David Story, Online Piano Lessons from Toronto
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Tips, free lessons, and inspiration

When the going gets tough

4/26/2022

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Some days and weeks are going to be difficult. Life will get in the way. Here are some suggestions I gave one adult beginner to help relieve his practice room blues. 

  1. Start on a high note by playing pieces you know. Reviewing old favorites is good for the soul.
  2. Next play your assigned scales five times each.
  3. Review your assigned chords five times each.
  4. Mess around on your DAW.
  5. Work on 4 measures of your new piece. Clap the rhythm while counting aloud, then play hands separately, then hands together. Record yourself, listen back. Repeat as needed. Stick with it until the short section of music is completed and secure. Remember to start slowly.
  6. Finish with a favorite piece. 

If I can help you, call me. 

David

Revised August 2022

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How to spend one hour practicing the piano.

4/21/2022

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One of my adult students was asking tonight for some help planning his practice time. He is preparing for his Grade 8 piano exam. He is an engineer, a spreadsheet kind of guy. I'm sympathetic. Here is what we discussed. 
 
Warmup with sight reading. Use a metronome! Get into the zone.
 
Now start practicing
 
Technique with a 2-minute timer. Switch activities every 2 minutes = 15 minutes
  • 1 scale
  • 1 tonic chord played solid and broken
  • V7 chord solid and broken
  • I and V7 arpeggio

Practice one short section to perfection =15 minutes

Theory =10 minutes

Ear Training = 10 minutes

Review completed piece or pieces 10 minutes 

BOOM! one hour of accomplishment

This may work for you. 
​
David

Revised August 2022
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​Practice Tip: My process of xylophone practice

4/19/2022

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Please excuse this short story in which I’m the hero.

I’m learning to play the jazz xylophone. I started at Christmas 2021. I practice every day with my 100-year-old textbook, a stack of tunes that I want to learn, my video recorder and oodles of desire. Here is the process I usually follow.
  1. I have all my materials ready at hand.
  2. I decide on the goal of today’s practice. The goal is rarely more than a single minute of music. In other words, I don’t try to practice everything.
  3. I start the video recorder.
  4. I start slow and work out the stickings.
  5. I experiment with the stickings, dynamics, phrasing, licks, rolls etc.
  6. I slowly speed up the repetitions.
  7. I try out another set of approaches.
  8. I occasionally bang the sticks in frustration.
  9. I keep at it until I’ve got something I’m proud to post online.
  10. I’m done for the day.

The video below is an unedited version. Notice it took just a brief period of time to accomplish something because I didn’t try to do everything at once.
 
David
Revised August 2022
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Wednesday, another day, another diverse set of pieces.

4/13/2022

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​Another day in the teaching studio and another diverse set of pieces. Someone stated that an average piano teacher teaches 600+ titles a year. I believe it. 
​
  1. Big My Secret from "The Piano" by Nyman. This was a dark moody start on a grey day. 
  2. Glasgow Love theme by Armstrong
  3. Sonata in G K283 by Mozart
  4. October by Tchaikovsky
  5. Sonata in A Major K 209 by Scarlatti 
  6. Decadent Sentimental Song by Manzano

​Up next: Music rehearsal with my friends, the pianist Jim Finlayson and bassist Rory Slater. I'll be drumming. We've been meeting every 2 weeks for years. It is always a highlight of my week playing tunes from the "Great American Songbook". Lots of Porter, Corea, Hancock, and Ellington.

​Back to class


      7. Prelude in Db by Glière 
      8. Fantasia in D minor K397 by Mozart
      9. Pumpkin boogie by Faber
      10. Sonatina in C by Faber
       11. Drum rudimental warmups
       12. Never Going To Give You Up by Rick Ashley
       13. Theory class RCM 8 and Band Lab DAW

Now to the drummers

      14. Video game music
      15. 3/4 Scottish snare drum solo
      16. Free Fallin' by Tom Petty
      17. Rollin' in the deep by Adele
      18. Superstition by Stevie Wonder

Revised August 2022
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A typical Tuesday in my studio

4/12/2022

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Another day of teaching piano and drum set comes to an end. Here is today’s student repertoire.
​
Marching by Kabalevsky
Skating Waltz by Berlin
Love Me Tender by Elvis
Claire de Lune by Debussy
Les Baricades Misterieuses by Couperin
Chitlin’s Con Carne by Burrell
Etudes by Scriabin
Prelude and Fugue in Bb by Bach
Clementi Etude in E by Clementi
Serenade by Haberbier
Cancion by Mompou
Cottontail by Ellington
Kamado Tanjiro no Uta by Shiina and Ufotable
Watermelon Man by Hancock
Haunted mouse by Faber and Faber
Forest Drums by Faber and Faber
Dinah by Fats Waller
Never Going to Give you up by Ashley
Street of Dreams by Ella
Scottish ¾ March
It’s Only A Paper Moon by Nat King Cole
Meditation by Jobim
Night train by Forrest

​
Time for a beer. 

Revised August 2022

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​Summertime in 5 Keys: Jazz Piano Basics

4/9/2022

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Playing in different keys is an invaluable skill. You will learn to visualize musical shapes, key signatures, and hear rhythm in new ways. Try playing just the melody in the following keys with the recordings. Modify your note and rhythm choices to fit in the best you can. 

  1. D minor: Preservation Hall Jazz Band https://youtu.be/6KJ7ZKXRNGk
  2. B minor: Ella and Louis https://youtu.be/LDF4_qVgbFU
  3. Bb minor: Nora Jones https://youtu.be/xJOtaWyEzaI and Billy Holiday https://youtu.be/uYUqbnk7tCY
  4. A minor: Student key
  5. Eb minor: Learning key, as notes but one on the black keys.
 
The assignment is to play and mimic the melody with the recordings. You will learn jazz rhythm, jazz articulations and phrasing all by ear. 

Have fun. 

​David
Revised August 2022
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Three types of Fun

4/7/2022

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​Level 1: Fun is guaranteed in level 1 by just showing up and playing. Playing in a community concert band or at the family Christmas party would be an example. On the lesson front, level 1 is leisurely and steady.  

Level 2: You are going to perspire. Lessons will be intense. You may be getting ready to audition to play in a high-level community group. Or you may be preparing for an exam. Regardless, the musical standards are high. Daily deliberate practice of an hour or more will be required. Success is a near certainty given enough grit and time. 

Level 3 is going to hurt, tears will be shed. But you are all in. Your daily focus is piano. You dream of Carnegie Hall. You have multiple lines of attack. You put yourself out there. You are preparing to be an Olympian. Many dream, few make it. But this doesn't deter you. Large amount of time and money will be spent. Results not guaranteed. 

Athletic parallels
Level 1: Weekend running group. 
Level 2: Marathon preparation. It's going to hurt, but you will live to tell the tale. 
Level 3: Extreme endurance running. You might die.

Let me know where you stand. 

David
Revised August 2022
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    You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.
    Charlie Parker

    Author

    I'm a professional pianist and music educator in West Toronto Ontario. I'm also a devoted percussionist and drum teacher. 

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                                                ©2022 David Story
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Adult Lessons
  • Jazz Workshop #12 June 4, 2023
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • Children's Spring Concert 2023
  • My Story
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute
  • Books, Apps, Websites, Music
  • Ear Training and Sight Singing Resources