Practice makes perfect. Or more precisely, perfect practice makes perfect work.
Doesn’t everyone know this? Probably. But not everyone knows how to practice. And that is the most important thing! It’s not about how much you practice the piano. It’s about how well you practice. You could spend endless amounts of time at the piano without actually being productive. A half hour of focused practice is far more beneficial than just ‘logging in’ an hour or two. Try setting up a practice schedule, so you know that at the same time every day you will be practicing. Routine is key for a lot of people- children and adults alike. As a kid, I always practiced for a half hour before school. This way, if I had some free time after school I could do a little extra if I wanted. But I knew that my obligation was filled already. Anything else was icing on the cake!
You should be smart with your practice time.
Here’s tip number one for practicing the piano: Instead of just playing through a whole piece, take a small section and really learn it. It’s like learning the alphabet- we didn’t learn the whole thing in one day! The smaller the sections you do, the faster you’ll learn it. Spend a bit of time working on one hand at a time, but put them together as soon as possible! Definitely work to perfect each hand separately, but do this alongside hands together practice. If you wait to long to try them together, you will have to work that much harder to get comfortable with the interdependence of the hands.
And how small a section should you practice? That’s up to you. For something very difficult, maybe it’s just one bar, or maybe even just two beats. In other places, maybe it’s a whole phrase or even a few lines.
Don’t let the frustration of imperfection get to you. Remember – the very reason you’re practicing is to get better. It’s a process.
No matter how good a piano player you are, we all need to practice, practice, practice!
Here’s a video of a piece I am practicing right now. It’s called ‘Cuena’ or ‘Balcony Scene’. Prokofiev reduced the music from his ballet ‘Romeo & Juliet’ to 10 piano pieces. This is the second of the set.
Last week I focused on Kevin’s Knelman’s Beatles music. But there is so much more! He is a 2-time cancer survivor. He’s performed all over the world- North America, South America and Asia, to name a few places. He accompanied Malka Marom (a folk singer) for 10 years, travelling the world. He wrote the scripts and the original music for the Polka Dot Door “live,” which was the travelling version of the TV show. Then he played guitar in all the live shows everywhere in Canada including annual gigs at places like the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition Toronto) and the Tulip festival (Ottawa).
I’ve been close with Kevin and his wife, Jennifer Knelman, for over a decade now. Jennifer helped me immensely with my ear training for my exams. I always thought I had ‘bad ears’ until she showed me how to use them properly! A few years later I ended up teaching in their home studio, until she helped me to build up my own. It has definitely been a life changing experience knowing these two wonderful people!
I would sometimes go visit Jen & Kevin, always arriving early so I could fit in some time in Kevin’s recording studio! He has a soundproof room, where he records and edits all his music on Pro Tools- a state of the art program. We would listen to as many songs as we had time to before dinner, with a glass of red wine in hand. We’d always start with any new songs he had worked on, and then work our way back from there. I only heard the same song twice if it was requested by me. He must have hundreds of songs on there, with a huge range of styles. It was always a thrilling adventure! Here’s an example of one such song ‘Ain’t No Map’.
As with every musician, I have to ask- where did it all begin?
For Kevin, it was when he was 10 years old. Louis Spritzer, a classical guitar teacher, was renting a room in his home. Kevin would fall asleep every night listening to Louis practice. He took lessons with his ‘in-house’ guitar teacher, but had to move to England after only 6 months of lessons. While he was there, he had access to a ton of blues records. These records inspired Kevin. He wanted to play like those artists, so he taught himself by listening to the riffs over and over until he figured them out… scratching a whole lot of records this way!
Lonnie Donegan was a star when Kevin lived in England, so he and a few friends formed a skiffle band. Skiffle is a musical genre with influences from jazz, blues, and American folk music. It’s generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Kevin’s band included a tea chest bass, a tooth and comb player, banjo, spoons, and of course guitar. While it only lasted about 6 months, they had a ton of fun with it. Even if they only played in his living room! Kevin’s mom had a friend who was a flamenco guitarist, who showed him a thing or two. Kevin would sit and listen to him in awe.
After moving back to Canada at 16-years-old, Kevin started a rock band. He asked his Dad for lessons again, and was set up with a teacher, Eli Kassner. Kevin wasn’t even able to read music when he started with Eli! But soon Eli started passing along a few students for Kevin to teach- so beginning his teaching experience. After 3 years with Eli, he was ready for his audition at the University of Toronto (which he passed!).
But instead of going to university, Kevin chose a different path. At 19-years-old, he left to go tour with Malka. While on tour in Curaçao in the mid-70’s, they once ended up feasting at the Mayor’s house with the entire crew of the Tarzan movie (minus Tarzan himself), which was being filmed there at the time.
Kevin composed a gorgeous string quartet ‘Requiem,’ which was performed at Caledon Chamber Concert Series, by the Cecilia String Quartet. A string quartet consists of 4 string instruments, so it takes some pretty intricate compositional skills to make this work. Have a listen here!
He has written piano duets for his wife’s students, which they performed and won competitions with. Pretty impressive for a guitarist to write prize winning compositions for piano!
Check out Kevin’s arrangement of Classical Gas:
Since he was a child, Kevin’s life has been vibrant with music. Whether he is performing, composing, teaching, or just playing for himself- music fills his life.
