LadyDpiano

Tuesday Review: The Best Jazz Standards Ever

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:01:00 +0000

The Best Jazz Standards Ever

One of the books in my music library that I use quite often is the 2nd edition of The best Jazz Standards Ever. Produced by Hal Leonard, it is for piano, vocal and guitar.You will find 77 of the Best Jazz Hits including All the things You Are, Bewitched, Call Me Irresponsible, Georgia on My Mind, Misty, The Nearness of You, Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado), The Very thought of You, When Sunny Gets Blue and more.

Here is a list of some of the songs with their key signatures:

1. All Of Me - C
2. All The Things You Are - G
3. April In Paris - C
4. Autumn In New York - F
5. Bewitched from Pal Joey - C
6. Bluesette - G
7. Body And Soul - Db
8. But Beautiful - G
9. Caravan - Ab
10. Call Me Irresponsible - F
11. Dancing On The Ceiling from Simple Simon- F
12. Day By Day - G
13. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - G
14. Falling In Love With Love from The Boys From Syracuse - Bb
15. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - C
16. A Fine Romance from Swing Time - C
17. Georgia On My Mind - F
18. God Bless' The Child from Lady Sings The Blues - Ab
19. Have You Met Miss Jones? from I'd Rather Be Right - F
20. Hello, Young Lovers from The King And I - C
21. Here's That Rainy Day - G
22. I Get Along Without You very Well (Except Sometimes) - Bb
23. I Can't Get Started With You from Ziegfeld Follies - C
24. I Could Write A Book from Pal Joey - C
25. I Didn't Know What Time It Was from Too Many Girls - G
26. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good - G
27. I Hear Music from Dancing On A Dime - F
28. I'll Never Smile Again - Eb
29. I'm Beginning To See The Light - G
30. I'll Remember April - G
31. I've Got You Under My Skin from Born To Dance - Eb
32. In A Sentimental Mood - F
33. If I Should Lose You from Rose Of The Rancho - C
34. Imagination - Eb
35. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning - C
36. Isn't It Romantic? from Love Me Tonight - Eb
37. It Could Happen To You from And The Angels Sing - Ab
38. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) from Sophisticated Ladies - Bb
39. It Might As Well Be Spring from State Fair - G
40. June In January from Here Is My Heart - Eb
41. Lover from Love Me Tonight - D
42. Like Someone In Love - C
43. Love Is The Sweetest Thing - D
44. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) - F
45. Misty - Eb
46. Mona Lisa from Captain Carey, U.S.A. -

The compilation of songs in this book are for intermediate players. There are so many songs that I do know and a few that I'm not familiar with. If you read sheet music, then this is the book for you. You will learn lots of jazz chords with their cool sounds.

About the Author

Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation has become the worlds largest print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters and artists of all time. We are proud to publish titles of interest to all musicians as well as music lovers, from songbooks and instructional titles to artist biographies and instrument price guides to books about the music industry and all the performing arts.

Now, HearandPlay is having a sale on the 300 page course book, 'The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear,' for $25 off and free shipping. Not only that, but they're throwing in one of their seven Musician
Breakthrough 2-hour programs (worth $49.00) at no extra cost.

Easy-to-understand information that will show you...

* How to improvise while playing your favorite songs

* How to play several hymns in all 12 major keys!

* The relationship between chords and scales

* The basic principles of sight reading (bonus material )

* How to recognize various chords in several chord
progressions

* How to alter and invert chords to make them sound full

* Several Progressions such as '2-5-1' and the '1-4
turn-around' (you'll see these chord changes everywhere!)

* How to substitute common progressions in the place of
'dull' chords

* How to recognize erroneous chords in a progression

* The difference between: triads, seventh, ninth, eleventh,
and thirteenth chords

* Several chord patterns which can be used in most Gospel,
Blues & Contemporary Jazz Music (they all share the same
chords ... believe me!)

* How to find the key center of any song or progression (in
other words, what key a song or progression is being played
in).

... and these are just a few of the concepts and principles
you'll discover in the course -- not to mention over 6 bonuses

You can see the resource, here.

Best Wishes,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Video Thursday: It Don't Mean A Thing

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:56:00 +0000

It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Words & Music by Duke Ellington, 1932
Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 1966

I absolutely love music from the swing era. You might be interested in an article
by Lee Evans that I shared with readers on my other blog. I've been asked to do a
tutorial on this song and even though I've slowed the speed down in my video,
I'll post another video showing all these fancy chords at a later date. For now,
here are the chord progressions to this lively song.

You'll find an easy version to the song here. I've posted the chord chart below.

Em           D        C           C7   B7
What good is melody, what good is mu - sic

Em           D         C           C7   B7
If it ain't possessin' something sweet?

Em           D       C            C7   B7
It ain't the melody, it ain't the mu - sic --

        Em                   D        C        C7   B7
There's something else that makes the tune complete.


   Em            B+          Em7            Em6
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --

A7               D7               G6               C7  B7
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.

   Em            B+            Em7          Em6
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing --

A7               D7               G6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.


Dm7          G7                CM7/6             CM7
It makes no diff'rence if that rhythm's sweet or hot,

Em7            A7     D7             C7   B7
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got.


   Em            B+   Cdim   Em7   Cdim      Em6
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --

A7               D7               G6               Gdim
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat,

A7               Cdim                  G6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-waaaa.

+++++++++++++++++

Now, in the Hal Leonard Jazz Book that I recommended yesterday,

here are the piano chords.


Gm    Gm/F   Eb7  D7  Gm  Gm/F    Em7b5 Eb7
What good is melody, what good is mu - sic

Gm    Gm/F   Em7b5      Eb7   D7#5  Gm
If it ain't possessin' something sweet?

Gm/F         Eb7 D7  Gm Gm/F      Em7b5 Eb7
It ain't the melody, it ain't the mu - sic --

Gm      Gm/F      Em7b5     Eb7       A7/E Eb7  D7
There's something else that makes the tune complete.


   Gm                  Gm/F  Eb7    D7      Gm
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --

C7/G               Gb7b5           Cm7/F        Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.

D7#5  Gm  Gm/F  Em7b5   Eb7    D7#5   Db7   C7
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing --

C7/G             Gb7b5              Cm7/F                      Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.


F#dim7   Bb7                                     Eb
It makes no diff'rence if that rhythm's sweet or hot,

F#dim7 C7      F#dim7  C7             F7   G7
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got.


D7#5 Gm              Gm/F   Eb7    D7        Gm
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --

C7/G             Gb7b5               Cm7/F6                Bb6 D7#5
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat,

C7/G               Gb7b5                Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-waaaa.


If you love jazz and have always wanted to learn this style of playing,

you may be interested in Jazz101 and Jazz201

Warmly,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Music Fonts

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:37:00 +0000

I am always looking for free graphics or fonts for my kindergarten and piano student monthly newsletters. While browsing online, I cam across some of these cool features. Perhaps you can find a use for them in your music studies.

LD Music Font (Free Download)

The delightful LD font features some musical-symbol-likeness, as you can see from the above example. You could use this font for your studio newsletters and recital programs or business cards.

101 Baby Grand Font (Free Download)

You will find that the Letters are all uppercase and the Numbers are included, too.

All That Jazz

This is a cute piano keys font! You'll find that there is no lowercase letters in this font but all uppercase letters.

Onpu

There are uppercase and lowercase letters in this font, plus some punctuation marks.

Tonedeaf-bb

A free font of music notes and symbols. There are no actual letters or numbers in this font.

dtnoted

All letters in this font are uppercase, and there are no punctuation marks.

musical_symbols

These fonts are for Pcs but I think all the other fonts are for both Mac and PC. If you know of some other cool sites, please let me know. Happy Friday!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Book Review: The Pop Piano Book

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:23:00 +0000

The Pop Piano Book: A complete Method For Playing Piano
and Keyboards In Contemporary styles by Mark Harrison.

If you are interested in popular styles, as a beginner you won't be scared off by the book because it is lots of fun to learn new things. You'll play better in the end. I'm very impressed with the material in this book.

This 498 page book will teach you licks and patterns.
The Pop Piano Book

Let me ask you a few questions:

1. Have you ever bought sheet music for a pop tune, only to be disappointed because you don't know how to fix it to make it snazzy?

2. Have you ever used a Fake Book or lead sheet but not sure how to interpret the chord symbols? Perhaps you need help with voicings.

Well, the first part of the book provides basic building blocks that are necessary to play contemporary style. The second part gives you specific methods to make your own style of accompaniment patterns.

Mark Harrison is a keyboardist and you can get more information from his website, www.harrisonmusic.com

Here's a breakdown of the book.

The first ten chapters reviews:

a. Scales and chords
b. Triad inversions and voiceleading
c. Chord shapes using fourth intervals

The next eight chapters covers:

Ballad, Rock, RnB Funk, Country and Gospel.

In the back you'll find:

* Glossary terms
* Scale fingering guide for major and pentatonic scales.

Here's a simple Pop Ballad example:

Start off with a simple arpeggiated right hand against simple left hand, playing the chords using half notes on each chord change.

C/EGC to G/DGB, then F/FAC to C/CEG

C/EG to G/DG, then F/FA to C/EG, G/CF (F/G)

CC/DEG to G/BD , F/FA to C/EGC, B/GBD (G/B)

A/EGCE (Am7)
G/DABD (G)
F/CFAC
C/DEG
E/CEGC (C/E)
F/CC
G/BDGB
F/FAC
C/EGC
AE/CEA (Am7)
GD/BDG
FC/ACF
CG/GCE
EC/EGC (C/E)
FC/FAC (F)
GD/DGB
F/FA
C/EGC

HearandPlay offers a great music theory book for learning progressions in playing by ear, The 300 page course book.

