Friday, August 30, 2013

"I am ready to play the piano, but where do i start?"

So you have embarked on this journey to become a keyboard player, but where should you begin? There are 100's of piano teachers on YouTube, each with 100's of videos to choose from...it can be very overwhelming when you are just jumping in, but don't know how to get started. This post will be the basics of what I tell most people that pose the question of "where to begin?"

STEP 1:
LEARN THE NAMES OF THE PIANO KEYS
This is obviously the most important lesson when learning the piano, learning the names of all of the piano keys, so that you can understand what the instructor is telling you.

This video will teach you the names of the keys and the layout of the piano, and will break it down so that even a child can learn it!






STEP 2:
FINGER EXERCISES
Your fingers are muscles, and you will only be as good as your fingers are strong.

Just like an athlete has to go to the gym and work out routinely to get/keep their body in shape, pianist have to do the EXACT same thing to get our fingers strong and quick. Without that endurance, your fingers will get sore quickly from playing.

Below is the best basic exercise I know, that will promote finger strength and endurance. Its the exact same exercise I still do to this day, and I would recommend that you learn it, memorize it, and make it a part of your regular practice schedule.

The first video is the tutorial that will show you step-by-step how to play the finger exercise. The second video is a play-along video that allows you to play the exercise with me at various speeds. The more days/weeks/months that you continue to do the exercise, you will immediately notice that you will be playing it faster and more accurate!









Equipped with the information above, you will be setting yourself up to learn great things on the piano!!

Well, that's it for today. Stay tuned for more videos on playing the piano!

Thanx for your visit,
Tj