Genius Project Vlog 2 from jake on Vimeo.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Vlog Time
This week in place of my blog post I am going to entertain you with a vlog about my progress, inspirations and future plans. I will supply all my dedicated readers with a midweek blog post though so that you don't miss out on any exciting details. This week i am learning to play "Clocks", by Coldplay, which will be my first full song that I learn. Without further ado, here is my vlog:
Genius Project Vlog 2 from jake on Vimeo.
Genius Project Vlog 2 from jake on Vimeo.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Post 3: I Got the Keys
When I first laid my hands on a piano, the sound that spewed out was simply breathtaking. I think it is best described by my personal hero and our supreme leader Mr. Donald J. Trump, "It's tangible, it's solid, it's beautiful. It's artistic, from my standpoint." Music is something you can hear, but also feel. It is a unique experience that can be appreciated by anyone. When I heard this elegant sound I took it as it was, but never really understood how it was produced by the piano. This week I took to learning some of the history of the piano, and just how exactly the piano made not just sound, but music.
The piano is a lot more complex than most people think. As many people know, the piano uses strings to create its sound. The way the keys hit the stings is a complex lever system that looks like this:
Now this is all very complicated and boring, but I'm going to try to explain it briefly. When the key is first struck, it causes that circular white piece to swing up and strike the string from underneath. This causes the string to vibrate and make noise. For the low keys, the strings are very long and thick, and one string is struck per key pressed. As the keys get higher (in sound) the strings are shorter and thinner, and up to 3 strings are struck per key pressed in the highest of keys. It looks a little something than this:
There is also a piece called the damper which it the brown box on the string in the first picture. It prevents the string from vibrating, and when the key is pressed, it releases, and when the key is released, it presses on the string again to stop the sound. The higher sounding keys don't have dampers though since the small strings don't vibrate enough for them to need one. This is the basic inner-workings of the piano.
There are also parts of the piano called pedals. They help vary the sound of the piano and let composers do more with their music. The pedal that is used the most and is the only essential pedal for when your first starting on the piano is called the sustain pedal. It causes the notes to hold longer without having to hold the key. The way it works is when it is pressed, it lifts the dampers for all the keys so that the strings can keep vibrating. This is useful so that pianists can keep playing and not have to hold keys when they want the note to last. The sustain pedal is found on pretty much any piano sold. These are all of the pedals names. The soft pedal is used to change the pitch of the notes and basically shifts all the keys a little bit so they produce a softer sound. The sostenuto pedal is used just like the sustain pedal, but only holds out the keys you are pressing, so basically you can choose what notes hold out. This pedal is difficult to use and is for advanced piano players. here is what the pedals look like:
I have a keyboard, and they work very different. Basically each key is programmed to produce a certain sound, and the keyboard stores thousands of sounds that can be produced when the key is pressed. Keyboards and pianos are very different to play, but they both have their advantages.
Besides research I also was killing it on the keyboard. I worked very hard on my music reading and practiced playing music from a sheet. I started with the classic "Twinkle Twinkle little Star", and I truly felt up above the world so high, until I worked my way up to reading the sheet music for "Fur Elise". I was able to play it very slowly, and it helped me learn a lot of the little secrets to reading music. These are things such as knowing where specific keys are on the staff so you don't have to think before playing each note. Here is a video of me reading the music for "Fur Elise":
Although this is very slow, it is without much practice (of the song) and it strictly from me reading it off the sheet. I am still having trouble recognizing certain notes, but I am developing my skills with practice. Reading music helped me a lot with my playing, and with more practice (a lot more) I will become a master at it.
Through this week I have also made my first piano-related purchase. As I read sheet music, I realized how important the sustain pedal was and how it was in the majority of the songs. I did some research and found that you could buy pedals for the keyboards. I looked even further into it, and found that the sustain pedal was really the only pedal you needed. So I took to Amazon and purchased an $11 sustain pedal with an average of 4.5 stars per review. Here is an example of a very happy customer:
As you can see, Mister Moose is highly satisfied with his purchase. I would have to say that I agree with this man and it works very well and I truly see how it effects the sound. Here is the difference it makes (in person it is more drastic but the computer speakers are poop and don't work too well):
Despite this being the week where I have been on the piano the least due to lacrosse starting and other things that have robbed me of time, I have done a lot of learning off the keys that have acted as rocket fuel that will allow my playing to take off. Next week I hope to get back to playing more and start to learn to play a full song using sheet music. Learning the history and science behind the piano has in a strange way motivated me to keep playing. I foresee a bright future it my playing and believe I will accomplish my goals of playing a song with hard work.
More helpful sources:
The piano is a lot more complex than most people think. As many people know, the piano uses strings to create its sound. The way the keys hit the stings is a complex lever system that looks like this:
Now this is all very complicated and boring, but I'm going to try to explain it briefly. When the key is first struck, it causes that circular white piece to swing up and strike the string from underneath. This causes the string to vibrate and make noise. For the low keys, the strings are very long and thick, and one string is struck per key pressed. As the keys get higher (in sound) the strings are shorter and thinner, and up to 3 strings are struck per key pressed in the highest of keys. It looks a little something than this:
There is also a piece called the damper which it the brown box on the string in the first picture. It prevents the string from vibrating, and when the key is pressed, it releases, and when the key is released, it presses on the string again to stop the sound. The higher sounding keys don't have dampers though since the small strings don't vibrate enough for them to need one. This is the basic inner-workings of the piano.