Hope you're making practice time a habit! Do you have a favorite book on keyboard instruction?

Until next time,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Learn to Play Melody

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:00:00 +0000

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" melody doubled at seconds: neither consonant nor equivalent. About this sound Play ( help · info ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I came across this wonderful article and wanted to share it with you, http://pianolessonsworld.com
I'll add my own take on this, too.

The fundamentals aspects of learning music- Ears, and melody.

1) Think of a tune you already know. The simpler the better (at least at first). Recommended tunes: Twinkle Twinkle, Mary had a little lamb, Happy Birthday, God Save the Queen, Row Row Row Your Boat, etc.

2) Sing it.
Don’t be shy. Part of your ultimate goal is that you will be able to play music that’s in your head without hesitation as well as playing music that you hear around you with the same ease. So step one is taking music in your head and learning it on piano. Now the big difference between singing a tune, and playing it on piano, is that you have probably been singing since you were a toddler. If you can’t sing it, you probably aren’t hearing it, so don’t be shy.

Find the first note that you sang on the piano. Now notice that each note is repeated about 6-8 times on the piano (I’ve never actually counted). Find the one that matched the register of your voice. If you are having trouble finding it, don’t worry. Just try to keep that note in your head by singing it over and over again (like when you are trying to remember a phone number). Start with a random key and listen to the note it produces. If you can tell how far away you are, follow you gut, but if you can’t, just try every note.

Now that you’ve found your first note, remember which note it is. Sing the first couple words of the tune (Mary Had-end). Now you are going to find the second note. using a similar process, except that you have a reference point which makes it easier. Sing it and ask yourself: “Is it higher or lower?” “is it right next to the last note (part of a scale), or does it jump over a few notes?” “is it the same note or have you heard it already in the song”.

Repeat these steps until you have enough of a piece of the tune to practice. All you really need is a minimum of 3 notes to practice. Repeat this part you have learned until you can play it comfortably with your eyes closed (literally).
Continue this process through the whole tune breaking it into smaller pieces for ease of learning.

Once you can play the whole tune you can try some different things.

1) learn it completely in your other hand. Stopping to work out fingering issues as they arise.
2) learn it with both hands playing it at the same time separated by two octaves
3) Pick another note to start on and learn the tune again on this note.

Do this for many tunes. In fact this is an exercise that you can stick with for most of your life, as you will always need to learn more melodies. As you become more experienced at this, see if you can play a melody perfectly on your first try, but still practice it.

***************

I love this article and refer to it often with my piano students. In fact beginners learn at an early age where C position is on the piano, with thumb on C (r.h.) and pinky on C (l.h.) From there, we build on the melody line in the right hand, like "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven and add chords in the l.h. You'll find that with this particular song, you can play the melody line with the l.h. bass notes, too.

I use simple nursery rhymes to teach my grandkids the notes of the scale and how these easy tunes contain 3 white keys... C, D, E and sometimes F so they can practice these repeated notes while singing the song that they are familiar with. Perhaps you have gone to a piano and tried to pull out the melody line, whether it's "Heart and Soul" or "Happy Birthday."

Remember that the note you start on and end with determines the key you play in. This is a very important point to know. With the 300 page course theory book, I find it's a great learning resource for intermediate players. If you are just getting started with the piano, you might want to look for additional work books as well.

4 Steps to Learning How to Play Any Song on the Piano

1. Determining the melody - Melodies determine what chords will be played. If you can use your ear to figure out what notes are being played in the melody, you are 1/4 on your way to learning a song! More resources on learning how to determine melodies

2.Harmonizing the melody - Once you have figured out the melody (using some of my techniques on the resource page), it is time to harmonize it. This is simply choosing various chords to accompany the melody. There are several techniques and tricks to doing this. More resources on learning how to harmonize melodies

3. Altering Chords - This is the best part! Now that you have strategically figured out the melody to a song and have harmonized it, altering your chords to produce certain sounds is the next step. If you were playing gospel music, you would alter your chords differently than if you were playing classical or country music. More resources on altering chords

4. Listening - After you have determined the melody, harmonized the melody, and altered some of your chords, there are various techniques you can use to make sure that your song sounds right. More resources on listening techniques

I personally recommend "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" 300-pg Course and through my relationship with Jermaine (the author of this course), I've been able to get him to throw in a few bonus items (3 additional piano software programs). He has taught literally thousands of musicians how to play the piano by ear. If you understood just half of what he discussed above, you'll definitely benefit from his 300-pg course. Click here to learn the secrets to playing absolutely any song on the piano in virtually minutes! I highly recommend it.

I missed video Thursday yesterday, after spending some wonderful moments with my granddaughter.
Of course, I was giving her a piano lesson. Here's a video from Hear and Play that I found helpful.

You'll also want to stop by a very nice site and pick up some free music with easy, recognizable melody lines at http://www.gmajormusictheory.org

Warmly,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Video Thursday: Amazing Love

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:33:00 +0000

Photo credit: bang

I enjoy reading all your emails and sadly, I cannot respond to each and everyone. Lately, the number one question I am asked, "How do I read a chord chart or lead sheet?" I need to share with you in up-coming posts about this, since that's my experience having been a church musician. You see, we are not given sheet music, with all the notes on it, but usually a one page chord chart. This is where those slash chords come in. Knowing your chord vocabulary is essential in becoming a better piano player and church musician's will echo, that it's knowing chord progressions in every key that builds those praise and worship songs.

Amazing Love is an easy song that I learned a long time ago. Not to be confused with Chris Tomlin's Amazing Love (You Are My King). I learned to play this song in the Key of C on the video and then tried to play it in all the keys.

The song is written by Graham Kendrick.

"Graham Kendrick (born on 2 August 1950, Blisworth, Northamptonshire) is a prolific British Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader. He is the son of a Baptist pastor. He now lives in Croydon and is a former member of Ichthus Christian Fellowship. Together with Roger Forster, Gerald Coates and Lynne Green, he was a founder of March for Jesus." For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Kendrick

Here are the music chords that I am playing in the above video:

Key: C (intro vamp Gm7 to C 4 x's)

VERSE 1:
    C        Dm7     
My Lord what love is this
    G           F     C    
That pays   so dear - ly
            Dm          F   G  C
That I, the guilty one  may go free!

CHORUS:
  Gm7                  C
A-mazing love, O what sacrifice
    Gm7                  C
The Son of God given for me
   Gm7                  C
My debt He pays and my death He dies
    Gm7        C
That I   might live, 
 Gm7            C
That  I   might live.

VERSE 2:

    C        Dm7

And so they watched Him die

   G       F    C

Despised, rejected

            Dm7           F      G   C

But oh, the blood He shed flowed for me.

VERSE 3:

      Am       Dm7

 And now this love of Christ

 G               F  C

Shall flow like rivers

 C               Dm7       F    G   C

Come wash your guilt away, live again!


1989 Make Way Music (ASCAP)

Key: D

VERSE 1:
    D        D/E     Em7
My Lord what love is this
     Asus A    Dsus   D        
That pays   so dear - ly
A/D  D      D/E    Em7  G   A  D
That I, the guilty one  may go free!

CHORUS:
  Am7          Am/G   D
A-mazing love, O what sacrifice
    F          F/G       A
The Son of God given for me
   Am7          Am/G   D
My debt He pays and my death He dies
     Am7 Cmj7  D
That I   might live, 
      Am7 G/B   D    Am7/D
That  I   might live.

VERSE 2:
And so they watched Him die
Despised, rejected
But oh, the blood He shed flowed for me.

VERSE 3:
And now this love of Christ
Shall flow like rivers
Come wash your guilt away, live again!

Key of A



VERSE 1:
    A        Bm7     
My Lord what love is this
     E       D        A    
That pays   so dear - ly
            Bm           D  E   A
That I, the guilty one  may go free!

CHORUS:
  Em7                A
A-mazing love, O what sacrifice
    Em7                 A
The Son of God given for me
   Em7                  A
My debt He pays and my death He dies
     Em7        A
That I   might live, 
      Em7        A
That  I   might live.

VERSE 2:

     A      Bm7

And so they watched Him die

    E      D   A

Despised, rejected

            Bm7            D

But oh, the blood He shed flowed for me.

VERSE 3:

     F#m      Bm7

And now this love of Christ

E               D   A

Shall flow like rivers

A               Bm7        D    E A

Come wash your guilt away, live again!

The rhythm you hear in the background is not coming from my keyboard,

but rather software installed in my lap top.

Back Pocket is about:

1. Turning your computer into a complete practicing machine?

2. Pulling a real-sounding band out of your "back pocket?"

3. It gives you access to over 350 real-sounding backing tracks.

4. Practice and live performance files are played in all 12 keys.

5. You can choose between multiple speeds: slow, medium, and fast.

6. 3 different sections, 9 styles of music, & drums-only option.

7. Instant streaming playback and automatic downloading to your system for burning to cd, transfer to ipod, and editing.

Here's where you can see a demonstration of Back Pocket Band Video and place your order here. The software I'm using that is available, I believe is selling for $37.00 at HearandPlay.

Warmly

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

John Mayer: Gravity

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Gravity (John Mayer song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 2005 John Mayer wrote a song in 2005 called Gravity. The guy is an excellent musician
and I like his style. I'm back on track with blog posts, having had a wonderful visit with our sweet grandaughter. Many of you have asked me for some worship songs and I will do that. Some have little children and want to get started with piano lessons. I'll talk about that much more in future posts. In addition, we all have our favorite artist and style that we enjoy listening to. So, here is a cool mellow song played slowly in the Key of G. It's in 6/8 time and has tons of grace notes.

