PSR-OR700 - Yamaha PSR-OR700 » How To Play Piano

Piano Chords A Chord Book And Forty Eight Popular Chords For Beginners

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:53:32 +0000

I am sure you have heard of Piano Chords. Well, that can be a little misleading because when you play chords, normally with you left hand, you would play chords on an electronic keyboard or electric organ rather than a piano.
When learning to play the piano you would normally learn, what I call a moving left hand rather than a three note or four-note chord. You can still use chords with a piano but you must put the bass note in first before playing the chord. So if you are playing a C chord you would play the C bass note first with your left hand then the C chord. With an electronic keyboard, you would just play the C chord and the auto-chord feature that most keyboards have will add the bass note for you.
So, for all you keyboard and organ beginners out there all you need to start with is some basic triad and seventh chords. There are hundreds of chords to learn, but guess what; you don’t need to learn them now.
Let me give you an example, if you are playing your favourite song on your keyboard and you come across a chord called C6 or C9 or even C11 what do you do, stop, and learn these chords or carry on playing and learn these chords later, if you want to. Sound confusing, it’s not really, what you do is play a simple C chord instead of the C6, C9 or C11.
When you see a number attached to a chord it means you are adding another note to that chord. So for example C6 means play a C chord and add a sixth to it, and if you don’t know what the sixth is just play the C chord and learn the sixth later.
Now I don’t want to bombard you with theory but there are certain rules when playing ninth and eleventh chords, the rule being you must include the seventh when playing these types of chords. Now, as a beginner you can substitute ninth and eleventh chords with seventh chords. So now, you have a choice, if you see a C9 chord, you can play either a C chord or a C7 chord, both are adequate and both will sound correct.
Here are the chords I recommend beginners learn first.
12 Major Chords
12 Seventh Chords
12 Minor Chords
12 Minor Seventh Chords
The 12 Major Chords are:
C, G, D, A, E, B, F#/Gb, C#/Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F
The 12 Seventh Chords are:
C7, G7, D7, A7, E7, B7, F#7/Gb7, C#7/Db7, Ab7, Eb7, Bb7, F7
The 12 Minor Chords are:
Cm, Gm, Dm, Am, Em, Bm, F#m/Gbm, C#m/Dbm, Abm, Ebm, Bbm, Fm
The 12 Minor Seventh Chords are:
Cm7, Gm7, Dm7, Am7, Em7, Bm7, F#m7/Gbm7, C#m7/Dbm7, Abm7, Ebm7, Bbm7, Fm7
That’s 48 of the most popular chords used in modern music today. If you learn these chords, you will be able to play hundreds of songs that are widely available in songbooks and sheet music.

Piano Software Courses Vs Piano Tuition Books (Part 1)

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:52:30 +0000

If you want to learn to play the piano, you can go to a piano teacher or teach yourself. If you’re going to teach yourself how to play the piano then you have to decide whether to use piano software courses or tuition books. Whichever method you choose you should be aware that there is no magic solution to learning to play the piano, whether you choose piano software or tuition books there is going to be a certain amount of study and self-discipline on your part to succeed.
Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of both methods of teaching yourself to play the piano. Both methods will help you to learn to play the piano or keyboard. Both will provide you with songs to play on the piano and both will include the necessary music theory required to play the piano. So which method is best?
The benefits of tuition books
The obvious benefit of using tuition books is the cost. When you buy a beginners tuition book for example “The Complete Piano Player” or if you’re using a Yamaha keyboard “The Complete Keyboard Player”. They are normally sold as part of a series, for example, book 1 to book 4 and each book costs about six to ten pounds. You just buy the book you need, which means it’s incredibly cheap to get started. Each book contains about twelve songs and each song will introduce something new to learn.
When first starting to play a keyboard instrument its normal practice to learn a simple piece of music that just uses five notes, typically C, D, E, F, G. This is always a good start because it immediately teaches you to use all your fingers on your very first piece of music. Tuition books and software will use this method of teaching.
The drawbacks of tuition books
The main drawback of these books are not the books themselves but the fact that they are designed to be used with a piano teacher. If there is something you can’t quite grasp then a piano teacher would have many ways to explain things. Without that help, your task can become overwhelming and many people will give up within the first three months.
The other main drawback is that tuition books dont teach you what you need to know before you start using the books. That is, the basics, what the notes are called on a keyboard, what are the notes called on sheet music, time signatures and time values. These are the basics that apply to all musical instruments and you must learn this first.

Learn To Play Piano: A Digital Or An Acoustic Piano?

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:01:34 +0000

If I have to choose between buying an acoustic piano or a digital piano what is the best choice? let’s take a look at the different choices if you want to learn to play piano.