There are also parts of the piano called pedals. They help vary the sound of the piano and let composers do more with their music. The pedal that is used the most and is the only essential pedal for when your first starting on the piano is called the sustain pedal. It causes the notes to hold longer without having to hold the key. The way it works is when it is pressed, it lifts the dampers for all the keys so that the strings can keep vibrating. This is useful so that pianists can keep playing and not have to hold keys when they want the note to last. The sustain pedal is found on pretty much any piano sold. These are all of the pedals names. The soft pedal is used to change the pitch of the notes and basically shifts all the keys a little bit so they produce a softer sound. The sostenuto pedal is used just like the sustain pedal, but only holds out the keys you are pressing, so basically you can choose what notes hold out. This pedal is difficult to use and is for advanced piano players. here is what the pedals look like:
I have a keyboard, and they work very different. Basically each key is programmed to produce a certain sound, and the keyboard stores thousands of sounds that can be produced when the key is pressed. Keyboards and pianos are very different to play, but they both have their advantages.
Besides research I also was killing it on the keyboard. I worked very hard on my music reading and practiced playing music from a sheet. I started with the classic "Twinkle Twinkle little Star", and I truly felt up above the world so high, until I worked my way up to reading the sheet music for "Fur Elise". I was able to play it very slowly, and it helped me learn a lot of the little secrets to reading music. These are things such as knowing where specific keys are on the staff so you don't have to think before playing each note. Here is a video of me reading the music for "Fur Elise":
Although this is very slow, it is without much practice (of the song) and it strictly from me reading it off the sheet. I am still having trouble recognizing certain notes, but I am developing my skills with practice. Reading music helped me a lot with my playing, and with more practice (a lot more) I will become a master at it.
Through this week I have also made my first piano-related purchase. As I read sheet music, I realized how important the sustain pedal was and how it was in the majority of the songs. I did some research and found that you could buy pedals for the keyboards. I looked even further into it, and found that the sustain pedal was really the only pedal you needed. So I took to Amazon and purchased an $11 sustain pedal with an average of 4.5 stars per review. Here is an example of a very happy customer:
As you can see, Mister Moose is highly satisfied with his purchase. I would have to say that I agree with this man and it works very well and I truly see how it effects the sound. Here is the difference it makes (in person it is more drastic but the computer speakers are poop and don't work too well):
Despite this being the week where I have been on the piano the least due to lacrosse starting and other things that have robbed me of time, I have done a lot of learning off the keys that have acted as rocket fuel that will allow my playing to take off. Next week I hope to get back to playing more and start to learn to play a full song using sheet music. Learning the history and science behind the piano has in a strange way motivated me to keep playing. I foresee a bright future it my playing and believe I will accomplish my goals of playing a song with hard work.
More helpful sources:
Owen, Jared.
"How does a Grand Piano work? - Part 1." Youtube.com, March 30, 2018.
Owen, Jared.
"How does a Grand Piano work? - Part 2." Youtube.com, May 30, 2018.
^^^^^ (The two videos above helped me understand how the piano worked)
“10 Tips and Tricks for Sight Reading Music.” Musicnotes Now, 30 Apr. 2018, www.musicnotes.com/now/tips/10-tips-tricks-sight-reading-music/.
^^^^^^^ (Helped with reading music and gave me some tips)
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Post 2: 88 Keys and a Dream
My first week is behind me, and the small amount of skills that I have are coming along. Throughout the first week I have done the grudge work of learning how to read music and playing basics exercises and riffs. Despite it not being quite as good of a time as I would have hoped, I have layed the ground work for my future playing, and it is all downhill from here. I have also learned lessons that go beyond exercises that will help me to keep working at it and improve.
Learning to read music was a little more tricky than I thought it would be. For starters, I expected the staff (the lines the music is on) to be the same as when I played the trombone, and look like this:
Instead, the piano uses two combined staffs. One is for treble and one is for bass. The bass is the bottom and is usually played with your left hand, while the treble is the top and is played with your right. It look like this:
Besides this, I have also learned that "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (The acronym for remembering note positioning) only relates to the Treble staff, and as the notes go down to the bass staff, it becomes "Good Boy Do Fine Always" (or "good burritos don't fall apart"). It looks something like this:
I have also learned which notes correspond to which keys since there are several different keys that correspond to a letter (for example there are 8 c's). There is a system where the keys are put onto extra lines called ledgers. As the keys go from bottom to top on the staff, they go from left to right. It looks something like this:
There are many other things I have picked up from my research including what middle c is, what flats and sharps are (the black keys), what ties are, what whole, quarter and eighth notes are and a lot of other information, but I'm not going to bore you by giving you every little detail.