Gravity by John Mayer

Intro:

 For the intro, Just play G and C, listen to the song and ull hear the switch


 Now for the rest of the song u use these chords, its quite simple:


G                   C
Gravity is working against me


    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down


        Am
Oh I'll never know what makes this man


     D7
With all the love that his heart can stand


Gm               Fmaj7           D7
Dream of ways to throw it all away

G                   C
Gravity is working against me


    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down


   Am
Oh twice as much aint twice as good


    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could


     Gm
It's wanting more,


             Fmaj7         D7
That's gonna send me to my knees


 After this, the little solo comes in and once again, all u play is 2 chords, Just G and 
ull know when to switch cause ull hear it. After that, u repeat the same lyrics and do 
same chords:

   Am
Oh twice as much aint twice as good


    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could


     Gm
It's wanting more,


             Fmaj7         D7
That's gonna send me to my knees


   G                      C
Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me


   G                         C
Oh gravity has taken better men than me (how can thet be?)


                       G
Just keep me where the light is


                       C
Just keep me where the light is


                       G
Just keep me where the light is


                          C
Come on keep me where the light is


                          G
Come on keep me where the light is


                       C
Come on keep me where, keep me where the light is


The song keeps fading and you keep on playing the G and C in the same pattern.

Ultimate Guitar.com

Here's another version of the song: Guitaretab.com

G                   C
Gravity is working against me
    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down

        Am7 
Oh I'll never know what makes this man
     D7
With all the love that his heart can stand
Gm/Bb                             D7
Dream of ways to throw it all away

G                   C
Gravity is working against me
    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down
[ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/j/john-mayer/258506.html ]
   D7sus11
Oh twice as much aint twice as good
    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could
     D#Maj7
It's wanting more,
                              D7
That's gonna send me to my knees

[Solo]: Alternate between G and C, just like the verse.

    D7sus11
Oh twice as much aint twice as good
    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could
     D#Maj7
It's wanting more,
                              D7
That's gonna send me to my knees

   G                      C
Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me
   G                         C
Oh gravity has taken better men than me (how can thet be?)
                       G
Just keep me where the light is
                       C
Just keep me where the light is
                       G
Just keep me where the light is
                          C
Come on keep me where the light is
                          G
Come on keep me where the light is
                       C
Come on keep me where, keep me where the light is
 
Music Chords to Gravity (This is what I play)
 
G                   C
Gravity is working against me
    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down

        Am7 
Oh I'll never know what makes this man
     D7
With all the love that his heart can stand
Gm/Bb                             Ebmaj7
Dream of ways to throw it all away

G                   C
Gravity is working against me
    G                         C
And gravity wants to bring me down
[ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/j/john-mayer/258506.html ]
   Am7
Oh twice as much aint twice as good
    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could
     Gm/Bb
It's wanting more,
              Ebmaj7                D7
That's gonna send me to my knees

[Solo]: Alternate between G and C, just like the verse.

    D7sus11
Oh twice as much aint twice as good
    D7
And can't sustain like a one half could
     D#Maj7
It's wanting more,
                              D7
That's gonna send me to my knees

   G                      C
Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me
   G                         C
Oh gravity has taken better men than me (how can thet be?)
                       G
Just keep me where the light is
                       C
Just keep me where the light is
                       G
Just keep me where the light is
                          C
Come on keep me where the light is
                          G
Come on keep me where the light is
                       C
Come on keep me where, keep me where the light is
 
 
Remember to play the inversions of some of the chords:

    l.h./ r.h.

C = C/DEGB or C/CDEB or C/EGD or C/BDB

G = G/DGB or G/GBE

Am7 = A/DGB

D7 = D/DF#B or D/F#CF#

Gm/Bb = Bb/DGD

Ebmaj7 = Eb/DGD

I hope you enjoy playing the song. One of the cool things about Song Robot software is that you can get tons of free midi files and learn how to play songs. Song Robot now has HD, expandable keys! That means the keys can fill your entire screen... two or three screens if you have them... even a TV! The keys never get blurry and can be enlarged to any size you want! Don't have a Song Robot yet?

Warmly,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

How To Play He Is Exalted

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:28:00 +0000

Cover of He Is Exalted

Back in 1985 when I was playing on worship teams, a favorite song we did

by Twila Paris called, He Is Exalted, was a favorite. It can be played and

easily sung in many different keys to fit your voice range. My favorite key on

this one is Ab. It's fun to play on the black keys! Here are the chord charts:

He Is Exalted (Key of Ab)

Ab                                Db/Ab                 Eb/Ab
He is exalted the King is exalted on high, I will praise Him

Ab                                Bbm7  Cm7 Dbsus2   Eb/G   F
He is exalted forever exalted and I  will   praise His name


Bbm7 Ab   Eb/G      Ab        Bm7       Dbsus2 Ab/C
He is the Lord, forever His truth shall reign

Bbm7 Ab   Eb/G        Ab               Db Ab/C
Heaven and earth,  rejoice in His holy name

Bbm7      Db/Ab   Eb/G               Ab
He is exalted the King is exalted on high

Music Chord Breakdown:

Ab = play AbEb/CAb (left hand/right hand)

Db/Ab = Ab/AbDbF

Eb/Ab = Ab/BbEbG

Bbm7 = Bb/AbDbF

Cm7 = C/BbEbG

Dbsus2 = Db/DbEbAb

Eb/G = G/BbEbBb

F = F/FC

Ab/C = C/CEbAb

Db = Db/AbDbF

 








He Is Exalted (Key of D)

D Bm G
He is exalted, the King is exalted on High
 Em7 A
I will praise Him
D Bm
He is exalted, for - ever exalted and
Em7 G A F#  Bm
I will praise His Name

  Em7 D Asus4 A
For He      is the Lord
 D F#m  G
For - ever His Truth shall reign
Em7  D  Asus4 A
Hea - ven and earth
 D  F#m G D
Re - joice in His Holy   Name
Em7 G A D
He is exalted, the King is exalted on High

http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com

He Is Exalted (Key of G)

ORDER: I V1 C V2 C C E 

INTRO: G

VERSE 1:
G                 G2                 C2           C      D
He is exalted the King is exalted on high, I will praise Him
G                G2               C D    C2     D   Esus  E
He is exalted forever exalted and I will praise His name


CHORUS:
Am Em     D D/F#   G        Bm7         C     G
He is the Lord, forever His truth shall reign
Am Em/G    D D/F#   G            Bm7  C G
Heaven and earth, rejoice in His holy name
Am                C       Dsus  D    G
He is exalted the King is exalted on high


VERSE 2: 
G                 G2                 C2           C      D
You are exalted my King You�re exalted on high, I will praise You
G                G2               C D    C2     D   Esus  E
You are exalted forever exalted and I  will  praise Your name


ENDING:
Am                C       Dsus  D    G
He is exalted the King is exalted on high



By Twila Paris
1985 Straightway Music, Mountain Spring Music

For the guitar people,

 CHORDS:
Am   = X02210
Bm7  = X20202
C    = 332010
C2   = X32033
D    = XX0232
Dsus = XX0233
D/F# = 2X0232
E    = 022100
Esus = 022200
Em   = 022000
G    = 320003
G2   = 320033

http://www.higherpraise.com

It's a wonderful song. Have you played it?

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebies: Piano Apps and More

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:01:00 +0000


Photo credit and permission: Color The Egg Puzzle, Susan Paradis

One of my favorite online music teachers for children, who has beginner piano students, is Susan Paradis. Her site is loaded with free songs and lots of music resources. You'll find games, puzzles and Easter Bunny Keys to color (print out) and she recently posted an Easter Bunny Song.

I usually use these books, Bastien Primer Level Lesson and Theory Books and start students in C Position before I move on to thumbs sharing in Middle C Position.

Bastien Piano Basics: Piano Primer Level (Primer Level, WP 200)

Free sheet music download, Take Me Home (Sweet Sunny South) is available at http://www.musicnotes.com I played the song and it sounds just like At The Cross.

You'll want to check out this new piano app for your iPad. It's called Joy Tunes Piano Dust Buster and is free in the App Store. It includes 23 songs in all. The first few, such as "Mary's Little Lamb" and "Frere Jacques," can be played immediately. As players progress, they unlock access to more advanced pieces, including "Ode to Joy" and "La Bamba."

In the basic version, with an on-screen touch keyboard, you swat at little creatures as they descend by playing the piano key on which they are about to land. In a more advanced version, you smack the critters when they slide along as notes on the music staff, so you get a sense of where A4 or D#5 is in music notation, for example.

For more advanced play, you can use the "Real Piano" mode, in which the app acts as an accompaniment to an actual piano or electric keyboard. The invaders still drop toward the notes or slide along the staff. But you play on the real keyboard, and the app uses the iPad's microphone to recognize whether you have played the right note.

I use this app with my piano students and it's fun... just get past the name. Kind of crazy but this new technology that we have, especially with the iPad3, is sensational. Steve Jobs was so revolutionary and I'm very thankful.

Although this app isn't free, I think it's a great investment of $.99 for every student and teacher to have. You'll love it! It's called Flashnote Derby. Another app for $.99 that I use with my iPad is
Pluto Learns Piano.

