Piano Tips 1 - Curve your fingers and play with the tips of your fingers.

Piano Tips 2 - It is important to keep your fingernails trimmed as low as possible. The clicking of your nails against the keys becomes a distraction, especially to your instructor. Because of the angle in which your fingers are required to rest, you should keep your nails leveled with the tip of your finger.

Piano Tips 3 - Parents - want to help your child succeed in Piano. Get involved! If you just let any kind of musical endeavor go on its own, chances of success are much lower.

Piano Tips 4 - Parents - PRAISE your children on the sounds they are learning to create and the progress they are making in their piano playing. You can also praise their determination, courage, intelligence, consistency, creativity, interpretation, effort, and skill.

Piano Tips 5 - If a child is always wanting to stop practicing after 5 minutes or so, there is another problem at hand that is NOT likely a character flaw in your child. Most often, it is a teacher whose personality doesn't match the student, material that is not at a proper level of complexity or musicality, or fears/ social anxiety about playing the piano in general. Less often, it could be a physical problem with muscles, coordination, or eyesight.

Gifts for Piano Players

Piano Tips 6 - Trying to make your practice or your child's practice more regular? Work it into your schedule using something regular that happens each day. You could practice: - when you first wake up - after dinner - when you get home from work/ school - after your favorite tv show - just before bed.

Piano Tips 8 - Practice slow! It the mistake of many beginning piano players to try and rush when they think they're getting it. Be patient and keep it clean first and foremost. Speed will come gradually on its own.

Piano Tips 9 - Try to "underachieve". Got this idea from Robert Kiyosaki who I think got it from someone else. Say to yourself, "I know I should probably play 30 minutes each day, but I plan to do at least 10 minutes a day. I know I can do at least that much. Then, stick to it. You'll find that you practice more than usual!

Piano Tips 10 - Tune it or die! This is a funny old saying that applies to all instruments but it is so true and so important. Preferrably, you should have your piano tuned by a professional. Pianos will tune up best in mild, dry temperatures.

Piano Tips 11 - Keep a fug under your piano. It will dampen the sound a bit and help regulate moisture.

Piano Tips 12 - Have people downstairs complaining about the volume of your playing? Try putting casters or rubber pads under the piano legs.

Piano Tips 13 - If you've had any piano lessons, you probably know - play with the tips of your fingers, not the "pads" of your fingers.

Piano Tips 14 - Be sure to strike the keys fully, creating as much of a full tone as you can, rather than just barely getting any sound.

Piano Tips 15 - If you play a lot and have a decent piano, consider installing a humidity regulation system in the piano. It can really keep it in tune a lot better. You'll just have to remember to water your piano from time to time!

Piano Tips 16 - As a technical exercise, try to "dip" your hand toward the direction it is playing a run. For example, if you are playing a two octave ascending C major scale with both hands, tilt your hands slightly so that your right pinkie and left thumb are the closest fingers to the keyboard. Hanon exercises are good for implementing this widely approved technique.

Piano Tips 17 - Listen. Listen to the sound you are creating. Listen to the music as you play it. Become not only a performer, but a listener and critic/ teacher to yourself as well.

Piano Tips 18 - Create! Many young piano players are used to reading everything note for note and some never stray from the page. Make yourself play something creative and unique. Challenge yourself to stray from the music now and then and improvise. Let your creative juices flow. - Make music!

Piano Tips 19 - Remember to utilize all piano resources at your disposal. Aside from teachers, there are method books, piano dvds, lessons in software packages, internet sites that specialize in piano, and more.

Piano Tips 21 - Try to do a recital, competition, or graded jury now and then. This type of goal will keep you on track, almost like some runners do when preparing for a marathon.

Piano Tips 22 - When you practice just before a recital, you may find that it helps to play everything at exactly one half tempo. For some, this helps to engrain the "muscle memory" one last time.

Piano Tips 23 - A great way to help you memorize a song is to play it right before you go to bed. You have more chances of it turning into long-turn memory because it will be the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep. If you practice earlier in the day though, it will often turn into short-term memory because of the daily overload of other tasks that are done throughout the day.

