But if you’re feeling like quitting the guitar because you’re frustrated or bored I’ve got a few tips and tricks that just might keep you from closing up your guitar case and letting it collect dust. So lets get to work improving your skills!

It’s important that you enjoy the process of learning the guitar. Yes it can be difficult at times but nothing ever worth learning was totally easy. Don’t make excuses, sometimes the hardest thing to do is just to get past the voice in your head telling you “I don’t want to today” and just sit down with the guitar. You’ll find yourself playing and practicing and wondering what the big deal was and why you were putting it off in the first place.

keep your posture in mind because just like playing piano or sitting at the computer you need to pretend like your head is a plate and you’re balancing it on your neck. If you slouch, or tense your shoulders while you play it’ll hurt and you’ll want to quit.

Remember to take it slow when learning a new song especially if you don’t have the notes on the guitar memorized yet. If you rush, again, you’ll just end up frustrated. I would give yourself a week of practicing one hour every day to learn up to 2 different songs.

Now if you’re serious about getting into learning the guitar I suggest you read this review here about an online award winning guitar learning kit and TAKE ACTION!

Get started and have fun!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Heeren

Technically speaking any group of five five notes would qualify to be a pentatonic. Now, that’s pretty scary isn’t it!

Fortunately, we only need know two types of pentatonic combinations, the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic to produce the sounds we hear on the majority of commercial recordings.

It’s essential for the advancing guitarist to know both major and minor pentatonic combinations as these versatile notes will inject your guitar playing with exciting, dynamic and colorful sounds adding a new level of interest for the listener.

Major pentatonic structure: We construct the major pentatonic scales be taking a diatonic major scale and omitting the 4th and 7th notes of that scale.

examples:

C major diatonic

C D E F G A B C

C major pentatonic (five notes)

C D E G A

G major diatonic

G A B C D E F# G

G major pentatonic (five notes)

G A B D E

A major diatonic

A B C# D E F# G# A

A major pentatonic (five notes)

A B C# E F#

Major pentatonic scale application: country, folk, country rock and easy listening commercial/adult radio songs.

Even though the minor pentatonic is often touted as the ideal group of notes for every musical situation guitarist’s with street smart practical band experience will know that the minor pentatonic combination is not the best choice for certain songs.

Let’s compare the notes in the two types of pentatonic scales.

C major pentatonic - C D E G A

C minor pentatonic - C Eb F G Bb

As you can see certain notes are common to both scales, however you will notice a number of notes that differ.

This explains why a novice guitar player can be playing away blissfully unaware of the differences in pentatonic scales … until they play a sour note, which they then try to camouflage by bending or sliding all over the guitar fretboard desperately searching for a better sounding note.

Of course, it would have been much better (and less embarrassing) to have determined which scale was the correct choice for your particular musical project … before landing in a sticky musical
situation.

Many players just shake their heads and walk away from the whole scale/theory aspect of guitar playing believing that it’s all too much bother.

Remember, your ear will only take you so far … that’s where quality musical theory can help you (a) find the sounds you are hearing in your head and (b) assist you in understanding the language of music.

There’s no point wasting valuable time re-inventing the musical wheel!

I invite you to use these tips and tools when you play the guitar.

And now I’d like to invite you to get free access to my “How To Remember 1,000 Songs” eCourse. You can download the course for free at: => http://www.guitarcoaching.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_P_Hayes

People have been wondering about subliminal music in the music we listen to since back in the sixties. It is also known by the term “backwards tracking.” People believe that the messages therein might be place into soundtracks and music tracks on purpose.

Of course, songs are not the only place where subliminal messages can be found. Back in the fifties, drive in movies were often considered a source for them. There, the intent of the messages was to get movie goers to go to the concession stand and buy more snacks and drinks. If that still happens today, it could definitely be detrimental to our budgets, considering how much a box of popcorn costs these days!

You are not able to hear the subliminal messages placed within music and songs. They are blended right into the music, and thus cannot be separated from the sounds that you are actually hearing.

Backwards tracking works this way as well. You are not able to understand what the backwards tracked message is actually saying when the music is played. However, if you were to play an album or song that included backwards tracking backwards, you would be able to understand the message.

