Playing in front of a congregation each Sunday is no easy feat. Make sure you are well prepared before giving your best for God and before others.

1) Practice the piano and more preferably the songs you will be playing early in the week and often.

2) Sing while you play so you can have a feel for how well your playing will mesh with the singing.

3) If you use sheet music make sure it is organized and ready to go. Write up your introductions and endings or make sure the ones you have used before are the ones you will want to use this time.

4) If you are accompanying a soloist make sure you set aside good time to practice.

5) If you are still working on your craft then make sure you are studying your piano lessons and practicing those in ADDITION TO practicing your Sunday songs. Don’t stagnate. Add to your skills. Learn new songs or new ways of playing old favorites.

6)

If you are the worship planner also a nice resource to have is an index that lists songs by scripture,by topic, and by key.

7) Don’t give up because you don’t have a piano. A keyboard will keep you going until the Lord sees fit to bless you with a piano. Truly. This happened to me.

Do you want to play in a particular style? You could just purchase music that is arranged in the style you want to play. But an easier option is to learn what specific notes or chords are making that special sound.

Use these ideas for how you can keep yourself together so come Sunday morning you can concentrate on making a joyful noise for the Lord!

See more ideas for a beginning church pianist in my book The Struggling Church Pianist

K Quinn is a church pianist and author of the book The Struggling Church Pianist. Visit her website and download some free musician tools at…http://www.strugglingchurchmusician.us

The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch’s answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician.

This killer guitar, with a solid mahogany body, solid mahogany set neck, and a rosewood fret board with pearl dots, originally came with a single HI-Lo ‘Tron pickup. The earliest examples had a trapeze tailpiece. By 1963, the Corvette was sporting a Burns’ flat-arm vibrato tailpiece. (Yes! That Burns! Good old Jim Burns from England), and came with a choice of either one or two of those Hi-Lo ‘Tron pickups. By mid-1963 to 1964, Gretsch changed the standard 3/3 headstock (3 tuners on each side) to a scooby-rific 4/2 headstock design (4 tuning keys on one side, two on the other). Most Corvettes were finished in “cherry” red mahogany and had black pick guards. Some came with red and white striped pick guards and a more opaque red finish to the body. This version is known as the “Twist” model. Early Corvettes were also available in platinum gray finish with black pick guards, but this color was officially discontinued in 1963. Also in 1963, Gretsch started beveling the edges of the guitar’s body and sharpened the cutaway points.

Variations of the Gretsch Corvette were the Silver Duke (1964-66) which was sparkle

silver, the Gold Duke (1964-66) – you got it – in sparkle gold, and lest we forget, the Princess (1963-64 – made for the ladies) which was available in many color combinations such as white with purple sparkles, blue with white sparkles, pink with white sparkles, and white with gold sparkles – phew! The Princess also differed from the others in that it had a Palm vibrato tailpiece rather than the Burns’, gold-plated hardware in lieu of the standard nickel/chrome hardware, and a shiny belly-pad on the back.

By 1968, you could no longer get single pickups on the Corvettes, the Burn’s vibrato was replaced with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, and the HI-Lo ‘Tron pickups were replaced with Super ‘Tron pickups. Production of the Gretsch Corvette wound down in the early 70′s. (The Corvette did make a brief reappearance from 1976 to 1978 with different specs – humbuckers, etc. It was not the same.)

The Gretsch Corvette (1961-early 70′s) can still give you some bang for your buck in today’s vintage market. You get the vintage sound and vibe, with great playability for less than you’d pay for a Paul, Jr.

Allen has 25 years of experience working with guitars and is the Vintage Guitar Pro in residence at http://www.VintageGuitarPro.com – a website for the vintage guitar enthusiast specializing in online vintage guitar appraisal. Find out more about Allen and Vintage Guitars at http://www.VintageGuitarPro.com

Oh, I know the last part of the title (Suck) isn’t a very pleasant description to apply to anyone’s CD cover. But, in the interest of plain old honesty, and to face our demons head on, I wanted to (again) utilize a worst case scenario that we can only improve from.

And, having said that, think of the average (and not so average) recording artist’s CD cover, and I’ll bet you will agree that 9 out of 10 CD covers present the artist simply posing while staring straight into the camera.

And, the few artists who want to appear different, unique and diverse, simply either turn sideways, stare into deep space, or gaze downward or backward for their photo sessions.

