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.

A song is defined by the interval between notes

Today we'll be looking at intervals and how you can easily play songs you like from memory with them.

As explained in this week's video, a song is not defined by its first note, but rather by the interval between notes.  An interval is the space between each key.  If you move to the left or to the right by one key, it is referred to as a semitone.

So what do I mean by "a song is not defined by its first note, but rather by the interval between notes"? Let me show you:

-Think of a song you like

-Sing it

-now remember how you started the song (i.e. the first note)

-play the official song while singing your version

Odds are that they sounded slightly different.  This is because you were singing in a different key.  The link on the word "key" and the theory behind it is a rabbit hole you do not want wish to follow yet, unless you're a curious Alice, and feel like getting a headache. All you need to know for now is that even though you were in a different key, you were able to sing the song because you were singing the right intervals between each note. 

What does this mean for you?  Think of a song you like and sit down at a piano.  Try playing with one hand the melody you hear in your head.  Although it might not be in the same key as the original, it's certainly the same song.

Take a break from boring music - Game of Thrones time!

In my past few blogs, we looked at the meaning of music and started learning some of the fundamentals.  My advice at this point is to not get bored.  If all you're doing are exercises, you'll get bored and leave music.  Don't do that.  Find a song you like and try to learn it.  If it becomes tiresome, move on to a new one.  I found that being excited about what I was playing was what kept me going this entire time.

That being said, this week I have something special to offer: Ever felt like learning the Game of Thrones opening theme?  If the answer is yes, then you're in luck.  Check out the video posted above and follow along (warning: an extreme urge to watch all four seasons may appear after watching this video).

If the answer is no, then I feel bad for you and you live a sad life.

As I explain in the video, there are ways to make songs easier and harder.  For instance, a lot of people have a hard time having each hand do a separate movement on the piano.  A potential solution to this is to move your hands at a similar tempo.  It may sound a little choppy and blockish, but at this point, it's better than nothing.

If multitasking is not an issue, then you implement different tempos on each hand to add a continuous flow of music.

Let me know in the comments section if you want more of these types of videos!