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Lady Gaga - Paparazzi

Lady Gaga Plays Piano

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta and began her rise to rock stardom in New York City’s Lower East Side.  She was attending the New York University’s Tisch School of Arts at the time but soon signed on with Streamline Records.  She began as a song writer for other artists.

Her first album was released in August of 2008, The Fame, and reached number one in several countries and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 the same year.  Two of her singles, Just Dance and Poker Face became number one hits.  Her album would later earn a total of six Grammy Award nominations and won for Best Electronic/Dance Album and Best Dance Recording (Poker Face).  Her second album, The Fame Monster, came out in late 2009.  One single from that album, Bad Romance, became a chart topper.

Lady Gaga has said that she was inspired by such artists as David Bowie and Queen as well as Madonna and Michael Jackson.  She has sold over 15 million albums and 51 million singles worldwide to date.

She has been listed and one of the most influential people in the world in Time magazine and Forbes.

Charming Couple Play at the Mayo Clinic Atrium Piano

Find The Right Online Piano Lesson

When you're ready to start learning the piano, you might want to take an online piano lesson to see if the piano is really for you. For many people who have always wanted to learn how to play music, the piano is their first choice. If you look online for piano lessons, you will find there are many choices available. The key is to narrow down the websites that offer online piano lessons and focus on the one that can help you achieve your musical goals.

There are certain things you should be looking for before you sign up with any online company. One of the top things on your list of requirements should be that the site has received good reviews and been used by a large number of people to learn how to play the piano. Make sure to read testimonials and customer reviews. You want to be sure that real people have successfully used the program to learn how to play music.

Another thing to look for is the ability to learn at your own pace. You want to be sure you are able to complete each lesson plan within your own time frame before you move on to the next one. You also want to be sure each lesson is easy enough so you can grasp the lesson concept on your own. You don't want to move forward without being 100% confident that you are ready to learn something new.

Learning online is good option for those people who are busy with other activities outside of the home and aren't able to fit in another outside appointment. When you learn in your own home, on your own time, there is no pressure to be at your lessons at a scheduled time. This aspect alone can make online piano lessons very appealing.

When you learn online, you can also eliminate the need to find a qualified piano teacher in the area where you live. Testimonials from a number of other people should indicate satisfaction with the website you choose to sign up with. You want to be able to rely on lesson plans that are going to take you from an inexperienced piano player to one that is confident enough to play for friends and family when they come over.

You'll be excited about the progress you make when you take online piano lessons. You will learn to listen to music and play songs back on your own piano. Friends will be surprised to learn that you take your lessons online. One introductory online piano lesson is all it takes to convince you that online learning is the only way to go.

Learning to Play the Piano Online

Playing the piano without having someone to teach you can be difficult. It is like gambling your time and effort based on your own knowledge and understanding. To learn the piano online can have its ups and downs. So decide if you're really up to the test of playing without the thought of giving up.

Whenever you go to a web page that offers a lot of promises with their online lessons, they do not tell you the downs of learning it without having someone who could tell you if you're doing it the right way.

Advantages
  • The Internet is flooded with millions of searches about learning the piano online. There are those for beginners and for those who want further instruction not found in any manual whatsoever.
  • This is totally free. Not unless if you become enticed with the offline CDs and visuals that the website also offers.
  • It is more updated than the books and manuals that are bought at a book store.
  • Those who made the websites are freelance musicians that are willing to share their knowledge, facts, ideals and secrets to learn piano the easiest way possible.
  • It is filled with so much details and songs you can choose from. Wide array of songs to include in your list.
  • It can also help you choose if you want to play jazz, rock, funk, classic, metal and many more.
  • You are can rewind every step that you didn't understand.
  • Every rhythm and pattern is taught thoroughly to help the students understand each line. A lot of online lessons let you read notes and chords at a stage so advanced and at the same time enjoy the directory of entries and resources.
  • Aside from the advanced lessons, there are also at least a hundred thousand tricks, patterns and fills. The internet enables online libraries filled with resources that are readily available to those who need it. Furthermore, if you're kind of slow, chords, grooves and scales can be recapped with the help of their glossary.
  • It offers wide range recordings that are also intended for those who can't read music.
  • Easy ways to practice and tackle even the hardest patterns, scales and chords can now be achieved at the touch of your fingertips.
  • You also get the chance to choose from top instrument shops because these sites include their cheap yet of best quality. They could show you where and how much you can get from these stores.
  • You could play and learn anytime you want, whenever you're available. Your time is all yours.
Disadvantages
  • Nothing compares with the real thing. Playing online is like a lifeless form of learning. It doesn't incur pure satisfaction.
  • Questions can't be answered promptly. There are doubts that would fill your mind every once in a while. And to send some questions through the net would require waiting and this will take days.
  • No one will see your mistakes and tell you that what you're doing is wrong. And the thing about that is you can never right your wrongs without anyone telling you. 