If you happen to be among the aforementioned guilty, you should realize that by *not* becoming more proactive and aggressive with the visual aspect and design of your CD cover, you are shortchanging the potential of your release from the onset, and not giving it its best possible chance for maximum success.

I first began noticing this overall trend when CDs began replacing albums. And, I believe that the difference was due, in part, to the dramatic reduction in the cover size.

Consequently, I felt that both labels and artists, perhaps, decided (consciously or unconsciously) that the reduction in size did not allow enough room for visual creativity, which is not the case.

But, those are only two reasons. For, I also believe that, while they may be decent to great professional music producers, I have found that most recording artists whom I encounter are amateurs, at best, in respect to marketing their releases from a visual perspective.

And, it’s not their fault, because ‘visual’ just doesn’t happen to be the medium in which they work. However, this isn’t to say that they can’t learn to become much better at pre-selling their releases visually.

But, as an artist, perhaps, your argument is that your music is, primarily, based on the “sonic” aspect…that it will mainly be “heard” and not “seen.”

This is, in part, true but also consider that, generally, before your music is HEARD, it is first SEEN (unless you are sending ‘plain vanilla’ promotion singles to radio or handing them out at will to friends, associates, etc.). And, here is how:

Radio:

Due to added expense, most independent labels forego manufacturing ‘singles’ and, thus, usually send their complete retail releases out as promotion copies to the media. Hence, the radio music directors and program directors will SEE your release before they open your case to HEAR your music.

And, as the MD/PD takes your CD out of its package, does it, *POW!*, hit him with a bang visually, and immediately instill deeper interest *BEFORE* he hears your music?

Or does your, possibly, average to boring cover instill a blasé feeling that causes the MD/PD to presume that your music is, yet, another below average release, and is a further waste of his valuable time without giving it, at least, a listen?

* Press

The same thing applies to press music editors, reviewers and calendar editors as with radio personnel. Will the press personnel see a boring, posing cover and get that “Geez, here we go again” feeling, or will they assume that your lackadaisical cover will be accompanied by even more boring content, such as your bio, press release, fact sheet, etc.?

* Retail Consumers

While many potential retail consumers will, indeed, “hear” your music first (on radio or in nightclubs), there are also many more potential retail

consumers who will not.

And, these particular consumers are the ones who either go to music retailers weekly for new releases and spend additional time browsing, or they may be consumers who are simply weekly browsers seeking the new, unique and creative ‘next big thing’.

In either case, for the consumers who espy your CD in their favorite music retail stores…does your cover jump out at them visually, make an immediate impact, and cause them to do a ‘double take’?

Does it then make them pick up a copy of your release, maintain their interest and force them to read your credits and song titles?

Subsequently, does it then drive them to a listening station for further review and, hopefully, purchasing it?

Or, will they simply look at, yet, another boring cover and go, “Eh,” and replace it for your competitor’s that is far more visually attractive, and your competitor’s who may also have read this particular article, with one exception…he acted on this information while you did not?

Self-Realization:

Now, get a copy of your CD and take a look at it…I mean take a *really* good look at it. Then, using the radio, press and consumer theoretical perspectives above, honestly ask yourself if your cover has visually maximized its full potential.

Does it readily subscribe to the old U. S. Army slogan, “Be all you can be?” Is it, truly, all that it can be? Is it the best possible cover that you could ever hope for with this release?

Or, do you realize for the first time that you have both shortchanged yourself and your release, and that your cover is probably causing you to lose some significant sales, as it could, indeed, be presented to both the media and consumers much better?

If you now harbor the slightest inkling of doubt, after having given your cover another look, it is also safe to assume that your cover may be a bit questionable to others and, particularly, media professionals as well.

So, let’s say that you now realize that your cover is below par, and could be much better…that you can now admit that you truly did not give it your absolute best shot…that, in fact, your cover was an afterthought, at best. How do you get started on “conceptualizing” it from a visual standpoint?

Well, one way is to first consider your title…

If this is your debut release, can you make something unusually funny or witty out of your first or last name? Can either your first or last name present a double meaning, such as Byrd, Love, Green, Wolf, Young?

While those of us with such names are often ridiculed in our early school days, we have the advantage of our “weird” last names standing out and benefiting us in our professional careers.

If your release has a subtitle, or this is your second or additional release, can you put a twist on its title?

