Category: Learning Piano

Photo by Zach Lezniewicz

I am so pleased with how far I have come in these past three months. This had to have been one of my favourite assignments throughout the semester, it really showed me how hard work and perseverance pays off! I have rekindled my the ability to read music and my hands have found their way around a keyboard again! I did mention several times that I hoped to sing along with my last video upload but unfortunately this song does not compliment my voice at all and listening to the piano itself is much more appealing in this case! I decided to upload 2 recordings, in one I was able to play on a grand piano and the other piece is on my keyboard at home. I had such a difficult making the adjustment to the piano because the keys were much heavier compared to my keyboard. I also noticed a huge difference in sound, if I pushed down too hard the sound was extremely loud on the piano. Since my keyboard has a volume control it is very difficult to get the different dynamic sounds throughout the piece, sometimes if I don’t hit a key in the right way it doesn’t even produce a sound! The only dynamics this piece had was a volume change from mp to mf and some staccatos  in the beginning chords which I tried to emphasize on! I am definitely going to continue playing to keep improving and I am really excited to translate this into my classroom one day!

Photo by Dayne Topkin

I’ve heard from a few people that often popular songs never quite sound the same as the original after being translated into different forms of sheet music available to the public. Although the sheet music I have gives credit to the original artist I know that it is not the original version of “All of Me” by John Legend. I chose this one in particular because it was not as complex as some of the other sheet music I found for this same song, I figured the more simplistic version would best suit my skillset. Some parts of the song did not sound right to me so I used my hearing to adjust only a couple parts to make the music flow better.  As of now I think I have made immense progress considering I have not played piano in about 13 years and I have definitely surprised myself in terms of how far I have come since the beginning of the semester. Practicing often for short periods of time has really paid off. In certain parts of the song I don’t even need sheet music to read because my fingers are trained to move in that rhythm.

Photo by Soundtrap

I really did want to sing during my final video but I think because of the key this version of the song iswritten in I am unable to sing adequately along to it. The song is very low and I would consider myself being more soprano than alto, so no promises yet for the final video! If the song were different I would definitely be posting a video of me singing along to it. I spoke in my last blog about how singing and playing music at the same time was difficult, that is no longer the case for me. I am able to sing along to my song without messing up the timing of my piano playing which is what my biggest challenge was.  Ultimately as of this point I have reached the goal I set for myself of being able to sing and play the piano at the same time and I could not be more thrilled! I am very proud of my accomplishments as of now and feel on track to completing my goals for this assignment in the given time.

Photo by Lee Soo hyun

For my final assessment I have geared away from my original plan and chosen to play “All of Me” by John Legend. I found a great resource online that gave me access to sheet music of more popular songs. I chose this song specifically because the piano is the key instrument you hear throughout the whole piece and the tone, lyrics and melody of the song is complimented beautifully by this instrument. This is also a song I can not help but sing along to every time I hear it and I am really hoping to seamlessly play the piano and sing along. Speaking of that, it is a lot harder than I thought. Every time I go to sing I either end up off key, fall behind on the lyrics or completely mess up the melody/rhythm of what I am playing on the keyboard. I never realized that playing an instrument and singing could be such a difficult task. Also while learning this new song I noticed it is in the key signature of A flat, which means there are four notes I need to be aware of that are flat throughout the entire piece. I have been able to get the right hand successfully through the song with little to no trouble but once I try and put my left hand in there the speed is completely thrown off. I plan to continue practicing each day for just 10-15 minute intervals to really train my left hand to play up to the same speed and caliber as my right.

Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe

Something mentioned in my midterm evaluation was the depiction between the different dynamics, loud versus soft. I have found it extremely difficult to reflect those accurately using my keyboard, if you listen very closely you may be able to hear the slight differences but they are not very distinct. For my final piece, I am able to access a grand piano which I plan to play on instead to really emphasize and compliment the skills I have developed through this assignment!

