Need advice what to learn next.
CoreyWo...@gmail.com
was playing rather advanced pieces before I moved away to college. For
a couple of years I had no access to a piano so I wasn't able to
practice. Now I've moved again and got myself a little console piano
and I am picking it up again and loving it. I've been practicing the
old standard classical pieces like moonlight sonata so I can have a
basic repetoire of pieces ready to play. However I want to branch out
more, I want to play some jazz and some pop songs but I can't figure
out how. Only the most popular and rather boring pop songs tend to have
sheet music available, and it is either dumbed way down, or a direct
copy of what the keyboardist really does play which ends up sounding
like a rhythm section with no melody. I know some people can listen to
a recording and arrange the piece to their likings. I'd love to be able
to do this, and/or learn to jazz improvise etc. But I don't know where
to start. Should I buy just a book of chords and scales and try to
memorize them all? Is there a particular book that helps people like me
who have taken piano lessons before but need to grow out of their
dependency on sheet music???
Also, Are there any good piano resources on the web? I don't think
guirarists know how good they have it with all the tableture out there.
I've found a few sites but they tend to just have classical music that
I already own or don't care to learn.
Thanks in Advance,
Corey
Gary Weder
<CoreyWo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1133135214.2...@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> I've taken piano lessons since I was very young. I got pretty good and
> was playing rather advanced pieces before I moved away to college. For
> a couple of years I had no access to a piano so I wasn't able to
> practice. Now I've moved again and got myself a little console piano
> and I am picking it up again and loving it. I've been practicing the
> old standard classical pieces like moonlight sonata so I can have a
> basic repetoire of pieces ready to play. However I want to branch out
> more, I want to play some jazz and some pop songs but I can't figure
> out how.
Learn some chords http://chordfind.com/keyboard/ .
and then try them out http://www.lovebolts.co.uk/index.php
Only the most popular and rather boring pop songs tend to have
> sheet music available, and it is either dumbed way down, or a direct
> copy of what the keyboardist really does play which ends up sounding
> like a rhythm section with no melody.
Try http://www.pianofiles.com/
I know some people can listen to
> a recording and arrange the piece to their likings. I'd love to be able
> to do this, and/or learn to jazz improvise etc. But I don't know where
> to start.
Start with "Amazing Grace" . It is slow and has only three chords. C , F
& G.
You should be able to play it by ear.
Then try improvising with your right hand over a common chord progression
(played with the left hand) such as C , Am , F , G ( Blue moon / Heart and
Soul) . At first just keep in time (right hand)playing the white keys and
then add an Eb , F# and Bb played on the off beat .
Should I buy just a book of chords and scales and try to
> memorize them all? Is there a particular book that helps people like me
> who have taken piano lessons before but need to grow out of their
> dependency on sheet music???
>
> Also, Are there any good piano resources on the web? I don't think
> guirarists know how good they have it with all the tableture out there.
> I've found a few sites but they tend to just have classical music that
> I already own or don't care to learn.
These may be of interest to you
http://www.sudnow.com/contents.html
http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/
Happy Playing
Gary.
Greg G
Gary Weder wrote:
> Learn some chords http://chordfind.com/keyboard/ .
I looked at that site. It's pretty interesting for a beginner and it
works very quickly, but it has some oddities.
11th chords include the 3rd.
13th chords include the 11th and the 3rd
There's a chord type labeled "7maj5", which I probably would call an
aug7, and others might call a 7 b13 or some such thing. I've never
heard of a 7maj5.
One could also quibble that the chords are all voiced in thirds and in
the root position only. I think that is OK, actually, as long as the
user is aware that the site should not be taken as a compendium of all
chord possibilities.
Greg Guarino
Tom Shaw
classical.
TS
"Greg G" <g...@risky-biz.com> wrote in message
news:1133191075....@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Greg G
Gary Weder wrote:
> and then try them out http://www.lovebolts.co.uk/index.php
I had a look at three of the chord charts on this site. (2 Billy Joel,
1 Springsteen). I would say that they seemed largely correct and
certainly good enough for a beginner to get his feet wet. But I did
find things here and there that seemed incorrect and some chords that
were omitted. I would suggest that anyone who uses this site, or
frankly any source of chord charts, take them with a grain of salt. Use
them to get started, but trust your ears. If it doesn't sound right, it
probably isn't.
Greg Guarino
Marc Sabatella
> old standard classical pieces like moonlight sonata so I can have a
> basic repetoire of pieces ready to play. However I want to branch out
> more, I want to play some jazz and some pop songs but I can't figure
> out how.
Not surprising, as classical training doesn't normally cover the sorts
of skills needed to do this. There are some books and videos available
on how to play from fakebooks and/or by ear (they comprise many of the
same skills), although I can't say that any of the ones I've seen really
knock me out. Your best bet would be to go to a music store, browse the
selection of materials in this area to find something that appeals to
you, spend some time with it, and if possible, take some lessons with
someone who specializes in these skills.
> I don't know where
> to start. Should I buy just a book of chords and scales and try to
> memorize them all?
No. I mean, sure, you do need to know all your major scales, and how to
construct various types of chords. But there is no reaosn to start
right out with an exhaustive study of this topic before ever getting
down the actual business of *playing* songs. That would be like
memorizing the entire dictionary to a foreign language before trying to
speak your first sentence. Better to start out with just the scales and
chords you need to deal with one song, and then work on playing that
song. But again, you won't really be able to do that well without some
sort of instruction, whethet from a book, video, or teacher.
---------------
Marc Sabatella
ma...@outsideshore.com
Music, art, & educational materials
Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer"
http://www.outsideshore.com/
pianonewbie
http://www.scottthepianoguy.com/pianoguyseries.html
I would not use him as a primary source of informations, but you
can pick up some nice tidbits, and his guests seem to give lots of
good advice. It's also a nice blend of basic and advanced ( OK
intermediate ).