The same goes for your songs. I’m betting that you have, at least, one song, regardless of your genre, that can be selected as the title and used as the basis for a very attractive cover and graphic depiction of your music.

For even more information and assistance on making your CD cover a $ales $uccess story, please visit the below link.

http://www.MuBiz.com/services.html#CD_COVER

Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com,a radio promotion and media publicity service that also provides business and career services to musicians. See the company’s corresponding website at http://www.MuBiz.com.

Lately, I haven’t been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol’ Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues. I’ve been enjoying myself so much trying to get this fingerpick thang goin’.”

I’m starting to understand the arpeggio-phrasing technique a lot more. Gatemouth Brown is a legend and a true musician. He plays acoustic / electric guitar in all genres. He can also play the fiddle like nobody’s business. He is also a drummer, harp player, and banjo playing fool.

So, let’s cover some of the techniques I’ve found to be very effective in my playing. Using these techniques can add color to your performance. Think of it as a small toolbox of tricks you can pull out to add character to your songs and live set. Effective pick-hand technique provides the kind tone and textures that can give a personal touch to an old classic or to provide a step off point for other creative musical endeavors.

Try Different Styles and Genre

Play the root notes with your thumb. The down-strums with the tips of your fingernails, and upstrokes with just you finger tips. Get yourself a metronome and play to different speeds, Do some stagger strumming. Strum to the off beats. Download or find music that you might not jam to. Try a calypso feel. Do some cowboy songs and “Yes” hammer-on those top bass strings and get into some alternate picking, etc. Try a walking bass line while playing the three higher strings open. These are just ideas to opening your mind!

Turn Your Acoustic into a Percussion Instrument

Bang on it like a hand drum. Strike or tap the strings with the inside surface of your fingers as if you swatting a fly. Now… don’t bang on it to hard. I don’t want to be blamed for someone’s guit-box being damaged. Let your fingers kind of

bounce off and away from the strings for them to ring-out. Experiment with different taps all up and down the fret board and back side of the neck too! Use the top of the guitar as a drum. I’ve seen duos with one person playing the guitar and the other person playing the percussions on the back of the guitar laid flat across the their lap. Remember to use the different parts of the hand to include knuckles, fingers -rings, etc.

Slap and Pop Technique

Bass players use this technique for rhythmic power. Use the outside of your thumb joint to attack the strings. If you experiment with this approach, try getting bell like tones out of those bass strings.

Put Some Snap into Your Playing

Use your index finger to snap those high strings when playing lead solos. Try yanking lightly on each string, releasing it against the fret board with a bright snap. Give those strings a real pinch when needed too (Don’t be shy…). This is good for rock and blues flavored solos.

Use Muting and Volume in Your Playing

Slap and pop with some funk. Use your thumb and middle finger playing octave notes. Kinda like a cat claw approach. Don’t forget to use the heel of your pick hand to mute and use as a volume control for the strings. Rest the heel of your hand lightly on the saddle. Now practice strumming and muting the strings while the heel lightly lays across the strings. Next, mute the strings with your chord-hand by lightly touching the string while strumming your guitar with your nails on your finger-tips. Kinda like playing percussions on the strings. I call it chickin’- scratchin’ those strings.

“Again, I hope I’ve sparked some imagination for playing without a pick. These ideas will help you develop your own style too!”

Scott Thomas

Managing Editor,

Guitarz Forever.com

Most students try too hard. They really want to be able to improvise. To sit down at the piano and express through music. But they try too hard and miss the point of it all. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, improvisation should be a joy. If it isn’t you are doing something wrong.

Here’s a simple method to get you going. Look at Lesson 3: “Rainforest.” Here we have a strategy for successful improvisation. The left-hand takes care of the background while the right is free to create whatever it wants from the G Major scale – an excellent method for beginners.

The key here is to forget about the left-hand ostinato pattern and shift your attention to creating melody in the right. Once you get the pattern down your focus should be on melody creation. What’s great about “Rainforest” is that you only get 2 chords to play in the left-hand. Something beginners can accomplish easily. But here’s where some students get stuck. Why? Because they play something beyond their technical

ability and either lose the left-hand pattern or stop playing because they don’t like what they’re hearing.

Here’s a secret – go as slow as you need to. There’s absolutely no need to be a speed demon here. The goal is to make music, not show off and see how “well” you can play. Go slowly and play with sensitivity. Here’s another bit of advice – the sensitive player will ALWAYS SOUND BETTER than the player with technical proficiency.

