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Even Beginners Can Make Great Music With a Synthesizer Published on 25/08/2008

Synthesizers are electronic, keyboard-based instruments that produce artificial, or synthesized, sounds. Many frequently mistake synthesizers for simply portable, electronic pianos, but the differences are extremely vast. While synthesizers can definitely produce a piano sound, their main purpose, usually, is to create sounds not specifically found on any other instrument. The process of...

When It Comes To Music, You Never Know What's Going To Be Popular Published on 22/08/2008

What do the majority of music aficionados search out when it comes to musical genres? What CDs achieve the highest sales results? What is the dominant style of music heard on the airwaves and on the dance floors around the world today? The answer is popular, or pop, music. While jazz, classical, polka, reggae and the like have their loyal followers, no group commands the audience that popular...

Ambient Music -- Nature's Sounds Put To Music Published on 19/08/2008

It's often playing in the places you go. Whether it's in an art gallery, a unique specialty shop, or a restaurant, ambient music creates a mood. This music genre has seen a growth in popularity in the last 30 years. Ambient music relies on sound and sound patterns. It does not rely on formal, traditional musical elements in its composition. While it may include these, it is open to bending...

How to Read Piano Notes Published on 19/08/2008

Reading piano notes may seem daunting at first, but it really isn't if you ground yourself in the basics. The first step is learning the names of the notes. The great thing is that you only have seven to memorize. All music is the result of combinations of these seven. These notes, named after letters in the alphabet, are A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Specific keys on the piano, associated with...

How to Read Music - Easier Than You Ever Thought! Published on 17/08/2008

One of the simple joys in life is the ability to read music. Learning this skill will enable you to express yourself creatively at the piano, playing your favorite songs. It's not difficult to learn to read music if you understand its components. Written music has an architecture all its own. Musical notes sit on a staff. This staff consists of five lines and four spaces. Piano music...

How To Get That "Gospel Feeling" Using Jazz Chords Published on 15/08/2008

Does the cold, cerebral feel of modern jazz leave you cold? Maybe you'd like to have a little bit of "gospel" in your jazz? Maybe you just want to take an old hymn and give it some updating. Then you'll need to load yourself with an arsenal of gospel jazz chords. Gospel jazz chords involve extending the dominant seventh chord with additional tones. The ninth, 11th and 13th chords are all...

How Can I Learn To Understand Music & Piano Playing? Published on 13/08/2008

The graceful flourishes of a well-played piano masterpiece are sounds that many people would love to create. From trained professionals to child prodigies, a brilliantly played piano can steal the show. But great lessons are costly and involve scheduling time away from your busy life. So how do you learn how to play the piano or deepen your knowledge of the instrument? Piano...

Piano Lessons from Hell Published on 11/08/2008

Does the idea of taking piano lessons make you cringe? Does it make you remember old Sister Mary beating you over the knuckles with a ruler when you were eight years old for not practicing your scales enough? Do you think back to the old woman with thirty-three cats that stank of beef stew and cheap perfume that your mother made you learn scales from when you were a child? You don't have...

Is It Really Possible To Play The Piano By Ear? Published on 07/08/2008

Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. And even after these musicians master their...

Keyboard Lessons Online Await Adults Anxious To Learn To Play Published on 07/08/2008

If you are interested in learning the piano and want to learn from the comfort of your own home, online keyboard lessons are the way to go. Many sites offer you the instruction you need to begin playing the piano now. By performing a simple search with phrases like "Keyboard Lessons Online" or "Piano Lessons Online," you will open up a world of resources. Each of the sites you visit will...