Learn the Piano Notes

Are you familiar with the song Auld Lang Syne? If you are, then you can learn to play it on the piano easily and quickly. Many individuals want to learn to play the piano and one of the most important lessons is to learn the piano notes.

Try to look at your piano and give particular attention to the black notes. The song Auld Lang Syne can be played by using five of these black notes. Some say that piano notes are difficult to learn. But expert piano players say that if only you put your heart to it, you can learn all the notes quickly.

If you have a piano teacher or if you simply learned playing the piano with the aid of a book/DVD/CD, you will learn first the names of the notes on your piano. That will include the black and white notes. If you want to learn all the notes, you should have your own piano. If you don't have one at home, then you should start shopping for one. You can't learn the notes by simply imagining a piano. You have to touch the piano keys and know the sound of the notes. This will make learning a lot easier and faster.

You will also learn techniques in visualization so that you can imagine the keyboard and tell the exact location of the notes. The keyboard's Map is the so-called Grand Staff and you can interpret this easily if you know all the notes. If you can immediately identify a piano note, then you will understand the chord lessons easily.

For instance, you're playing the first seven tab notes. This is the C-major scale and you're playing the notes CDEFGAB. As you go through your lessons, you will know about the other scales and their respective notes. You have to memorize all the notes on the keyboard to effectively play the piano. But of course, you will learn to play the simpler notes first. Once you've mastered the simple notes, you can go to much more difficult notes. Remember, you should not forget about the notes that you have already learned because you will be using them when playing advanced piano music.

If you simply want to be at your piano and play the simplest piano music, all you have to learn is at least two keys for each scale. Suppose you're playing the major chord C. The notes on this scale include C, E, and G. You can always play these notes simultaneously and you can already create the simplest piano music. But if you want to learn to play the advanced piano pieces, memorize and know all the notes by heart. Soon enough, you can play the piano like the experts.

So you see, learning each piano note is not a game. It is a difficult task especially for those who have memorization problems. Try to create a piano picture inside your mind and tell the note of each key. Do this everyday for a couple of minutes. Don't stop until you've memorized the last key note. Retain the piano picture inside your mind because this will be of very good use to you in the future.

Learn piano notes at an early stage, as soon as you start your piano lessons. This way, you can learn the chords much easier. Playing the piano is fun but you have to be patient.  

Learn Blues Piano

It is not really difficult to learn to play the piano. Some people like rock music, pop, jazz, alternative, rhythm and blues, and many others. Whatever style of music you love, you can play it on the piano. For you to learn to play different song styles on the piano, the very first thing that you have to learn are blues piano.

What exactly is blues piano? It is a music style and once you learn to play it on the piano you will have fewer troubles in learning to play other music styles. Keep on reading and by the end of this article, you will know a great deal about blues music and playing it on the piano.

To start with, you must know 12-bar blues. This is a very common progression if you want to do blues piano playing. To play this particular blues form, most pianists make use of seventh chords. A song is uslly broken into 3 sets. Each of the set consists of 4 bars. Start by playing the song on the C key. Use 'I' to illustrate the tone (C) in the C key. The IV tone is F and the V tone is G.

The initial set is played as I-I-I-I. The next set is played as IV-IV-I-I. The final set is V-IV-I-I. Use your right hand when playing these three sets on the piano. To come up with a sound that's just like blues piano, try to master playing 7th chords.  

For your left hand, follow the 8-note pattern. The pattern is like this: I-III-V-VI-VIIb-VI-V-III. When playing the C chord with the use of your right hand, the notes played will be C-E-G-A-Bb-A-G-E. While for the chord F, you will be playing F-A-C-D-Eb-D-C-A. For the chord G, you will be playing G-B-D-E-F-E-D-B.

Try to examine the chords and notes played both by the left and right hand. If you already know the different piano chords and notes, learning blues piano can be very easy. Before anything else, you will have to master 12-bar blues in the key C. Once you've mastered it, you can try playing it using other keys.

If you want to establish a good foundation in playing the piano, you must learn to play the blues first. Many successful pianists started out by playing blues and then they slowly made their way into playing the music style that they love. Once you develop a strong foundation, the new lessons will be so much easier. Learning the different music styles is challenging but if you can play them with elegance and grace, your audience will love and praise your performance.