It doesn’t matter if all you know are the notes from the G Major scale, but, if you play with sensitivity and feeling, you will sound better than the musician who knows everything there is to know about music!

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!

Do you know what a didgeridoo is? There are so many things in this life that are unknown to us. I bet you could find out about something outside your normal sphere of vision and experience everyday for the rest of your life and still not get close to knowing about everything out there. Not to mention the number of things we don’t know about our own internal selves-physical, emotional, spiritual and mental realities that are still unaware to us. That’s another story however, let’s stick to the external in this article.

I play the didgeridoo. It’s a sacred Australian Aborigine instrument, arguably one of the oldest instruments in humankind’s long history. If you type didgeridoo into your search engine you will see hundreds of sites about this thing that you’ve never even heard of. You don’t know how many people I’ve mentioned it to around the world that never have even heard the word. One site I found to be quite thorough and useful was: http://www.echotree.com.au/index.htm

This retail site explains in detail how a didgeridoo is made (it is a termite-hollowed branch or tree trunk), how to choose the right one for you, and of course instruction on how to play. It explains how to recognize a quality piece and they say that they can even custom make one to your desires. Each didj has a key or root note, and they can be made of several types of wood, some better than others. Placed on the mouthpiece is bee’s wax which makes for an airtight seal against the face as well as protecting one’s mouth from getting cut by sharp edges.

To give you an idea of the incredible feat it was for the first Aborigines to make this music 40-60,000 years ago I’ll give

you a perspective on how it is played. You place your mouth in the whole at the top of the hollowed wood upon the bees wax coating. Then you vibrate your lips against the edge of the wood, filling your cheeks with air at the same time to keep the sound constant. The sound never stops and this is because you circular breathe-in through the nose and out through your mouth at the same time. Sounds difficult, and it is for some like myself, it took me 9 months to get my mind around it. A friend of mine however did it in a couple of days, and babies breathe this way naturally! Pretty cool.

On this site as others you can look at a gallery of instruments, clicking on the ones that interest you. They are all individual (like snowflakes and humans) and characteristics such as key, wood type, length and artist are given. Echo Tree specifically mentions that all their artwork is individually hand-painted by Aborigine artists and no two are alike. So unlike many Western musical instruments that are ubiquitously constructed, you can have one that is different to all others.

The didgeridoo is just another example of how the Internet or World Wide Web can be the medium of discovery in our lives. It is a collective source for all the ideas, creations and beliefs in our world. Anyone that connects can add to the rich melting pot of consciousness. This ‘virtual’ space that we all feed and digest from is truly the next step in the evolution of humanity. Do you want to do or learn something different? You know where to go.

Jesse S. Somer

http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a sacred didgeridoo player learning more about life everyday.

So, you want to be a guitar player huh? You want to strut like Chuck Berry, be as cool as Keith Richards, rock like Jimi Hendrix and astound like Steve Vai. You want to wake up in the morning a beginner and go to bed at night an expert. You want to be hero-worshipped and have people chant your name. Idolised, admired, remembered and revered. You want your money for nothing and your chicks for free. You want all that and more!

Good for you! You have ambition; fire in your belly and a lion in your heart. It takes a lot of gusto to want to be a great guitarist. I wish you well and hope you achieve your dreams many times over.

Now that we’ve established that you want to be a great guitar picker, how would you feel if I said I know the secret of being a great guitar picker? Furthermore, how would you feel if I told you I was going to share that secret with you right now, free of charge? I suppose you would think there’s a catch and that really I just want to sell you something. Well, it’s true that I do have an on-line store that sells great guitar tutorials. It’s also true that I would love you to visit and buy everything in the shop. However, that’s not why I’m going to share this secret with you. No way, I have another reason for giving you this information.

When I was starting out playing the guitar, I always wished that I could have known somebody who could already play and could teach me a few things. Unfortunately, in those early days I didn’t know anybody that played. I had to struggle along trying to learn chords, scales and arpeggios from the printed page. I used to worry about whether I was holding the guitar correctly, or if I was putting my fingers on the correct fret or string. A lot of it was pretty much hit and miss. More often than not…..it was miss!!