Best wishes and much continued success with your piano practice!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Book Review: Beginning Jazz Keyboard

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:04:00 +0000

In my music library, I own Noah Baerman's book,

Complete Jazz Keyboard Method: Beginning Jazz Keyboard
It's The Complete Jazz Keyboard Method with CD for:

Beginning
Intermediate
Mastering

Here's a little blurb from Amazon:

"Anyone with basic keyboard skills (equivalent to Alfred's Basic Piano, Lesson Book 2) can dig right in and begin learning jazz right away. Spanning from the major scale and basic triad theory all the way through 7th chords, pentatonic scales and modulating chord progressions, this book features a full etude or tune demonstrating every new concept introduced. Beginning Jazz keyboard breaks the age-old tradition of dry, intimidating and confusing jazz books, and provides an actual step-by-step and enjoyable method for learning to play in this style. The CD demonstrates examples and offers opportunity to play along."

It's a great resource and what I like about this book is that it takes you to some exotic chords,
instead of the regular major/minor chords. I think you'll like this one and the price is good.

On my other blog, that is mostly for Jazz songs, I posted a favorite of mine,
Bouncin' With Bill E. You can find the music chord chart at Bouncin with Bill. But today I
wanted to talk a little bit about shell voicings.

Some chord tones are more important than others. Let's take a look at the 3 most
common 7th chords (major, minor and dominant) from a root of D.

D Maj, which is DF#AC# played together.
D7, the notes in the chord are DF#AC.
Dmin7 chord has the notes, DFAC.

We know the root is important since that is what defines the chord. the 3rd and 7th
are not the same from chord to chord, so we need those to determine the chord quality.
The 5th is another story. The major, minor and dominant 7th chords all have perfect 5ths.
That means three chords are being played.

To play shell voicings, we use the same concept we've been using but leave out the 5th
of each chord; the roots go in the left hand and the right hand takes the 3rds and 7ths.
If the melody note is the 3rd or 7th of a chord, we have three-note chords; if not, we add
the melody note on top and have a four note chord. This is a very sparse, compact way to
voice chords without losing the character of the changes.

Play this I-vi-ii-V-I in G Major.

(I) GMaj7 = (root) G/F#B (7th and 3th)

(vi) Emin7 = (root) E/DG (7th and 3th)

(ii) Amin7 = (root) A/CG (3th and 7th)

(V) D7 = (root) D/CF# (7th and 3th)

(I) GMaj7 = (root) G/BF# (3th and 7th

These voicings just get easier on the hands. In the above example, the
right hand barely has to move at all. This ease in voice leading is common
with shell voicings whenever the roots are moving down in 5ths (or up in 4ths).
In these cases, the most you'll have to move to get from the 7th of one chord to
the 3rd of the next is a whole step, sometimes only a half step. To get from the
3rd of one chord to the 7th of the next, you often need only to repeat the same note!

GMaj7 = G/F#B (7th and 3th)

Emin7 = (5th) E/DG (7th and 3th)

Amin7 = (4th) A/CG (3th and 7th)

D7 = (5th) D/CF# (7th and 3th)

GMaj7 = G/BF# (3th and 7th)

If you like Jazz, then consider looking into these dvd courses from HearandPlay:

Jazz101 and Jazz201

Thanks to many of you that have asked about shell voicings. You can learn so much about
Jazz from Willie Myette and James Wurbel. Look them up on YouTube... some great stuff!

Warmly,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Video Thursday: Japanese Swing Orchestra

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Video of the Week

My cousin sent this video to me and just knew I would love it since I like Jazz
and used to listen to Benny Goodman tunes that my folks liked way back then.
These young kids play swing music with style! They've got rhythm and discipline!

A different song but same title, Sing, Sing, Sing by Chris Tomlin, is a good one!

E
We will sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
    C#m7
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that you hear us
B
When we shout your praise
A                           E
Lift high the name of Jesus

E
What's not to love about you
Heaven and earth adore you
C#m7
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God
B
You are the One
A
You are the One
               E
We're living for

E
You are the love that frees us
You are the light that leads us
C#m7
Like a fire burning
Son of God
B
You are the One
A
You are the One
                E
We're living for

This is the new song. To see Chris & Daniel teach it go to worshipfrequency.com

and join. It is a site that is operated by Chris and the guys and they have a

lot more videos of teaching what they do.

SING SING SING, Chris Tomlin

The chords to the song:

 E5
We will sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
D2
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
B
When we shout your praise
 A2  E5
Lift high the name of Jesus

E5
What's not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You
D2
Kings and kingdoms bow down
D2   B
Son of God, You are the One
         A2  E5
You are the One we're living for

E5
You are the love that frees us
You are the light that leads us
D2
Like a fire burning
D2   B
Son of God, You are the one
         A2  E5
You are the one we're living for 

        
Remember, all that 5-chords are is the first

and fifth of the chord,leave out the third.

How to Play an A5 Chord on Piano

If you're an intermediate or advanced pianist, you know that a chord is usually composed of at least three notes. The basic chord is made up of the first, third and fifth notes in a scale and can be inverted to create different sounds. However, an A5 chord uses only two notes, as does any basic fifth chord. The A5 chord is played using the first note of the scale, an A note, and the fifth note in a scale, the E note. You can play these in any order with the left or right hand.

So an A2 is A, B, C# and E chord.

What is an A2 chord, and what is an Asus?

Find the answer here.

A very popular worship song that can be used for background music is Sing Hallelujah.

It's a good one to know for those special quiet times in church, like prayer or offering.

Sing Hallelujah

Verse 1:
 Cm        Gm            Cm    Gm
 Sing hallelujah to the Lord       
 
 Cm   Bb/D       Eb     Fm       Gsus  G
 Sing hal - le - lu-jah to  the  Lord 

 Cm           Gm        Ab          Eb
 Sing  hal-le-lu-jah,  sing  Hal-le-lu-jah,

 Cm           Gm                Cm
 Sing  Hal-le-lu-jah  to  the  Lord

© 1974 Linda Stassen / New Song Ministries
Words and Music by Linda Stassen

Sing Hallelujah

Verse 1:
 Am        Em            Am    Em
 Sing hallelujah to the Lord       
 
 Am               Em       Am  E
 Sing hal - le - lu-jah to  the  Lord 

 Am           Em        F          Am
 Sing  hal-le-lu-jah,  sing  Hal-le-lu-jah,

            Em                   Am Em
 Sing  Hal-le-lu-jah  to  the  Lord

Having a chord vocabulary is so important in music theory.

You may want to add to your music listening library and

learn the number system by hearing the teachings of Jermaine

Griggs on Chords 101 and 102

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Peter and the Wolf

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Photo Credit: delboysafa

SERGEI PROKOFIEV, composing for piano at age five and writing an opera at nine.

Peter and the Wolf, written in April of 1936 for a children's theater in Moscow.

"Peter and the Wolf" is a childhood classic. Peter, his animal friends, his grandfather, the wolf and the hunters all have appropriate musical themes that make this piece a delight to hear.

I use this piece with my students to teach them about the many different instruments of the orchestra.

http://www.musictechteacher.com/musicquizzes.htm

Here's a list of free resources on the internet regarding Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

1. Music for this song, http://www.911tabs.com/link/?6894700
2. History for this song, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_the_Wolf
3. Lesson plans for teachers, http://www.dsokids.com/
4. Audio clips for this song, http://www.philtulga.com/Peter.html
5. Lesson plans with recordings:
http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/lessonplans_prokofiev.asp
6. Movie trailer, http://www.peterandthewolffilm.co.uk/trailer.html
7. Free templates, games, puppets, clip art and power point presentation:
http://music.pppst.com/peter-and-the-wolf.html

Clip Art Credit: http://art.phillipmartin.info/music_peter_wolf.htm

Now there's a group called Peter and the Wolf and their song, Better Days.
The music chords are:

 
[A]          [C#m]
My old man, he sailed away
[D]             [A]
By a boat upon the sea
My mother held her head high
And smiled down on me
She said, "Boy, get wise
Work harder, do something with your nights
Look smarter
I promise you it's better days ahead"

aooooooooo

And you, you were my friend
When I had nothing to my name
When all the world turned on me
You still treated me the same

And we've been through hell, you and me
Caught drama
Girl tragedy, oh brother
I promise you it's better days ahead
Talk to me, now.

One of my favorite songs by Peter Cetera, is Glory of Love

VERSE:

C                        G                            C
Tonight it's very clear as we're both lying here
            F             C       G
There's so many things I want to say
C               F
I will always love you
Bb             Eb           Ab
I would never leave you alone
C                        G
Sometimes I just forget say things I might regret
C              F               C   G
It breaks my heart to see you crying
C                F
I don't want to lose you
Bb             Eb        Ab
I could never make it alone

     CHORUS
     C       F             C              G7
     I am a man who would fight for your honor
     C            F     Dm7            G
     I'll be the hero you're dreaming of
     Am7          Dm7     C        E
     We'll live forever knowing together
     Am             Dm           G        C
     That we did it all for the glory of love

VERSE:

You keep me standing tall
You help me through it all
I'm always strong when you're beside me
I have always needed you
I could never make it alone

CHORUS

Fm
Just like a knight in shining armor
Bb                Eb
>From a long time ago
Fm
Just in time I will save the day
Cm              Fm          Bb    C  G
Take you to my castle far away

CHORUS (with different lyrics):

     I am the man who will fight for your honor
     I'll be the hero that you're dreaming of
     We're gonna live forever knowing together
     That we did it all for the glory of love

We'll live forever knowing together
That we did it all for the glory of love

We did it all for love

Another great artist, Peter Townshend!

Let My Love Open the Door, by Pete Townshend (from Empty Glass)

This is mostly C-G-F-G C-G-F-G, all the way through.
 
