Coming Soon: (At Least) 22 Tips for Successful Learning of Piano

I tell my workshop students that I started to learn piano when I was 23 years old. It's true. That's how old I was when I decided I WANTED to learn about the piano and found someone who could teach it to me.

In actuality it started much earlier than that. My music lessons probably started the day I was born. That was the day I first heard music I'm pretty sure. Don't ask me exactly what was the first music I heard. I don't remember.

But there must have been some radio on somewhere in the nursery at St. Mary's Hospital. Or if not, I'm sure my mom must have started singing to me within hours if not minutes of my birth. The fact she was a professional stage singer had nothing to do with it. We naturally sing to our children. We can't help it.

So that was my first music lesson. Day One. And I've had a music lesson everyday since. I believe we get a music lesson every time we hear music played. Maybe it's just the subconscious mind that gets the lesson, but that counts.

By the age of four I learned to play records (78's I'm afraid they were) on the folks' Packard Bell phonograph. I still remember my favorite records. Tex Williams (Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette), Jimmy Durante, Spike Jones, Chico Marx, Oscar Levant (Malaguena).

Formal piano lessons started at six. They started again at seven. Then I started over again at seven-and-a-half. Then eight-and-a-half. By age 10, my piano career was over when I finally persuaded the parents that piano was not for me.

After all that time and with all those teachers I managed to conquer John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers to Play, and got as far as page 19 of the John Thompson First Grade Book. Not exactly protege material.

Toward the end I was barely practicing 10 minutes a WEEK. Or maybe it was 10 minutes a MONTH. Piano was not what I wanted to do. So I was allowed to quit.

A funny thing happened after I stopped taking formal lessons. From then on you could not pry me away from the piano. I was playing around with it all the time. No direction, no lessons, no formalities, no practicing. Just play play play.

Later my attention turned to guitar and shortly after that to girls, but those basic years until about age 10 or so were very influential. And were very important to me.

What's the point of this?

By the time I was 33 I figured out how to present the one day piano workshop to adults, and since then I've taught the class to over 36,000 people (I think). It stands to reason that over that time, some people would come to regard me as an expert in the field of piano teaching.

Whether that's true or not is up for discussion.

But over that time, I've come to recognize certain key factors that contribute to ones development and success at the piano.

Earlier today I was staring out the window daydreaming when I decided to see how many of those key factors I could write down. Within three minutes I got to 22 of them.

So if you're interested, I'd like to share these factors with you over then next few issues. I'm sure that by the time I'm done I'll think of several more. These factors are often so subtle that we don't think about them. Yet they are very powerful. And often very simple.

Some of these key factors will surprise you. Maybe all of them will surprise you. And not a single one has to do with "practicing" as we know it. Stand by.

A Warning About Fake Books

I talked about fake books in the last newsletter,

and I mention them in all my workshops. I even

encourage people to go out and buy them, as they

are great motivational tools. I mean with 800

songs on your piano's music rack, why bother with

television? (OK, there's all those curling matches

going on in the Olympics right now, but they will

be over by next week).

But there's a warning that needs to be sounded

regarding the fake books. Warning, warning,

warning. DO NOT buy any music book that is

intended for B flat or E flat instruments, fake

books or otherwise. It will say right on the cover

if it does.

Oh Lordy. Now I'm going to have to explain this.

This is tricky territory. If you play trumpet or

clarinet or tenor sax or soprano sax, you will

want the B flat version of a music book. But B

flat is not for piano players. Why not? OK. When

one of the above mentioned instruments sees a C

note in the music and fingers a C note on the

instrument (what he has been told is a C anyway),

the note that comes out is a B flat.

And why is that?

Oh rats, I knew you would ask. See what I started

here? I've got to put an end to this inquiry.

"Because it does."

There, that's all you need to know. And likewise

when an alto or baritone sax (there may be others)

fingers a C, out pops an E flat note.

How did this happen? I'd rather not even think

about it. I know it's insane. But using the B flat

and E flat versions of the music is the only way

these particular instruments can read the music

and still be in the same key as everyone else.

So look for the label "For C Instruments." That's

you Mr. or Ms. Piano Player. Or if there is no

indication at all on the cover, then you're

probably going to be safe.

Maybe we'll chew on this topic in a little more

detail later, if anybody is interested. In the

mean time, please direct your questions, comments,

responses, etc. to the blog page so that everyone

can benefit.

Fake Books and iPhones

Do you know what a fake book is? About half the students who end up taking my Instant Piano workshop do not. I explain that it's a book of music that has only the single-note melody line and the accompanying chords. Thus a fake book is a perfect source of music for people who learn my method.

It pretty much eliminates the need for anyone to have to learn any but the simplest level of music notation reading. In fact, one of the secrets of my method is that it avoids the student having to take years of lessons in order to read.