For that reason, I would like to offer some advice to guitar players that are just starting out. If you promise to listen and take notice of my advice, I promise I will share with you the secret of becoming a great guitar player. Deal? Ok, settle down with a cold can of fizzy pop, and read on……

I’m going to list these pieces of advice one by one in a bulleted list. Remember, the deal is you read and digest the information and then I will tell you the great guitar playing secret. Press your focus and concentration buttons………Now!!

1. BUY A GUITAR TUNER AND TUNE UP! If you don’t know anybody who can tune the guitar for you, and you can’t yet tune it yourself, then you need to invest in a tuner. Do this today! Don’t struggle along on a guitar that sounds like elastic bands on a shoebox. You will not get any enjoyment whatsoever from an out of tune guitar. So, piece of advice number 1 – Tune it and keep it tuned!!

2. CONSIDER LESSONS! When beginning anything in life, it is good to get off on the right foot. A teacher, a mentor, an advisor, call it what you will. To teach is one of the most fantastic things we can do. Find a teacher that takes great pride in what he does. Usually the best ones are found by word of mouth. Ask people, make enquiries, e-mail, telephone, write a letter, anything it takes to find the right person. Remember, no matter how good you get there is always somebody who can teach you something new. Hiring a teacher is not just for when you are starting out, it is something you should consider throughout your guitar playing life. A good teacher will advise you on technique, theory, performance, attitude and practicing. He or she will set you goals and reward you when you accomplish them. He or she will also explain the small things such as the importance of using a metronome in your studies, keeping your instrument clean and changing strings. Advice number 2 – Find a mentor!

3. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE…………BUT NOT TOO MUCH!! What does that mean “Practice, but not too much?” Well, if we want to get good at anything then obviously we do need to practice. With regards to learning the guitar, we need to get our hands to play the right notes in the right way. Although great technique takes a lot of time, effort, commitment and PRACTICE, we need to be aware of when to draw the line. Sometimes we can get that wrapped up in something that we are interested in; we can forget that there are other things in life. Our family, our friends, sports, the theatre, cinema, books, etc… Advice number 3 – Practice to get good, but chill out and relax to get even better!

4. KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO LEARN AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO YOU NOW!! There are so many things to learn on the guitar that it is inevitable that you will get distracted. Chords, scales, arpeggios, licks, tunes, exercises etc… They all have to be learnt as they are all important. If you realise the importance of learning these things before you start to practice them, you will stand a better chance of keeping your focus and completing your studies. If you are learning a new chord for example, think about why it is important that you learn the chord. How will it benefit you? How will it help you to advance? How will it help you to evolve into a better musician? Everything you learn is important, understand its importance. Advice number 4 –

Make sure you know the relevance of everything you need to learn.

5. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!! Ok, this piece of advice has two parts. The first part means listen to a lot of music. Try and have many influences. Remember, there is no bad music, only bad musicians. Be open to jazz, blues, rock, funk, pop, country, classical, anything! We can learn such a lot by listening. It plays a major part in our musical development. The second part of this piece of advice involves you training your ears. Try to learn to recognise chords just by the sound they make. Be aware of the subtle differences between a 7th chord and a 9th chord. It takes a long time to be able to do this properly. Stick with it and don’t worry when you get them wrong. Each time you try, you improve a little bit more. Advice number 5 – Use those ears!!

6. PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE!! Join a band or form a band as soon as you can. You will learn so much from playing with other people. Put an advertisement in a music shop advertising your services as a guitar player. Don’t worry if you don’t feel ready, do it anyway. The experience will be priceless! Everything improves when you play regularly with other musicians. Your time, your feel, your technique, your confidence, EVERYTHING! Make sure you do this at the earliest opportunity! Advice number 6 – Take the licks out of your room and into a band!!

7. LEARN YOUR THEORY!! Ok, your guitar teacher will probably stress the importance of this to you. The more theory you learn, the more your guitar playing will improve. Learn chord construction, diatonic harmony, learn about triads, intervals, major scales, relative minors, modes, etc… A lot of guitar players don’t like studying theory. Make sure you are not one of them. Advice number 7 – Read lots of music theory books!!

8. VISUALISE!! A lot of people do not realise how powerful a tool this is. There is nothing you can’t do in your mind! Visualisation will not improve your technique. The only way to improve technique is to sit down and play for long hours. Visualisation helps in other ways. It helps you commit things to your long term memory. Use it when learning chords, scales, arpeggios, songs, in fact, anything. There is however, a time and a place for visualisation. You can use it while travelling on a bus, waiting for your date to turn up, while falling asleep at night, sunbathing or relaxing. You must NOT use it while doing anything that requires your full attention. For example; driving, using tools, cooking and riding you bicycle. You get the idea, right? Also, do not ever think that visualisation is a substitute for hands on practice – it isn’t! You have to do that as well. Advice number 8 – Practice in your mind!!

