What to play with the left hand

So your left hand is playing the bass notes and you're cycling through them repeatedly. Well that's nice, but that isn't a  very developed song. Your right hand is where the real magic happens. 

What the heck do I play on my right hand so that it doesn't sound like a toddler is playing for me?

First of all, toddlers can be very good musicians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omuYi2Vhgjo

Secondly, there are two easy formulas:

• Trial and error

• enabled keys

Trial and error is easy and can be a lot of fun.  When playing your bass note with your left hand - well say "A", try hitting different keys with your right hand.  For instance, depending on the context of the song, playing a "B" would not sound that great, so try to avoid the "B" for a while.  However, playing a "C" with an "A" almost always gives a nice rich sound.  Keep working your way up with different keys and eventually you'll find a formula of good sounding notes for your left (bass) hand.

"Enabled keys" is simply a term I use when I try to teach other students the concept of what to play and when to play it.  If I hit the "A" key with my left hand, and I want my song to sound sad, then I know that I can play the following notes with my left hand: A,C,E.  In this sense, the bass "A" has enabled my right hand to play these notes.  The better you become, the more notes you'll discover and in which context they fit.

Give it a go and let me know how it turns out. 

Also, check out my YouTube page at  see some of my tutorials, songs, and people's 4 letter songs at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdv4rKPoJ6qj13eyo1cloIwhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdv4rKPoJ6qj13eyo1cloIw

Creating your own music part 2

Hello again everyone,

Today we will continue with the creation of your music repertoire.

Pick four letters between the letters A and G (they do not need to be in alphabetical order) and then memorize them.  The four notes you will play can be in any order or you can move them around at any time within the song.  

Check out my video example above.  If you wish to follow along, that is fine, but I recommend you pick your own notes for the sake of calling it your own creation.

So now you have four letters, or instead four notes.  These will be your bass notes which you will play with your left hand. Play them over and over again until you get a good feeling for them.  Figure out a good steady tempo and just keep playing it.  Why? Finger (muscle) memory.

Finger memory is essentially when your conscious self can stop thinking about what your fingers are playing but they keep playing anyways.  Think of "Thing" from the Addams Family.  It's almost like your hand has a mind of its own at that point.

Your four bass notes are now the bread and butter of your song.  Sure you could leave it as is, but where is the meat (or tofu if you're a vegetarian)?  Try to pick random notes with your left hand.  Maybe create a little tune that repeats.  I'll get into more detail for the left hand next week in "Creating your own music part 3", but for now just try tinkering around with it.

Please post your four letters/notes in the comments section and I will make quick videos (my renditions of them) of as many as of as I can to my YouTube profile.

Till next week, fellow readers.

The head, the heart, and the emotion

Whether it be a small music project such as playing Wonderwall by Oasis, or a bigger undertaking such as your own composition, there are three things you need.  If you lack any of the three, either you will fail and get angry, or you will make your job a lot harder than it has to be...and get angry.  But if you follow these, you wont get angry...probably. 

 The three components are: 

• Head
• Heart
• Emotion

Let's start with head because it is the easiest to explain.  There needs to be a level of strategic thinking when playing music.  For instance, break the song into smaller bits and learn one bit a day. Music becomes less about failure and frustration and more about success and excitement for the next bit.  The head is what will break down the problem into manageable sizes.  I've tried tackling some complex songs at once and I always ended up quitting that song.

The next component is the heart.  You need to want to play that song.  People in music school are often forced into learning songs they do not want, and frequently end up quitting afterwards.  In my opinion, music schools should find the students interests and find songs that match that style.  At the end of the day, the heart is what will make you sit down with your instrument to start playing.  Listen to your heart....Cheesy joke ... I'm sorry.

Finally you need emotion.  It's what turns "Mary had a little lamb" to " MARY HAD A FREAKING LITTLE LAMB". Playing the required notes is fine, but the emotion is what will either make you speed up the tempo, slam the keys with your fingers, or play as softly as possible.  The emotion behind a song could easily turn it from happy to sad.  This is what makes your song worth listening to, and the best part is that it can change anytime you want.

Each component complements each other making music exactly that: Music. Give each one the attention they deserve and you'll be playing phenomenal music in no time.