Other than reading music, I have also been working on my playing by doing my exercises every chance I get. I also got to playing a riff from one of my exercise videos that really shows how far I have come. It involves both hands and switching keys with both hands at the same time. Here is me playing it:
This week was also full of learning that doesn't just involve playing. There are 3 big takeaways that I think are worth sharing:
1. Start Slow
When I first begin to learn and exercise or song, it helps when I start slow. Once I get the notes down I can get a feel for how to move my fingers. Then I can start going faster and after a lot of practice I will be able to play whatever I am attempting.
2. With Enough Practice (almost) Anything is Possible
While it might be a while until I can play "Flight of a Bumble Bee", I can still play a lot more than I may think. When I sit down to play an exercise, it may seem difficult, but by going slow and taking it step by step, I can surprisingly play some difficult pieces (at least for a beginner). Basically I have learned that I shouldn't count myself out and should attempt something before I think it is too hard.
3. Don't Disadvantage Yourself
When I first started playing, I would do things like only use my thumb, index finger and middle finger. Small things like these can really effect my playing as I begin to play difficult works. Using only three finger makes my hand more tired and prevents me from playing certain notes. The reason many beginners do this is because the last two finger are usually weaker and not as independent. By exposing them to playing and using them more, they begin to get stronger. Since I am just starting, this lesson is very important, and I have learned that doing the correct things and playing the correct way will make playing later a lot easier.
Learning the piano has been a completely new experience to me. It is nothing like sports. It requires a level of patience and technique that isn't necessarily more difficult, but is different. I am beginning to understand what it is like to play an instrument, and am enjoying exploring a new interest. I have learned so much already and hope to keep it going in the next several weeks. I also hope to be able to keep this same level of interest as my journey goes on.
Helpful sources so far:
Learning to read music was a little more tricky than I thought it would be. For starters, I expected the staff (the lines the music is on) to be the same as when I played the trombone, and look like this:
Instead, the piano uses two combined staffs. One is for treble and one is for bass. The bass is the bottom and is usually played with your left hand, while the treble is the top and is played with your right. It look like this:
Besides this, I have also learned that "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (The acronym for remembering note positioning) only relates to the Treble staff, and as the notes go down to the bass staff, it becomes "Good Boy Do Fine Always" (or "good burritos don't fall apart"). It looks something like this:
I have also learned which notes correspond to which keys since there are several different keys that correspond to a letter (for example there are 8 c's). There is a system where the keys are put onto extra lines called ledgers. As the keys go from bottom to top on the staff, they go from left to right. It looks something like this:
There are many other things I have picked up from my research including what middle c is, what flats and sharps are (the black keys), what ties are, what whole, quarter and eighth notes are and a lot of other information, but I'm not going to bore you by giving you every little detail.
Other than reading music, I have also been working on my playing by doing my exercises every chance I get. I also got to playing a riff from one of my exercise videos that really shows how far I have come. It involves both hands and switching keys with both hands at the same time. Here is me playing it:
This week was also full of learning that doesn't just involve playing. There are 3 big takeaways that I think are worth sharing:
1. Start Slow
When I first begin to learn and exercise or song, it helps when I start slow. Once I get the notes down I can get a feel for how to move my fingers. Then I can start going faster and after a lot of practice I will be able to play whatever I am attempting.
2. With Enough Practice (almost) Anything is Possible
While it might be a while until I can play "Flight of a Bumble Bee", I can still play a lot more than I may think. When I sit down to play an exercise, it may seem difficult, but by going slow and taking it step by step, I can surprisingly play some difficult pieces (at least for a beginner). Basically I have learned that I shouldn't count myself out and should attempt something before I think it is too hard.
3. Don't Disadvantage Yourself
When I first started playing, I would do things like only use my thumb, index finger and middle finger. Small things like these can really effect my playing as I begin to play difficult works. Using only three finger makes my hand more tired and prevents me from playing certain notes. The reason many beginners do this is because the last two finger are usually weaker and not as independent. By exposing them to playing and using them more, they begin to get stronger. Since I am just starting, this lesson is very important, and I have learned that doing the correct things and playing the correct way will make playing later a lot easier.
Learning the piano has been a completely new experience to me. It is nothing like sports. It requires a level of patience and technique that isn't necessarily more difficult, but is different. I am beginning to understand what it is like to play an instrument, and am enjoying exploring a new interest. I have learned so much already and hope to keep it going in the next several weeks. I also hope to be able to keep this same level of interest as my journey goes on.
Helpful sources so far:
Cazaubon, Mantius. “How to Read Piano Notes.”
Piano-Keyboard-Guide.com
^^^(Helped with reading music)
Inspired, Musicians. "How to Read Notes Fast - The Landmark System." Youtube.com, Nov 4, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSOU-J9KHbg
^^^(Helped with reading music)
MangoldProject. "5 Simple Piano Exercises For Building Technique." Youtube.com, Apr 23, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfWMTC9aRx8&t=29s
^^^(Helpful exercises I warm up with every time I practice)
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