5 Essential Songs to Learn on the Piano

You want to learn a new song on the Piano but your stuck. You can't think of a song you want to learn. I've put together a list of 5 essential songs on the piano that all players should learn at some point. So if you're stuck for something to learn why not consider one of these.

I've chosen three songs for beginners and two for more intermediate players so players of all skill levels can find something here.

Hey Jude

Most of us have heard this classic Beatles song. Opening with straight forward piano chords it's one of the best pop songs ever written on the instrument. While the song may sound complex it's really not that difficult for beginners who know a few songs already to pick up. Once you know the chords figuring out the pattern isn't that tough.

Don't Stop Believing

Some people view this song as cheesy, personally I like it. This pop stadium rock song was probably the band Journey's biggest hit. It's been covered by many bands, including the hit TV show Glee and also used as the outro for the final episode of the HBO TV series, The Soprano's. The intro is great fun to play and if you can carry a tune while you're playing piano this is a fun one to sing as well.

November Rain

Probably not an easy song for beginners to learn but Guns N Roses November Rain was and still is a huge hit for the band and main piano player Axl Rose. It's a beautiful piano part during the verses and it continues through out the song. You can find versions of this song to play it in a stripped down piano only version online.

Let it Be

Another great Beatles tune, Let it Be is a staple for all beginners. Like Hey Jude this song may sound more difficult to play then it actually is. The chords are pretty straight forward and there aren't too many difficult parts beyond that. You can find the basic piano chords online and then listen to the song a couple of times to pick the progression out by ear.

Bohemian Rhapsody

When you think of this song you might not think of it as a piano tune, how ever watch a live performance of this song and you'll see Eddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, playing the piano through a good portion of the song. There are versions online you can find which create some simple piano parts to play during the more complex electric guitar parts of the song.

This is another great song to sing and play if you are able to do it.

Increase Vocal Range - Good Range is Good Variety

Do you have a good singing voice but feel it perhaps lacks a little strength? There are many ways in which you can increase vocal range, in methods that have been practiced for years.

Many people believe a good singer is one that belts or screams their songs, whilst some of this may be true it is never good to literally belt out your words. This kind of terminology can imply that a singer needs to force or pressure their voice to impress their audience when in fact it takes a number of techniques and methods to master it. By following the following methods you will be using healthy methods to improve your voice rather than using destructive ones.

Centuries ago performers used healthy techniques to advance their voice that included no methods of amplification, as it did not exist at the time. Whilst people today can sometimes mask a bad voice with a good sound engineer, using the best techniques in the first place will save your blushes.

If you want to perform you should refrain from screaming or using poor techniques, as you will damage your vocal chords causing an even shorter-lived career then a person who practices good methods. Whilst some people are born with a naturally strong and hearty voice, it is only a select minority. Most people will take months, and even years to increase vocal range and create a powerful voice that will wow the crowds.

Powerful voices are created through a use of certain techniques, these include: Correct Breath Control, Good Posture, Healthy Vocal Techniques and Practice! By combining these elements you will develop your vocal mechanism in a healthy manner and improve your overall vocal range.

If you go to the gym you warm up before exerting major muscle exertion. The same goes for your vocal chords, as they like your body, are a muscle. If you don't warm up you could effectively strain your chords, damaging your voice and your overall performance.

Try to keep relaxed so your muscles don't constrict and inhibit your performance. You need to fully use your diaphragm so you can get as much air in as possible to fuel your performance. The best way to sound powerful is to project your voice as much as possible. By singing forward and imagining your notes almost bouncing off the wall back at you you will be projecting your voice to hit this target and thus increasing vocal range.

If you feel that your rehearsal performance is often better than the final thing then try to cut back slightly. Use a different lighter technique that doesn't exert your voice so much so you still have plenty to give on the day.

Try to learn songs that suit your vocal range and perhaps experiment with different things to see whether something edgier or softer might suit you while you try and increase vocal range. Remember whatever songs you take on always remember to repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition is key in learning your songs to the core and in turn allowing you to really know when you should sing louder, softer, slower etc.

Learn Rockabilly Guitar Lessons

For those who were born after the 1950's, rockabilly is the famous and earliest style of rock 'n roll. With a mixture of hillbilly or country music, rockabilly has been the favorite especially of Southern people in the US. Rockabilly is considered to be a result of mixing jazz, rhythm and blues music. Today, the genre is still very much appreciated by musicians especially those who love to learn more about the different rock 'n roll styles.

Rockabilly may be a pretty old type of genre to be played in the music scene today but a lot of musicians are now trying to recycle music. From mixing the old school and the new school styles, musicians start to create innovations in music and how it is perceived by the listeners. If you are a music lover or would love to create your own music, learning how to play rockabilly in guitar would surely help you in astounding your audience through your unique way of playing. If playing the guitar has been your thing but would still want to discover if there is something in more you can do with that knowledge then learning rockabilly in guitar would be a great deal. In fact, there are a lot of videos uploaded on YouTube and some other sites that provides rockabilly guitar lessons. You can also find websites that specializes in teaching musicians or even regular students how to play rockabilly. Free video tutorials by Paul Pigat and Pete Turland (also known as the "Pigland") would surely help you in your rockabilly adventure.

