Imagine being able to sit down at your piano, place your hands on the keyboard, and just play! Many piano students think the ability to do this requires years of study. They couldn’t be more wrong!

Learning to play what you feel does not require extensive knowledge of harmony or theory. All that is required is the ability to do two things:

1. Believe that you know enough
2. Believe that you’re good enough

Thousands of classically trained pianists are able to play Rachmaninoff and Bach but are unable to express themselves poetically at the keyboard. Why? Because of the above 2 beliefs! It’s not enough to have mastered piano technique.

For example, many would be writers understand how to construct a compelling plot and know how a story should be written, but until they have freed their inner voice from criticism…until they believe that they are good enough to write that story, it simply won’t get done!

The same goes for music and any other art. I can’t tell you how many times I repeated the above 2 statements to myself because I really wanted to get past my fear of being able to create music at the piano. I wanted to play what I felt at any given time - to be able to improvise. But this was nearly impossible as long as there was some voice in me that said I just wasn’t good enough. And believe me, we ALL have these voices somewhere in our heads at one time or another.

Eventually, I got past the need to seek other’s approval and realized that I was more important than the music. I learned that I already knew more than enough to play the piano. I also came to believe I was good enough and that no one person will every know it all or be a “perfect” player.

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!

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I’ll never forget the time I took my first piano class. It was at the Community College of Philadelphia 1984. It was a group class with 20 or so electronic keyboards arranged around the room. We each received a class text book titled “Class Piano.” No shocker there.

I opened up the book and saw that I would be learning how to read music and play triads. I also saw that I would be playing very simple classical pieces. Now, while I enjoyed this and learned how to play these easy pieces, it just didn’t do it for me. It was because as I soon as I put the book down, I was dumbfounded! I didn’t know what to do on the piano without the book!

I soon realized that I didn’t want to become a professional note reader. No. I wanted to be able to sit down at the piano, place my fingers on a chord that called to me, and just play. I wanted to express myself at the piano in the same way visual artists are able to take pen and paper and artfully color their inner worlds. Why was this so difficult to do?

It was at this time that I started to look for new ways to play. I came upon a book that taught a modern chord position which could be used right away to make music with. Amazing! No note reading. Just chords. And once I learned a few chords, I was able to create my own music. This open position chord structure allowed me to improvise music quite easily.

Another book influenced me as well. This one showed how to play chord progressions using 4, 8 and 16 bar phrases. With this chord charting technique, I could see that I could create my own pieces. It taught me the principles of repetition and contrast - the cornerstones to musical composition.

A few chords arranged for 8-bars is repeated 2 or more times giving you what is called an “A” section of music. Another few bars of different chord changes and the “B” section is produced. And all of this was taught within a very slim volume. Maybe 46 pages or so.

After a few years of working with this material, I synthesized both methods so beginning piano players can take a modern sounding chord and work with it within a set framework. The result is a method where students are able to improvise their own music right away!

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!

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Parents wonder, “How fast should my child in piano progress?” because they want to be sure they re doing everything they should to support their child in piano. Sometimes parents are concerned their children aren’t practicing enough at home, and assume their student must not be making much progress. It can take some time, however, for children to learn how to apply themselves to their lessons. Learning to practice is part of the learning process that will take time to achieve. If your child in piano isn t practicing as much as you would like, try not to come to a hasty judgment about their musical potential.

As the parent you really can t control your child s musical progress. This is especially true when kids approach their teen years. As one family therapist explains, Trying to control your teenager is a bad idea you might as well be trying to put pants on a gorilla!

My suggestion is to give your child ownership of their piano lessons early on, so they can learn from their mistakes and successes through a process of trial and error. In the long run your child will learn more by relying on their natural energy and motivation, which comes from personal ownership and responsibility. Trying to control your child s musical progress too much can actually keep them from learning how to go about taking responsibility for their own success.

So try not to worry if your child in piano is slow to practice. Give him or her some time to develop their own motivation and you ll be able to delight in their independent spirit. I can guarantee this is a lot more fun than putting pants on a gorilla!

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

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