If you can hear it, you'll play it sooner. Here is how I practice the piano on an ideal day.

• I warm up my muscles with gentle stretching.
• I decide what I'm going to accomplish today. It is usually just a couple of things.
• I'll listen to a recording of the piece first. You may be thinking why does a professional musician need to listen first, can't he just sight read it? Yes, I usually can. But, when I listen first, I start with an artistic impression. From this the question becomes, "how to I get the sound in my head out of these black dots on the page?"
• Boom, sight-reading, I mean learning, is now much easier. The piece is "learned" quickly and efficiently. I can now enjoy "playing" the piece. One danger students succumb to through inefficient practice methods is that they become bored of the piece long before they learn it.

Enjoy the video above, some helpful help from a master musician.
 
Cheers,

 David Story

Why not call me? You'll have fun, learn lots about music, the piano, and yourself.

Some great reasons to make 2017 the "Year of the Piano"

1. Joy, as in the joy of making music with your own hands.
2. Fun, playing duets with friends is a blast.
3. Challenge, to play well is not easy, but it is possible.
4. Bucketlist, one more check.
5. Health, get the brain active and firing on all cylindars. Apparently music helps.
6. Piano lessons have changed since you were a kid. Students here have tried their hands at these activities:

• Composing
• Boogie woogie
• Playied Bach
• Played Chopin
• Adult recitials
• Piano exams
• Music holidays to Cuba
• Played John Legend
• Played Beethoven
• Played Duke Ellington
• Jazz improvisation
• Attended Jazz camp in Kentucky
• Prepared for university entrance auditions at age 60+. (she's in!)
• Played New age music
• Played Ragtime
• Classical improvisation in Mozart
• Jamming in the community
• Learned to play music with their kids
• Accompanied their children in piano rectals
• Played with a drummer and bassist
• Learned to Rock out!

​
Cheers,

David Story

All accomplished musicians who improvise play what they hear in their heads. Let's unpack this statement.

1. They hear something in their heads.
2. They can execute rapidly in real time.

Let's break it down further.

"They hear something in their heads." A developing musician must listen to the musical style they wish to improvise in: Jazz, Rock, Classical, whatever. How much listening? A lot. Last year at the Jazz Education Network convention in Louisville Kentucky there were several interesting young musicians in attendance. One, a young bassist, walked around with his ear buds in all day long. Complete immersion. With immersion, the knowledge students are acquiring in theory class starts to make sense. Theory is only helpful if you can hear it in the playing of others. Until you can, it likely won't make much sense to you. Or, will it be helpful in your playing. (An effective way to help your understanding grow is to transcribe music. Check out the video below for more information.)

"They can execute rapidly in real time." Learn to play your darn instrument. Learn how to practice. Then practice, as much as you can, alone and with others.

​Cheers,
​​
David

​Taking up the piano after 50.
Why the heck not? Here are some of the fears I've heard over the years.

1. "I can't learn anything new at my age"
2. "I won't live long enough to get good"
3. "I don't have a piano?"
4. "I had a bad experience with a teacher in my childhood."
5. "Piano lessons are boring, all the practicing and scales and stuff. I'd just hate it."
6. "I don't love Bach"
7. "Piano teachers are boring"
8. "Practicing is no fun"
9. "I don't want to go out to lessons on a cold night"
10. "My spouse would just laugh at me"

 
Let's break it down.

​You are an adult, these are excuses. I have adults aged 18 to 78. All of them are improving, reaching their goals, and having a blast.

The successful ones recognize that patience and goals that are congruent with time and available resources will works. The unsuccessful students are impatient, failing to recognize the importance of clear goals and practice time. Happy students understand that practice is the point. They enjoy watching and measuring the incremental progress that thoughtful practice reveals. 

"I can't learn anything new at my age" Of course you can, if you want to. Learning an instrument is a journey of exploration and discovery. Be in the here and now. Don't focus on the goal, just dive in and see what happens. I've taught adults for many many years. The successful ones just got busy and waited to see what became of their efforts.

"I won't live long enough to get good" What do you mean by good? As good as Lang Lang, Oscar Peterson? You are probably right. If you work at it can you get better than you ever imagined. You bet. Can you take satisfaction in that? Of course.

"I don't have a piano?" If you can afford lessons, you can afford to rent a portable electric piano. They are cheap.

"I had a bad experience with a teacher in my childhood." I'm sorry to hear that. But, times have changed and so has piano teaching. My students played pop music, video game music, classical music, jazz music, boogie woogie, and country flavored Christmas music.

"Piano lessons are boring, all the practicing and scales and stuff. I'd just hate it."  I'll be honest, maybe music lessons are not right for you. Playing a musical instrument is about practicing. Ask any professional. We thrive on incremental improvements and discoveries. As Wayne Gretzky said, "I enjoyed every aspect of the game". No boring bits for him.

"I don't love Bach" Then don't play Bach. Play something you like. As you grow as a musician you may find that those acknowledged masters of music had something to them. Playing Bach is like taking a walk through the Vatican galleries. Each visit impresses us with the depth of it's grandeur as we discover new things.

"Piano teachers are boring" Some of us are fun. But, all the good ones will push you to be your best. Life is too short not to push yourself to reach beyond your grasp.

"Practicing is no fun" Then you are going about it all wrong. Learning to practice properly is thrilling in every way. I'm cranky when I must stop practicing.

"I don't want to go out to lessons on a cold night" I'll teach you on Skype. It really works. I've students all over Canada and the USA. Including in the GTA.

​"My spouse would just laugh at me" Couples therapy. Or, just get a set of headphones for that electric piano you rented and leave them out of it.
 
Cheers,
David Story

What does fitness level have to do with music study?

Answer:

1. Fitness affects mood, mood affects desire, resilient desire compels and sustains years of happy effort. Who feels like practicing if you feel lumpy and lethargic? Not me. Pump up the endorphins through a healthy cardio workout and presto, you’ll feel like practicing.
2. Strong healthy bodies can take the stress of daily life with less wear and tear. Musicians are athletes. Strong bodies reduce the chance of injury. For more info see my other blog the aging musician.

Disclaimer: Go to the doctor first and see if you are fit enough for exercise without endangering life and limb. Your family needs you alive. Second, seek professional fitness advice. Third, it took years to get into the shape you are today. It will take time to get back in shape. Rush and you’ll injure yourself. Injure yourself, and presto back on the couch with the Doritos and Netflix.

Check out this abstract: "...The research suggests that physical fitness training leads to improved mood, self-concept, and work behavior; the evidence is less clear as to its effects on cognitive functioning, although it does appear to bolster cognitive performance during and after physical stress. Except for self-concept, personality traits are not affected by improvements in physical fitness..."
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/36/4/373/

Sounds good to me. See you at the gym.

​David Story