Learning rockabilly may seem to be for the old-fashioned. But to tell you, rockabilly guitar lessons would surely help you exercise your fingers so you can take the other genres as easy-plays only. Anyway, rockabilly just sings for fun and relaxation. Not too heavy for the ears, not too heavy for your hands to play. There are a lot of tutorials to choose from and all you need to have is patience and discipline for you to perfect the skill. Pick your tutor, listen to your most favorite rockabilly guitarist and you're off to go and discover what was in during the 1950's.

Vocal Training Exercises

Soon after the 'preliminary' stages of the basic exercises, you'll shortly begin your vocal training exercises based on the needs of the material you're going to perform. Analyze the pieces or song that you're performing, and identify what are the skills which are necessary to perform it.

If you are practicing a piece that will need you to reach the extremes of your vocal range, you will definitely choose exercises that are designed specifically for that. You will need to perform flexibility techniques when the song has a lot of very quick runs or trills in it. For songs with many different notes needed to be sustained, you may want to work on air support as well as control. This article will suggest vocal training exercise for various functions.

Vocal Training Exercises for Low Range

For you alto and bass vocalists, the following are exercises for you. Regardless if you are a soprano or tenor, these exercises can be useful to you if you are performing a part that is lower than your usual range.

Descending octave slides. Start on a pitch close to the middle of your range. It ought to be comfortable for you. Using the lip bubbles ("bzz" or "brr"), slide down a scale one octave from the starting pitch, moving down by half steps. Try repeating this using some other vowel sounds or syllables such as "oo", "ah", "vee" or " voh".

Fifth slide. Once again, making use of lip bubbles or the syllable "vaw", start on a comfortable pitch and go down a fifth (so - do), moving down in half-steps. Then include a third tone, move back up to the starting pitch (so-do-so). Bear in mind, move down in half-steps. Finally, do it reverse (do-so-do)

Vocal Training Exercises for High Range

These workouts are very helpful for you sopranos and tenors, but altos and basses who need to work on their high range will find these useful too.

Up and down arpeggios. This is an easy broken chord going up and down: do-mi-so-do-so-mi-do. Move upward by half-steps with each subsequent repeat, using the lip bubbles or a vowel sound or syllable of your choice.

Upward arpeggio and downward octave with turn. This is a little bit more complicated version of the previous exercise. Vocalize the arpeggio upwards (do-mi-so-do), then do a turn (ti-do-re), then the 8-tone descending octave scale from do to do. Use those vowel sounds; do some on "ee", some on "oo", and some on "ah". Begin each different arpeggios a half-step higher then the last one, as displayed in the pattern below.

ee-----------------------------------------

oo----------------------------------------- etc.

Upward arpeggio with repeated high note.One other version of the arpeggio is very helpful with keeping a light tone on those high notes. With the syllable "ha", vocalize the upward arpeggio (do-mi-so-do) and then repeat the high do, staccato, five or six times. Look at the pattern down here.

Vocal Training Exercises for Flexibility

Ascending triplet scale. This particular exercise is quite complex to explain but its easy if you read the following notes below. Using the solfege syllables (do, re, mi, etc.), vocalize an eighth-note triplet upward beginning o n each syllable. Once you reach the top of the scale, go backwards and vocalize each triplet downwards. Sing the exercise as fast as you can.

do re mi fa so la ti do ti la so fa mi re do

Ascending and descending thirds. This is another one that is easier to sing than to explain. Beginning on the base note, go up a third, down a whole step, up another third, etc. until you reach the fifth tone, then reverse back and go back down a third, up a half step, down a third, up a whole step, etc. Again, try to sing it as fast as you can.

Rapid repeated up and down five note scale. This one is straightforward-just go up and down a five tone scale (do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do) and repeat.

Vocal Training Exercises for Breath Support and Control

Buzz-slides. The buzz is one of the best exercises for breath support. Start on a mid-range tone and slide down a fifth-so-do. Repeat several times, moving down by half-steps. Then buzz the descending triad-so-mi-do--sliding between tones. Again repeat several times, moving down by half-steps. Finally, buzz a five\-tone descending scale-so-fa-mi-re-do.

Messa di voce. For this exercise, sing a comfortable mid-range pitch on "ah". Sustaining the note, begin very softly and get gradually louder, then softer again.

Winning A Girl's Heart Through Online Acoustic Guitar Lessons

No matter how busy you are right now, I know you often explore the net to get some ideas about what's in and what's outdated in the world today. I bet you've arrived on this page because you need some help with regards to playing guitar. And I guess you are a regular guy who wants to impress the girl of your dream by means of showing your talent to her. Let's admit it. Girls always love guys with cool talents most especially in singing. If you think playing guitar is an old passion, you're definitely wrong. Having a talent in playing this instrument is a plus point to the girl that you are courting.

