Posts Tagged ‘classical piano’

Piano Lesson: How To Improvise The Classical Piano Way

Friday, September 25th, 2009

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Peter_Edvinsson]Peter Edvinsson

Is it possible to improvise on the piano in a classical manner? This piano lesson will help you find out how to cultivate this art and the benefits you reap as a pianist!

Jazz piano improvising is an established art nowadays and much have been written on how to develop improvisational skills in this area.

What about classical piano improvisation?

Many of the methods used for learning jazz piano improvisation can be applied in classical piano improvisation as well.

Many composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, W.A. Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin and others were actually more famous for their improvisational skills during their lifetime.

Personally I have tried to develop this skill and I find it very enjoyable to improvise with classical piano pieces as a basis for creative trips.

I love to improvise in the style of classical composers trying to find myself somewhere among the notes. These special moments are a form of meditation. They clear my mind and also helps me as a composer to stimulate my creative abilities.

The most important reason for developing this skill is that it is fun and very enjoyable. If you learn classical piano improvisation you will benefit from it in many other ways too:

1. It will be easier for you to memorize classical piano sheet music as you will become more aware of what happens when you press down the piano keys.

2. You will find it easier to compose your own piano pieces in a classical piano style.

3. You can make up your own technical exercises on your piano on the go.

4. You will understand your piano better.

There are many ways to develop your skill in classical piano improvisation. Let’s see!

1. As soon as you have learned a piano scale try to use it by creating improvised melodies while playing chords or patterns with the other hand.

2. When you learn new chords try to create patterns to play with your left hand as you play improvised melodies with your right hand. A common easy left hand pattern is with the chord C:

C G E G C G E G

3. As you learn to play new classical piano compositions try to memorize beautiful or exciting passages in these compositions and play around with them and try to modify them and improvise over them.

4. Try to create classical melodies at the piano without stopping. In order to learn to improvise classical music you have to practice just that – To improvise classical piano music.

The most basic requisite in order to develop the skill of classical piano improvisation is that you want to learn this art and with this desire you will find ways to practice this art in all your piano playing.

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your   free sheet music and learn to play piano resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

Styles of Piano Music

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Sinclair]Kevin Sinclair

If you are studying the piano, you’ll find that there are many different styles of piano music out there today. Usually it is a great idea to learn as many styles as you can if you want to master the piano, and learning all of them is a great idea. When you are knowledgeably about various styles of music for the piano, you are able to play in a variety of styles yourself and it also helps you learn to improvise. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular styles out there that you’ll want to study and learn to play.

Classical Piano

The oldest style of piano is the classical style and it is very varied as well. This style of piano has been around for hundreds of years and for many, it is the proper style of music to learn when playing the music. Various other styles of piano music actually come from the classical style as well. This style of piano music takes training that is intense and a lot of practice as well.

Rock Piano

Another style of piano music is rock piano. This style of piano actually came right out of blues piano music, although later it would begin to get a new style of it’s own. Some great pianists, such as Billy Joel, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elton John would go on to make rock piano the popular and beautiful style that it is today.

Jazz Piano

Another great style of piano music that is well worth studying and learning is jazz piano. It includes a variety of different styles within it and it difficult to describe. A variety of piano styles today actually borrow jazz ideas like certain chords and even improvisation as well. You’ll also find that the emphasis on various forms of chords comes from jazz too.

Gospel Piano

You’ll find that the gospel piano style of music is very similar to various other styles, such as R&B, blues, and even jazz. There are some extended chords which gospel piano tends to emphasize, but it has that lilting or swinging feel that you often see in both R&B as well as in jazz. While gospel songs may appear to be quite simple, the musicality of them is usually quite complex. You’ll notice that syncopation is often used and provides a very spiritual style overtone to the gospel piano music.

Of course these are just a few of the different styles of piano music that are out there today. You’ll find that there are many other styles to listen to, learn, and play. Some of them include new age piano, ragtime piano, rhythm and blues piano, boogie woogie piano, and even cocktail piano.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of [http://www.musicianhome.com]MusicianHome.com – an information site for beginning through to advanced musicians. He has a growing number of [http://musicianhomereviews.com/category/learn-piano/]learn piano reviews available.