In truth, putting subliminal messages into music and songs has the potential to be very beneficial. Some tapes, CDs, and other forms of music which are used for self help implement this tactic. People will get tapes telling them to stop biting their nails, to stop smoking, to stop over eating, and the music on the tapes feature subliminal messaging.

Find out more about subliminal messages in songs and discover how you can use to power of subliminal messages for yourself.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Johnson

During the 1930s, the ‘Dance Hall’ was popular. The ‘Ceilí Band’ also emerged during the 1930s.

In 1951, Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann was encouraged traditional Irish music. This Irish group created the Fleadh Ceoil Festival, still held in many locations across Ireland. Traditional Irish music in the 1950s was a part of everyday living — it even was more popular due to radio.

In Irish music there are several instruments used. These include the tin whistle, the accordion, the concertina, the uilleann pipes, the flute, the bodhran, the banjo, the mouth organ, the piano, the fiddle and of course the harp. The harp was a popular in ancient Ireland and it’s even said that Irish monks in the 6th century took their harps abroad when they travelled to Europe.

Want to learn more? Here are a few places where you can find out more about Irish music:
Irish Music at Wikipedia
Live Irish Internet Radio
Topics in traditional Irish music

Music, whether of the oriental or the occidental style, if properly composed should be enjoyed by all. Music has no barriers of language,nationality or culture. You can enjoy the wild beats of the African music, the melodious tunes of the carnatic music, the lilting rhythm of the Samba, the inspiring beats of Jazz or the Opera music that tugs at your heart.

The capacity of the human mind to listen to music, is enhanced only by listening. You have to make a habit of listening to good music. Let the nuances and technicalities of music be set aside. Let us be simple and enjoy music like an ordinary mortal. The harmonic sounds of the vocals and the accompanying instruments must spontaneously create a feeling of joy and harmony inside your heart. Then and then only music’s great healing powers are revealed.

Enjoy Music and Get Healed!

PKP Iyer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pkp_Iyer

Pkp Iyer - EzineArticles Expert Author

You can pick out the melody line using your right hand.

You don’t know what chords to play on the right hand.

Usually, if you know it, you’ll know the whole sequence of chords to play. If you don’t know, you’ll be picking the chords by trial-and-error, right?

What you need to know now, is you need to be familiar with many chord progressions. You need to know the songs that use those progressions.

For example, many theme songs from Japanese animation as well as live dramas use the progression IV-V-iii-vi. That’s 4-5-3-6 of the major scale. You can play Yui’s Rolling Star, or TM Revolution’s Heart of Sword, and so many more.

The key is to know the chord progressions for a few songs, and you will have it wired inside your head already. You will be delighted and surprised to find those progressions readily identifiable in subsequent songs that you happen to listen to, and immediately, you will be able to play on the piano!

Another chord progression is the minor progression I-III-VII-IV, or 1-3-7-4. It’s the minor scale, take note. Songs which use this include Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, What Goes Around… Comes Around by Justin Timberlake, and Wonderwall from Oasis. Play the progression on the piano first, then include the right hand melody while your left hand plays the chords.

After playing a few times around different keys, with different songs, you will be used to the chord progression, and subsequently, able to recognize it in songs.

The more progressions you know, the better.

The more familiar you are with all 12 keys, the better.

The more familiar you are with all kinds of chords, the better.

The key is to keep playing.

Learn piano the sensible way. Find out more

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ronald_Wong

There’s always a children’s piano method for sale at the other end of that sentence.

I should know, because I’m one of the guys who created a piano method for kids and owns one of those websites you’re searching right now.

There is one piece of piano research everyone refers to, and I mean everyone from the famed Forbes Magazine article (Sorry Kids, Piano Lessons Make You Smarter) to every well intentioned website I’ve seen that offers some expertise in how to get your child to play piano. I won’t mention any names because that’s not our point today.

Everyone cites the 1997 Gordon Shaw study, a piece of research my own experience bears out as fully correct.

Shaw cites many arcane statistics about the brain, ganglia and neurons. There’s no doubt that music and piano lessons specifically have an effect on kids.

But I’m here to ask, what does all that mean to the child in practical terms?

Exactly what does a child learn from taking piano lessons?

I want to cite finite, real-world terms, not terms that only a scientist can use.

We’ll go in order of what is learned, imagining the youngest of children so that our hypothetical journey can encompass all the steps taken.

