24May 2021 by Shelly Davis
PPP242: Why sing if you’re a piano player?

PPP242: Why sing if you’re a piano player?

Music Theory, Podcast
A few weeks ago, in episode 239, we talked about using your eyes to visualize how notes of the melodic line move on the staff. It is important to involve your eyes when playing the piano. Equally important, if not more so, is to involve your ears. Pianists need to be able to use their internal mechanism to imagine what the notes will sound like, even without physical sound to help them. That is the topic of today's show. Listen to the full episode here Pianists have it easier than other instrumentalists Pianists have it easier than other instrumentalists when it comes to playing in tune. Though, I suppose you could say the opposite is true. If a piano is in tune, all a pianist has to do is find…
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03May 2021 by Shelly Davis
PPP239: Music Maker – Intervals

PPP239: Music Maker – Intervals

Music Theory, Podcast
Learning to read music and play music fluently is hard. Plain and simple.Trying to decipher all those unusual symbols and find their matching sound on the piano is a complex endeavor, especially if you are 5-6 years old and simultaneously learning the symbols of the alphabet and trying to read books.Because of the vast amount of information, mistakes are common, which leads to missed notes, terrible sounds, and frustrated piano kids.What if we reverse engineer the process? What if children are guided through a process of writing the notes themselves so they can begin to notice the direction and distance from one note to the next?What if, instead of trying to be instant music interpreters they are able to become music MAKERS?That is the goal of today's show and the…
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15Feb 2021 by Shelly Davis
PPP228:Don’t Fall Into This Trap

PPP228:Don’t Fall Into This Trap

Mom to Mom, Podcast
Okay, piano parents, it's time for a heart to heart.While I am grateful for your involvement in your piano kids' learning and I know you are trying to help, I need to let you know that the thing we are talking about today doesn't help your piano kid. In fact, you may be stalling their progress and inhibiting their ability to read music fluently.Today, we are talking about writing finger numbers and letter names in your piano kid's music. Listen to the full episode here Try these alternatives instead If you have written letters in your child's music in the past, please don't lose heart. Keep helping them; but, now you know a better way to help them.Here is how you can break yourself of this temptation.Empower your piano kid…
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13May 2019 by Shelly Davis
PPP142: Intervals – Going beyond EGBDF

PPP142: Intervals – Going beyond EGBDF

Music Theory
Today let’s talk about intervals. As with any musical topic, we could make this discussion very in depth and complicated. It seems like there is a never ending well of information we can learn with music theory. Today we are going to stay with the basic foundation of intervals; things your second or third year student will be learning. Hey! I just used some intervallic terms when I described the students. I mentioned second or third year students and this offers a reference point for the knowledge of those students. Intervals in music do the same thing; they offer a reference point when reading music or playing from one piano key to the next. When you read a book, you don’t read one letter at a time, you group letters…
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