Piano Tips 24 - There is excellent piano music in many genres. Stay open to all of them, but concentrate on those you like best to keep it interesting for yourself.

Piano Tips 25 - Avoid scratches on your piano by assuring that any object that are placed on it have something on the bottom to protect the piano (felt, cloth, etc.)

Piano Tips 26 - It's been said many times before... practice, practice, practice!

Piano Tips 27 - It is a great idea to practice one hand at a time on a challenging passage or song before putting them both together.

Piano Tips 28 - Make up fun ways to remember the basic music staff for reading music. For the empty spaces remember: FACE. For the lines, remember EGBDF: Every Good Boy Does Fine.

Piano Tips 29 - Modulation: moving from one key to another within the same song (not just playing a song in a new key altogether).

Piano Tips 30 - Most times, when modulating to a new key, you must first make your way to the V or V7 chord of the key you want to end up in. Church organists are masters of this technique. Listen to a protestant church service to hear this technique in action. Most often, it will be done before the final verse of a hymn.

Piano Tips 31 - The most common chords used in popular music and classical music from the "Classical" era (not baroque, romantic, renaissance, post-modern, etc.) are the I, IV, and V chords (one, four, and five). In the key of C, these are C, F, and G.

Piano Tips 32 - You may hear of playing "suspended" chords. This is simply a chord without a third, and possibly without a fifth. The typical "sus" chord consists of the root, fourth, and fifth, such as C, F, and G in the key of C.

Piano Tips 33 - A "closed" voicing has no more chord tones that you could add between the ones you are already playing, while an "open" voicing does! Reply With Quote.

Piano Tips 34 - A ninth chord typically adds the flat-seventh scale tone and the 9th degree scale tone to a major chord. In the key of C = C, E, G, Bb, D

Piano Tips 35 - A harmonic interval are two different pitches played together. A melodic interval are two different pitches played separately

Piano Tips 36 - Accompaning or playing from a "fake book"/ improvising? Voicings can make all the difference. If you play every chord in root position, your accompaniment will sound robotic. Experiment!

Piano Tips 37 - Train your ear as well as your hands! Try to play melodies and eventually songs by ear. Start by listening to just a few notes at a time on a favorite recording.

Piano Tips 38 - Your memory is a wonderful tool. Many musicians are fond of saying that you can make more music when you can get away from the printed page. It only makes sense that if you don't have to process what you are looking at, you can focus more attention toward your creativity.

Piano Tips 39 - Consistency is key. You'll be surprised how much you can lose on a piece you're studying when you lose a few days of practice.

Piano Tips 40 - When sightreading (reading a piece of music for the first time) - try to play at a slow enough tempo that you can keep going without stopping. That is the goal.

Great Piano Player Gifts

Piano Tips 41 - Would you believe that memorizing a piece can increase your sightreading ability? Your brain catalogs the different motives and passages and you'll have a better shot at playing them correctly should you see them again in a different piece of music.

Piano Tips 42 - Barlines are simply a way to break the piece into manageable rhythmic increments. Don't think of them as a destination. If anything, they are a springboard! (other than a double-bar line at the end of the piece)

Piano Tips 43 - Always use a metronome when practicing. This helps you establish a strong rhythmic base. The more you work with a metronome with piano, the less you'll have to worry about time fluctuatioin. This helps not only you but the band or orchestra you'll be performing in.

Piano Tips 44 - An investment in the Harvard Dictionary of music will make sure you can always find out what any obscure markings on your sheet music mean.

Piano Tips 45 - Clean your piano with a very soft cloth or a feather duster. Do not use furniture polish. Too much of this over time can break down the finish and moisture can get to the wood.

Piano Tips 46 - Find a piano teacher that suits your, or your childs, personality. Meet with them before they start training you or your child to see if it will work or not. Get recomendations from others who have studied with them before.

Piano Tips 47 - Correct use of the pedals is an oft-neglected art. There are entire books written on usage of the pedal. Experiment with it - and not only the sustain pedal, but the soft pedal and sustain pedal as well. And remember that not using any pedal at all is better than just keeping the sustain pedal down all the time.