First, piano teaches left and right. It’s an issue, like shoelaces, that kids are wrestling with at this point in their lives. The piano keyboard is perhaps an ideal venue for learning this skill.

Next, piano teaches the child that up and down, formerly up to the sky and down to the ground, are now up (right) and down (left.) The point of this is the element of abstraction has been introduced. Left and right and up and down can mean several different things, and for the first time they are asked to make these distinctions. Hard stuff at five or six in front of a big piano.

Soon, the piano teaches the child that they have five distinct fingers, which must be named, numbered, and used like a basketball team. Like any team, they will make mistakes, and will be forgiven. There is no other activity at this age that asks that of a child.

Next, a child must memorize certain motions and observations, even if they are not taught as such: combinations of fingers and the look of the keyboard.

A thousand and one thoughts are necessary to play even the simplest of piano pieces.

In addition, playing any piece requires a predictive ability, that is, the ability to DO one thing while one thinks ANOTHER. Think of baseball: if you have to catch a fly ball, you have to run, and at the same time anticipate catching the ball.

Piano is so full of basic mental gymnastics (up, down, left, right, black, white, fast, slow, loud, soft, long, short) that it can be exhausting to a child if not presented slowly and correctly.

In fact, playing a piano piece becomes rather like a mental juggling act, wherein a series of dazzlingly difficult mental and physical moves are pulled off, one after the other.

To demonstrate this to a child I play a game I call the Attack Tunnel.

In this game, I take a soft object like a large rubber eraser and tell the child I am going to throw it to them, slowly. I then do so, following the child’s eyes so I can throw it directly to them.

If they miss, laugh and try until the catch it. But throw very slowly, making a point of how s-l-o-w-l-y you are throwing.

After they catch it, a slow one or two, tell them that now you will throw it quickly, and then do so.

They will instantly see that they have to be on guard, even more so when the eraser comes faster. Make a game of it. Do it until they keep their eyes on the eraser.

Now throw several objects (erasers) in a row, first slowly, then faster.

On the faster run, they will start dropping the objects and laugh. I explain that this is what the piano is like: problems thrown at you one after the other, and you have to be ready.

Go slowly at first so you learn what will be coming at you. They understand readily because of the demonstration.

I believe these are only a few of the skills that learning the rudiments of piano teaches a child.

And once again, all this is without reading a note of music, which requires yet more difficult-to-acquire skills.

The piano is like an immense blender of abstract physical and mental skills, all of which can be taught in a way that interests and delights children.

John Aschenbrenner is a leading children’s music educator and book publisher, and the author of numerous fun piano method books in the series PIANO BY NUMBER for kids. You can see the PIANO BY NUMBER series of books at http://www.pianoiseasy.com

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2000 Walden Pond Press. Visit http://www.pianoiseasy.com to see the fun PIANO BY NUMBER method for kids.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Aschenbrenner

What Effects Do I Need?

The effects you need depend upon the type of music you wish to play, though some effects (e.g. volume pedal, compressor) will prove useful regardless of your musical tastes. I will recommend some basic effects to get you started that will serve a variety of musical styles.

Volume Pedal

While not the most exciting effect around, it is perhaps the most useful. A volume pedal is simply an external volume pot, like the one on your guitar, housed with a foot pedal so you can control your instrument’s output gain without your hands. Typically, a volume pedal does not involve boosting your guitar’s gain. When you rock the pedal back, the volume is off; when you rock it forward the gain gradually comes up to the instrument’s full output. Volume pedals are great for swells, which are the smooth increases in volume created by striking the strings with the volume off then applying volume by pushing forward on the pedal. One of my favorite guitarists, Phil Keaggy, is a master of the volume swell.

Volume Pedal Recommendations: Boss FV-50H/L; Ernie Ball 6165/6166

Wah Pedal

A wah pedal contains a potentiometer very similar to a guitar’s tone control. As you rock the pedal back and forth, the sound vacillates between treble and bass, resulting in a very vocal and expressive sound (similar to a trumpet’s mute). The wah effect varies greatly on how slow or fast you rock the pedal. It can be either wild or subtle and is useful in a wide variety of music from funk to heavy metal. When overused, however, it loses its effectiveness.

