Why is it easy to compose piano music?

Because you have to start from where you are. This should be fairly easy; Otherwise you have not started from where you are.

A suggestion is to start writing piano pieces for beginners in a progressive order. The idea is that as the pieces get more complicated for the player they will also become more complicated for you to notate and compose and you will subsequently learn as you write.

How is composing beneficial for your piano playing?

1. Your compositional endeavours will make you more and more aware of intrinsic musical subtleties in the music of other composers. When you start to think and feel like a composer you will also become a better performer as well. Performing is also a creative process similar to composing.

2. When you compose you will become a better sight reader.

I remember an assignment I had many years ago when I wrote the music to a musical. It made me aware of many notational problems I had not taken the time to solve for myself before.

When I started to play my piano music again I was astonished when realizing it was much easier for me to sight read complicated piano sheet music. The reason for this I concluded was my concentrated effort to notate my own piano music.

The process to play something with my fingers and and then try to notate the music on manuscript paper was so to speak a reversed sight reading exercise.

What about manuscript paper?

You can use a notation program or you can write on paper or use both approaches. I suggest that you start writing on paper the way that composers have done for centuries.

Composing piano sheet music by hand on manuscript paper is a cheap and effective exercise to learn the various sheet music symbols.

Very often I jot down musical ideas on ordinary white paper after drawing five lines by hand. It works fine if you can’t find your manuscript paper. You can buy manuscript paper for sheet music or print out your favorite format for free on the site http://www.blanksheetmusic.net

In conclusion, composing piano sheet music can become a natural part of your daily practice routine.

Spend half an hour a day composing your own piano sheet music and you will increase your musical knowledge and become an even better musician!

And remember; Composing piano sheet music is fun!

About the author:

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

Do you know what a guitar player has to spend to get a good quality acoustic instrument? Anywhere from $500 to $2000 depending on make and model. Do you know what a piano player looking for a grand piano has to spend to get a similar quality instrument? Anywhere from $5000 to $100,000 and up!

Who has this kind of money? Not the average Joe on the street. No. Grand pianos are beautiful and great sounding but are way out of the price range of the average family. What to do? Well there’s the baby grand. Here we have a nice instrument that can be bought used for as little as $2000.

While the sound won’t be as full and resonant as the grand piano sound, still, it’s worth looking into. Many baby grand pianos have the look and feel of a grand without the high price tag AND they actually fit in your living room. Grand pianos on the other hand are 6 feet in length or more and require substantial space to house them.

If a baby grand piano is too expensive for you, there’s the upright piano. This is the choice most take. Why? Because they are relatively inexpensive and take up very little space. Some sound as good as baby grand’s depending on make and model. And they have their charm as well. Look to spend anywhere from $1000 to $3000 for a decent piano of this type.

Or you can go digital. Now, digital pianos these days sound as good as the grand pianos they are sampled from but… they will never give you the sound you can get from an acoustic instrument. There’s just no way a digital piano can capture the many overtones and harmonics that “real” pianos give but, they are quite a deal if that doesn’t bother you!

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!

Tickling the ivory keys is a passion with many, but moving a piano is not nearly as fun. When it comes to moving pianos, a little advice can go a long way.

There comes a time in every piano owner’s life when the unthinkable must happen the moving of your piano. Whether you’ve just purchased a piano from someone and need to get it into your home, or you’re moving from one house to another, moving your piano can be a very difficult problem. Pianos are some of the heaviest pieces that are in residential houses, and getting them from place to place can be costly, or even dangerous.

This bit of advice assumes that you are going to be moving an upright piano not a baby grand or grand piano, which are much larger and require special equipment to move. If you are moving a horizontal piano, get professional movers. Upright pianos can be made in several styles, including cabinet and spinet styles. These pianos can have thin front legs (which is a good way to distinguish them from other upright styles), and these legs may break if they are not carefully guarded. Make sure to tip these styles of piano slightly backwards while rolling (moving) the piano.

Your first step in moving a piano is to make sure that there is room on all sides of the piano, so that the people who are going to move it have room to surround the piece. Lower the piano’s lid and lock it so it can’t come open while the piano is being moved. You will need at least two people to move an upright piano (three people will make the move easier) one person for each side of the piano. Another thing to consider is that you should always move a piano endways, not sideways (one person will be walking backwards in this moving procedure).

Make sure that there are no obstacles in the path of the piano movers. That way, there is less of a chance that someone will trip or hurt themselves. Move the piano very slowly, just a few inches at a time. This may seem like slow going, but it’s definitely the safest way. If you are moving your piano over different flooring (such as from a hardwood floor to a carpeted one) be careful to watch where the casters (wheels) are going and consider laying protective covers on the floor to keep the wheels from leaving marks.

Moving a piano is always hard work but if you have a few strong movers, along with a bit of planning, it can be accomplished by anyone. Of course, you can always hire some piano movers if you don’t want to risk this procedure yourself.

Lou Ross is with MovingCompaniesforYou.com - a directory of moving companies with helpful advice on moving issues.