Fortunately, fake books are now quite abundant. You can find them in most music stores, on line, in libraries, and even in large book stores such as Borders. But I just learned of another source.

The most famous fake book for jazz players is a volume that is paradoxically titled The Real Book. It's the bible for jazz musicians. For years it was underground, only available through the shadiest of sources because, in the tradition of early fake books, there were no licenses granted to publish the songs, thus no royalties were getting paid, and a lot of people and lawyers were unhappy about it.

Then Hal Leonard publishers came along a few years ago and published a legit version of this iconic tome. But here is what I recently found out. There is an iPhone app for the Real Book. And it only cost $8, and it comes with hundreds and hundreds of songs. Plus it has a lot of other features such as the ability to transpose these songs into any key.

Now get this. Last month in Hawaii, Pam and I were jamming at a restaurant with this band we had me the week before, The Hot Club of Hulaville. They have a big repertoire of gypsy jazz songs, but someone requested a song the band didn't know. So all four members got out their iPhones (that's right, they each had one) and looked up the song and read it right from their phones.

That concept was unimaginable 10 years ago. But it was pretty funny.

If you have an iPhone, you can get the program from the Apple App Store. Be aware, there is no melody line in the songs so it isn't like the real Real Book. Chords only, so you need to know the song pretty well in your head. Still. A must have for jazz players.

If you're in the SF Bay area, I'll be presenting my Instant Piano workshop this weekend and next.

Feb 20, College of Marin, 415-485-9305

Feb 21, Solano College (near Fairfield), 707-864-7115

Feb 27, College of San Mateo, 650-574-6149

This is very short notice, so you better call today if you're interested.

More info on the web site.

http://pianofun.com/seminars.html

Mexico and Its Music

Well we just got back from spending two great weeks in Mexico, and of course a large part of that trip involved listening to music. I know very little about Mexican music, but I like to listen to it, and I often think about it.

Mexican music is so recognizable and is so much a part of their culture. I have to smile when I see a young Mexican man driving an ultra spiffy muscle car down the boulevard, with all the windows rolled down, and the car stereo at full blast. And what you might hear, even if you're a block away, is the sound of an accordion blasting away to a 2/4 polka beat. How funny is that.

I've been to Mexico enough times and have traveled to enough places to be able to recognize some of the different styles of Mexican music according to the region of origin. The accordion/tuba laced norteño music of Northern Mexico is quite different from the horn and violin flavored mariachi music of Guadalajara, which is very different from the harp influenced music of Vera Cruz, which is in turn much different from the music of the Yucatán.

But it's all distinctly Mexican. And it's so cool that there seem to be dozens of standards that everyone knows and feels free to sing along to.

It makes me wonder why we don't have something similar in America. I mean our American culture has contributed to more than its share of music, but there doesn't seem to be one style or group of songs that we all relate to. But upon further thought, there are some exceptions.

We all seem to know the classic Christmas Carols, for example. And there are at least two regions of our great country that exhibit their own unique musical tradition. One is Southern Louisiana (not just New Orleans, but the bayou country as well), and the Cajun areas around Lafayette. And the other is Hawaii.

Hawaii is full if music, and once you get beyond the tourist layer of "Tiny Bubbles" and the like, you get a rich collection of tunes that all the locals seem to know and love. We've been very fortunate to have been invited to participate in many Hawaiian jam sessions. The songs are fairly simple to play and to pick up by ear, having only four or five chords at the most. But they are really soulful, and the locals treat them with reverence.

I'm thinking about that because we will be in Hawaii starting next week, and will no doubt get to re-experience these jam sessions. If you are lucky enough to live in Hawaii or are lucky enough to be there over the next couple of weeks, consider taking my Instant Piano workshop. I'd love to meet you.

I'll be holding the workshops in Kona, Hilo, Honolulu, and Kaneohe. Also How to Play Piano Piano by Ear at every location except Kona. Find the schedule here.

http://pianofun.com/schedule/Laughlin.html


Aloha and mahalo,

Robert

Is My Piano Worth Repairing?

Here's a letter I recently received from one of my subscribers who had a question about getting her piano tuned and repaired.

I have one of those uprights (wurlitzer) that hasn't been tuned in about 7 years. After reading your article, should I even bother with calling a piano tuner? I'm trying to make a decision whether to buy a new piano.

I don't want to just throw my money away on getting this one tuned if tuning turns out to be futile. So I do need some advice.

I love to play and want a nicer sound. What is frustrating is I've talked to those in the piano business, and they will charge me to send a tuner out whether or not the piano is even worth tuning.

My Answer:

The over all answer to your question is "it all depends." How old is the Wurlitzer? Is it a true upright, or a studio, or a console, or a spinet? These are all designations of a vertical piano. It was tuned seven years ago. How regularly was it tuned before that? (That's the big question). How much sentimental attachment do you have for it? How much could you get if you sold it now, and how much of the cost of a replacement piano would that cover?