Wah Pedal Recommendations: Budda Budwah; Fulltone Clyde, Teese Wizard Wah

Compressor

Again, not a real “sexy” effect, but it’s one that comes in quite handy (assuming you know how to use one properly). In addition to adding a more even attack to your picking, compressors add punch to clean sounds and sustain to distorted tones.

A compressor effects the dynamics (i.e. the volume levels) of your guitar signal. It makes very quiet signals louder and loud signals quieter, hence “compressing” the dynamic range of the guitar’s signal. This effect can be very helpful for keeping quieter playing from getting lost in the mix and louder playing from drowning everybody else out.

A compressor can also increase sustain by raising the signal as the note’s signal fades. Most compressors allow you to control both the thresholds (i.e. the upper and lower limits) and the “knee” (the speed with which the signal is raised or lowered). Andy Summers of “The Police” uses a compressor to great effect.

Compressor Recommendations: Boss CS-3; Keeley Compressor; Visual Sound RT-66

Overdrive/Distortion

Indispensable for most modern genres of music, overdrive/distortion pedals help define the basic tonality you are trying to achieve. They range from pedals that provide a mild tube-overdrive sound to extreme high-gain distortion. Don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of overdrive/distortion effects on the market (and there are hundreds of them). A couple of pedals can provide a good range of sounds. There are, however, important differences between distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals.

Overdrive: Generally, overdrive effects distort the guitar signal; however, the effect is not as intense as a distortion effect. When you hit your strings harder, your pickups generate more signal. A quality overdrive is subtle, and allows soft playing playing to leave the signal clean while allowing hard playing to provide more substantive breakup. Overdrive is an essential effect to warm up and deepen the sound of rhythm guitar. It can also be very effective to fatten up the signal for guitar solos without masking your subtle hand technique (e.g. vibrato).

Distortion: Due to its popularity with modern guitar styles, most effects pedals today are distortion units. Most of these feature intensity and tone controls but have radically dissimilar sounds. You’ll be surprised at the different types of distortions that can be produced, from rich, smooth, melodic, and creamy to piercing, jagged, and harsh. Several distortion units (e.g. the Boss OD-20) produce a broad range of styles of distortion.

Fuzz: A fuzz pedal is nothing more than an extreme distortion. Typically, a fuzz is such a radical change of the guitar’s sound that it is used for an occasional effect rather than the basis of someone’s sound. Since it thickens up the sound so radically, fuzz can be useful for intro riffs and solo guitar parts (e.g. listen to Jimi Hendrix playing the “Star Spangled Banner”).

Overdrive/Distortion Recommendations: Boss BD-2 (modified by Robert Keeley); Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde; Boss DS-1 (modified by Robert Keeley); Fulltone Fulldrive 2

Modulation Effects

These basic pitch altering effects, when used properly, can add a new dimension to your sound. Personally, I think these effects sound best when used minimally. I can’t imagine the opening to “Barracuda” without that great Flanging sound, but if the Flanger was on the whole song, it would sound pretty annoying. Eddie Van Halen used an MXR Phase 90 with great taste on the early Van Halen albums because he used it sparingly. I love the sound of a Strat through a Roland Jazz Chorus amplifier, but only if the Chorus effect is subtle. Anything else, and it’s like too much dessert. Good at first, but a little sickening if you don’t know when to stop.

Chorus: Chorus is the most popular modulation effect, even appearing as the lone effect on a number of amplifiers (e.g. the Roland JC120), and is generally the most subtle, if used properly. A chorus sounds like the same signal running through two amps with a very slight delay between the amps. Chorus is a great way to thicken up the sound of rhythm guitar or lead guitar. While often used with distorted sounds, it is a useful in creating full-sounding clean sounds.

Flanger: A flanger simulates the effect of repeatedly manually slowing the reel of a moving tape machine (or “flange”) briefly and then letting it catch back up while a dry signal plays along. The typical flangers features a depth control, which controls the intensity of the effect, and a rate control, which controls the speed of the cycles. Flange can be a subtle effect, thickening the sound and imparting a “sci-fi” feeling. It can also be extremely dramatic when cranked, even to the point of making your original tone unrecognizable. Don’t overuse a flanger, or you’ll sound like an 8 year-old whose parents left him in Guitar Center.

