Resources


Online Piano Lessons

Music Reference

Books, Methods, Sheet Music

Groups, Organizations

Theory Lessons and Online Trainers



Online Piano Lessons

If you're looking for an introduction to chords and music theory, and want to learn how to accompany your own singing, head over to DoctorKeys.com Online Piano Lessons.

My piano blog has tips, insights, musings and other good stuff for players and teachers.


Theory Lessons and Online Trainers

MusicTheory.Net  -  Many lessons and lots of good trainers (software for drills). Clear step-by-step lessons on intervals, scales, chords, etc. If you want to teach yourself music theory, this is a great place to start.

Piano Keyfinder  -  A free computer program you can use online to practice your note reading. Fun to use, it keeps score so you can compete with yourself. This trainer, on the emusictheory.com site, has been a real boon to my students. Thanks, Rob Whelan!

Suggestions for using Piano Keyfinder: Set up the parameters on the left side so you're not overwhelmed by too many difficulties. You may find it helpful to use these mnemonics:
Every Good Boy Does Fine  -  (Treble clef lines from bottom up.)
FACE  -  (Treble clef spaces.)
Go Buy Dog Food, Al  -  (Bass clef lines--made that one up myself.)
All Cows Eat Grass  -  (Bass clef spaces.)

Teoria  -  This online music theory reference is comprehensive and easy to use. It has clear explanations and diagrams of intervals, scales, and chords.

Theory on the Web  -  Comprehensive, well-organized, and loaded with audio examples and visual aids. Among many other useful items, it has music manuscript paper you can print out.

A Passion for Jazz  -  D C DowDell's site has some excellent theory aids, like this chord and scale builder.


Music Reference

The Piano Education Page  -  This massive site is an indispensable resource. If you're looking for virtually anything related to the piano, P.E.P either has it or has a link to it. Hats off to John Zeigler who keeps this page going and growing.

Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary  -  This site actually speaks to you so you'll never again have to wonder how to pronounce those tricky Italian terms. (Most of the entries in this site are in English, though.) Quite comprehensive--I counted fifteen separate entries for the word "cadence" alone.

Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers  -  If you're looking for information on a classical composer, this is a good place to start. Each brief entry has numerous links to other sites which provide more in-depth coverage.


Books, Methods, Sheet Music

Adult Piano Adventures®  by Nancy and Randall Faber  -  "Enables the adult beginner to play music for pleasure while developing musical understanding. This book presents the fundamentals of music notation, chord playing, and musical form – all through engaging music chosen specifically for the adult."

I've been using Faber & Faber's excellent PianoAdventures® series for kids the last few years, and recently started using this new book as a notational complement to my adult students' by-ear activities.

Note to my students: Since we're jump-starting your playing by using a chordal approach, you'll probably find it unnecessary to play the beginning (pre-notation) pieces in this book. I suggest that you look those pages over, however, and gather whatever information is new to you. Then begin your music reading on page 28 or thereabouts.

Your First Fake Book  -  The BLUE volume, published by Hal Leonard. (Follow the link for the complete table of contents.) Fake books are often big, fat, volumes that contain hundreds of songs. For each song, you'll find the melody, the chord symbols, and the lyrics. With those basic ingredients, you can "fake" your own arrangement.

This particular fake book has a great selection of 100 songs. I like to use it in the early stages of learning because the chords and melodies are slightly simplified, the notation is large, and all the songs are presented in the key of C.


Groups, Organizations

Pno-Ped-L  -  Stands for "Piano Pedagogy List . . . a public, unmoderated mailing list devoted to discussion of issues in the field of piano pedagogy." I am deeply grateful to this great bunch of piano teachers who share information and philosophy with each other online. Many of the resources on the page you're now reading, not to mention countless strategies I use daily in my teaching, I owe to the wise counsel of these professionals. Go List!

This link is where you go to sign up for it.






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