Find a good teacher that can teach you all the things you need to know about blues piano. If you can't find a piano teacher, you can use other methods like using DVD or CD programs, online piano lessons, and a piano guide book.  The learning process will be solely determined by you. If you're serious with playing piano and if you're determined to master your lessons, you will son learn to play blues piano.

You see, it takes some time before you can play really good. It might even take years of learning and constant practice. By exerting enough effort, time, and money, you can be a very good pianist.

Take Your Piano Playing To The Next Level

Are you ready to finally learn how to play piano despite years of lessons? If you're like many students of the piano, all your lessons and all your practicing have only gotten you so far. Maybe you've found that you've hit a wall in your piano playing ability, beyond which you just can't seem to get. The following are some helpful tips for taking your piano playing to next level.

Learn pattern recognition: Every song ever written follows a pattern, a structure of sections and chord progressions. You need only listen to a handful of songs by The Beatles to hear what we mean. To expand your repertoire and build versatility in your ability to pick up nearly any song you hear quickly and easily, learn the patterns with which all songs are composed.

Play by the numbers: Every song is written in a particular key - one of but 12, to be precise - and every key has it's scales, series' of notes in specific intervals, any of which will sound natural and pleasing to the ear when played in it's respective key. Every scale in every key has its 1-chord, its 2-chord, etc. Instead of straining yourself to memorize how to play various piano chords by rote, learn instead the keys that chords are played in and the scales they're built upon. Then you can quickly and easily figure out how to play any chord in any key on the spot, whether you've memorized that specific chord or not.

Listen: This tip is about learning to play by ear. The secret to learning to play by ear is simple - just learn the aforementioned 12 musical keys. By doing so, you can easily transpose any song you hear into any key you like. Learning to transpose, then, will take you to the next level of playing piano, which is knowing how to improvise. Many piano players can read and follow piano sheet music, but far fewer can sit down and start playing along spontaneously with any song they hear - and have it sound pleasing to the ear. Of course, if you don't yet know how to read piano sheet music, then you may also want to begin studying that skill as well. But not at the expense of learning the fundamentals of music, which is not in writing but in listening. In musical terms, this is called "ear-training". Learn to recognize the sounds of harmonic and melodic intervals and you're more than halfway to playing them.

Expose yourself: No, we're not suggesting you run naked down the street. What we're suggesting is that you spend time surrounded by musicians of exceptional quality, professionals and amateurs alike in whose presence you can hear what it sounds like to play how you want to play. The body's muscles have memory far superior to than our brain's conscious recall ability. By simply immersing yourself in an environment where your ear is exposed to the sort of piano playing you aspire to, your body has a far easier time reproducing those sounds on the piano yourself.

Most importantly in your piano playing adventure is to remember to give it a little attention every day. You don't have to practice for hours and hours a day to get good at the piano. You need only devote a small amount of time daily to keep the skills you're learning present in your mind and body. Even just 15 minutes a day can improve your piano playing abilities.

Taking Care of Your Piano Keys

Did you buy a used piano or is the one in your home been unused for years and as a result it needs to be cleaned?  If you have a rather dirty piano and you want to take better care but you don't want to hire a professional cleaner or polisher need probably all it needs is to give it a soft buff with a lint free cloth. Any sprays or harsh chemicals will damage the surface of the delicate keys and will also make the instrument look older and worn than what actually it is.

For cleaning the ivory keys you should not:
  1. Immerse any part of the keys in water
  2. Scrub with a brush or even a scouring pad
  3. The use of any type of chemical or even washing up liquid can damage the precious surface
  4. Spray with furniture polish
  5. Use air-freshener anywhere near the keys or piano
Ivory should be gently wiped with a soft clean cloth.  For stubborn marks or fingerprints you should first wash your hands and then you can use a mild non-colored toothpaste on a damp cloth but ensure that you gently rub and never scrub. Wipe with fresh milk on another lint free cloth and buff well.

You should leave the piano open on sunny days so that the keys stay bleached and don't turn yellow. Keys that are badly discolored or stained should be scraped and recovered by a professional piano cleaner.

For cleaning plastic keys you should not:
  1. Use chemicals
  2. Leave the piano open for long periods of time as this will cause discoloration of the keys
  3. Use furniture polish as this could be very harsh and damage the keys
Dust regularly and wipe occasionally with a soft solution of warm water and vinegar on clean chamois leather. Then buff well for added shine.