Phaser: A phase shifter cyclically eliminates certain frequencies in your sound, which sounds bad at first, but it’s actually a very pleasing effect. Various phasing sounds involve multiple notches in the sound. Similar to a flanger, a phase shifter can create ethereal, spacey and open sounds, but it can also deliver more solid jet-like sounds appropriate for more hard-core music. A phaser does not manipulate the pitch as much as does a flanger.

Tremolo: Tremolo is simply the rapid raising and lowering of the volume, like the sound from rapidly turning the volume up and down on your amplifier. Many amplifiers from the late ’40s and ’50s (e.g. the Fender Twin Reverb) had this effect built in. Tremolo was used a lot for surf, rockabilly, country, and other music from the ’50s, so it’s good for a “vintage” sound.

Vibrato: Vibrato is a subtle raising and lowering of the pitch of the note or notes being played. This effect is usually made by subtle fret hand movements or using the guitar’s vibrato bar, but you can also use an effects pedal to provide vibrato. Interesting fact! A guitar’s whammy bar is often, erroneously, called a tremolo bar, but in fact produces vibrato, not tremolo.

Chorus/Phaser/Flanger/Tremolo Recommendations: MXR EVH-90 Phaser; Visual Sound H20 Chorus/Echo; Voodoo Labs Tremolo; Boss CH-1 Chorus; Boss BF-3 Flanger; Fulltone Choralflange; Boss TR-2; Fulltone Supa-Trem; Boss PH-3 Phaser

Delay/Echo

If you learn how to use one properly, a delay/echo pedal can be a great addition to your sound. I generally have two delay pedals on my pedalboard, one for short delays (to be used with fast playing) and one for long delays (to be used for slow playing). If you want to hear a guitarist use a delay tastefully, listen to the Edge of U2.

Typically, delay effects split the signal into two identical signals and temporarily hold back one while allowing the other to play in real time. The signals are then mixed together into one at the output. Generally, you can control the length of the delay and the amount of the signal that is affected (the “wet” signal) versus the part that stays unaffected (the “dry” signal). This control, which is found on most delay effects, is the level control.

Delay/Echo Pedal Recommendations: Visual Sound H20; Boss DD-7; Boss DD-20; Line 6 DL-4

In What Order Should I Place My Effects?

While there are no unbreakable rules, there are some general rules of thumb. Conventional wisdom dictates the order below. Please note, though, that I personally often use two volume pedals, one pre-distortion and one post-distortion. Also, I have a Keeley BD-2 before the compressor, which is Keeley’s recommended placement. I would recommend that you experiment with effects placement. After all, you won’t hurt anything.

1.) Wah
2.) Volume
3.) Compressor
4.) Distortion/Overdrive
5.) Chorus/Phaser/Flanger
7.) Delay/Echo

What Kind of Pedalboard Should I Use?

You’ve got two options. You can build one yourself or you can be a pre-made board. If you’re the do-it-yourself type, you can build a pedalboard for under $40 with supplies from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Personally, I prefer a professionally made board, though I’ve made my own in the past. My favorite is the Pedaltrain PT-2 with the hardshell case. The great thing about the Pedaltrain is that its design allows you to route and hide cables underneath the pedalboard itself. What a brilliantly original design! The Pedaltrain is available in 3 sizes and is virtually indestructible.

What About An All-In-One Effects Unit?

Several guitar effects manufacturers, including Boss/Roland, Line 6, and Digitech, offer effects devices that offer many different types of effects in one unit. There are advantages and disadvantages to such devices. The obvious advantage is that they represent great value for the money. They can also be a good way for you to try several different effects types without purchasing a dozen or more pedals. The disadvantage is that such devices do not offer the flexibility and quality of individual effects pedals.

Personally, I don’t think you have to chose. I have a Boss ME-50 that I use for smaller gigs and times when carrying a larger pedalboard around simply wouldn’t be practical. I think it has a solid basic sound and represents excellent value for the dollar. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and practical place to start with effects, you can’t beat the ME-50 or the newer ME-20, in my opinion.

When I play gigs that require me to go direct (some churches, for example), my unit of choice is the Line 6 POD X3 Live. It has excellent options regarding amplifier models and effects.

How Do I Power My Effects?

