Works for Me - Learning to Play Piano

I am not a Classical Pianist. I with probably die not being one, but I'm ok with that.

After I found The 5 Browns in January, I finally dug in and started teaching the boys piano. Ariana is still more into singing, although she'll sit and "pwak'tiss" a couple times a week. The boys are doing well, although Ben has more drive to learn than the others. He's always been my hands-on kid. Learning piano is perfect for him. You should hear his arrangement of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It makes a mama proud!

Other then the kids, I've never taught lessons because I didn't think I had it in me. I am not a teacher, I'm a speaker. If I say something and you get it, great! If not, look elsewhere. When one of the ladies from church asked me several months ago if I would give her piano lessons, I told her I would be happy to show her all I know, but teach? Lessons? hahahaha No.

She grabbed me a couple weeks ago so we could start her "lessons." uh-huh.

I was sharing my doubts about teaching piano lessons with my brother on the phone last week. He stopped me, as only brothers can do, and proceed to tell me that because I've been playing for almost 30 years, I "must be able to teach her something." Well? OK. Maybe I can teach her something.

Although I can hack my way through a traditional hymn or piece of music, I prefer to play off of what is called fake book music or lead sheets. These are essentially the melody line of the song with corresponding chords. Once you learn the basics of reading the treble clef, you can add some bouncing or rolling bass notes (the notes from the chord) in various rhythm patterns and sound like a regular maestro. After that, it's just practicing to make your left hand sound like it knows what it's doing and getting comfortable playing in this manner.

One of the biggest advantages playing like this is that I can sit down with almost any song and sound like I've played it before. My worship team used to be impressed with my "sight reading" abilities. Now they know I'm just a big "faker." :grin:

These are a couple resources I picked up along the way:

1. Alfred's Basic Piano Library All-in-One Course (for young beginners) - I really liked these books when I found them in 2000. I still like it. If you know nothing at all about playing piano, this book should be #1 on your list if you want to learn. It gets kids playing on the keyboard and teaches them one thing at a time. It's not overwhelming for them to try to remember everything at one time, like you find in the typical beginner piano books. By the end of the first book, students are playing on a regular double staff with real notes. Mom, even if you don't know how to play piano, you can teach your little ones and yourself to play with this book! (It's frugal too! Think about all the money you'll save on piano lessons for the cost of a $7 book!) Alfred also has an adult All-in-One course. It progresses much faster then the child's book. I picked it up for my "student" and I'm going through it as well. Good stuff.
2. Music Theory - I ran into this website with 46 free lessons on basic music notation and such. It's a good review for anyone musical.
3. Piano Chord Fingering - Great find #2 on my search! This will give you the fingering for any piano chord. It will also play it for you. Sweet!
4. Piano Chord "Formula" Chart - There is a formula behind every chord. This chart shows you what they are. Once you memorize the fingerings, you can play any chord combination. I printed this chart to use at the piano.

And of course I can't forget to list my two favorite fake books: hymns & contemporary worship. There are dozens of fake books on the market. You'll have to look to determine what you're needs are. I have one with the world's "favorite" tunes and another with contemporary Christian songs. With these four, I have most all of the music I'll ever need.

Yup, these resources Work for Me. Happy Piano Playing!