9. BE INQUISITIVE!! The more you play the more chance you have of meeting other guitar players. Never, ever be afraid to ask them questions even if they haven’t been playing as long as you have. We learn off everybody. Ask probing questions to see how they developed their technique. Check out the chord shapes they use. If you see one that you don’t recognise, ask them what it is. Remember your job is to improve your playing at every opportunity – do your job! Advice number 9 – Ask lots of questions and you’ll get lots of answers!!!

10. SMILE!! Sometimes the stress of being a practicing guitar player can get us down. Maybe a lick you are working on just isn’t happening, or no matter how hard you try you just cannot execute a new scale properly. This is normal. Sometimes it’s better to put the instrument down and come back to it later on. Never, ever let it get you mad and never, ever get frustrated. Fight back at these challenging situations with a big smile. Try it now, right this minute. Think of something that is bothering you although deep down you know it isn’t important. Visualise it. Ok, hold it there and…….SMILE! Laugh even. Not just a chuckle but a big laugh right from your belly. Go on, feels good, doesn’t it? Treat your guitar playing challenges in exactly the same way. Deep down you know they aren’t really that important. Tomorrow is another day. I’m not saying don’t take your guitar playing seriously; just stop and smell the flowers now and again. Be optimistic, be bold, be the best you can be and……..smile!! Advice number 10 – Playing the guitar is fun – Enjoy it!!

There you go, that’s my advice to you.

Right, all that’s left for me to do is tell you the great guitar playing secret. Are you ready? Well, don’t tell anybody but the secret of being a great guitar player is………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………

…….in everything you’ve just read!!

Sorry guys, but there ain’t no shortcut to greatness. If you follow the 10 pieces of advice I’ve just given you then you won’t go far wrong. I still haven’t achieved it and I may never will. One thing is for sure, I’m gonna keep on plugging away, and, who knows, maybe one day I’ll get pretty close. The fun is in the trying.

So, you want to be a guitar player huh? You bet your life I do……

www.jack-sky.com

Peter Jones is the Managing Director of jack Sky Ltd. Based on the banks of the River Mersey in the great city of Liverpool, Jack Sky is committed to providing quality guitar tutorials to advancing guitar players.

Should I Buy a Digital Piano or an Upright Piano?

Digital pianos sound nothing like a real piano. Upright pianos take up too much room.There is a lot of conflicting advice floating around.I will give you the right piano buying advice so you can make your own decision on whetherthe digital piano or the upright piano is right for your needs.

A brief history of the digital piano.

Digital pianos were invented about 20 years ago and when they where first introduced they were pretty terrible, the keys were much too light, spongy and nothing like a real piano. The sound was incredibly bright and the sampling was quite dreadful. You couldn’t really say that it sounded much like a piano at all.These digital pianos also looked nothing like a real acoustic piano, they had ugly, plastic lookin cases that didn’t match any type of furniture in the room. If guests came around it was almost an embarrassment to have this ugly plastic looking machine in the living room. My how things have changed over the last 20 years!

A brief history of the upright piano.

The upright piano was invented in 1709 by the Italian Cristofori. It was a four octave instrument compared to the seven and a quarter octave instrument of today, with hammers striking the strings just as they do on a modern upright piano. The instrument was invented to meet the need to control dynamics by touch, which could not be achieved on the harpsichord.The early upright piano went through many changes before it emerged as the instrument we all know today. The Cristofori piano was wing shaped like grand pianos, it had a curved body and a lid that could be elevated. There were also square pianos in which the strings ran from left to right as on the clavichord. And by 1800, there were upright pianos whose strings ran perpendicular to the keyboard. Other names commonly used are: vertical piano or acoustic piano, they mean essentially the same thing.A typical old fashioned upright piano, tall upright standing, ivory keys, beautiful wood, moulded carvings, stylish legs and brass candlestick holders. The old pianos always had a beautiful warm tone because they were made with quality materials and real wood. The soundboard was seasoned for ages which in turn created a resonant and sustaining tone. The superior quality meant that your piano would easily last a lifetime.

