It's that time of the year. Have fun!

1. Jingle Bells 3 hand piano duet with free downloadable score. 
2. Jingle Bells boogie woogie for solo piano with free downloadable score.
3. Silent Night 3 hand piano duet with free downloadable score. 

My scores do not require registration. 
​
​David

This was discussed yesterday in class with a student who is a bass playing retiree. He is not a beginner. I'm his jazz teacher. We compared notes on what to practice by comparing what he is currently doing with my suggestions. He started us off.  

Student:
Jazz Practice session

• I warm up with a slow blues. Rufus Reid says it must groove. I practice in different keys. (I responded, "how do you if it grooves?")
• I follow your suggestion and learn a Blues head by ear. And then I use a lick from the melody as the basis for a solo.  
• I review a standard and work on the solo. I use iReal pro for accompaniment. (I responded, "can you do this from memory?")
• I practice Jazz melodic patterns on ii V I. 
• I then do more transcription for about 10 minutes. of random YouTube pieces.  (I suggested you have a list of the most played jazz tunes for beginners and start there. 10 jazz standards for beginners - Search (bing.com))
• I practice, in total, 45 minutes. 
• I'm not currently playing with others.

Teacher: 
Music practice suggestions. 

• Find someone to play with. Accountability partners (i.e. bandmates) really help us move forward. For more information, check this out: The buddy boost: how ‘accountability partners’ make you healthy, happy and more successful | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian
• Record yourself and listen back ASAP. (After band practice I edit the recordings and listen back. The next morning, on my walk, I listen again.)
• Instrumental development. Technique, etudes, and classical bass repertoire. Please revisit this part of your practice regime. (I spend a great deal of time dealing with this on my second instrument, the drum set.)
• ​Research the historical development of your instrument in jazz. Who are the most influential bassists? Start transcribing. 
• Start memorizing tunes from the list above. Do a deep dive: learn the articulations and phrasing of the melody. Mark these discoveries in the score. Transcribe the bass line played under the melody and practice it to the point where you can play along. 

If I can help you, please call me. 

- David Story, Online Piano Lessons from Toronto

Learning to count rhythm is a primary skill in music reading. It will involve counting aloud, clapping hands, playing with a metronome and more. Below are examples of my preparations and practice strategies for a recent concert with the Metropolitan Silver Band in Toronto where I'm the drummer. 

As you can see, even trained musicians count and mark things up. 

​David

1. This chart helps to explain why taking notes is so important at a lesson. Don't just rely on the teacher's notes. Writing notes will help you to remember the class with more clarity. 
2. This chart explains why the best time to practice is immediately after the lesson. 
3. This chart explains why spaced repetition is so important.  We forget most things we've learned if we don't heed the science of forgetting. 
4. This chart demonstrates that we forget two-thirds of what we practiced the day before. 
5. The chart should give you comfort that you are a normal learner. 
6. The Harvard paper below offers some concrete helpful information on memorisation. 

If I can help you, call me. 

​David

References: 

Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve | PLOS ONE

How Memory Works | Derek Bok Center, Harvard University

I teach many retired professionals. Some are lapsed musicians; others are just starting out their piano journey. All of them are keen. To help out, I've taken notes of some of the characteristics of my successful students.

1. The wisest students start lessons before retirement. A short story. I'm a few years from retirement myself. Like you, I have all kinds of dreams of how I will spend it. However, someone wiser than me told me to try out those dreams before retirement because you may find some dreams will not live up to my expectations. So, I have. And they were correct some dreams weren't fun at all. Or worse, the time to safely pursue them was in the rear-view mirror. Consequently, I've abandoned quite a few dreams. I've just two big dreams left: drumming and to continue working on an online Humanities degree. The rest of my time will be spent exercising, enjoying time with my wife, teaching part-time, and hanging out with friends. So, dabble in a few of those dreams and test them out.
2. Successful students make time to practice. In my experience, the first year of retirement is typically spent in a frantic frenzy of travel competing with a bucket list of hobbies. This is not a suitable time to start piano lessons. The second year of retirement is the time to call. 
3. Successful students temper their expectations. Yes, you can learn to play beautifully. With dedication that will happen quickly. With years of devoted practicing, you will be able to play beautifully more complicated pieces. Think like a martial arts student. White belts come first, not black belts. 
4. Successful students believe and trust the process. There are no secrets to learning the piano, the curriculum was set years ago. Another short story. In my 40s I took up classical piano and earned my Grade 10 and ARCT diploma. For the first time in my life, I did exactly what the teachers recommended and executed it in the way they asked. The results were magnificent. They will be for you too. 
5. Successful students learn music outside of class. They frequently sightread tunes that appeal to them. They dive right in.
6. Successful students attend concerts of the music they want to learn. Today, my wife and I will be attending a concert given by Sir András Schiff. The hall will be full of pianists and piano students of all ages who after the concert we'll be all inspired to rush home and start practicing. You can count on it. 

​
If I can help you with your dream of playing the piano, call me.

David   

Tips for playing piano beautifully.
 
Concert artists have dedicated years learning to play the piano beautifully. They have studied and mastered all the elements of their craft: repertoire, technique, aural skills, sightreading, performance practice, historical awareness, idiomatic knowledge, and more. However, they all had to start somewhere. So here is a starting point for beginners and intermediate pianists looking to elevate their interpretive skills.

1. Playing the score accurately is the obvious first step.
2. Observe the dynamic markings from your first reading of the work.
3. Where the melody rises in pitch, play a gentle crescendo.
4. Where the melody falls play in pitch, a gentle diminuendo.
5. Locate any tempo changes.
6. Take a breath at a repeat sign.
7. Generally, the last note under a slur is played softer, unless the score indicates otherwise.
8. Practice with a metronome with pieces that are based on dances like minuets, gigue etc. Many contemporary pieces written in the last few decades work as well with metronome practice. However, most Romantic era music does not. Therefore, this excludes most of Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy.
9. Translate directly into the score any text you find in languages you don’t understand. These terms will always tell you how to play the piece.
10. Most of these points can be overridden by markings in the score. 

 
This is a starting point for expressive playing. To develop a more sophisticated understanding one must transcribe the performance practice of professionals from different eras performing your pieces and compare the results. For example, when comparing performances of the first 8 measures of Scarlatti’s Sonata in E K380 over decades of recordings you will discover the diverse ways the musicians interpret the trills.  Most start above the principle note, but not everyone. The intensity, tempi, and dynamics vary as well.
If I can help you further, call me.
 
David