When most people look at a piano keyboard, they see a sea of black and white keys. They can’t understand how someone can sit down at this confusing combination of notes and create music.

Of course they can’t! They haven’t learned how to look at the piano keyboard in such a way that it all makes sense. All they really need to do is understand how to see it like the pros do. And pros see the piano keyboard as scales and chords.

All you really need to know to start out is to learn chords and that’s it. Just think of the guitar player as an analogy. They begin to make sense of their instrument rather quickly. Why? Because they are taught chords from the beginning. They learn to play the 3 most important chords in any Key right away and begin to make music. They begin to look at the fretboard as more advanced player’s do - as a way to produce music through chords.

They then learn how to finger a scale and the guitar fretboard no longer seems a mystery but an acoustic terrain to be mastered.

The same principles apply to the piano. Once you have a few chords under your belt and can play the scale (much simpler for pianists than guitarists) you will begin to see the piano keyboard in a new way.

For example, I’m a big fan of something called the open position chord. It covers more than two octaves of the piano keyboard and gives the beginning player a modern sound right away. Once students begin playing it, they soon discover that they can quickly make music just like their guitar playing counterparts!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

I am sure that many of you would be passionate about music and might be having some of the music instrument to enjoy this pleasant joy given to us. There are different sort of music instruments that people usually owe such as guitar, trumpet, drum, woodwinds, strings or piano. Out of these pianos is the one that is not easy to play and also to maintain in comparison to the other ones mentioned.

So if you have a badly stained piano and you want to care for it then it does not require any professional cleaner or polisher but all you need is a regular soft buff with a lint free cloth. Any sprays or harsh chemicals will damage the surface of the delicate keys and shall also make the instrument look older and worn than what actually it is.

For cleaning the ivory keys you should not:

1. Immerse in water

2. Scrub with a brush or even a scouring pad

3. Use any type of chemicals or even washing up liquid can damage the previous surface

4. Spray with furniture polish

5. Use air-freshener anywhere near the keys or piano

Ivory should be gently wiped with a soft clean cloth and for stubborn marks or fingerprints you should first wash your hands and thereafter you can use a mild toothpaste without color on a damp cloth but ensure that you gently rub and never scrub. Rinse with fresh milk with another lint free cloth and buff well.

You should leave the piano open on sunny days so that the keys stay bleached and don t turn yellow. Keys that are badly discolored or stained should be scraped and recovered by any professional piano cleaner.

For cleaning plastic keys you should not:

1. Use chemicals

2. Leave the piano open for long period of time as this shall cause discoloration of the keys

3. Use furniture polish as this could be very harsh

Dust regularly and wipe occasionally with a soft solution of warm water and vinegar on clean chamois leather. Then buff well for added shine. If you want to clean the casework that usually gets very dusty you can use a vacuum cleaner attachment to get rid of any cobwebs or dust. It can take some time but it will surely be worth and remember not to use any water or liquid to clean the casework. For stains and marks you can consult a professional piano cleaner or tuner.

For more information, log on to http://www.music-future.com

Olivia Andrews, writer of music-future.com is a freelance journalist and has written many reviews on subjects such as finance, education, health, entertainment, music, gifts, crafts, travel, apparels and mobile phones.

Imagine your child practicing their very first Christmas Song on the piano, such as Away in the Manger, or Silent Night, but they re not holding out the half notes or playing the dotted quarter rhythms like we re all used to hearing it. Their song starts and stops and lacks the rhythm your trained ear is used to hearing. But of course you don t want to say anything discouraging! When parents do try to correct such imperfections in rhythm and tempo, it often creates a lot of friction. Young students just can t seem to get the right beat and parents don t understand why! Well there is a solution that s easy to use. One of the great features of modern piano lessons is the electronic or digital keyboard. With guidance from parents and piano teachers the recording features of these instruments are very useful to piano students.

One of the most difficult things for young students to learn is how to keep a steady beat and play correct note values. While a metronome is a great tool for this, it keeps a very strict beat that may not allow for proper expression of the music. Plus the concept of a metronome is difficult for young students to grasp. One of the great features of modern piano lessons is the electronic or digital keyboard.

With guidance from parents and piano teachers the recording features of these instruments are very useful to piano students. By recording passages of music for students, however, parents and teachers can give young children musical examples to imitate. Once a student can imitate the music (this is kind of like a baby bird learning its family song) they can learn to count the rhythms they are already playing.

Another great feature of a digital keyboard is that students can record their own pieces of music for self evaluation. This is a whole lot better than parents and teachers telling kids what to do, and of course this is the ultimate goal of teaching and parenting.

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f ree internet newsletter so you can download f ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com