​When the melody goes up crescendo. When the melody goes diminuendo. The change will be small unless the composer indicates otherwise. The other exceptions are clearly marked in the score. The last note in a melody before a rest is played gently unless the composer indicates otherwise. 

Please check out the following recording. 

If I can help you, call me. 

​David

The internet is full of hucksters telling you that learning to play the piano is easy. It's not, but it is fun. Every day I watch my students grow; the days turn into years. And, inch by inch progress is made. 

If I can help you on your journey, call me. 

David

I found it very helpful over the holidays to practice with a video camera recording my progress. I played for 5 minutes, and watched 5 minutes. The camera was positioned so that the keyboard of the xylophone was visible. I was able to see and hear what was working and what was not and adjust accordingly on the next round of playing.


If I can help you, call me. 

​David

The above is the final take in ten takes over 20 minutes. 

Learning to sight-read well makes all aspects of piano study easier. Capable sight-readers take less time to learn new pieces. Capable sight-readers play music for fun.

I offered the following solutions to help a student this week.
​
1. Practice clapping and counting rhythm aloud. Verbalise, let’s hear you. Don’t count in your head. My drum teacher has me do this weekly, and I’m a professional musician. It really helps. For piano students I suggest the RCM sight reading books daily. VERY VERY SLOW is fine. Use a metronome. The idea is not to stop.
2. Practice the scales applicable to the key of the piece to be sightread. I suggested she spends more time on technique. Scales, chords, arpeggios played with joy and attention.
3. Dig in on theory. I showed her how I’m able to recognize the scale and chord patterns at sight. In the beginning, she could mark those in the score before playing. Good sight readers see patterns, students see notes.
4. Sight read with the metronome. No stopping. If things fall apart keep counting and come back later in the piece. Or drop one hand and continue with the other. I told her to imagine playing in an ensemble. No stopping is possible.
 
If I can help you, call me.
 
David

Sugar was 1st released in 1926 by Ethel Waters, you can find it on YouTube.. This is my 2022 version on xylophone with piano accompaniment.. Have fun and keep on swinging.
#tradjazz
#neworleansjazz
#xylophone
#jazzdancing
#nolatradjazzcamp

I've been learning to play jazz on the xylophone over Christmas break. Who knew it was so much fun? It is making me reconsider the advice I hand out to my jazz students on rhythm and improvisation. So far the advice is holding up. 

I've fond memories of listening to New Orleans Jazz as a kid at home. It stuck with me. If you would like to have as much fun as this on the piano, call me. 

​David

Everyone understands that the piano is played with the fingers. But, not all students understand the role of the wrists, arms, and shoulders in piano playing. Here is a partial list of techniques introduced in my studio. They are tried and true, I've not invented any of them, and can be observed in the playing of fine pianists. Here is a starting list. There are many more. 

1. Fingers
2. Rotation
3. Forearm roll
4. Drop
5. Arm weight

Why all these techniques?

Mixing the techniques creates a kaleidoscope of colour in our playing. Modern piano teaching introduces each of these techniques at the appropriate moment. I wish my early teachers had spent more time on this when I was a kid. At age 30 pianist and music director Donald Himes introduced these to me and changed how I sound evermore. 

If you would like help, call me. 

David Story

Donald Himes: Music director/composer for the Mr. Dress-up show CBC. He played from the 1st show to the last. A fine pianist, great teacher and avid Francophile. 

Dr. Hugo Norden, professor emeritus, coached me in Baroque counterpoint and harmony as a young naïve overconfident private student. He was a wise man; he knew how to handle characters like me. 

1. Theory
2. History
3. Ear training

The three most neglected aspects of music study.

Theory: knowing what you are doing makes everything easier. The knowledge and application of theory allows us to discover and understand the notes which leads to insight and artistry.

• If you don't know what a ii-V is in Jazz or a cadence is in Mozart, artistry will be difficult.
• Theory knowledge brings new insights into why different artists play the way they do. 

Here are my thoughts for acquiring jazz chops.  
1. Learn and memorize tunes by ear. 
2. Join a band and play as much as possible. 
3. Transcribe like crazy. 
4. Record everything you do. 
5. Learn more tunes. 
6. Technique with a metronome. Various tempi. 
7. Play Bach, Debussy and Faure. 
8. Keep up your lessons. 
9. Join a second band that plays only original music. 
10. Write some original music. 

Bonus. Read and explore the history of jazz prior to school. 
 ​
If I can help you call me. 

​David

David

Winter is here, let's have some fun. 

​David

Many students who lack confidence in class would sound move confident by simply playing louder. Try 10% louder to start. Another take on fake it to 'til you make it.

Secondly, crescendo when the melody rises and diminuendo when it falls, unless the composer or arranger says otherwise.

This should help shed some of the timidity in your playing.

Have fun.

David

Yesterday fourteen music students got together and played jazz. What a blast!

Lessons learned:

1. You cannot over prepare. 
2. Bring legible charts on brilliant white paper, lighting and/or print size is always an issue in a jazz club. 
3. Workshops and your cohort of fellow students is a good place to learn to deal with your nerves.
4. Keep it simple until you gain some experience. 
5. Play from memory for security on stage.
6. It was fun! 

Next up February, Covid willing. 

David

Breakfast piano minute is back for another round of videos. Please enjoy the peaceful daily postings. 

