what I struggled the most since I was little. When I was little I could never have my focus on both things and I have asked so many of my friends who played piano before how do they focus on both their hands. When I asked one of my really awesome friend ,who is a genius and an artist, she said that the trick is to not think about both hands but to focus on your right hand and then use your left hand. She said to play a song with your right hand then add your left so you won't confuse yourself. After getting some advice I read the book to see what I should do and how I should practice to use my left hand!
  According to the piano book, "For the most part, the left hand plays the bass line in a piece of music, which provides harmony to the melody played with the right hand....Let's assign numbers to the fingers of your left hand...Your thumb1, your index finger is 2, your middle finger is 3, your forefinger is 4, and fifth finger is 5," (Halpin, 28).
Well, when I practiced using my left hand I took the book's advice by numbering my fingers ( I obviously did not write numbers on my fingers but I did numbered them mentally).

Don't judge my nails!

Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course - Jack Thorsland

What makes one pianist stand out from the others? what makes one pianist great? 

Hello Everyone! For me, learning piano was an easy choice. I believe that the piano is the most important instrument in music. It is arguable that the drums may be considered more important, due to them being the first of instruments, but the ability to play piano opens many doors in the musical universe. This consists of; The ability to identify notes, to gain a "musical ear", and to learn why things generally sound good or bad. Upon beginning my book, i learned one thing. There is a science to playing musical instruments correctly, actual theories that revolve around what makes a player not just good, but great.

The first words of my book, are quite literally "BE KIND TO YOUR HANDS!" (Palmer 4) The author is VERY confident in his belief of hand condition. He explains how it is necessary to wear gloves every time I have to lift a heavy object, or even use hand tools such as screwdrivers or wrenches. This is only the beginning. (Palmer 4)

"Before practicing, it is good to soak the hands for a few minutes in warm water. This promotes circulation. Many concert pianists use very warm water on their hand before beginning to play. Towel the hands vigorously until they are dry, then hold your arms out with the hands dangling from the wrist, and shake out your hands rapidly for a few moments." (Palmer 4)

I have already changed my outlook on playing piano. what Palmer is explaining is that there is much more to playing the piano, then just pressing your fingers against the keys. The conditions of your hands, and the way you prepare them upon practicing or even performing, these are the traits that differentiate those who are mediocre at piano, and those who can be great.

Now, looking back on my question, i answer with this statement, feel free to quote this one day.

The ability to play piano is not influenced by the time you practice, but the manner in which you practice, and the manner in which you prepare.

This one is for you Mr. Palmer! 

Honestly, dipping my hands in warm water was one of the best ideas ever. All the activities that involve using fingers are benefitted, especially playing the piano.

Playing piano after a long time

 Hello,

After practicing about thirty minutes on reading the notes and playing the right notes, I remembered a lot of the songs that I used to play (children song mostly). The next lesson was about listening to music you are playing. For example, record yourself playing the music you chose to learn, so when you play it back you know where you need to improve on. "When you listen to the recording, you'll hear things you didn't hear when you were playing. This allows you to critique yourself, hear any imperfections, and make adjustments in your playing"(Haplin25). In this case, my Org/Piano has a recording system that can record the notes and the way I am playing, then I can listen to it after playing the notes. In this book, it is said that to learn you have to have a good teacher that can encourage you to continue on playing Piano. "The best Piano teachers are the ones who know how to motivate and encourage their students and give them the necessary constructive criticism"(Haplin25). I believe that if I'm teaching myself then I have to find time to actually practice. I should not get discouraged easily if I do not understand how to play but try and refer to the resources that can help me to understand the concept better. I really loved this concept because I don't really have patience and I get discouraged easily but this concept gives me a reason to learn to have more patience , so that way I can keep up with learning about playing Piano more professionally! 

I am not in this picture but I am trying to listen to the playback!