Moving on to modern times

These days your typical starter piano is mass produced in China, Indonesia or Korea with very cheap materials, soundboards made out of trees that were probably knocked down the day before and thrown together as quickly as possible to get distributed around the world.Well maybe it is not quite as bad as this, but anyway i am sure you get my point.

You can find a list of upright pianos here: upright pianos for sale

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF ACOUSTIC AND DIGITAL PIANOS

Advantages of Digital Pianos:

1) You can plug in headphones so nobody can hear you play.

2) You can turn the volume up or down.

3) You can record your music on the instrument itself, or to disc, smart media, floppy etc.

4) You can experiment with lots of different instrument sounds

5) Due to their light weight, digital pianos can easily be moved from room to room

6) Your digital piano will never need tuning or maintenance, which will save you a small fortune.

7) You can

download songs from the web and play them on your instrument. (Normally the more expensive digital pianos offer this facility).

Digital pianos are very reasonably priced for what they are. You can pick one up from as little as £400.

9) Digital pianos take up less space than the acoustic piano. They are slightly shorter in length, much lower in height and most importantly about 2/3rds the depth (front to back) of an acoustic piano, thus saving you valuable space

Disadvantages of Digital Pianos:

1) The value of your piano depreciates very quickly.

2) New models are introduced every 2-3 years making your piano even less valuable and harder to sell

3) The sound is electronic and although improvements have been made, it will never sound like the real thing.

4) The touch is slighter lighter than a real piano and the key balance isn’t perfect.

5) The digital piano’s appearance is not as appealing as an acoustic piano and is made from plastic and chipboard. It can easily get damaged if moved around.

6) The outer casing is difficult and expensive to repair if damage has been done

7) Digital pianos are very expensive to repair if anything goes wrong with the mechanics or electronics

9) The warranty is normally quite short, anything form 1 year to 3 years.

Advantages of Upright Pianos

1) Your piano will hold its value over time and if it is looked after it will normally increase over a longer period (normally 20 years plus)

2) The piano has natural acoustic sounds which is produced by the hammer striking the string and then amplified by the soundboard.

3) The piano is made from wood, sometimes MDF and is very strong.

4) If the piano’s outer casing is damaged it can be repaired easily and fairly cheaply by a French polisher.

5) If there is a problem with the piano mechanically, it can normally be fixed by a piano tuner very quickly and cheaply. (With the exception of old pianos that normally need a lot of work).

6) The touch of a real piano is second to none. The deep, rich natural tones enable you to really enjoy playing music.

7) You normally get a long warranty with acoustic pianos, anywhere from 5-10 years.

Disadvantages of Upright Pianos

1) The upright piano is extremely heavy (can weigh 175kg upwards) and is almost impossible to maneuver without the help of professional piano movers

2) The volume of the piano cannot be turned up or down, it is reliant on the player to control this.

3) The piano needs tuning regularly (normally twice a year) and can cost in the region of £40-£60 a time.

4) The piano will need the occasional maintenance (every 5-10 years)

5) A good, well made piano can be quite expensive (Usually £2500 upwards)

6) Upright pianos take up a lot of room, especially the grands and the taller uprights.

7) They can mark your floor if you try to move them even the slightest bit and because of the immense weight, the wheels or feet leave deep indentations in your floor over a period of time

I hope this article has helped you in your piano buying quest.

About The Author

Henry Howard is known as ‘The Guru of Music’ and has written piano and musical instrument articles for many sites on the internet. He is currently writing for http://www.Soundsmusical.com, one of the leading piano sites on the web.

Do as you please with this article but keep my links in tact.

Learning to fiddle the Orange Blossom Special is not easy, but it’s truly worth the effort. The Orange Blossom Special is unequaled in popularity. To learn it you must master three distinct parts. Each of these parts has its own character and style. They are: 1. Bells, whistles, chugga-chugga’s, 2. the Shuffle, 3. the Hoedown.

This is the introductory part of the tune. It starts up right after the rhythm is put down, by guitar, and other instruments usually.

The first whistle to master is made by the G# on the D string and the B on the A string.This double stop takes two of the chord notes from the E major chord and moves them down and up with a fall off at the end.

That’s followed by the left hand plucking the E string for the bell.This can be recycled several times.