Piano Tips 48 - Many players and teachers insist that you can change the tone of the note not just by how hard or soft you strike the key, but in the way you strike the key (ex. pulling at the key, v/s pushing into it). Others disagree. Try it for yourself and see what you think!

Piano Tips 49 - When playing an ascending passage, bring the thumb under the rest of the hand, rather than resetting the placement of the hand all at once. This will make for a smoother phrase. When descending, do the same, but with the pinky.

Piano Tips 50 - Be aware of the relative strength of your different fingers. You may have to work a bit more with your pinky to match the sound of the notes played by other fingers in a passage.

Piano Tips 51 - Play on the best instrument that you can, even if you don't own it. It is worth a trip to a local church now and then for the experience of playing on a great instrument - you'll be surprised what it can bring out of your playing.

Piano Tips 52 - Do use different pianos from time to time. Every piano is different. You never know what piano you might be called to perform on. Playing different pianos will help you remain flexible in this sense.

Piano Tips 53 - Don't negate the idea of purchasing a used, older piano, especially one that is pre-WWII. They can have a marvelous sound, and can sometimes be had at a bargain, even after paying for minor or major repairs and refinishing.

Piano Tips 54 - True ivory from Elephant tusks can only be found on older pianos as it is now illegal due to poaching. If you can find a good piano with ivory keys, the feel is said to be the best. An alternative would be taking the ivory off of an older piano that will be scrapped.

Piano Tips 55 - Passing chords have been used since the Romantic Era of "classical" music. They are simply a chord that lies in between a beginning chord and en ending chord you arrive at. It is de-emphasized.

Piano Tips 56 - One modern use of passing chords in jazz, blues, and popular music, is to play a chord one half step away from the one you will arrive at. Sometimes, blues artists such as Little Jimmy King or Eric Clapton will increase this to a whole step.

Piano Tips 57 - Don't do anything unusual to try and strengthen your hand, such as use an odd contraption, or any device that causes pain. There is speculation that famous composer Robert Schumann permanently injured his right hand by doing so.

Piano Tips 58 - What you are sitting on can affect your playing. A padded, adjustable piano bench is wonderful for your playing and your back. At the minimum, try to get something at the right height, not a high bar stool for example.

Piano Tips 59 - Lighting can be key to a good practice or performance area as well. It will keep you from bending and contorting in order to see the sheet music.

Piano Tips 60 - In general, try to keep your hands r e l a x e d...

Piano Tips 61 - Creating a mood and telling a story are important parts of performing. Many composers will tell you how to accomplish this in varying degrees through their expression marks throughout the piece. For example, they may tell you what volume, speed, articulation, or style to play with.

Piano Tips 62 - If you do decide to make a recording for friends and family, you may find that you have all of the technology to do so by using your computer and free software available online. If not, consider purchasing an inexpensive, unpowered condenser microphone for your computer (they can even be very small). Other alternatives include using a handheld recorder or even the video function on your point-and-shoot camera!

Piano Tips 63 - Playing piano gives you a wonderful opportunity to make a recording for friends and family. It can be an mp3, a CD, or even a tape. And it can be just one song, or multiple songs.

Piano Tips 64 - Some pianists and other musicians as well find it useful to use some physical system to keep track of how many times in a row you have played a passage correctly. You could make tally marks on a paper, move index cards from one stack to another, move coins or poker chips across (although these may scratch a piano), or use an abacus. That way, you'll be sure to know when you've reached your goal.

Piano Tips 65 - Learning Italian expression markings will serve you well. You will run into many of them over and over, such as Adagio, Diminuendo, and Con Forza.

Piano Tips 66 - Trumpet player Clark Terry advocates learning improvisation through learning short motives and building from there.

Piano Tips 67 - Pianist and composer Horace Silver puts learning improvisation very simply - learn the scales and chords and apply them to your instrument.