C          G       F      G    C            G       F    G
Let people keep repeating that you'll never fall in love
When everybody keeps retreating, you can't seem to get enough 
Let my love open the door, let my love open the door
Let my love open the door, to your heart

When everything feels all over and everybody seems unkind
I'll give you a four leaf clover, take all the worry out of your mind
Let my love open the door, let my love open the door
Let my love open the door, to your heart.

Am
I got the only key to your heart
Dm
That can stop you falling apart
Bb
Try today your finest way (?)
G
Come on and give me a chance to say

Am
Let my love open the door
Am
That's all I'm living for
Dm
Release yourself from misery
Bb                              G
There's only one thing going to set you free

That's my love
Let my love open the door, let my love open the door
Let my love open the door, let my love open the door

When tragedy befalls you don't let it drag you down
Love can cure your problems, you're so lucky I'm around
Let my love open the door, let my love open the door
Let my love open the door, to your heart.

Then there's Peter, Paul and Mary, one of my favorite groups.

I could do a many blog posts on their songs and the impact they made on my life.

Here are the chords to 500 Miles.

Intro:
C   Am   C    Am
Dm  F    Dm   G
C
[ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/p/peter-paul-and-mary/212239.html ]
       C                  Am           Dm             F
If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone
        Dm               Em     F       G
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
          C                Am               Dm               F
A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles
        Dm               Em     F       C
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four,
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home.
Five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles,
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home.

Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name,
Lord I can't go a-home this a-way.
This a-way, this a-way, this a-way, this a-way,
Lord I can't go back home this a-way.

       C                  Am           Dm             F
If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone
        Dm               Em     F       C
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
    
 Happy Friday!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Book Review: Power Chords

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:31:00 +0000

A New School of American Music Workshop: POWER CHORDS (Booklet Only)

This little booklet is power packed an organized by the following chapters:

A. Where Chords Come From
B. Variations on the three Chord Types
1. Major Chord Variations
2. Minor Chord Variations
3. Seventh Chord Variations
C. Voicing
D. Special Cases
Slash Chords
Augmented and Diminished Chords
E. Inversions
F. Jazz Voicings

So, in the beginning the three basic chord types are discussed.

Major = 1 3 5 (C E G)
Minor = 1 b3 5 ( C Eb G)
Seventh = 1 3 5 b7 (C E G Bb)

The most common variations on the three chord types:

Cmaj7 = C E G B
C6 = C E G A
Cmaj9 = C E G B D
C6/9 = C E G A D

All chords contain 1 3 5, the basic major chord and five note chords can be
handled by spreading the notes between both hands. Usually the left hand gets
the root (1) with an optional addition of the 5 or the 7. You can eliminate non-
essential notes in the chord (usually 5, perhaps 1).

The most common variations on the minor chord:

Cm7 = C Eb G Bb

Cm9 = C Eb G Bb D

Cm6 = C Eb G A

Cm maj7 = C Eb G B

All the above chords contain 1 b3 5, the basic minor chord.

The latter two examples (Cm6 and Cm maj7) would work best in songs in minor
keys where the chord is tonic. In other words Cm6 works best as a substitution for the Cm chord in the key of C minor. The minor major seventh could be used in the same situation. However, it is very dissonant and should be used with care.

The most common variations on the seventh chord:

C9 = C E G Bb D

Caug7 = C E G# Bb

C7-9 = C E G Bb Db

C7+9 = C E G Bb D#

Csus4 (7) = C F G Bb

C11 = C E G Bb D F

All these chords are possible substitutions for the plain sounding seventh chord, although not every alternative works in all situations. Experiment with this. Note that all the chords in this group contain the flat seven (b). An understanding of these C7 chord types will lead to mastery of the corresponding chords in other keys. Figure them out, write them down, practice them and memorize them.

Exercises on C Am Dm G7

This simple four-chord progression contains major, minor, and seventh chords. It makes a wonderful basis for an exercise with the chord substitutions. Practice using all the substitutions we have learned in this pattern until your hands are familiar with the chords and your ears are familiar with how they sound.

C = C E G

Am = A C E

Dm = D F A

G7 = G B D F

For more information on chords study, visit Chords 101 & 102

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Dick Clark Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You know, I just can't find the words to express how I feel... so close to my heart. How about you?
I LOVED Dick Clark, along with the whole world. I will surely miss him, along with you.
I LOVED American Bandstand with 50s, 60s and 70s music. Then there were New Year's Eve Parties w/ Dick.

Music is my life song. I hope you will reflect for a moment and take the time to share
your thoughts, remembering Dick Clark, with your favorite songs and memories.

How I LOVE to dance. I fondly remember doing the Twist and the Stroll with all the TV kids on the East Coast.

Dick Clark, an American Icon, so handsome and forever young.

Here's a clip of the kind of music I'm talking about for Video Thursday.

I guess every generation has their favorite icon, hero, etc.

Thinking of Dick Clark and so very thankful for all the wonderful memories.

Warmly,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Interactive Websites

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:07:00 +0000

List of Interactive Websites:

Flashmusicgames.com games for piano, drums and guitar

Little Amadeus

Live Binders for teachers and musicians who want to organize files and stuff.

Melodystreet.com world of instruments

mgslyon.wikispaces.com for brain games and fun stuff

Music Ear Trainer

music-teacher-resources.com

Oceanhousemedia.com for tons of apps

SFSKIDS.org fun music lab for kids

SMART Music Teacher

Sphinxkids.org classical music fun interaction

Wildmusic.org

These are a few of the fun places I like to visit in my free time.
Hope you find them helpful!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Chord Breakdown: Always by Kirk Franklin

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:02:00 +0000

The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Awhile back I posted the chord chart to Always by Kirk Franklin. You can view
"How To play Always" here. Since then, I've received lots of requests asking for
me to break the song down some more. So, here goes!

First off, this ballad has lots of arpeggiated, broken chords. Play single l.h. notes!

Intro:

C2 = C, G, D, E, D G.

F2 = F, C, G, A, G.

When you play the measure, "just like mama told me", play

E/C2 = E, G, D, C, E
D7 = D, F#, C
G/F = GF/C to A note
G13 = BE, then D, C, A

Remember the song has lots of C2 and F2 chords.

When you play the measure, "There's peace when I call out Your name,

Bb = Bb, F, D, F, Bb
F/G = G, A, F, A, B

"So whatever You take me through, I promise You, I'll spend my always w/ you"

Am7 = A/ C, G, C, E
Gm7 = G/ Bb, F, Bb, D
Fmaj9 = F/ C, E, G, C, G
Em7 = E/ D, G, B,
Dm7 = D/ C, F, A
G/F = G/ A, C, F, A, C

If you aren't sure where I am at this point, here's the original chord chart,
http://www.earnestandroline.com/Music/Chords/always.html
Remember, I'm adding more single notes with this post.

Then there's tons of chords that build before the key change:

Here's the chord = How to play it

Am7 = A/CE
G#/E7 = G#EG#/DB
G/C = G/EGC
F#/D = F#/ADA
Fm6 = FDF/CDAb
E/C2 = E/DG
Bbmaj7 = Bb/ADF
G/F = GG/CFG
Ab/Gb/ = AbAb/DbGbAb

Key Change Modulation to Db

Db2 = Db, Ab, Eb, F, Eb
Gb2 = Gb, Db, Ab, Bb, Ab
Db2
Gb2
F7 = F/EbFA
Bbm7 = Bb/DbF
Abm7 = Ab/CbEb
Gbmaj9 = G/DbF
Fm7 = F/CEbAb
Bbm7 = Bb/DbFAb
Ebm7 = Eb/BbDbGbAb
A/Em7 = A/GBDE
A = A/C#EA

Key Change to D Major

I think the chords are pretty easy to figure out in this part.
There's a transition chord that sets up the key change to Eb,
Bb/ Ab = BbBb/ AbCEb, BbBb/AbCEbF, BbBb/CEbAb

Key of Eb

Check out the original chord chart for this section.

Outro:

Eb2 = Eb/ Bb, Eb, F, G, F, Bb (single r.h. notes)
Ab2 = Ab/C, Bb, Bb, C
Eb2
Ab/Fm = Ab/AbCF
Ab/Eb = GBbEb
Ab/Fm
Ab/Eb = Ab/EbGBb
Eb2
Ab2
Eb2
Ab2
Ab2(#4) = Eb/BbDbEb
Ab2 = Ab/abBbCEb

It's such a beautiful song and you just might want to purchase the book for your library.
The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin (Songbooks and Folios)

And be sure and stop by this resource and see if it's for you:
Gospel Music Training Center

Best Regards,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Jazz, Rags & Blues

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:16:00 +0000

The piano tutorial for this song can be found here. Martha Mier produced a music
book of Jazz, Rags & Blues for the early intermediate to intermediate pianist. There
are 8 original pieces in the book... I chose one of the songs, Beach Buggy Boogie.
It really should be played lively, with a solid beat. It has 4/4 time signature.

Jazz, Rags & Blues, Book 2 (Alfred's Basic Piano Library)

I have been asked to fill in a lot of notes on this song. It's a 3 page song.

Basically, the l.h. is playing low C and G together, then C and A; back and forth.
F and C played together, then F and D. They are quarter notes that get one count each.
There's a bass walk down for a few measures, G and D - F and C - C and G.
And another one... G and D to Gb and Db, F and C to Eb and Bb, then C and G.
For the ending... C and G, C and A, C and G, to G and F... then CEG to low C.

O.k., the right hand runs have triplets and eighth notes. They are fun to play.
Along with the CG and CA bass notes, play these single notes in the r.h.

1. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, A then the chord EGAC (2x)
2. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, A, then EG.

With bass notes, FC and FD, add this run.

1. Eb, D, C, A, G#, A, C, D, then ACDF (2x)

Along with CG to CA, play this riff:
1. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C

With GD/ E, D, A#, B, G, G#
With FC/ A, C, G#, A, F
With CG/ Bb, A, G
With CA/ E, D#
With CG/ E, G
With CA/ E, C

There's a mid-section on page 2 that goes like this:
l.h./ r.h. single notes

CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, C... D#, E, G, D#, E, C
CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, G, A, then EBb.
FC to FD/ G#, A, C, G#, A, F, G#, A, C, G#, A, F
CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, G, D#, E, G, D#, E, C

Here's a cool part of the song with bass walk down:

GD/ G, B, G, B, G, B, G... then GbDb/BbGb
FC/ F, A, F, A, F, A, F... then EbBb/GEb
CG/ EGAC

For the third page and final section of the song, play thirds in r.h.

CG to CA/ BbD, AC, G#B, GBb
single notes D, D#, E
CD to CA/ BbD, AC, G#B, GBb
single notes G, G#, A

FC to FD/ EbG, DF, C#E, CEb
CG to CA/ C, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C

GD/BG
GbDb/BbGb
FC/ AF
EbBb/GEb
CG/EGAC
FC/EbGAC
CG/EGAC
GF/BD#A
CEG/BD#A
CEG/AC

Sincerely hope this breakdown helps some of you who want to play
Martha's Beach Buggy Boogie.

When you get the chance, stop by...
4 Free Video Lessons and Sequence

Warm Regards,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Level1 Fundamentals

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:08:00 +0000

As we begin to slowly wrap up another year of teaching, you'll find lots of testing going on in my piano studio with my students. I am often asked the question, "What books do you use?" I think many teachers have their own preferences on what works best with them. I start newbies in Bastien Primer Level. Later as a student progresses, I use Alfred's Piano Lesson Books. Here are a few things one will learn in Level 1 for the piano.

How Music Is Written

The Grand Staff

Treble and Bass Clef

Measure

Bar Line

Double Bar Line (Always used at the end of a piece.

Notes

Quarter Note = 1 count

Half Note = 2 counts

Dotted Half = 3 counts

Whole Note = 4 counts

Time

The numbers at the beginning of a piece are called the Time Signature. This tells us how to count the piece.

Upper number tells us to give four counts to a measure.

Lower number tells us that a quarter note gets one count.

Seize the C’s

When Middle C has its stem up, right hand plays it.

When Middle C has its stem down, left hand plays it.

The Phrase Mark

Music is a language and has punctuation signs that divide it into phrases or sentences. These PHRASES are marked with curved lines called slurs.

Introducing Eighth Notes

Two eighth notes equal one count. One eighth note is half as long as a quarter note.

Rests

Rests are signs of silence. They tell us how many counts our hands should remain silent.

Quarter Rest = 1 count

Half Rest = 2 counts

Whole Rest = 4 counts

The whole rest means that a certain hand is silent for a whole measure.

The Repeat Sign

Two dots before or after a double bar indicate REPEAT signs:

This means that you play the measures enclosed by repeat signs TWICE.

The Tie

The tie is a curved line placed over or under two notes of the same pitch. You play the first note only and hold it down for the total time value of both notes.

Natural accents

In playing the piano, certain counts are louder than other counts. These loud counts are called natural accents.

In 4/4 time – always play the first count louder.

In 3/4 time – always play the first count louder.

In 2/4 time – likewise play the first count louder.

A Brief History Of The Piano

The direct predecessors of the piano are the clavichord and the harpsichord. History records their use as early as the Sixteenth century. still earlier, the effort to produce two or more tones simultaneously yielded the dulcimer, but it had no keyboard. Notice the limited manual range and the non-existent pedals of the early instruments. Cristofari (1665) and Bach (1685) were responsible for the major developments in the piano. Today the manufacturers have given us the gloriously complete concert grand.

Importance Of Review

You gain smoothness and ease by reviewing your old pieces and studies. Be sure always to devote at least 10 mins. a day to review work.

Sight Reading Hint

In finding a note, move the eye first, then the hand. Find the note visually then manually. Too many students start moving their hands without knowing where they are going. Keep the hands quiet until the note has been found visually.

The Sharp Sign

Here is the SHARP sign (#). It appears before a note. It tells you to play the first black key to the right of the note instead of the regular white key.

The Sharp Sign In The Signature

Instead of writing out every sharp in the song, most composers would put a sharp sign at the beginning of the piece. This is called the Key Signature. IT tells you to sharp a specific note throughout the piece.

The Flat Sign

This is the FLAT sign (b). It means to play the first black key to the left of the note.

Common Time

Very often in music you will not find a numerical time signature at the beginning of a piece but will find the large symbol C. This stands for COMMON TIME (4/4 Time).

ACCIDENTALS

The Sharp (#), Flat (b), and Natural signs which appear in a piece (other than in the key signature) are called Accidentals. Watch out for them. Natural sign means to restore back to white key.

How To Become A Faster Note Reader

Sight-reading is a skill that can be compared to bowling or golfing. It doesn’t take a great deal of mental effort or knowledge to play these games, but it takes a prodigious amount of practice to be expert. The same analogy holds true for sight-reading. You can’t think or wish yourself into becoming a good reader-you must practice and drill constantly.

Quick note reading demands daily drill. Remember, music isn’t hard to play; it’s hard to READ. You fumble and stumble at the keyboard because you can’t find the notes quickly enough. Keep your drills alive every day. You will soon grow to become a more rapid reader. Plus, the physical element of good vision is a factor in sight-reading.

How To Play In Rhythm

Never count to your playing, but always PLAY TO YOUR COUNTING. In every piece in 3/4 time always play your first count louder: 1 2 3 1 2 3

How To Use The Damper Pedal

The main pedal in piano playing is the DAMPER PEDAL. (the one at the right). It is sometimes (wrongly) called the loud pedal. The pedal at the left is the soft pedal and the middle pedal is the sustaining pedal. Keep the heel on the floor and sole of shoe in pedal contact at all times. Pedaling should be noiseless-no clicking of the shoe or letting the pedal up with a bang.

Musical Terms

Music writing began in Italy. Therefore Italian words are used to tell us how music is played. If each country used its own language it would be very confusing. Suppose Russia described its music in Russian, and Norway defined its music in Norwegian, etc., we would have to know far too many languages. Consequently all countries have adopted Italian terms for their music. You see if we know the Italian terms we will understand how to play music of any country.

Introducing The Staccato Touch

When dots are written above or below notes, you touch the keys as if you were touching a hot flat iron. This is called STACCATO.

The Dotted Quarter Note

A dot after a note is equal to a note next lower in value. Therefore, the dot after a quarter note equals an eighth note. The dotted quarter in 4/4 time is counted as follows: 1 2 and 3 4

The Metronome

The letters M.M. at the beginning of a piece stand for Maelzel’s Metronome. The numbers on the metronome indicate ticks per minute. Thus if the metronome were set at 60, it would be ticking seconds. The metronome is used only for a moment to see what time the composer has in mind. We never depend on it entirely for our rhythm.

Watch out for new expression marks. Crescendo means to grow louder and diminuendo means to grow softer.

Watch out for the octave higher sign. 8…… It means to play eight keys higher.

Intervals

An interval is the difference between two sounds. Intervals have number-names which equal the amount of letter-names they include.

There's so much more to add here but I'll stop for now.

Take a look at these FREE sites for theory stuff:

http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/Fundamentals/workbooks.html

http://learnmusictheory.net/fundamentals/index.asp

Music Fundamental Links

If you are an adult who plays by ear but would like a textbook/workbook for music fundamentals, then I recommend 300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course

Best Regards,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

How to Play: All You Need Is Love

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:33:00 +0000

I have always been a fan of The Beatles. I join multitudes of folks in celebrating this
enormous wave of popularity in the songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney. The
Beatles music is timeless. Awhile back, I blogged about a song Let It Be. You might want
to check it out.

So, I got to thinking about special needs children and how they have Special Olympics
for them. It's wonderful to cheer folks on to victory. Everyone needs love... that's what I think. Another song that comes to mind, All You need Is Love, is a good one. Do you remember it?

The song has some bass walk ups and walk downs. A walk down involves starting on the
first chord, then playing a transitional chord, and then arriving at the destination chord. When
I play this particular Beatle song in my l.h., I'm playing G, F# then E. Sometimes the walk will
be these single notes, A, G, to F#. Other times, listen and you'll hear a longer walk down, like A,
G, F#, E, D, C.

The guitar chord chart goes something like this:

G                                    D/F#                 Em
There's nothing you can do that can't be done

G                                   D/F#                    Em 
Theres nothing you can sing that can't be sung

D7/A                   G                      D/F#                    
Nothing you can say but you can learn to
               D7/A
play the game

D7/A      D7
It's          easy


There's nothing you can make that can't be made
No one  you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy


CHORUS:

G          A7       D7
All you need is love

G          A7       D7
All you need is love

G          B7       Em         G/D 
All you need is love        love

C             D7      G
Love is all you need


There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
Its easy

CHORUS

C           D7      G
Love is all you need   

G          A7       D7
All you need is love

D7                         G          A7       D7
All together now   All you need is love

D7                        G          A7       D7
Everybody now   All you need is love 

G      D     G  
Love is all you need   (repeats a few times)

I'm playing these chords:

L.H./R.H.

