Piano Shortcuts

Exciting news!

2014-04-07T03:00:00.001-07:00

pianoREADER is an android application designed to help self-taught pianists of ALL levels to read music notations more easily. In other words, it’s a music sheet decoder that is able to display exactly where the notes are on the keyboard, making it incredibly simple for anyone to read.

This app’s user interface was designed and programmed to be as simple and straightforward as possible. The user can change everything from key signatures and clefs (treble or bass) to accidentals such as sharp, flat, and natural. We also included the double-sharp and double-flat accidentals as well.

Once the notes are added and checked, they will be added to the virtual music sheet above the UI Keyboard. Then, the user can “read” those notes by simply scrolling through the sheet and selecting them.

This way of learning how to read music sheet requires memorization and a lot of practice. Since pianoREADER doesn’t integrate speed, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the tempo of the melody before trying to learn it. We will be adding more features to this app in the future. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment to let us know.

Enjoy!

Download link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blogspot.smartengineersinc.pianoreader

Autumn Breeze Tutorial + MIDI Download

2010-11-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

MIDI Download Link

Hallelujah Tutorial + MIDI Download

2010-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

MIDI Download Link

Autumn Breeze

2010-09-26T12:29:00.001-07:00

What do you guys think?

New blog design

2010-06-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a long while, mostly because I haven't got any real good advice to share. I'll make sure to post more often from now.

Also, I changed the "How To Read Music Sheet" to Flash 8, more people can view it without having to update to Flash 10.

Happy New Year

2010-01-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

This is probably a little late. I've been kinda busy lately.

Anyways, Happy New Year everyone!
Good luck with your New Year Resolutions.
Hopefully one (or more) of them has to do with getting better at playing the piano. Best wishes from me.

One piece of advice, practice as much as you can.

Warm ups

2009-11-20T19:00:00.001-08:00

There are some exercises you can play to warm up your fingers (especially when the weather is cold). This is very good and helpful, but not so fun after a while.

What's the shortcut for this?
Well, get yourself a bucket (or whatever you can find to store water with) of warm water, put your hands in there and start moving your fingers.
Do this for a about 30 seconds and use a towel to dry off your hands (or your shirt, etc.).

Now sit down and play. Don't stop to take breaks though, because you would have to warm your hands up again.

Which song should I play?

2009-11-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

It depends on your skill level.

But really, if you want to play a song, just get your mind set to do it.
It's much easier to play something you like than something easy but you don't really like it.
Find a song you love, maybe a theme song from a movie? Something you heard when you were little? Anything, as long as it's what you want.

How is this a shortcut?
Well, most of the times, piano teachers will force you play certain songs/exercises you don't like.
In my opinion, it's really painful to learn it that way.

How to read music sheets Flash App is finished

2009-11-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

I added it to the top of this page so you can easily find it.
It is really simple. If there is any changes you want me to make to help people understand it better, please leave a comment below.

Current project

2009-11-05T18:17:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a Flash Application that actually helps you read Music Sheets.
It's simple, but very helpful.

How to memorize songs quicker

2009-11-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

In order to play the music off of the top of your head, you need to know how to memorize all the notes.
Some can memorize the notes in a matter of minutes, some can do it in several hours.
There are a few things you can do to help improve your memory:
1. Sleeping can give you a better memory. Look at the notes first, play it over several times, then go to sleep.
2. Know the melody of the song.
3. Look at the keyboard when you play and study your hand movements.
4. This is the old school way: Play the song over and over and over and over... Until you feel like you can play it without even thinking about playing. (This process takes about a week)

There are a lot more things you can do, but I think those are the essential ones.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

2009-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Stay safe!

Goals

2009-10-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

In order to achieve something, anything, you must have a goal.
So the question is "Why are you learning to play?"

1. To enjoy the music.
2. Make your brain work faster. (Yes folks, playing the piano or any musical instruments can make you smarter).
3. To impress you friends when you have the chance.
4. Your personal reason.

You can choose all of the above. Or maybe just one. As long as you have a goal(s), you will see that the motivation will help you out a lot.

How to use dowload and use Synthesia

2009-10-26T16:45:00.001-07:00

This program can help you out a lot if you can't read music sheets.
(This is the easy way out) The first shortcut. :)

First, go to http://www.synthesiagame.com/getTheGame.aspx To download the installer file, choose your operating system.

Install with the recommended settings, If for some reason it says the program wasn't installed correctly, just install it again.

Once you have it installed, Open Synthesia where you stored it.

Click "Play!"

There should be pre-installed MIDI files if you used the recommend settings.
Please note you can download additional MIDI files. Just look it up on Google.
Here's how your search should look like. "*Song Name* MIDI". Save it in the "Synthesia Music" Folder. Should be located in your Documents.

You can slow down by pressing the "down arrow"
Speed up by pressing the "up arrow"
Pause by pressing the "Space Bar"

Before You Begin

2009-10-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Things that you will need in order to play the piano:
1. Fingers.
2. A keyboard.

Things that will help you:
1. Me. I'm your friend, so trust me.
2. Synthesia, the program that helped a lot of people who either can't afford a teacher, or too lazy to take those boring lessons.
You can download the program here:
http://www.synthesiagame.com/
I'll talk about how to use it in my next post.

There are some other things, but they're not on my mind right now.
Until next time!