Have you ever heard about serenade? Well, serenading is one of the most effective ways to win a girl's heart. Serenading is often used in Asian countries since then. Influenced by rich tradition, there are still guys who used this type of strategy when courting a girl. You have two options when serenading a girl. The first one would be to hire a guitarist who will therefore play the guitar while you are singing. The other one would be to play your own guitar while singing. My advice would be to choose the option number 2. You know, it's not just enough to sing in front of the girl that you are courting. But what's more romantic is to show him how talented you are in playing guitar.

Why it is advisable to take guitar lessons online?

Learning guitar today is easier than ever. It's because online acoustic guitar lessons are now available. In comparison with learning guitar on music schools, you can save your money when taking guitar lessons online. On the first place, you don't need to travel from home to the music school. With the existence of the internet, getting an access to online guitar tutorials is easier. All you need is to sit down in front of your computer and take the lesson face to face with the master guitarist. Just imagine how much money and effort you will save when doing such thing. The typical cost of guitar lesson today ranges from $70-$100 per session. On the other hand, the online guitar lesson costs about $200 in just a single payment. Have you spotted the difference? It's almost half.

Other benefits:

But one thing that makes online acoustic guitar lessons so great is that you can go back to the past lessons as you wish. In this way you will have the opportunity to master everything. There are also audio and video tutorials that will explain to you how easy it is to play such musical instrument.

What you need to do now is to search for the best guitar guide on the internet. Be warned though because not all of them are created equally. Some are confusing lessons made by amateurs. You can check out some reviews to get the ideal guide you're looking for.

So are you ready to show off your talent and impress your soon-to-be girlfriend? Take guitar lessons online. There's no other way. Wish you the best of luck and I hope this article will serve as a simple guide.

Hiring a Singing Coaching Professional

Choosing a vocal coach is a huge decision but it doesn't have to be an intimidating task. Essentially, you are in control, they are working for you to help you become a better singer so do not take your decision lightly. Also, don't even think about hiring the first person that you interview either.

You should be able to evaluate the individual's credentials and experience prior to even inviting them for an interview by reading about them online if they have a website or a bio. Never hesitate to ask for and call personal references either. Any quality coach will be happy to furnish you with such information upon request.

It is also important that you don't judge a book by its cover either. Just because someone is a remarkable singer does not mean that they have skills to guide and teach you. Additionally, some of the best vocal coaches are not singers themselves but they have a very well trained ear and know how to help you achieve your goals.

When you are going through the interview process, give special consideration to those who you just naturally feel relaxed and comfortable around. This is very important because if you feel nervous or tense around someone, you are less likely to allow yourself to sound bad while you are learning. You may be less likely to take as many risks and this will make a huge difference in your personal growth.

Also, be sure to not just go into the interview blindly either. Have a clear list of questions that are inspired by your goals and expectations and be sure to take notes. Ask them to evaluate your voice and examine how they critique you. A quality coach is not just going to say nice things to you in hopes of getting hired however, criticism should be offered in a polite way that you are comfortable with. They should be also able to tell you what methods they would personally use to improve your voice and how long it should take to achieve your goals.

Singing coaching professionals can be really helpful however, it is also recommended to use some type of singing software program to practice with on your own. These are designed to significantly improve your progress a little faster.

Effective Ways to Learn the Piano Notes

There are many effective ways to learn the piano notes.

The tune of Auld Lang Syne is one of the most popular songs for novice piano learners. Because of the simplicity of the notes, this is what piano instructors usually let beginners practice. True to common belief, learning to play the piano is a difficult task to accomplish. But with constant practice, you should master the basics in a short period of time.

Of course, if you want to learn how to play this classic instrument, you must get your very own piano. Learning this skill will require long hours of practice, which will be impossible to do if you do not have your own device. This is not one of those skills that you can learn by playing mentally or by playing by ear. You have to be hands on in your learning the basics of piano so you will develop the senses needed to be more effective.

Once you have your own piano, learn the basic keys by doing what you see online and actually doing it on your own piano. After this, you will have to learn how to read the Grand Staff. Chord lessons should be quite easy if you have mastered how to recognize the notes.

One way of mastering the notes is to keep a visual picture of the piano keys and notes. You can also devise your own tricks so you will not be stressed out of your mind by memorizing the notes alone. The famous "Every Good Band Deserves Fame" is the most used phrase for E, G, B, D, and F for the notes on the treble clef. The base clef notes F, A, C, and E as you can see, does not need a phrase at all.

The earlier you learn to read piano notes, the smoother your learning will be. You can even brush up on your music lessons before starting your piano courses so you will not be overwhelmed with the information that are bound to encounter.

Once you do learn the basics, always remember to practice, practice, and practice. As they all say, practice makes perfect. Enjoy the experience and the hardship that you will encounter to reach your goal. Because in the end, no matter the long hours and sore fingers, the beautiful music you will make will be so worth it.