If you want to clean the casework that usually gets very dusty you can use a vacuum cleaner attachment to get rid of any cobwebs or dust. It can take some time but it will surely be worthwhile and remember not to use any water or liquid to clean the casework. For stains and marks you can consult a professional piano cleaner or tuner.

Learning How to Play the Piano

When you meet someone who knows how to play the piano, you probably admire that individual. Perhaps in the back of your mind, you also want to play this very beautiful instrument. Well, you can learn how to play piano if you really want to.

All expert piano players started from scratch. Not one individual was born with the knowledge of playing the piano. It's never too late to learn how to play the piano. Young or old, if you want to play, you have to start now.

If you're familiar with piano music, then you already know that the piano is used to play chamber music, accompaniments, and even solo performances. Although a piano is expensive, it is a very good investment because its easily available to purchase and it is a versatile instrument. It is also one of the most popular musical instruments.

Some of the popular pianists include Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Listz, Brahms, and Schuman. Piano is not used to just play classical music but it can also be played in pop and jazz music.

You don't have to play as good as the pianists mentioned but with a little effort, time, and money, you can play the piano beautifully. Simply playing the piano for your friends and family may be enough; at least, you can entertain them in your own special way. You should also have the right attitude. You must exercise self discipline and make sure that you learn the right basic techniques. Learning to play the piano is not really impossible. If you dedicate your efforts to it, you will surely learn in time.

Today there are several ways to learn how to play the piano. Because of these piano learning options, your dream is attainable and doable. Many want-to-be pianists prefer to hire a piano teacher. This is a rather expensive option but many individuals find this a very effective method to learn to play piano. There are also those who prefer to learn alone. One way to do this is through a guide book.

However, you must be comfortable in working alone especially in learning the different lessons. You must be motivated up to the end for you to learn the basic techniques. Modern ways to learn the piano is through computer software. There are also those who buy a DVD or CD program to learn all about playing the piano.

No matter what option you choose, you must be able to learn playing the instrument by simply using your senses. If you can learn this difficult and unique technique, playing the piano will be natural for you. By simply listening to a song, you can already play it on your piano.

Before anything else, you have to purchase or rent a good quality piano. This is the only way to learn how to play the piano. If you don't have one right now, you can start saving money for it because the piano is an expensive musical instrument. After you have your piano, you have to choose you learning options.

You can even combine your piano lessons if you want. Just make sure that you schedule your lessons well so that you can use the knowledge the you've learned to your advantage.

A review on Digital Pianos

A piano is a musical instrument that is classified as a keyboard, percussion, or string instrument, depending on the system of categorization used.

Playing the piano is wide-spread in music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and is also popular for composing music.

Materials used for pianos are strings, pin blocks, strings, plates and soundboard. Pianos also have pedals. They are of three types:
  • Damper pedal
  • Soft pedal
  • Sostenuto pedal
A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument designed to serve primarily as a substitute to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play as well as the sound produced. Digital pianos can also be designed to look like an acoustic piano. While digital pianos may short of the genuine article in feel and sound, they nevertheless have many advantages over normal pianos:
  • They are relatively inexpensive and are considerably lighter.
  • They do not necessitate tuning. 
  • They usually manufacture several different piano timbres. 
  • They integrate MIDI implementation and have extra features to aid in learning and composition.
  • They have an headphone output and are easy to transport.
When a key is struck on an acoustic instrument, digital pianos fabricate overtones that reverberate around the room creating a sound that no digital instrument can accurately capture. Today's digital pianos are so good that most listeners can not tell the difference between a acoustical piano and a digital one. Add to that the fact that they are the most inexpensive of the kinds of pianos you can buy and you've got an instrument that's hard to beat. Digital piano manufacturers are getting better and better at duplicating the tone of real acoustic pianos. But no matter how well the piano sound is played, it will always sound digital. Some believe that the acoustic sound is far superior to that of a digital piano. Due to portability, being economical and MIDI capabilities piano and keyboard players often choose digital pianos over their acoustic counterparts. Also, they have the ability for you to record your performance.

Important Piano Lesson Tips

In 1993 there was an experiment done by scientists at the University of California at Irvine. They had college students listen to Mozart Sonata for two Pianos in D Major, a relaxation tape or silence.  Immediately after these sessions, the students took a spatial reasoning test (the ability to put together puzzles) and the students' scores improved drastically after listening to the music. The reason is because music and spatial abilities share the same pathways in the brain.

