Where Piano Playing Retirees Get Information and Encouragement
While I have definite opinions on this subject, I fully acknowledge that there could be other writers that completely disagree with what I say. Because I know that this particular subject has no particular consensus, I will endeavour to explain why I have the opinions I do. When learning about chords and how they are … Read more
If you look carefully enough at printed music, you will often see dots all over the place. While those dots do look random, they are most certainly not. Every dot on every piece of music has meaning. The dots that are situated near a note can be confusing to some learning to read music. If … Read more
A tie, a slur and a phrase all look quite similar and sometimes they can get confused with each other since they look like this: This symbol is typically used above the stave (staff) or inverted and used underneath the stave (staff), depending on which direction the stems of the notes are going. This applies … Read more
Whenever I am searching for anything to do with music (which happens quite a bit) I’ll often come across the opportunity to download and print off free piano music, even when I’m not even searching for it. Sure free sounds good, but sometimes it is hard to know if the website is a reputable one … Read more
There is one practice that a lot of piano students make that is not a tool I would use. Some students think that they will learn to read the notes quicker if they write the names of the notes under every single note. I understand that they all genuinely want to maximize their efficiency by … Read more
A silent piano from a distance looks like any normal modern upright piano. Up close it also looks like a normal upright piano except their might be a small screen positioned unobtrusively and a spot to plug in headphones. A silent piano starts with all the mechanisms of an upright piano – keys, hammers and … Read more
Sometimes the words ‘keyboard’ and ‘synthesizer’ are used interchangeably. It could be argued that a synthesizer is in fact a keyboard, using the broader definition of the word. That would make pianos, electric pianos, organs and harpsichords all keyboard instruments. Most of the time though, referring to a keyboard is referring to a specific musical … Read more