| Are you ready to finally learn how to play | | | | follow piano sheet music, but far fewer can |
| piano despite years of lessons? If you're | | | | sit down and start playing along |
| like many students of the piano, all your | | | | spontaneously with any song they hear - and |
| lessons and all your practicing have only | | | | have it sound pleasing to the ear. Of course, |
| gotten you so far. Maybe you've found that | | | | if you don't yet know how to read piano sheet |
| you've hit a wall in your piano playing | | | | music, then you may also want to begin |
| ability, beyond which you just can't seem to | | | | studying that skill as well. But not at the |
| get. The following are some helpful tips for | | | | expense of learning the fundamentals of |
| taking your piano playing to next level. * | | | | music, which is not in writing but in |
| Learn pattern recognition: Every song ever | | | | listening. In musical terms, this is called |
| written follows a pattern, a structure of | | | | "ear-training". Learn to recognize the sounds |
| sections and chord progressions. You need | | | | of harmonic and melodic intervals and you're |
| only listen to a handful of songs by The | | | | more than halfway to playing them. * Expose |
| Beatles to hear what we mean. To expand your | | | | yourself: No, we're not suggesting you run |
| repertoire and build versatility in your | | | | naked down the street. What we're suggesting |
| ability to pick up nearly any song you hear | | | | is that you spend time surrounded by |
| quickly and easily, learn the patterns with | | | | musicians of exceptional quality, |
| which all songs are composed. * Play by the | | | | professionals and amateurs alike in whose |
| numbers: Every song is written in a | | | | presence you can hear what it sounds like to |
| particular key - one of but 12, to be precise | | | | play how you want to play. The body's muscles |
| - and every key has it's scales, series' of | | | | have memory far superior to than our brain's |
| notes in specific intervals, any of which | | | | conscious recall ability. By simply immersing |
| will sound natural and pleasing to the ear | | | | yourself in an environment where your ear is |
| when played in it's respective key. Every | | | | exposed to the sort of piano playing you |
| scale in every key has its 1-chord, its | | | | aspire to, your body has a far easier time |
| 2-chord, etc. Instead of straining yourself | | | | reproducing those sounds on the piano |
| to memorize how to play various piano chords | | | | yourself. Most importantly in your piano |
| by rote, learn instead the keys that chords | | | | playing adventure is to remember to give it a |
| are played in and the scales they're built | | | | little attention every day. You don't have to |
| upon. Then you can quickly and easily figure | | | | practice for hours and hours a day to get |
| out how to play any chord in any key on the | | | | good at the piano. You need only devote a |
| spot, whether you've memorized that specific | | | | small amount of time daily to keep the skills |
| chord or not. * Listen: This tip is about | | | | you're learning present in your mind and |
| learning to play by ear. The secret to | | | | body. Even just 15 minutes a day keeps your |
| learning to play by ear is simple - just | | | | piano playing ability in tune. |
| learn the aforementioned 12 musical keys. By | | | | |
| doing so, you can easily transpose any song | | | | Yoke Wong is the founder of |
| you hear into any key you like. Learning to | | | | PlayPianoTips.com, a leading piano |
| transpose, then, will take you to the next | | | | instructional company that helps piano |
| level of playing piano, which is knowing how | | | | players improve on their playing through home |
| to improvise. Many piano players can read and | | | | study DVD courses. |