I came across this series of YouTube videos that are done by the music channel called Music Greatness. They have got quite a lot on their YouTube channel. Some of the videos are for piano players and some are for guitar players.
The series of six beginner piano lessons I believe are actually mis-named. I think that they should be called theory basics for piano players who want to play the piano using chords. These videos are not so much about actually playing pieces of music, but rather they are about showing terms like tones and half tones (which is another name for steps and half steps). They also cover content about scales and what makes up a scale.
The information that is presented is solid – I really can’t fault it, except when he talks about the minor scale. The thing is that there is more than one minor scale – there is the natural minor scale, the harmonic minor scale and the melodic minor scale. All three types of minor scales are quite similar but obviously there has to be a small difference between each of them.
Later on in the series, he talks about chords and their relationship with scales. Again, the information that he provides is spot on. The presenter clearly has a good understanding of musical theory.
As I said earlier, I don’t think that these videos teach you much at all about playing the piano – the actual playing part. There are probably later videos that get to the actual playing part. While there are different ways of teaching the piano, I personally think it is better to explain a bit, then let the piano student have a go before moving on to the next concept.
I don’t think that these videos are for the beginner piano student that wants to learn to read music, I think that these videos are much more suited to those that want to play the piano by using chords. I’m not saying here that one style is better than the other, I’m just saying that these videos are much more suited to those who want to play the piano by playing chords.
What needs to be said, since I am reviewing their piano content part of the YouTube channel called Music Greatness, is that they have many many videos on how to play certain specific pieces of music.
Not that I have watched them all, but from the few I saw, it could be a good way someone can learn for themselves how to play certain pieces of music. The way that they are done is that you could learn to play these pieces without any musical knowledge at all.
If playing the piano by chords is something you are keen on learning, this particular YouTube channel could be really useful for you. I encourage you to check it out for yourself.