Another experiment was done later on by researchers at Appalachian State University and the researchers were successful as well in connecting music to boosting "brain power".  They gave preschool children (ages three to four years old) training for eight months. Children were divided into four groups: keyboard lessons, singing lessons, computer lessons and no lessons.  After eight months, the children were tested on their ability to put together puzzles (spatial-temporal reasoning) and to recognize shapes (spatial-recognition reasoning) and the results were astounding!  They found that only those children who had taken the keyboard lessons had improvement in the spatial-temporal test. The children did not, however show any change with the spatial-recognition.

Now, for the piano lessons tips:

Interest:
Assess the interest of your child. Is this something they really like, or is it your dream? The child should show genuine interest in music and a keyboard in order for their learning experience to be a pleasant and successful one. If they are not interested then you need to ask yourself why you are pursuing this? Is it because you have an inner desire for it? It's never too late to begin! Sign yourself up for piano lessons if that's the case.

Instrument:
It's fine to begin piano lessons on an electronic keyboard.  As time goes on, the student will know in which direction they'd like to take their piano lessons. If it's just for personal enjoyment, it's fine to stay with a keyboard.

If it's for classical piano training. then the student should be switched over to an acoustic piano. Spinet piano (the ones that have a low back) unless it is given as a gift, should not be purchased. It would be preferable to purchase an upright piano which is a baby grand piano, but instead of the strings being vertical they're horizontal. The reason being, that the action on the keys is much better technically for the student's hand, and it sound substantially better to the ear.

Teacher:
Ask around and get feedback from others about their teachers. Find out the teacher's background. Where did they get the education from, how long have they been teaching, where do they teach from, what are the surroundings like? Ask current students how patient the teacher is and how do they feel during the lesson. You should get a pretty good idea about the teacher by how current students are progressing. Does the teacher's personality blend with your child's. Remember, this is a choice! In school the children have to adapt to the teacher that has been assigned to them, and that's a good thing. They learn to get along with different types of personalities, but piano lessons are an extra-curricular activity and should be a pleasant one that they look forward to.

Schedule:
Children can be easily overwhelmed by too much on their schedule. As adults we've experienced overload and we know how counter productive it is to be overwhelmed. Make sure you child will have the time to practice.

Dedication:
Once a schedule is in place, practicing piano will become part of daily routine. After a while, the student won't be so worried about time, but will want to achieve goals set by the teacher. The student will need dedication in order for the craft to go from mechanical to musical. Encourage them to listen to a wide range of styles and genre's in order for them to develop their own taste for music. At an early stage, dedication can be ingrained in a student by participating in recitals, talent shows and worship services. It takes diligence and dedication and also sacrifices to make piano playing a part of your life.

There is No Substitute for Practice

You need to have a regular practice routine that contains certain constant elements (such as warm-up exercises) as well as variable elements that address your current avenue of study.  And performing doesn't count as practice.  Although playing gigs, performing in Church or for your personal enjoyment is an essential part of your musical development, it won't replace time in the practice room.

There are times, however, when you just can't maintain a regular practice routine.  All the other elements of your life crowd in and you find you have to grab a spare hour of practice wherever you can.  It seems futile to embark on any long-range practice projects that will require weeks or months of steady work, because you know it won't happen.

So should you give up?

Must you put off the idea of improving your playing until you have more time (and are you sure that time will come)?  Here's an alternative.

You have an hour to practice.  Find something to practice that is not currently in your repertoire.  It could be a lick, a scale, a set of chord voicings, a section of a tune, a transcribed solo, anything.  But this is important:  it must be small.  Don't set a large goal.  Instead, select a little piece of music.  Assume that this is the only opportunity you'll have to learn this particular piece.  Tomorrow you'll move on to something else.

Approach the hour's practice with this attitude: "What can I do within the next hour to permanently improve my playing in one very small but measurable way?"

Your plan is to devour this one small piece so completely that it can't slip away.  If it's a lick, make it a short one and learn it in several keys.  Work out the fingering.

If it's a chord voicing, practice it in 12 keys, work it into tunes, and make sure you can make smooth transitions to and from other voicings.

If you don't get it by the end of the hour, you lose it forever.  But if you ingest it fully enough, then it will immediately begin to show up in your performances.  It will become a small element of your style and you'll never lose it.

It's intense, focused, and can be tremendously effective and satisfying.  Although at first it may be a method that you use because you can't find time for the more traditional, routine-oriented practice, you may find it so successful and fun that you make it your primary approach.

After all, you climb a mountain with thousands of small steps.  Take each step so well that you never have to take it again.