G/BG                                    F#/DA    E/BE
There's nothing you can do that can't be done

G/BD                    F#/ADA             E/BE
Theres nothing you can sing that can't be sung

A/CDF#          G/BDA            F#/CD                    
Nothing you can say but you can learn to
            E/CDF#A
play the game

D7/A      D7
It's          easy


There's nothing you can make that can't be made
No one  you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy


CHORUS:

G/DGB    A/EGAD    D/F#AD
All you need is love

G/GBD    A/EGAD    D/F#AD
All you need is love

G/DGBD   B/F#AD#   E/GB        D/DG 
All you need is love        love

C/CEG     D/CA    D/CDG
Love is all you need


There's this cool intro:

Pick up notes(single notes in r.h. D, then CD)

G/BDG, G/BDG

D/DF#A, D/DF#A

G/GBD, B/BDG, B/BDG, D/DGB, B/BDG

C/ACE, D/DF#AC... then play a trill (you know, a rapid moving back

and forth of two separate notes. At this point in the music, move notes

A and G back and forth in your right hand.

There's another cool part in the song that has a triplet

(using three notes in the place for two. It's after the part,

"All you need is love" and you hear "Everybody". It goes rather quickly

like this:

D/CF#A

D/DF#, E/C#F

Triplet: G/CE, A/CEb and G/BD

The outro or ending just repeats and fades away.

Looking to play along and having your practice time not

be boring? Visit,

The Back Pocket Band Video

Enjoy!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Homemade Muscial Instruments

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Hot Black

Daria provides a video of a song from Africa, Here Come Our Mothers

Thank you for the times you listened
Thank you for the times you heard
You made me feel like I could soar
And sing just like a bird...thanks to you
Now I can stand tall
And I can stand true
You know it is
Thanks to you!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Photo Credit: Tip Junkie

I got to thinking about drums from Africa and reflecting on some of my own handmade
music instruments I made for the kindergarten class.

Music Mouse

Safari Shakers

I wanted to share a list with you
of other cool bloggers who have enjoyed creating sounds from cool resources.

Homemade Bongo Drums

Washboards and Rattles

Homemade Musical Instruments

Rainsticks and Tambourines

Homemade Guitars and Harps

Banjo and Xylophone

Making Music-Martha Stewart

Musical Shaker Eggs

"The rhythm section is the foundation for good improv experiences."
-- John Kuzmich, Jr.

Here's a more complex blues riff.

L.H. Chord - R.H. Single Notes

C7 - C, C, Bb, C

F7 - F, F, Eb, F

G7 - G, G, F, G

C7 - C, C, Bb, C, Eb

F7 - F, F, Eb, F, A

G7 - G, G, F, G, Bb

C7 - C, C, Bb, G, Bb, C

F7 - F, F, Eb, C, Eb, F

G7 - G, G, B, D

C7 - C, E, G, C, Bb

F7 - F, A, C, F, Eb

G7 - G, B, D, G, F

Improve Your Piano Playing
Access Free Piano Tutorials Here

Blessings,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Learn To Play Amazing: Matt Redman

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:57:00 +0000

Photo Credit: penywise

One of the Matt Redman song's that's simple to play is called Amazing. I made a video from my webcam but need to work on the angle view. Plus, I forgot the tag part to the song and made a mistake or two! lol Be gentle with me, since this is my first video recording from my laptop. When school is out, I'll work on more music at the keyboard and see how it all works out with the recording.

Here's the chord chart:

Amazing

VERSE 1:
D/F#      G
A love so undeserved,
  D/A
a gift that's free,
    G/B          D/F#
You lavish on me
          G
A peace I could not earn,
    D/A           G/B           D/F#
and mercy for the freedom of my soul

CHORUS 1:
D                    G               D/A  G/B
That's what's so amazing about Your grace
D                    G               D/A
That's what's so amazing about Your grace

VERSE 2:
D/F#         G
Forgiveness runs so deep
  D/A                 G/B
Within Your heart of loving kindness
D/F#          G
And should a soul forget
    D/A              G/B             D/F#
The cross of Christ reminds us every day

CHORUS 2:
D                    G               D/A  G/B
That's what's so amazing about Your grace
D                    G               D/A
That's what's so amazing about Your grace
      D/F#
Lord, everyday
    G
You pour on me
     D/A           G/B
Your blessings of eternity,
    D                    G             D/A  G
and that's what's so amazing about Your grace

BRIDGE:
D/F#                         G
Freely I've received, now freely to give
D/A                         G/B
Freely I've received, now freely to give
D/F#                         G
Freely I've received, now freely to give
D/A                  G/B
give my life to You

I wanted to share the notes I'm playing in the video with you.

D/F# = F#/AD

G = G/BDA

D/A = A/DF#A

G/B = B/GDF#

F#/AD

G = G/BDA

D/A = A/DF#A

G/B = B/GDF#

D/F# = F#/ADF#

G/GDF#

D/A = G/ADF#

G/B = B/GDF#

D = D/DF#A

G = G/GBE

D/A = A/F#AD

G/B = B/GDG

D = D/DF#A

G = G/GBE

D/A = A/F#AD

G/B = B/GDG

F#/F#AE

G = GBE

D/A = A/F#AE

G/B = B/GBE

D = F#/DF#A

G = G/GBE

D/A = A/F#AD

G = G/DGB

* Repeat Part*

* D/F# = F#/AD

G = G/GB

Asus = A/GCD

D/F# = F#/AD

Asus = G/GDG *

Tag:

D/F# = F#/DAD

G = G/GD

D/A = A/F#AD

G/B = B/GD

D/F# = F#/DAD

G = G/GD

D/A = A/F#A

G/B = B/DG

Another cool song by the artist Matt Redman you might want to learn, Heart-of-Worship

If you're interested in learning to play Gospel songs by ear, visit Gospel Keys.

Best Wishes,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Ear Training

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Easy Ear Training

You'll find free Tutorials, Quizzes and Discussion Forums to help you with ear training,
plus a free 68 page eBook at http://www.easyeartraining.com/

Ear training is a skill that improves with daily practice. That's why I admire the folks at
HearandPlay.com because they are masters at playing by ear, especially Jermaine Griggs.

This wonderful site, Easy Training, offers a free pack of interval training tracks at Intervals with these free tracks. "The downloadable pack includes 5 MP3 files, each of which is about 3 minutes long. Each focuses on a different interval."

Photo Credit: Blob Chorus Music Education App

A delightful app that I discovered at http://musicianswithapps.com provides
great ear training for children and adults, too. Listen to the Blob and then match the tone with
King Blob. It's free!

Here's an article I wrote awhile back on ear training.

Ear training is especially important if you want to improvise, compose, or figure out melodies and chords to songs by ear. A good musical ear is an acquired skill, not a gift. And like other skills, it is acquired through practice.
The more we train our ear to recognize this connection, the more we enjoy playing music, because we learn to understand what we play.

Here are a few questions I am often asked.

Who needs ear training?
All musicians need to train their ear in order to know what they are playing and to anticipate what they are about to play!

Why do ear training?
Because understanding the sounds we hear will be necessary to:
* Jam with other musicians
* Compose music
* Sing in tune

There are 3 qualities that every good jazz musician must possess:
* a great ear
* a strong sense of time
* a unique sound.

While there are many different ways to approach these skills, the first two always require a certain amount of drilling. The ear can be thought of as a muscle and to a certain degree must be trained like one. Improved ears will lead to better intonation, improvisation, ensemble playing and transcription skills. With that in mind, here are three great ways of dramatically improving your students' ears and, hopefully, their overall playing.

Associating a familiar melody with each interval is a quick way to learn an interval's distinct sound. For example, a melodic interval can be ascending or descending. Either way, it's still the same interval. Now, you don't want to get confused with interval inversions because a minor third will is still a minor third no matter which note comes first.

Intervals can be classified as consonant or dissonant. I can tell you that it's much easier to hear the consonance or dissonance of harmonic intervals than melodic ones.

Here's a list showing you the relative stability (consonance) or instability (dissonance) of the octaves up to an octave.

Consonant: Perfect, unison, m3, P4, P5, m6, P octave.

Dissonant: m2, M2, +4. (o5), m7, M7.

Another gentle approach is to describe Hollow Sounds, like austere and earthy, Indian drones and Scottish bagpipes or heavy metal rhythm-guitar.

Hallow: Perfect unison, P4, P5, P octave. This would be perfect intervals and their inversions.)

Sweet: m3, M3, m6, M6. (thirds and sixths)

Now there are active and passive methods for ear training. A passive drill would be to play two notes in succession and listen to that interval. Sometimes you will be asked to name the next note.

Harmonic intervals can be drilled the same way. These types of drills can be done with chords or chord progressions.

Are you familiar with the underlying scales and moveable "Do" solfege?
It's essential that you learn to sing a chromatic scale. As chromaticism is prevalent throughout modern jazz, this exercise will improve both intonation and students' understanding of the genre. When singing through the chromatic scale, remember to use sharps when ascending and flats when descending.

Chromatic Scale Ascending:
C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C
Do, Di, Re, Ri, Mi, Fa, Fi, Sol, Si, La, U, Ti, Do

Chromatic Scale Descending
C, B, Bb, A, Ab, G, Gb, F, E, Eb, D, Db, C
Do, Ti, Te, La, Le, Sol, Se, Fa, Mi, Me, Re, Ra, Do

Target Tones
Target tones are an essential part of any ear training regimen. They force students to hear not only chord tones, but surrounding tones as well. Now, many students can correctly sing a major scale but they have some difficulty picking out specific intervals at random.
With respect to the scales and scale degrees, the best way to practice this is through the use of target tones. Here are a few exercises:
C, // C, D, C // E, D, C // F, E, D // C, G, A // B, C, A // B, C, B // C
Ear training leads to better intonation, improvisation, band playing and transcription skills overall.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6462345

If you're looking for more digital ear training software, visit Pitch.

