Piano players required for holiday fun!

Mugs of hot chocolate, the smell of pine trees, and music around the piano. Have you ever dreamed of having a sing-along in the holiday season?  YOU CAN PLAY THE PIANO so call up some friends or family for a sing-along… it’s Party Time!

If this is your first sing-along, pick three songs that seem easy to you…  maybe Jingle Bells, Silent Night and The 12 days of Christmas.  “Not the 12 days!”, you may say!  Just hand out the lyrics (with big print of course), start playing and it’s a favourite every time!

The BEST 12 Days of Christmas on Youtube - Straight No Chaser –
 Harmony, counterpoint and humour!  

Another favorite  - Muppets 12 Days –

Check out the 5 gold rings with Miss Piggy and Rolf playing the piano on this Youtube.

For added fun,  you can make up your own words.  Magic School Bus Version  –

On the first day of recycling my teacher gave to me… a whole mess of magazines!

On the second day of recycling my teacher gave to me… 2 plastic bags and a whole mess of magazines. etc.

Now that your into it here's a few suggestions before your sing-along:

1. Get a fake book version of the music... it saves page turns!
2. Record yourself playing the songs.  It usually takes a few tries to get a nice one.  Just think of it as more practise :0)

3. Sing along with your recording. Forget about the sound of your voice (it gets drowned out in the group at the sing-along) you want to see if your playing can be sung to before you gather the gang.

4. Find one person, a family member or trusted friend, and practise accompanying them while they sing.

Now you're ready!

Here's where to get the music...
Jingle Bells and Silent Night is found in Play Piano Chords Today Book 2   
The Twelve Days of Christmas is here.  
Twelve Days of Christmas with beginner chords is here.
Or if you want a big sing-along, my favourite Christmas Fake book with lyrics and 100 songs is Hal Leonard's
Christmas Fake Book.

Oh and one more thing, download my FREE Christmas lyric book to hand out to your singers.

Send out your invitations and create some Christmas memories!  

My Freezer Died!

What does a freezer have to do with piano chords you ask?

I opened my freezer the other day and with dismay discovered it had died and the contents had melted.  I signed on to Craigslist and a freezer the exact size I needed had just been listed.  I called the lady selling it, went to see it and bought it.  The lady selling the freezer was amazing!  She was 90.  A vibrant, healthy 90, and she was leaving her home of 48 years and downsizing to a condo (not a nursing home!).  In her living room was a beautiful walnut-coloured spinet.  I asked her if she played her piano and she said, “not anymore, I’m giving it to my daughter”.  You see, she had taken up the piano when she retired in her 60s but became bored with it and gave it up.  What she said next was the most interesting, “ I hear that now-a-days they teach you the songs you grew up with, songs that are familiar to you.  In my day they didn't do that.  I couldn't relate to the music I was learning”. 

What she wanted to be able to do was sit at her piano and play familiar tunes and reminisce about happy times.  Isn't this what playing piano chords is all about?  Yes!  It doesn't take months to learn a song and you can play it the way you remember it.  Did I tell her not to give away her piano and sign up for piano chording lessons?  Well her move was in motion and she didn't need a monkey-wrench thrown into her life BUT I did mention that once she was settled in her new home, if she still had her piano dream, to call me and she could happily play the songs she wanted to in her new condo on a digital piano with headphones.  She gave me a sparkly smile like she just may think about that.

Students – keep your enthusiasm for the piano alive by including songs you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE into your daily playing.  Teachers – it’s great to teach good technique and expand a student’s knowledge of the piano literature, but are all your students playing something that is dear to them?  If so, Bravo!  If not… you know what to do!

By the way, the freezer lady's daughter had taken piano lessons to grade 10 as a child but never played any more.  She was reluctantly taking the piano.  Hopefully she will contact a teacher in the area she lives, discover piano chords and enter retirement playing the songs she loves with her grandchildren singing along.  

Musical Goals For the New Year

"The practice of goal-setting is not just helpful; it is a prerequisite for happiness".

Michael Hyatt - leadership expert

If you've already set your 2015 musical goals Bravo! If you haven't, or they need a tweak, here are some ideas to help you set and achieve your goals.

1. Make a list

2. Make it manageable

3. Set up friendly reminders

Let’s take a deeper look.

1. MAKE A LIST

I would like to… (Check off the following goals that apply to you):

_  Play happy birthday on my birthday

_  Play with a musical neighbor a singer/trumpet player/drummer/etc.