This approach can work but it can also fail miserably.  It requires a type of tunnel vision, a willingness to gnaw on one thing for one hour without letting other concerns intrude.

You might feel as if you are playing when you should be working or that focusing on a tiny area is not productive when there are so many major areas to be covered.  But once you successfully use this technique, you'll realize it is a great way to practice.

Piano Care

Congratulations, you have just acquired a wonderful new addition to your home.  This new addition will not only add beauty to your home, but will also bring musical pleasure to you and your family.  Now that you have your new piano, you will want to make sure that you are caring for it properly.

Caring for your piano will not only ensure that it plays to its maximum potential, but will also ensure that the value is maintained and, in the case of a new piano, that your warranty is maintained.

What is a piano tuning and why is it necessary?
There are over 200 strings in your piano, which are stretched at high tension across the frame of your piano. When a piano technician performs a piano tuning, they carefully adjust the tension of each of the strings in the piano in order to ensure they not only sound in harmony with each other, but that they are also playing in standard pitch.

While not having your piano tuned regularly will not in itself damage the piano, playing on a piano that is not in proper tune can be very de-motivating for anyone trying to practice the instrument.  It is common to hear children commenting to their parents that their piano at home does not sound or feel as good as their teacher's piano.  This is usually more due to the fact that the piano has not been regularly serviced, rather than that the piano at home is an inferior piano.  Not having your piano tuned regularly also increases the risk that problems occurring in the piano due to environmental factors will go unnoticed. This could lead to more permanent and costly damage.  In addition, it is more difficult to tune a piano that has not been regularly serviced.

How often should I have my piano tuned?
Generally a piano should be tuned twice a year in order to keep it in good playing condition.  Please note that a piano will go out of tune whether it is played or not. A brand new piano or a piano with new strings on it will probably need to be tuned three to four times in the first year.  This is because new strings tend to stretch as they are being worked, causing the piano to go out of tune more often.  A piano that is used quite often, such as one being used all day for piano lessons, or one being used by pianists who practice many hours a day, will need to be tuned every two to three months.

How can I ensure better tuning stability in my piano?
The biggest factor that causes a piano to go out of tune is the temperature and humidity in the room where the piano is located.  In more hot and humid weather, the strings and moving parts on the piano will expand, causing the piano to play sharper than standard pitch. In more cold and dry weather, these parts will contract, causing the piano to play flatter than standard pitch. Unfortunately, the parts of a piano do not all expand and contract at the same rate. This not only causes the piano to go sharp or flat, but it causes the piano to sound out of tune.  If the room in which the piano is located is too dry, there is the risk of getting cracks in the sound board of your piano.  This can seriously hamper the sound of the instrument.  If the room is too humid there is the risk of problems such as sticking piano keys, caused by the swelling of the wooden parts of the piano, as well as a greater risk of rusting strings. While temperature alone does not generally affect tuning stability of pianos, fluctuations in temperature tend to cause fluctuations in the quality of sound. It is therefore recommended that a moderate temperature be maintained in the house throughout the year.

If the temperature and humidity in the room are kept stable, the piano will stay in tune longer.  A good way to monitor the humidity in the room is to use a humidistat.  This can be purchased at your local hardware store and can be mounted on the wall.  The ideal humidity for a piano is between 40 - 50%. In the winter, it is a good idea to have a small humidifier in the room, to control the dryness.  Central air conditioning helps to control humidity in the summer.  However if you do not have central air conditioning, a dehumidifier may be used.  A humidifier or a dehumidifier should be placed in the room with the piano, but not directly beside it.

Placement of the Piano in the Room 
Place the piano away from heating ducts, hot air registers and radiators. These items generally dry out the air around them, and can not only affect your tuning stability, but can also cause cracks in your piano's soundboard. Try to keep the piano out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can damage the finish of the piano.

Also, be aware of how other items in the room will affect your piano's sound. Items such as carpets and draperies tend to absorb sound, while wooden items tend to amplify it or make it sound more "live". If you feel that the piano you have is either too loud or too muted, try adjusting the items that accompany the piano in the room.


Cleaning and Polishing Your Piano
Cleaning the Piano:  It is generally not recommended to use furniture polish on pianos. The best way to clean a piano is to use a soft cloth which has been slightly dampened and wrung out. A micro fibre cloth is useful for cleaning dust off high-gloss finish pianos. Micro fibre cloths can usually be found in the same section as home car wash accessories in your local hardware store. Piano polishes may be purchased from your local piano store.  Some of these polishes are anti-static, and help to keep the dust off your piano.