I have to say overall I am quite happy with my musicianship growth assignment this far. Taking some time amongst all my academic subjects and focusing on playing the piano  has been a nice relief. Although I am still using my brain and it is a learning experience I find it a much more relaxing assignment and I thoroughly enjoy spending time doing it. Some weeks I have found it tricky to fit into my workload, but I usually manage to find at least 10 minutes on those busier days. I have appreciated that I am able to adjust the volume levels on my keyboard, that way I can always find time at night after everyone has gone to bed and my brain is fried of academic work to unwind with some music. With that said, I recently visited a friend whose home had a lovely piano and it became very obvious to me how much nicer it was to play than a keyboard. The quality of sound is the major difference, I feel that playing on a grand piano is a much more authentic and uplifting experience and I am disappointed we got rid of the one my home had. I had proposed in my template that I would be recording videos weekly of each song I chose to play. Although I have not followed through on that, I did post an initial video, then the one attached to this post and I will post the last one for my final assessment. I found a lot of the songs I was learning to be very repetitive and I moved through them quite quickly. Therefore the song I am sharing today is actually what I planned to perform as my final piece.  I have caught on to reading music and finger placement faster than I anticipated and the pieces I am finding the most difficult are the ones that have both hands playing simultaneously.

Sheet Music for “African Celebration”

For many units in my piano book the songs focused mostly on the treble clef, which honestly was very helpful for me just starting out again. My criteria is still as I proposed it, the only modification being a different song for my evaluations. I am changing my final piece to “All of Me” by John Legend and I hope to sing along with it! I am so thrilled that I could use this assignment to learn piano again, I could not be happier about where I stand in my development this far.

Photo by Marius Masalar

Over the last two weeks of working through my growth plan I have noticed that I am easily able to play a lot of these pieces, but I am penciling in some letters to remember the different notes. I am still struggling with properly playing the right amount of beats without playing some too fast or too slow. I have looked for apps that can act as a metronome and then I discovered if I google it there is one available to me there. I just recently found this and have incorporated it in to my playing and it has been very helping with keeping me on beat. I think I am doing quite well in regards to my growth plan and I am moving ahead much faster than I thought. The song for my midterm evaluation may be altered just because I want to have more of a challenge going forward. I have also been browsing around online for some more popular songs that I may end up switching to for my final evaluation. Ideally I would really love to sing and play along to a song for my final recording because when I initially thought about which instrument I wanted to play I chose piano knowing it’s a beautiful instrument to sing along with

Photo by Rachel Loughman

I have had a few moments of frustration with mixing up the notes, especially in the base clef. I was certain it was the right note and it did not make sense to me on why it wasn’t sounding right, but then I remember that FACE and EGBDF only applies to the treble clef so that cleared up a lot of my confusion! Again I am finding the music literacy sheets to be extremely helpful with teaching me the language of music. I am thrilled to be playing an instrument again and really enjoy the release of pressure I feel when I get to sit down at the keyboard and play.

This is the adult learners book I am using.

A few weeks back I began to rekindle my piano playing abilities and purchased myself a keyboard. I use to play when I was younger, almost 15 years ago and I am finally getting myself back into it. At first I thought I would be able to use a lot of my old sheet music but it was very child orientated, which meant extremely beginner based. When I did piano, theory was a big component that I would have to complete before going back to my next lesson. At the time it was something I never wanted to do, looking back now I am grateful because it has made reading music not as frustrating this time around. I have also found the different music lectures and worksheets to be helpful with reminding me of all the different components to look out for when reading sheet music. After the first week I found myself sticking to my growth plan quite well, although the first two units which I planned to do over a two week period were completed within the first week since they were very basic. A lot of the different songs I am playing are definitely beginner level and they are truly helping me concentrate on the fundamentals of playing piano again.  Occasionally I have been attempting to play along to more popular songs and easy piano tutorials from videos that I find online.  I struggle most with playing both hands at the same time unless the note movements are the same, but in more intricate songs that is not the case.  It is definitely a work in progress as I am trying to retrain my fingers positioning and movement.

Ode to Joy, the song I learned to play at the end of week one. See video below!