Self assessment is nearly impossible. Our mind can play tricks on us. Research Dunning-Kruger effect for the science. 

Here is a partial solution for music students.  

1. Listen to professional recordings of your pieces. Frequently. You should know them as well as you know "happy birthday".
2. Record yourself and listen back to your efforts. Many students find this very difficult. I understand, but, push through the resistance. It is your best self assessment tool that you have. 
3. Take lessons. Professional feedback is priceless. 

If I can help you, please call me. 

David

Jamey Aebersold gave a great demonstration, which was so revealing to me as a jazz teacher.
He assembled the students in the auditorium at University of Louisville. He would pluck one “lucky contestant” from the crowd to join him on stage. Jamey would then hand the musician a microphone and instruct them to sing/scat/hauler a jazz solo along with the chords he would randomly play on the piano.

Guess what?

Everyone could scat, some very well, others so so. But the consensus was that the “singers” could scat better than they could play. Hmmm. So, the problem isn’t in the head, it’s in the hands.

Conclusion 1: Jamey was encouraging everyone to improve their general musicianship skills on and off the instrument.
Conclusion 2: If you are a pianist or guitarist, sing and play at the same time.
 
Jamey's second reveal.

​One morning he asks the musicians, “How many of you can play 50 jazz standards from memory?” I enthusiastically raise my hand. Looking around the room of 250+ there were very few hands joining me.
How many can play 25?
10?
Any?
Overwhelming the answer was zero.

Conclusion #3 It’s hard to play freely when your head is in a book.
Conclusion #4 These musicians didn’t trust themselves to play without a book/sheet/app in front of them. He was happy to sell them another book. 

I hope this helps you begin to think through what may be holding you back.
 
David

Jazz is primarily about rhythm and articulations, those tricky bits that are impossible to notate. Harmony is like math, fun for many and much easier to get your head around for most. Or so beginners believe. But when the moment of truth arrives at a jam session theory goes mostly out the window and instinct kicks in. Adam Maness explores this theme in his video "Why do I still suck". 

Jorge Mabarak, on Facebook, puts it well, theory is a tool. I propose that rhythm is the key. And ear training is the secret to unlocking the mystery.

Here is a practice time breakdown that may work for you:

• Fifty percent time spent improving your instrumental skills. Find a skilled teacher. Put in the work. To paraphrase Wynton, "learn to play your d#%$@# instrument".
• Twenty-five percent time working on ear training: transcriptions and memorizing tunes. How many tunes can you play from memory? Ten would be a good start and realistic goal for most jazz beginners. Can you sing the melodies of the tunes you are trying to memorize? Can you sing the chord roots, in time and in pitch, of these tunes? Can you sing the arpeggiated 7th chords found in these tunes?
• Twenty percent jamming with a least one other musician. This is a key component of learning jazz. Jazz is a team sport. For instance, if you are a pianist, call a jazz guitar teacher, they have students who need to jam with others too. Set up a session. Don't be shy. As Adam Maness emphasizes "time for jazz swagger".
• Five percent jazz theory

 
If I can help, please call me. 

David

All I can add is this. Say and do these things long before they are teens. Set and normalize these healthy behaviors/patterns when they are young. 

Good luck

David

Ten things to do when learning a new piece of music that will simplify the process. 
​

1. Listen to a professional recording while following the score. It is much simpler to read a score when you know what it is supposed to sound like. The music is not fully represented by the notation.
2. Listen some more. “How do I get the sound in my head out of these black dots” is much easier than, “I wonder what this sounds like?” Notice the deviations from the score that the professionals present. Mark in any nuances with dynamics and phrasing you might hear.
3. Observe the fingering suggestions in your score. I would only change the fingering in the cases of obvious error or small hands.
4. Practice slowly at first.
5. If the rhythms are difficult. Clap and count aloud the difficult passages.
6. Explore the score further, marking the form and cadences. Notice how the professionals play a cadence. You will want to do the same. If this step is new to you call me, I can help.
7. Practice with dynamics from the first reading. That way you avoid having to relearn the piece later. In my experience as a piano examiner, under stress candidates abandon the dynamic plan and resort to their pre-dynamic performance. I know this because I had the teachers score in front of us. Dynamics were underlined, high-lighted, and punctuated in these scores coast to coast. The more frantic and emphatic the marking the less chance the candidate would execute them.
8. Practice in small chunks. That is phrase by phrase, or if the passage is particularly difficult, measure by measure. Consider:
   1. Fingering
   2. The required movement to realize your artistic impression: slur gestures, arm weight, rotation, and so on.
   3. Dynamics
   4. Balance
   5. Flow
9. Record yourself. Many students find this uncomfortable. I say fight the resistance. The feedback one gets from hearing immediately your progress or lack thereof, will save you years of wasted effort. Step one above helps prepare us to evaluate our playing.
10. Take breaks. My attention span is short, yours is likely to be short too. So, prepare a number of activities when practicing.
    1. Practice the scales and chords required for your piece.
    2. Listen some more to the recordings.
    3. Jump back in.

If I can help, call me.
 
David

Playing the piano well is not easy, but it is possible with time, effort, and focus. Click on the photo to enjoy the whole story. 

​David

After the demonstration, I break it down. So....hang in there.

​David