Cleaning the Piano Keys:  It is recommended to use a clean damp cloth to clean the tops of the piano keys. In cases where the keys are tougher to clean, a mild soap solution may be used. Make sure to thoroughly dry the keys after cleaning and do not let any water spill down the sides of the keys. Never use any chemicals or cleaning fluids on the keys.

Cleaning the Interior of the Piano:  It is generally recommended that the inside of the piano be cleaned only by a technician. As there are many breakable parts on a piano, it is best to have a professional take it apart in order to avoid any damage.  Dust buildup in the piano may cause the mechanisms to stick or work more slowly.

Taking the time to care for your piano properly and having it service by a qualified piano technician will not only keep your piano in optimal playing condition, it will also maintain the re-sale value of your instrument.

Piano Playing - Learning to Play Chords

If you are playing several notes at the same time, then you are playing piano chords. Simply put, when multiple notes are played together, piano chords are achieved. The chords then come together to form a melody. Every song that you hear has a melody and it is through each melody that music is achieved. Sound complicated? Well, that's ok because it really isn't as difficult as it sounds.

As a musician, whether it be professional or hobbyist, you will need to learn the various types of piano chords. The more that you understand about piano chords, the more variety you will have when playing. If you want to write your own music, you not only need an ear for tunes, but also the understanding of how to make them come together. A good instructor will introduce you to piano chords during lessons.

If you already have some experience, but simply want a better understanding of advanced piano chords, discuss these options with a private tutor or music teacher. By gaining an understanding of what sounds good and what doesn't, you will have the undeniable edge over other budding musicians.

Every piano has 88 keys and while it may seem intimidating to learn piano chords, it actually comes down to memory. When typing on the computer, you know which keys to press in order to make a lowercase letters change to uppercase, right? By studying piano chords, you will begin to understand which keys to press at the same time in order to play a chord. During your introduction to learning piano, an instructor will cover some of the basic chords and you will come to know their sound when you hear them. After enough practice, you will be able to immediately identify piano chords by ear.

There are several other ways to help in your learning of piano chords, including instructional books, tutorials and videos. In the beginning, it may even help to label the keys until you have a better understanding of each of their unique sounds. As you progress in your learning, you can remove the identification labels and play using any arrangement of sheet music. Learning to identify notes will play a large part in your understanding of piano chords. As you move through your studies, you will learn all of the terminology associated with piano playing and the definition of each.

Learning piano chords is a very important part of the process, but it does require a certain degree of patience. Always remember that time will lessen the difficulty and, before you know it, you will be playing and identifying piano chords by ear. While it may seem intimidating at first, you will soon begin to notice the ease of playing piano chords will come naturally. Happy tunes!

Piano Playing - The Best Ways to Learn

Is there any other educational area where students are taught only in a one-on-one situation, not really?

In essence, this is what classical piano students do. It is very important and monotonous for students who are learning to play the piano to practice everyday, this takes discipline which you do not see in children or parents. Both of these attitudes create artificial limitations for students that hinder their ability to grow and develop musically. Here's the message piano students need to hear -- Your effort matters and it makes a difference.

However, about a third of parents do too much and try to take over responsibility for their child's progress, which hinders their child's ability to develop positive learning skills on their own. To help their children learn and accomplish their goals, parents need to focus on the process and content of the learning rather than the final product.What the young student doesn't understand is the piano learning process.

Private lessons have good and bad connotation associated with them, sometimes children create a dependence on the teacher and it is hard for children to overcome this and children are not encouraged to develop their own independence when it comes to learning the necessary skills, on the other hand having the one on one teaching is very beneficial to the child because more can get accomplished in a shorter period of time. Plus, there is no point in having your child spend 30 minutes practicing incorrectly without learning their pieces when the material can be mastered in 10 minutes with good practice habits.

Because parents are in charge of their children's schedule and curriculum, home school students can set their own pace and spend more time on music than in the public or private schools. Music is even more fun when you can share it with others. Young children have the ability to learn music theory and are able to learn concepts on the keyboard as the children grow and develop their musical ear.

If your children know their alphabet and how to identify numbers and count, they're old enough to start learning music theory. With the rise of the internet more adults have learned that taking piano lesson does not have be taught in classrooms or studios it can be taught over the internet, this helps with today's busy schedules and adults do not have to be locked into a schedule.

Well, you might find this hard to believe, but encouraging your child taking piano lessons to practice doesn't have to be a struggle. They do want to be sure, however, that their young child is old enough to benefit from formal musical training.