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Blues Monday: How To Play Clarinet Blues

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Photo Credit: ronnieb

Martha Mier wrote Clarinet Blues; soulfully with slow blues swing.

The bass runs are pretty much AE, played together, then single notes F, Gb, F.

The right hand run starts on G#, A, C, D, Eb, D, C, A. Then you'll hear a
descending run with single notes; A, Ab, G, E, Eb, D, C, C, A.

The triplet in the right hand is C#, D, F that is played 3 times.

That cool ending chord is AE/CGB.

Syncopation

Ragtime is the music most commonly thought of when you talk about syncopation. Another way to put it is "ragged rhythm". I am finding that pop music is filled with syncopation quite a bit also. An oldie song "The Best Is Yet To Come" by Mr. Coleman has many syncopated beats and you can feel the syncopation, especially if you know the song just by saying the words, Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum.

There seems to be two problems musicians face when confronted with this kind of syncopated pattern. The first is how to read the rhythm patterns correctly. Perhaps you can use this tip to help you if you find playing syncopated notes is somewhat challenging. First you need to change each of the oddly placed quarter notes to two eighth notes and then turn them into tied notes. Now you can count the rhythm.

So before we had eighth note, quarter note, eighth note, quarter note, eighth note, tied eighth note in one measure. Now we can count easily, 1 &, 2 &, 3, 4 & because we have three sets of eighth notes and one quarter note. The second problem is in playing the melody with a real rhythmic feel. To make this happen, place accents on the notes that occur on the normally weak beats. Any music dictionary will tell you to shift the accent of a note or chord to a weak beat or the weak part of a beat.

Back to our original song, the accent would would look like this:

Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum. Anticipating and feeling the beat are common words applied to Cuban music. These irregular patterns are so very necessary to play in your piano practice no matter what genre of playing. So, spice up your playing with more syncopation!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3624661

This is a great tool to have as a musician, Song Robot Software

Happy Blues Monday!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

How To Play: If We Are the Body

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Cory Morse

In 2003 Mark Hall wrote a moderately fast song called, If We Are The Body. I like it!

If We Are The Body

(Capo 2)

G   G Gmaj7 G Gmaj7 (x4)    {Gmaj7 are hammered on and off}

       Em7                Csus2
It's crowded in worship today
            A7Sus4   Asus4          Csus2          Dsus4/F#
As she slips in           trying to fade into the faces
    Em7                       Csus2             
The girls teasing laughter is carrying 
                   A7Sus4 Asus4
Farther than they know
                  Csus2   Dsus4/F#
Farther than they know, Lord


(Chorus)
       G
But if we are the body
               Dsus4/F#
Why aren't His arms     reaching?
                Em7
Why aren't His hands healing?
               Csus2  
Why aren't His words teaching?
       G
And if we are the body
               Dsus4/F#
Why aren't His feet       going?
            Em7             Dsus4/F#             Csus2
Why is His love not showing them       there is a way?


           Em7 {4 measures}
There is a way.



   Em7                      Csus2
A traveler is far away from home
         A7Sus4   Asus4               
He sheds his coat         
             Csus2          Dsus4/F#
And quietly sinks into the back row
     Em7                       Csus2               
The weight of their judgmental glances
                A7Sus4 Asus4                
Tells him that his chances     
                      Csus2  Dsus4/F#
are better out on the road


(Chorus)

(Bridge)
Dsus4/F#              Em7      A7Sus4    Csus2     
Jesus            paid much too high    a price
                                     Dsus4/F#
For us to pick and choose who should come
               Em7  A7Sus4       Csus2
And we are the bo - - -dy of     Christ


(Chorus) x2

             Em7 {3 measures}
Jesus is the way

I like to play this song in the Key of A.


Verse 1


     F#m7                 Dsus2
It's crowded in worship today
           B7SUS   B7     Dsus2         Esus E

As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
    F#m7                      Dsus2                      B7SUS   B7
The girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
                  Dsus2    Esus E
Farther than they know


Chorus
       A
But if we are the body
               Esus E
Why aren't His arms reaching?
       E5      F#m11
Why aren't His hands healing?
               D
Why aren't His words teaching?
       A
And if we are the body
               Esus E
Why aren't His feet going?
 Esus   E5  F#m11           E       D(add2)

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
           F#m
There is a way




Chorus
       A
But if we are the body
               Esus E
Why aren't His arms reaching?
               F#m
Why aren't His hands healing?
               D
Why aren't His words teaching?
       A
And if we are the body
               Esus
Why aren't His feet going?
  E5         F#m11               E               D(add2)
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?


Bridge
E          F#m       E       Dsus2
Jesus paid much too high a price
                                     E
For us to pick and choose who should come
               F#m E     Ddud2
And we are the body of Christ

Chorus
       A
But if we are the body
               Esus  E
Why aren't His arms reaching?
 Esus E5              F#m11
Why aren't His hands healing?
               D
Why aren't His words teaching?
       A
And if we are the body
               Esus E
Why aren't His feet going?
   E5        F#m11          E               D(add2)
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

 F#m7
Jesus is the way

Chord Breakdown

F#m7 = F#C#/EA

B7sus = BF#A/EA

B7 = BF#A/D#F#

Dsus2 = DA/EB

Esus = BEA/EAC#

E = E/EG#B

A = A/EAC#

E5 = E/EABE

F#m11 = F#/EABE

D = D/EF#AC#

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"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Memorizing Music

noreply@blogger.com (LadyD) — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:34:00 +0000

Photo Credit: tcatcarson

Do you have an easy time playing the piano without looking at the notes? Some find it a bit challenging to play a song with no notes in front of them.

Here's a cool article I found online:

Tips on how to memorise your piece

"Playing from memory could be essential while performing in concert, festival or competition or even in exam. Knowing your piece by heart demonstrates that the composition has been studied in depth.

There are few ways to memorize music:

How to begin? Listen recorded version of your piece first, so that you’ll have music in your ‘ear ‘already. Most of the people, not necessary musicians are able to remember songs and melodies quite easily by just listening it a couple of times. The same with pianists, they can memorize piece quite quickly by playing it through a few times. It is called aural memory, when musician knows how the music sounds in his head and when he is able to sing the piece through internally including dynamics and phrasing.The easiest way to memorize piece is repeat the same phrase over and over again, until its stays in your ear, then shift it to the succeeding phrase.Aural memory is one of the strongest and most reliable memory motivators.

The other step is to understand piece you are about to memorize intellectually. First pianist should know the main key and all upcoming modulating keys in the composition. Pupil should analyze the overall structure and know the cadential parts. Recognize repeating phrases and compare them with new material introduced in the piece. The whole process requires conscious control. This type of method is called intellectual or analytic memory.

The whole memorizing process requires lots of repetition, it involves constant finger action. Eventually fingers memorising patterns, this process is called kinaesthetic memory. Without aural and intellectual memory support finger memory wouldn’t be very reliable on its own.

The last method to memorise the music is visualy by remembering how the music looks on the page.
All the four: aural, analytic, kinaesthetic and visual methods should be maintained and combined simultaneously for effective memorizing process."
http://www.maestrolist.com/article/tips-on-how-to-memorise-your-piece.html

Here's an article I wrote awhile back on the subject of memorizing.

Ten Tips for Memorizing Music

Do you memorize sheet music by playing it over and over, hoping it will somehow stick in your brain after playing a song many times through? Sometimes this will work, especially if you are playing a short piece.

If you have ever experienced forgetting where you are at a lesson or recital, you might want to try these ten ideas to make memorizing easier for you.

1. Learn the song first before you begin to memorize it.

2. Use the proper fingering.

3. Practice slowly and steadily at first.

4. Watch your hands as you play.

5. Memorize your hands separately.

6. Memorize small sections, maybe one or two measures of music. Don't try to memorize the whole song in a day.

7. Divide the piece into sections and plan to learn some each day. Then review all the sections. Start anywhere and play through the A and B section of a song. Focus on the ending to the song, so with the knowing the last measure, you can end strong.

8. Analyze the music. Notice notes and sections that repeat. Pay attention to where the music changes. Memorize the dynamics and other markings in the song.

9. Practice mentally away from the piano, tapping your fingers on the table or visualizing the music in front of you.

10. Repetition.

Many teachers consider memorization one of the most important aspects of piano playing. Most books, which discuss the how-to of memorization, stress the importance of understanding the details of musical form. So, start an opening phrase of music and learn it without the music.

Then consider the physical demands the piece of music is making. Look for tricky fingering that comes up at a certain point. Play it many times over and over, remember the feeling. Are your hands playing together or separately? Are they moving in opposite directions? On which notes does the thumb go?

Each time you hit a blind spot, you need to refer to the printed music. Remember that when you hit your first blank moment, open your music book and find the place in the music you couldn't remember. Play through it a few times. Now you've begun to deepen your understanding of the song.

Most importantly, every now and then play the song you memorized because some memorization is only short-term. The advantages to following these points are many. By memorizing, the music is unfolding in a new way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6674413

More Resources:

From Robert T. Kelley, Tips On How To Memorize Music

From Kathy Ferneau, Memorization Techniques

From Ziegler and Ostromencki, Piano Education Page

Looking for piano exercises to increase your speed? Visit, Hanon 1 - Finger Exercises

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

LadyDpiano

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