10 Improvement Tips & Bonus Audio Summaries

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Categorized | Piano

Posted on 20 August 2008 See Comments | Post Comment

Here’s a list of 10 improvement tips I put together that you can start implementing right away.

At the bottom of this post, you’ll find two audio files summarizing everything in depth too!

Practice Everyday

Learn theory and how chords and scales are built instead of just knowing them!

Find patterns to help you learn chords and how they change relations and roles in other keys.

Learn all major, natural minor, melodic minor, harmonic minor, blues, and pentatonic scales.

Take the scales and learn all major, minor, diminished, augmented, and seventh chords. Once you know your scales, you will find it quite easy to convert them into chords.

Practice speed (play exercises increasing in speed as you progress!)

When listening to songs, try figuring out the chord progressions in your head. Once you have an idea of how the song is played, start transferring your thoughts to the piano. It works!

Try to learn as many songs, standards, and hymns as possible (especially, if you’re a jazz or gospel musician). Jazz musicians should know as many jazz standards as possible. Gospel musicians must know as many hymnals because you never know when someone wants you to accompany them!

Exercise your gift - Show your gift off! Play at church, jazz clubs, festivals, gigs, and more!

Never think you know too much. In music, there is never “too much” to learn. Keep your mind and ears open to new techniques!

Here are two audio files summarizing the 10 tips. They come from an e-mail series I send out regularly to new students:

http://www.hearandplay.com/audio-message/10tips1
http://www.hearandplay.com/audio-message/10tips2