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!