Piano Tips 68 - Pianists are some of the few musicians who are apt to get overly caught up in work on technique such as scales, arpeggios, and technical exercises. Make sure you are working on pieces for performance, and that you are performing them every chance you get - for family, friends, gatherings, and if possible in recital, gig, or concert!

Piano Tips 69 - In the old days, many colleges forbade students from playing jazz on university pianos out of fear that it would damage the instruments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some classical pianists even say that you have to break a few strings from time to time to really play to your full dynamic potential!

Piano Tips 70 - Please, learn to count properly. Pianists are notorious for not counting correctly. This is mainly a result of the ability to be lax in counting and still play solo with errors mostly unnoticed or at least listenable. Many pianists fall on the unfortunate crutch of simply looking at how the notes line up between the two hands without calculating the exact duration of the notes. This becomes a real problem when playing in a group, accompanying a soloist, playing a concerto with an orchestra, or even playing a solo piece incorrectly that listeners are familiar with. Rise above the crowd!

Piano Tips 71 - It is helpful to many musicians to move some part of their body to keep the beat. The most obvious candidate for a pianist is the left foot or toes.

Piano Tips 72 - Having trouble with the rhythm of a section of music? Try simply clapping it first. Get it drilled into your muscle memory and then you can add the notes. And remember, you can clap the rhythm of only one hand's part (ex. left hand staff) to simplify things when beginning!

Piano Tips 73 - Another way to learn the rhythm faster is to play the rhythm of one hand's part one one pitch. For example, you could play the rhythm of your right hand part with your middle finger of your right hand on middle C, repeating the C over and over.

Piano Tips 74 - Learning jazz improvisation as a pianist. It can be an arduous process. Here's a technique that has been successful for the few who have taken advantage of the technique. Find a local jazz pianist whose playing you enjoy. They don't have to be a teacher. Tell them you want to pay to come listen to them play privately and learn from them - non-traditional lessons. Then, simply have them play. When you hear something you like, stop them and ask "How do you do that?" Take notes. Then, take it home to practice it!

Piano Tips 75 - New to jazz charts and playing in a Big Band or combo for the first time? If you see "hash marks" or diagonal lines in the bar with chords above, it simply means to improvise the accompaniment based on the chords written. In a 4/4 measure, you will have 4 hash marks.

Piano Tips 76 - In jazz or an improvasitory music, the number of ways to create tension are limitless. Some ways are through introducing dissonance, losing a strict meter, using a more harsh or hollow tone, accented articulation, loss of melodic content, suspended chords and tones, playing extreme pitches, either low or high, or straying from the form of the song.

Piano Tips 77 - Playing a jazz blues? Need a good, easy voicing for your right hand that will make even a beginner sound hip? Ok, in the key of C, use thumb on Bb, index or middle finger on E, pinky on A. Transpose to whatever key/ chord you need. Sounds too cool. That's a $100 tip and you just got it for free!

Piano Tips 78 - Can you tell the difference when a song is in major versus minor? As a musician, you will want to be able to. It will help you to figure out what key you are playing in from the key signature. For example, one flat in the key signature could mean the key of F Major or the key of D Minor.

Piano Tips 79 - To better tell the difference between major and minor, listen to some songs that you have in a fake book. Then, look in the fake book at the chord symbols to see if you guessed correctly. In lieu of a fake book, you can find chord progressions to many popular songs online.

Piano Tips 80 - Being able to hear the distance between any two intervals in your mind before they are played can really open up the possibilities of improvisation. Theoretically if you know what note you just played (F, for example) and you can hear in your mind the interval you want to play in relation to that note ( up a minor 7th for example), then you can figure out what note to strike (Eb in this case).

Novelty Piano Player Gifts

Piano Tips 81 - If you are needing to transcribe or write some sheet music, most people find that Sibelius is a bit more user-friendly than Finale, although Finale is the publishing industry standard. Both have limited free versions that are good for basic notation, though. Or alternatively, make some staff paper (there are free online staff paper generators) and pick up a pencil!

Piano Tips 82 - There is nothing wrong with playing Boogie Woogie, contrary to what Shemp of the Three Stooges may have said. Not only is it fun, it can really strengthen your left hand and arm.