_  Play some songs for an aging parent

_  Play some Christmas carols for a grandchild

_  Play in a seniors care home

_  inspire a child to play the piano

_  have a few tunes memorized to play at a party

_  accompany a sing-along with friends

_  accompany a choir

_  accompany a dance class

_  Learn these specific pieces _________________________________

_  Other _____­­­­­­­_____________________________________

_  Perform a classical piano concert in Carnegie Hall

Now let's discuss a way to bring this about.

2. MAKE IT MANAGEABLE

A. Go back to your 'I would like to list' and put a date next to the ones you have checked off. Every goal needs a date associated with it. A goal without a date is just a dream.

Can't decide what date to put?  Give it your best guess (they can be revised in the future).  Here are a few examples:

     - Play a few Christmas carols for a grandchild may take anywhere from 2 to 6 months.

     - Play for a sing-along may take anywhere from 4 months to a year.  

     - Perform at Carnegie Hall will take approximately 15 years practicing 4 - 6 hours a day.

B. Find a nice note book (or purchase this Piano Journal from the Play Piano Chords Today website). 

       a. On the first page of your book write the words REPERTOIRE TO LEARN.  Write down 3 - 300 songs you wish to learn in the future 

       b. On the next page of the book write the title REPERTOIRE LEARNED.  When a piece has been learned,  move it from the first list to this list.  See  Play Piano Chords Today Book 2 for information on how you know when a piece is ready to play for someone else.   

C. Keep track of what you're currently working on for the rest of your piano journal.  A page could look something like this…

Piano teachers are a great help with advice as to what technical exercises are appropriate for your level. Learning patterns (scales and chords) and exercises for finger independence are important to pleasurable playing.  More on this in future blogs.

OK.  Now it’s manageable and we need to add it to our daily habits.  

3. SET UP FRIENDLY REMINDERS

Most smart phones have a REMINDERS apps on them. I love to use mine for reminders of my goals. For example set a reminder for two months from today that says "Have you memorized Happy Birthday?" Now set a reminder for one month that says "Have you memorized part of Happy Birthday?" You can take it further and set a reminder for one week that says "Have you memorized the first line of Happy Birthday?" When you break your reminders down into small achievable goals you'll look forward to receiving them.  They will be confirmation of a goal achieved or an opportunity for a revision.  Don’t have a smartphone?  Put reminders in the same place you put doctor’s appointments, or lunch with friends.  A good daily reminder is, "Have you played your favourite song on the piano today?"   That's on a post-it note on my fridge.  Click here for fun printable.

Three steps to keep you on track for a 2015 full of musical growth.  When you feel yourself growing you are happier and healthier and you will enjoy the beautiful music you play!

Active Listening

What do we mean by Active Listening?  

Becoming completely involved with the music that is playing and asking questions as you listen…  Major or Minor?  4 beats or 3 per bar? What instruments?  Are they in tune?  Are they balanced nicely… i.e. do you hear the melody clearly and the accompanying instruments in the background?  What is the style of music? (Latin, Classical, Blues, Stride, etc.)

Why should we actively listen? To fully experience the emotions the music is expressing!  Hear Haydn’s jokes 250 years after he wrote them ... they’re still funny.  Experience the profound sadness Brahms felt when his mother died in his famous Horn Trio.  Groove along with Elvis or Nat King Cole on the piano while they sing and play the blues.  Actually hear the chord changes.  We should actively listen to experience music on a deep, satisfying level. 

Active listening tips…

- While listening, ask, “are there 4 or 3 beats in a bar?” (these are good basics beats to start with) and then count along.

- Clap on beat 1 (or stomp your foot or nod your head… but feel that beat).  

- Clap on beat 1 & 3 or clap on beats 2 & 4.  They are both important to be able to feel.

- Try some clapping grooves while you listen.  

o   If there are 4 beats per bar … Clap

                     

o   If there are 3 beats per bar… Clap   

What is the opposite of active listening?  Passive listening.  A few examples of everyday activities you probably engage in while passively listening to music include:

                                                     Eating                           Exercising  

                                                    Socializing                  Cleaning your home

                                                    Commuting                  Riding an elevator

Passive listening is how many people listen to music most of the time and, while it can be nice, it doesn’t have the same effect on us that active listening does.  Active listening will make you a better musician and it soothes the soul.

Listening Examples

YouTube is a fabulous listening resource.  Pour a glass of your favourite beverage, sit in your favourite chair and actively listen to some of the music below (click on the title to go to YouTube).  Clap or play along for more involvement! 

The list is short (only 5 pieces) and it’s eclectic!  It will give you a taste of active listening and may change how you approach the next live concert you attend.

1. Nat King Cole – Easy Listening Blues – This piano blues is in B flat – What are the I IV V chords in the B flat scale?  If you can find them play them along with Nat. 

