Learning to Read Music

Learning to Read the Lines and Spaces of the Treble Clef and Bass Clef

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Everyone has there own way of learning and while some techniques work for some people, they will not work for all. The same principle applies to learning to play a musical instrument and learning to read and interpret musical notation. Learning to read the treble clef notes and the bass clef notes can be easy … Read more

Vegetable Rhythms – What Are They and How Can They Help?

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In my work this year as a relief music teacher working across primary and high schools, I have come across the concept of vegetable rhythms and even though they are aimed at children from the ages of 5 to 8, I think that whoever came up with the concept was really rather clever. Vegetable rhythms … Read more

Old Piano Books- Are They Any Use?

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t strikes me as amusing that one thing that tends to not ever be thrown out is old music books. People that don’t play the piano, have never wanted  to or will ever want to learn to play the piano, will hold on to piano music, sometimes for generations. This has been the case on … Read more

Ways to Count When Learning a New Piano Piece

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There are some people who can sit down at a piano and just play stuff with seemingly no effort at all. They seem to get the notes and the timing (or rhythm) without even really thinking. This is the perception but it is not actually a reality. I would be one of those people who … Read more

How is Crescendo and Diminuendo Different From Playing Forte and Piano?

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You might be familiar with the expression terms of crescendo, diminuendo, forte and piano, as well as mezzo forte, mezzo piano, fortissimo and pianissimo, if not then here is their definitions: Crescendo – gradually becoming louder Diminuendo – gradually becoming softer Forte – loud Piano – soft Mezzo Forte – moderately loud Mezzo Piano – … Read more

Tenuto Marks and Ledger Lines – What is the Difference?

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Across piano music, there are frequently little lines scattered throughout written music notation and if they both were taken out of context, it would be impossible to tell the difference between the two. Fortunately the context of either one makes it really clear as to what they mean and how they impact the music. The … Read more

If You Want to Play the Piano then Stop Procrastinating

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Procrastinating is something that we all do from time to time and some do it more than others. It seems innocent enough, but really procrastination and excuses can get in the way of doing what we really want to do. I have been teaching many years and ever since I could say to people that … Read more