Piano Tips 83 - How many scales do you know? Major? Natural Minor? Harmonic Minor? Melodic Minor? You've probably heard of those. What about Whole Tone scales, Diminished scales, or Dorian Minor scales? There are literally hundreds of scales to improve your playing an improvisation.

Piano Tips 84 - You can get some interesting sounds when accompanying by moving a chord up and down, using the scale notes of the chord change you are playing in. For example, of you are in C for a bar, you could play one of these on each beat - Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7

Piano Tips 85 - Pianist and saxophonist Jamey Abersold has the most commercially successful jazz improvisation method to date and even offers some free materials. His play-along CDs can be a lot of fun. They are typically just piano, bass, and drums. Piano is isolated in one channel and bass in the other so that you can turn the piano off to be the accompanist if you like. I've even performed live with his tapes as accompaniment before!

Piano Tips 86 - Learning to transpose on the spot is a valuable tool. You never know when you may be playing with a singer or instrumentalist who can only play the song in a different key due to range or simply the way they learned it. Or, you could be in a group that plays a few songs in non-standard keys.

Piano Tips 87 - Ever heard of the "two-five-one". It is often typed as ii - V - I. It is simply a chord progression that you will find in almost every jazz standard that is not a blues. In the key of C, the chords of a ii - V - I are D minor, G (or G7), and then C Major. There are many variations on the ii - V - I as well.

Piano Tips 88 - If you hear a chord referred to as a "waterfall chord", it is simply an arpeggio being played from top to bottom, descending, over two or more octaves.

Piano Tips 89 - The most common usage for an augmented or diminished fifth is as part of a 7 chord. (Ex. C+7 = C, E, G#, Bb)

Piano Tips 90 - One place many beginning piano improvisers can improve is in their phrasing. It can be tempting to simply fill the solo chorus with notes. Listen to wind instruments and singers like Ella Fitzgerald who improvise. They have to phrase since they have to breathe!

Piano Tips 91 - Playing at least some amount of modern music is a good idea as it helps you become a more well-rounded pianist and a more well-rounded musician. You don't have to focus on it, but playing in multiple styles strengthens your abilities. Even Ella Fitzgerald sang a classical riff now and then!

Piano Tips 92 - Think you know chords and chord symbols? Try conquering "Figured Bass". This is a way of notating chord progressions that was commonly used in the baroque era. It can give you a very granular view of baroque harmony. Best way to practice? Grab a book of J.S. Bach's Chorales.

Piano Tips 93 - In playing modern music, you will find uses of polytonality. This means playing in two distinct keys at the same time.

Piano Tips 94 - Polychords are a cousin of polytonality. You will find them in music from the late impressionist period forward. A common example would be a C chord in the left hand and a D chord in the right hand.

Piano Tips 95 - In gospel music, as well as older styles of blues, it is common to "walk up" in tenths in the left hand from the I chord when changing the the IV chord.

Piano Tips 96 - A really nice blues-styled gospel voicing of a dominant 7 chord for the right hand is 7, 9, 5. On a C7 chord, that would be Bb below middle C, D on top of middle C, and G above middle C.

Piano Tips 97 - If you play any type of popular music, it would behoove you to learn the form of the "12 bar blues" and it's main variations intimately. The form is used in hundreds of Popular and Jazz songs and in every true Blues song.

Piano Tips 98 - You'll hear a lot of talk and emphasis on playing slowly. And with good reason. However, my piano teacher once gave me a tip that seemed to give my playing a boost. Every now and then, have a little fun and push yourself by trying some tempos that you might normally think of as somewhat out of reach. You may be surprised at what you are able to do! It can help break through a plateau in your playing ability.

Piano Tips 99 - Want to hear some really "Out There" ways of playing (or not playing, in the case of "4:33") the piano? Try exploring John Cage in the classical world, or Kenny Clarke in the jazz world.

Piano Tips 100 - The inventor of the first actual piano was Bartolomeo Cristofori in the early 1700s. Thanks, Bart!

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