2. Elvis Presley – You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog - Blues in C.  Find the I IV and V chords in the key of C and play along.  Play them as sevenths for an even better sound.  (C7, F7 and G7)

3. Haydn – String Quartet No 2 Op. 33 – nicknamed The Joke.  Get caught up in the melody and see if you can hear the surprising twists, disconcerting silences and a concluding “false start”.  You may be confused as to where to applause!

4. Brahms – Horn Trio Op 40  - an amazing piece but the third movement is impassioned and heartfelt.  The trio was a tribute to his mother and in the third movement you can hear his devastation upon her death and if you listen closely… sobbing. Listen to the fourth movement to lift your spirits. 

5. Simon and Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair – cool guitar riffs and harpsichord “counterpoint” (a new word for some… google it).  Are the beats in groups of 3 or 4?

I hope you enjoy your active listening experience.  Please send me some of your favourite music to actively listen to and what you heard when you listened.  I’ll include some of them in the next blog. 

Piano Practice Tip

Repetition is the key to learning a tough spot in your piece of music...except repetition can be boring! 

It's NOT BORING when you make it interesting.  It turns from boring to ENGAGING. How do you make it interesting?

First.... rarely play the whole song when you are practicing.  It's too much NEWNESS for your brain to take in.  Dive in and find the tough spots. Now start your repetition woodshedding.   Select 2-4 bars (no more!) and vary it.  Play it LOUD, play it soft, play it fast, play it   s  l  o  w,  play it sta-cca-to, play it legato.  Invent your own ways that keep you focused.  Now find the next tough spot and do the same.  Finally, repeat these short passages daily as part of your warm-up.  One day won't do it but 3-7 days surely will.

Wouldn't it be great if learning the piece was as much fun as playing it?  With varied repetition it will be!

Finding New Adult Students

Finding new students can be the toughest part of teaching piano.  Why?  It often involves ‘selling ourselves’.  There I said it.  Visions of door-to-door salesmen in hilarious plaid pants come to mind.  These salesmen were bold enough to knock on your door and convince you that your old vacuum was a thing of the past and you must have the latest one.  “Get out there and sell yourself!”  their bosses bellowed.  Fortunately there is a better way.

I owned retail stores for 3 decades in addition to my musical career.  Advertising the stores was a part of the job description.  I attended courses by McDonald’s (yes, the hamburger chain), read oodles of books on selling and worked with great advertising agencies.  I’ll share with you the most important thing I learned about advertising over those 30 plus years…

Sell what your product does for your customer.  Sell the benefits.  Never sell yourself.

What does this mean?  An example is often better than words… 

If you were an adult looking to get back into piano, which ad would you respond to?   

This...

      

Or this?

The first ad shows a solution to what many adults are pondering.  If I start back at the piano will it be fun this time?  Will I be able to play some Christmas carols for my family?...etc.  Of course no one would ever put up the second ad but I have seen subtle versions of it over the years. 

Don’t sell yourself, sell the benefits to your students... the courses you teach and the results your students will get from signing up with you!

Here are some business card size adds to print and post around town at fitness centers, seniors centers, coffee shops, … anywhere that shows off local business cards.  Print them out on regular paper or card stock, add your phone number, and cut them to size.  Click here to download a free printable. Put up a version of your add on Craigslist or Kijiji and always have some cards in your wallet to hand out.  

I’ll leave you with an inventive add posting in craigslist…

                    Established string quartet requires 2 violinists and a cellist.

Warming up at the Piano

Teachers often ask why I recommend starting each lesson with Tea Kettle Warm-up (from Unit 2 in the Play PianoChords Today course).  First of all, it’s fun to play with a band!  Put on the CD and groove along.  Second,  starting with something familiar is a great way to warm-up the fingers and the piano brain.  Third, this exercise changes as students grow.  After your adult piano students have basic fingering and rhythms locked in, you’ll add piano chords in the LH, and eventually improvisations in the RH (follow this link for video ideas).  When that is mastered, play the TK Warm-up in the key of G, then F, then… well you get the idea. 

In tiny steps, you will introduce your adult students to all the major scales plus the I, IV and V piano chords of each of those keys (voiced beautifully)... just by starting each lesson with this simple warm-up!

Ever wondered why it’s called the Tea Kettle Warm-up?  I start each day putting my tea kettle on the stove.  While it’s getting ready to boil I head to the piano and play warm-ups.  They vary with the years but it’s great to start the day with a piano meditation to clear out the cobwebs.  When the kettle whistles, my warm-up is done and the day has begun.

One final tip... leave your warm-up of choice open on the piano each evening.  It will call to you in the morning.  Come and play with me!