In between the bell and the whistle, play some chugga-chugga’s.For that you must move the bow up and down the string instead of across the string. Do this very rapidly in time.I change my grip on the bow a little to make this easier.Make the movement very short, just a couple or more inches at the most. The sound should be 90% percussive, not tonal. In other words a definite pitch is not what we’re after. Placement of the left hand fingers can be the same as the whistle.

It is in this part of the tune that many fiddlers do musical quotes and “stretch out.” I used to do that, too. Then, I heard the classic Irwin Rouse version. The directness of his performance is powerful by comparison of the “loaded up” versions you hear today. My recommendation: except for a few bluesy, syncopated moves, lose the junk.

The most famous shuffle for this tune is the double shuffle or hokum bow. We’ll get to that.

In the original version by Irwin Rouse, he played two other shuffles. And remember, we’re talking about the version that made the tune famous.

One of the shuffles is a rocking bow. You play two strokes on the lower strings and two on the next pair up, back and forth. This was in last month’s tabs.

This is a good technique to master for other tunes as well. Often I use this

move for Arkansas Traveler. (I stole this from Dale Potter.)

In this shuffle you will need to think in terms of three strings at once. Not that you play three at once, but your fingering is organized as though you were.

Mastering the fingering for this shuffle puts you in very good position to master the double shuffle.

There are two difficult areas for the hokum bow or double shuffle. One is the left hand–having to be concerned with three strings at a time. Another is the coordination of the string crossings with the bow.

There is an easy way to get into this rhythm, using only two strings. This exercise is included with the tab charts for new Fiddle Tech Notes subscribers.

Play through this pattern carefully so that you don’t add an extra note or leave on out. When you can be reliable in playing through the pattern once, play it twice with almost no pause in between.

Then play it through and go to the next pair of strings to do it again.

The ultimate performance of this shuffle shuffle gets the left hand fingers changing along with the bow. It’s quite and advanced technique. An example of this is also in the tabs.

Irwin Rouse also does a shuffle of chugga-chugga’s. As said before, the sound is mainly percussive. Yet, you will use the left hand positions for the fingering just as in the rocking bow.

Rouse went through the tune 3 times, ending with the hokum bow. When I play it, usually I just go through the tune twice. First with rocking bow, then with hokum. And I end after the hoedown.The Hoedown

Finally, we get to a straight ahead part that sounds like a hoedown.It’s exactly the same length as Cripple Creek. Or as long as the A part of Old Joe Clark.

Creating your own version of this tune is like making up a variation of any well known hoedown. You want to keep it recognizable. After the hoedown, there is a transitional figure that takes you back to the key of E.

If you want to end the song, you need to add a simple standard tag to wind things up. And there it is: the Orange Blossom Special.

Elan Chalford,MM.–Fiddle Coach

Learn to Play Fiddle without Reading Music

Raising children can be trying. At times so much so that it even tempts devoted parents to wonder, “How does the world manage to re-populate itself?” So keeping a sense of humor is really important. Here’s some crazy things kids say when taking piano lessons and practicing that parents need to be prepared to laugh at. Let’s start with the whining. Amazingly these are things I’ve heard young, beginning piano students say right after they have played a simple piece of music beautifully?

Student: “But it’s too hard.”

Parent: “It’s only too hard if you think it is.”

Student: “My fingers nails hurt.”

Parent: “We can trim your nails.”

Student: “Why do I have to look at the music?”

Parent: “Do you think I should look at the road when I’m driving?”

Student: “I’m thirsty.”

Parent: “I’m Dad.”

Student: “When can I play Fur Elise?”

Parent: “When you know how.”

Student: “When will I know how to play every song on the piano that I hear?”

Parent: “When you’re 18.”

Student: “Why do I need to play at home when I played piano at my lesson?”

Parent: “Because we can’t afford to play on your teacher’s piano every day.”

Here’s what parents of young children need to get. Kids whine. Everything your child complains about doesn’t mean anything. It’s kind of like my cat. He always stands at the door and whines, even when I just let him out. He will then whine by his food dish even though I

just filled it up with his favorite kitty pellets. Why? Because it makes him feel secure to see me open the door for him one more time, and put a few more pellets in his bowl. Will he ever get tired of me opening the door and giving him more kitty pellets that he isn’t going to eat? No.

So don’t take your little kitten in piano lessons too seriously and in a few years they’ll be saying, “I can play the piano better than my parents, because I’ve been taking lessons and they didn’t get to do that.”

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