One of the choices that parents have when their child is beginning piano lessons is whether to enroll their son or daughter in a private or group lesson.

Over time this will make sitting down at the piano to practice feel more natural to your young child or your older beginner and make learning easier. Establish a routine practice time.

Set meaningful goals that will last, focus on the What and the Why. Writing down the goals and dreams that first motivated you to give your child the gift of piano lessons provides a reminder that will keep your energy focused over the long term.

Learning to Play Piano

People have different passions in life but there are those who love to listen to different piano music. If you're one of them, then you probably like to learn to play the piano, but how?

Many individuals would like to learn to play piano but they don't know where to begin. There are also those who previously had piano lessons but weren't able to complete all the lessons because they simply got bored or they already spent a lot of time learning but to no avail. But with a little shove in the right direction, you can learn to play a piano.

Firstly, you need to know that there are two ways to play the piano - by note reading or with chords. What would you like to do? You have to answer this question. If you simply want to play existing piano music, you must know how to read piano notes. On the other hand, if you want to write inspiring piano music, you must be able to understand the piano chords. If you can learn how to read notes as well as the chords, the better.

Still, if you want to learn to play piano quickly and easily, learn the chords first. By doing so, you will know the different sounds of the chords. Note reading can be taken up later.

One way to learn how to play piano is from a piano teacher. You need to find a reliable and qualified piano teacher to ensure that you're given good lessons. The teacher can give you lessons at home or in a studio. Choose a comfortable set up so that you can learn without feeling any pressure. If you're reason in learning to play the instrument is simply for fun, hiring a piano teacher is not a good idea. You can opt for less expensive means like a piano book or CDs and DVDs or even with online tutorials.

I you decide to hire a piano teacher you will need to ask the teacher if he or she is teaching chord-based lessons and then set realistic goals as to what you can accomplish using a piano teacher.

Another option is to learn lessons online. This is also a cheaper alternative in learning to play piano. You can choose the most convenient time to learn to play the instrument and at your chosen pace. You will save money and time through online lessons. If you're motivated enough and you're comfortable learning alone, this method will work for you.

When learning to play piano and other musical instruments, you should make it fun. The entire learning process should be exciting for you. Once you've set goals, you can start taking lessons immediately and practice regularly. Don't get discouraged if you encounter some challenges along the way; this is normal.

Have a positive attitude and choose the best method to learn to play piano for you. By having the right attitude, you can overcome challenges in learning the chords or the notes. As mentioned earlier, you can learn the chords first and then later on, you can learn to read music. In a week or month's time, you might even be writing your own piano music.

First Step to Piano Playing

If you are going to learn to play the piano, the first step is making sure you have a piano to play. It is one of the simplest instruments to play. A piano can blend with every instrument or can stand on its own and a band can never be complete without a piano.

So you ask, how do you buy the perfect piano? Here are some things to consider before you buy a piano:

Check Your Budget
Above anything else, you always have to consider the amount of money you have to spend for purchasing a piano. A well-crafted piano made by popular brands maybe too expensive for your pocket book. So you have to be very particular in your choice.

Brand-new or a Second Hand
A piano's life can be very long, around 40-50 years if well looked after. The fact is, pianos are very durable over long periods of use.  If your budget is fixed, find the one that fits the money at hand. If you have decided on buying something that is already used, inspect it to see if it's still in good working condition or have a professional check it out for you.

Consider the Area Where You Will Put Your Piano
You will need to have a part of your house that can accommodate the size of your piano you wish to buy. You will need to not only take measures of the area where you will place the piano, but make sure you measure the piano before you purchase it to make sure it fits your room.  Research on the kinds of piano to determine which one you'll purchase.

Quality and Style
There are a variety of styles of piano. When looking for a piano quality is an important factor. Check for the kind of wood used, style of the cabinet, leg design and the overall impact of the entire instrument. Also, you might want to buy a piano based on how it compliments on your furnishings.

Get an Expert's Opinion
If you have never bought a piano before, find someone who knows the look for in choosing a piano. Take along someone who can give you tips on what to look for and to see if you're getting a good deal or not.

Ask
There are no dump questions, so make sure you ask everything you can about the piano before you make your purchase.  You don't want to get the piano home only to find that there was an important factor that you overlooked. Asking valid questions related to the piano is appropriate. Ask about the performance, the entire construction and the different parts so that you know if there are any repairs needed.

Also ask about the maintenance and warranty and whether or not they will deliver the piano.  One thing to keep in mind that a piano will need to be retuned once it is moved so ask if that is included in the purchase.