Most of these questions could be answered by a piano technician.

I would guess that most piano technicians are honest and would be willing to talk to you on the phone and answer some of your questions. A tuning runs about 100 bucks these days, which includes some regulation. Major regulation might cost another hundred. As for major repairs, the sky is the limit. Major problems could include a warped or cracked sounding board, a weak pin block, restringing, cracked harp, refelting, and numerous possible problems with the action.

I recommend calling a tuner and ask what he would charge to come over and give you a consultation. Ask if that would apply to any tuning or repairs if you plan on going in that direction. Give him the serial number over the phone. He should be able to look it up in the Piano Atlas and tell you lots about the instrument right over the phone.

Call at least two and maybe three technicians before you make an appointment. Make certain the tech is a member of the Piano Technician's Guild (or just "The Guild" as I don't know the exact wording of the name). Get a recommendation from a music store as they would tend to feel they have to stand behind anyone they would recommend.

Also do some homework yourself. Find a copy of The Piano Book by Larry Fine (not the same Larry Fine who was one of the Three Stooges, in case you were wondering). There's a lot of good advice in there about buying pianos, both new and used.

Be aware that some instruments, due to a combination of quality, age, and neglect, simply cannot be tuned. Others SHOULD not be. But many will last several life times if taken care of properly. It's worth a shot.

Report from Brazil Music Camp

Just returned from Brazil Camp, our third and final
music camp of the summer. While the other two were a
fun mix of very eclectic music classes and a lot of
jamming, Brazil Camp was serious business for very
serious musicians.

It was fun, don't get me wrong. But it was a serious
challenge. But people ask me, "Why Brazil Camp? What's
the deal with Brazilian music anyway?"

Many people associate Brazilian music with the Bossa
Nova. Certainly Bossa Nova is a big part of Brazilian
music, but it's only a part. Here's what make Brazilian
music so special to me.

Consider the music that was created and has developed
in the New World. The influences come from two primary
sources, Europe and Africa. A little after the time of
the discovery of the New World, European music was
beginning to become very rich in harmony (think
Bach/Beethoven/Mozart). But it was pretty anemic
rhythmically. The meters were mostly 4/4, 2/4, or 3/4,
and syncopation was almost non-existent.

Contrast that to the music of West Africa which there
were almost no tonal instruments to create harmony, but
whose rhythms were so glorious, they defied European
musicological examination.

As music developed in North America, it borrowed from
and modified the European models of harmony and even
adopted some of the simpler African rhythms. But to
this day, the rhythms of the music of the Americas are
pretty simple compared to those of Africa.

Except for Brazil.

Here in this music you have extremely challenging
rhythms side by side with some of the most
sophisticated jazz harmonies you've ever heard. The
result? Jazz with a Brazilian flavor. It's rich and
complex, yet from a listener's point of view, very
approachable. It's exciting, but not self absorbed or
over analytical. It's music you want to stay and listen
to or get up and dance to. But unless you're well
versed, don't try to play it.

Brazil Camp, however, was very forgiving to a newcomer
like me. I was either in class or practicing seven
hours a day, and I actually got a chance to be included
in spite of my limitations. And I was inspired to try
hard to "get it."

And some day I will get it. I've got plenty to work on.

Keep playing (it all comes back to that).


Robert

How to Accompany a Singer

Since the word got out that I taught a piano course for
accompanying singers at music camp, people have asked
me if I have a training program for that topic so that
people could learn at home. Surprise. I do not.

But as I went through the course over a period of seven
days, one thing became very clear. Almost every aspect
of piano accompaniment style relates either directly or
indirectly to just about every other aspect of playing
piano. (With one important exception which I'll reveal
in just a moment.)

For example, using the piano as an accompanying tool
will often incorporate elements of the blues, left hand
and right hand variations, the Circle of Fifths,
playing by ear, introductions, endings, power chords,
and various piano style.

Yet it's on the whole easier to use the piano to
accompany a singer than it is to play solo piano. And
this brings us to the important exception I mentioned a
second ago. When accompanying a singer, a piano player
does not play melodies. That's the singers' department.
Much like a guitar player, a piano accompanyist
"strums" chords. And that's something that can be done
with just one hand on a piano.

If you play guitar, imagine how much easier it would be
if you could make chords by using just one hand instead
of two. But that is indeed what it's like with the
piano.

Of course there is more to good piano accompaniment
than merely playing chords with one hand. But that's
the basis of it. So will I ever write a book about
accompaniment? That's yet to be answered. No immediate
plans. But I will continue to educate people on the
fundamentals of chord piano. And remember, the
techniques are all applicable in one way or another to
piano accompaniment as well as solo playing.

And I do plan on repeating the class again next summer at
Lark Camp. (www.larkcamp.com)


Robert