If you use a number of effects pedals, you’ll soon find that using batteries or individual adapters to power your pedals isn’t really an option. The former is way too expensive while the latter is far too inconvenient. A power supply that powers multiple pedals is your best option.

There are various types of pedal power supplies on the market, but they fall into two basic types: (1) Switching Power Supplies (e.g. the Godlyke PA-9 or the Visual Sound 1 Spot) (2) Power supplies with individually isolated outputs (e.g. the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2).

Both of these types of power supplies have advantages and disadvantages. In my view, here are some things to consider.

Switching Power Supplies (Godlyke, Visual Sound)

Pros

1.) Small (takes up no space on pedalboard)
2.) Inexpensive
3.) Can power more pedals than the typical isolated power supply device

Cons

1.) Can’t power regular and reverse polarity with same adapter
2.) Some pedals (e.g. Teese Wahs) react negatively to switching power supplies
3.) Can’t supply non-standard voltage (e.g. 18v) to individual pedals

Individually Isolated Output Supplies (e.g. Pedal Power 2)

Pros

1.) Extremely versatile (can power reverse, 18v, and regular polarity)
2.) Typically quieter than switching power supplies (each output is isolated)

Cons

1.) Expensive (in comparison)
2.) Takes up more room
3.) Can’t power as many pedals.

I’ve owned the Godlyke PA-9, the Visual Sound 1-Spot, the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2, and the Dunlop Brick. I currently use the Pedal Power 2 in my pedalboard, though I use the 1-Spot on occasion. You need to be flexible enough to use whatever the situation demands.

Find the best new and used effects pedals at The Pedal Zone.

Ray Scott is owner of The Pedal Zone, which specializes in new and used guitar effects, including pedalboards.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Scott

But even more than that, what distinguishes a good pianist from the rest is the ability to give music “character” by means of their touch and the instrument’s characteristics.

I often use Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata with a child to demonstrate how a pianist is in the end a story teller, and if they cannot set a mood, they cannot tell the secret, wordless story hidden within each great piece of music.

We use a simplified version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. I prefer the one in E minor as it has as few black keys as possible.

It is a matter of a few minutes for the child to learn to play the right hand part of the opening bars.

It’s only a few notes in a repeating pattern, and is easy to learn, unless the child is very small, in which case I let them play the right hand part with both hands.

Once the child has learned the right hand, we play it together with me playing the left hand part. We play it a few times until I am certain they have the four bar passage memorized. I sing a silly obbligato and make it fun, with a description running quietly along about castles and moonlight.

Then I ask them to play it by themselves, step aside, and announce very professionally through my megaphoned hands that, “Sir Lucas will now attempt the impossible Moonlight Sonata. Stand back!”

I let the child play it and most of the time they hack out the tones loudly, and usually very fast. They have no other idea of it than that. That’s fine for now.

I call their performance the “War Between the Squirrels and the Caveman,” and joke about the mood. I brush them aside and play the piece satirically in a kind of Mahlerian chase music style, full of Sturm und Drang.

Then I change gears and play the piece again for the child, setting again the mood of moonlight and castles. This programmatic approach may not perhaps be appropriate to the nature of Beethoven’s “absolute” music, but it’s suitable and inspiring to a child.

The mood is not loud and fast. It is soft and slow.

How slowly can we play this piece? Ask that question and a witty child will play each note for a minute and a half, grinning at you as they have found your loophole.

But then they try a reasonable, slow speed.

I ask for it to be as soft as possible.

Of course, ask THAT question and they will play so softly that you can barely hear it.

Laugh. It’s a piano game. All you have to do is keep trying, and, as long as they think it’s a game, they will happily apply all their child intelligence and try to do what you want.

In the end you will get even the most heavy handed of children to play with lightness.

You may have to remind them, nicely, comically, every time they play, but at least they have shown themselves they are capable of playing with character, with dynamics.

It’s natural. We speak loud and soft, fast and slow. They know what that means.

And all this happens without reading a note of music.

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2000 Walden Pond Press. Visit http://www.pianoiseasy.com to see the fun PIANO BY NUMBER method for kids.

John Aschenbrenner is a leading children’s music educator and book publisher, and the author of numerous fun piano method books in the series PIANO BY NUMBER for kids. You can see the PIANO BY NUMBER series of books at http://www.pianoiseasy.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Aschenbrenner