Personally I haven’t been forced to make the decision between buying a normal upright piano and a digital piano as I have both in my home. I can see advantages in both types of pianos when practicing the art of learning to play piano.

A normal upright piano produces sounds with hammers that strikes the strings. A digital piano on the other hand tries to duplicate the feeling of playing an acoustic piano.

Most people are familiar with the normal upright piano but what advantages has a digital piano?

First let us describe a digital piano.

A digital piano consists of a keyboard with weighted key action, sensors that detect the velocity when you play the keys and a set of sounds you can choose from. To make it possible to listen to the piano when you play you have an amplifier and loudspeakers and headphone jacks.

Here are some advantages with a digital piano:

1. A digital piano doesn’t need to be tuned. A normal acoustic piano you should tune once or twice a year. If you can’t tune a piano yourself you have to turn to a piano tuner. It can be quite expensive of course. Even a piano tuner has to pay his bills.

2. You can practice silently. A digital piano usually has a headphone jack so by using headphones you can practise as much as you want without disturbing neighbours or family members.

3. Midi interface. A digital piano usually has a midi interface which makes it possible to connect your piano to a computer and use music software like notation programs or a sequenser program or a software synthesizer.

What then are the disadvantages of having a digital piano?

1. The sounds in an acoustic piano are produced by strings vibrating and the different pitches interact in ways that you cannot copy on a digital piano. The sound quality of the sounds produced by digital pianos are becoming better and better but it is still a completely different way of producing sounds.

2. A digital piano is limited when it comes to producing different tone colors by different ways of playing. An accomplished pianist might feel limited by the sampled sounds.

There are many more things to say about choosing a piano but this is a beginning.

As you can see it is not so easy to decide what’s best for you. If you can’t decide what type of piano to buy you can do as I have done. Have both types of pianos and keep smiling.

What Are My Choices When It Comes To A Digital Keyboard?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:33:23 +0000

Here are a few tips that you should be considering before you go out and buy your keyboard, as we know that when you have the huge choice of keyboards and digital pianos that is available today, it can seem a little overwhelming. Any trip to the local music shop or even a quick online search will show you the vast array of instruments in this niche available to you -but which one is right for your needs?

1) Affordability. No matter how conservative your budget, it really shouldn’t be too difficult to find one that will fit. Set yourself a top level that you would pay and don’t go over that. Because the selection is so large, take the time to look around and get the best deal you can.

2) Weighted action versus synth action. Weighted action simply means that the keys are heavier and therefore behave more like an acoustic piano. Synth action simply means that the keys are a little lighter. Just a couple of the more technical terms you may come into contact with when buying your keyboard. The weight of the keys transmits to the style of play that you are buying the keyboard for: weighted action is great for the trained pianist or someone who is looking to develop their piano skills; synth action is more suited to those who play a more synthy or techno style, as the keys can be played a lot faster.

3) The number of keys. It can certainly seem that the choices you have when it comes to the number of keys can be almost as far-ranging as the choice of keyboards in the first place! The range goes from as little as 20 right up to 88. The choice is yours: if you are looking to use your keyboard for things like samples, then only a small range is needed and you only need a few keys. For the more experimental, for instance if you are looking to play around with sound development, then you want as many keys as possible.

4) Is it worth getting an onboard sequencer? A simple answer to a simple question here: if you are working with a computer, then yes it most definitely is. If you do not plan to work with a computer, then it probably won’t be necessary.

5) Do I need a workstation? This should be weighed against the fact that the workstation is an incredible tool to use. . The workstation on your keyboard will perform a myriad of functions, from sequencing to effects. . If you are already using a computer which handles all of that, paying extra for a workstation may not be the most economical vantage point.

6) Aftertouch and velocity features. Whatever you have in mind as the use of your keyboard, you should seriously look into the velocity and aftertouch features. Put simply, the velocity relates directly to the sound produced relative to the amount of the pressure applied to the keys, like how quickly they are pressed. The aftertouch, on the other hand, refers to the sound that is produced after the keys have been pressed, whilst they are resting on the keybed.

7) Can I take this to a gig? If one of the reasons you are buying the keyboard is to take it to gigs, then this should definitely be considered. You might want to think about a hard case to protect it, and obviously maneuverability is going to be a factor. It may seem obvious to say, but do you really want to be lugging some huge keyboard around from one gig to another?

When you take the time to find the best keyboard, one that will suit your needs and your goals, then you are much more likely to develop the long-term relationship with your instrument. Think about what is available online -this is often the best way to buy a new keyboard -with the added advantage that they will deliver straight to your door!