Music Theory Specifically For Piano Players
Every musician needs to know as much about music theory as possible
Continue reading →Category Archives: Musical insruments
Music Keyboards: Starter Models
Music keyboards are electronic marvels of technology. They have the brains of sophisticated computers and the bodies of good old fashioned pianos. Sometimes it helps to think of buying a music keyboard like buying a new car.
Continue reading →What every piano player should know about “transposing instruments” (instruments in Bb, Eb, F)
Instruments such as a trumpet and clarinet (tuned to Bb) and alto saxophone (tuned to Eb) require transposing. For example, when the written note C is played on a trumpet, it is the same note as an Bb on a piano. Other instruments requiring transposing include English horn, alto flute, baritone sax, and French horn.
Continue reading →What every piano player should know about percussion instruments
Percussion instruments include the snare drum (and all drums in general), cymbals, tympanis (sometimes called “kettle drums” as they are shaped as such), and exotic instruments such as the guiro, claves, and maracas. These instruments, and the way they are played, go a long way in determining the feel and style of the music. Where a rock band might have a set of drums (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals), Latin musicians used a number of different instruments to create music.
Continue reading →What every piano player should know about woodwinds
Woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc.) are different from piano in that they require wind (created by the player) to create a tone (using a reed or reeds to create the vibrations needed for sound). In addition to using different techniques to make the reeds vibrate in different ways, the player also changes the tone (creates the notes) by pressing and releasing (using their fingers) keys that are attached along the length of the instrument, or by covering up, then opening, various holes on the instrument. Saxophones are not considered woodwinds by some as they are made of brass. However, a saxophone is played very much in the same way as most woodwinds. Flutes and piccolos, though made of metal, are often thought of as part of the woodwind family.
Continue reading →What every piano player should know about stringed musical instruments
Stringed instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) are cousins of the piano as they make music with strings vibrating to a certain pitch. But they are different in the sense that the strings of a piano are struck with hammers to create sound, where as a violin player uses a bow to create sound. Sometimes, however, a violinist or other string player plucks the strings with their fingers (as directed in the music as pizzicato).
Continue reading →What every piano player should know about brass musical instruments
Modern brass instruments include trumpet, trombone, baritone, sousaphone (tuba), and French horn. These instruments create a wide variety of tones by the player forcing air into the instrument causing it to resonate in different ways (at different frequencies)
Continue reading →What is a Synthesizer and how does it work?
The invention of the synthesizer revolutionized the world of sound recreation. Today, thousands of sounds, notes and frequencies can be generated in real time on stage at the touch of a button.
Continue reading →Electronic Keyboards and MIDI
How can one or two musicians sound like a full band? The answer is MIDI. It’s the abbreviation for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface.” It’s the electronic “language” that is “spoken” between different instruments and the main device (computer) controlling them.
Continue reading →When is a C not a C? When does a C sound like a Bb?
When is a C not a C? It’s not a riddle or a trick question. It’s
a musical principle. The answer is: a C is not a C when you’re
playing a transposing musical instrument. And it’s not the
instrument that transposes, unfortunately — some arranger or
the player himself must do that.