As a perfect follow up to my Beatles posts these last few weeks, I would like to introduce my dear friend Kevin Knelman. He is a fascinating musician! He has performed around the world, composes regularly, and is a wonderful teacher. You can check out his short bio at http://www.knelmanmusic.com/kevin-bio.php.
Here’s one of his home videos of his Beatles arrangement- Yesterday.
I not only love their music, I have admiration for them. I appreciate their ability to explore so many styles. For me, the exploration of music has been a lot like a science. I like to experiment with new musical ideas; perhaps matching two completely different styles together like reggae and country or jazz and Bollywood. Something most people wouldn’t even consider doing. I am convinced these four guys were the most iconic and recklessly experimental musical group of the 20th century. I still remember hearing Paul singing ‘Til There Was You,’ and being completely knocked out that the band who sang ‘Twist & Shout’ could do material from a musical so beautifully. George Martin of course needs a nod as the fifth Beatle, and as the truly educated musician who could turn crazy Beatles ideas into musical reality. All four band members could sing, harmonize, play several instruments, and write songs. It never happened before and hasn’t happened again. Occasionally you get a super group of musicians joining forces like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, but these are short lived experiments. No other band and no other songwriters come close to the range of styles and brilliant composition that the Beatles encompass.
When I asked Kevin what inspired him to create these beautiful arrangements, he simply said that he couldn’t find any good arrangements for the Beatles on guitar, so he thought he should do it himself.
You can check out his interview with the online radio show ‘Beatles Universe’ here. Please note, his email address has been changed to [email protected].
‘When I was 16, I told my father that the Beatles would be remembered long after we were both gone. He laughed at me, saying they were a passing fancy. Ten years later we were talking, and he apologized and admitted that he was wrong. The Beatles were indeed going to be remembered for centuries to come.’
I always enjoy the challenge of learning a new piece. Sometimes the beginning stages can be hard because we think we should be learning it faster, but that’s all part of the fun! Dive in and work out the musical and technical issues- this can offer a great escape from the challenges of everyday life. Go ahead and get lost in the music, and enjoy the process of learning it!
As a continuation of my previous 2 blog posts:
I’ve added repeated chords in the left hand, with varying rhythms for repeats. There are also extra chord notes added to the right hand, underneath the melody notes. This one is written in the key that it was recorded, so you can try playing along with the YouTube video once you’ve really got it down!
With each song you learn, you can follow these 3 stages. Each time you do it, it will be that much easier than the last. Eventually you’ll be able to skip step 1 altogether! Just start with both hands at the same time- melody in the right hand and simple solid chords in the left. You’ll find that your ear is leading your fingers to where they need to go in the melody. You might be inspired to figure out the melody of a chorus all on your own. Maybe you get through that so quickly you end up learning one of the verses in the same day. If you’re really adventurous, you might try adding some notes in the left hand to support the melody. To figure out all of the chords for the left hand you might need a couple theory lessons. But don’t worry- this doesn’t always mean ‘homework’… much of music theory can be done at the piano!
When I teach, I teach you what you want to know. But behind the scenes, I’m trying to sneak in as much extra information as possible, to equip you with the tools to figure things out on your own in the future! There will always be more for me to show you. It’s still nice to know that you will have learned not just one song, but acquired some of the skills needed in order to learn more! The Beatles- Yesterday
Returning to something you did as a kid... This can make you feel young again! It transports you to a different time in life, and can offer a different perspective on the present. It can remind us of people we haven’t thought of in years, and take us back to a simpler time.
I returned to gymnastics as an adult. It was so much fun! Obviously I wasn’t headed for competition anytime soon (or ever!), but I was impressed with my body’s muscle memory. Our bodies and minds remember far more than we give them credit for! Sure, it might be a little slow-going at the beginning. But once it starts to come back, it’s like the flood gates have been opened!
I had an adult student come for lessons to learn one song. He had taken lessons as a kid, but hadn’t touched the piano in years. He wanted to learn a specific song to play at his own wedding, for his new wife. It was a really joyous learning experience for both of us. I felt lucky to be part of such a beautiful endeavour.
You probably don’t have any plans to be playing your favourite song at a wedding anytime soon, but why not learn it for your own enjoyment at home! And who knows… when the world goes back to ‘normal’, you’ll have a song ready to go for the next wedding or event that pops up 😉
Here’s ‘Let it Be’ by the Beatles. For this level of difficulty, all I’ve done is add some simple solid chords in the left hand to go along with the melody in the right hand.
I have always been thankful to have my piano, but since the pandemic started I have become that much more aware of it. I don’t know what I would do without it! So it makes complete sense to me that piano sales would be up, and other people would also be looking for something positive to do at home during these difficult times.
If you’re an adult who took lessons as a kid, you will be surprised at how quickly your skills can return to you. You could learn a new song in no time, if you really put your mind to it!
All you have to do is learn the melody for the chorus in the right hand, add a single note for some harmony in the left, and you’ve got yourself a song! If you have a guitarist at home, who knows some basic chords- rally them up! Most pop songs are built on the same 4 chords anyways, so you could have them play the chords along with you. Not all of us have guitarists at home just waiting to accompany our melodies of course, but that’s still ok! What’s the part you remember most about a song, after hearing it only once? The melody! Particularly from the chorus, since we hear it multiple times throughout the song. People will instantly know which song you’re playing, and maybe even sing along! This really does add a lot of positive energy to the room. (And it helps to cover your mistakes 😉).
Here’s a simple arrangement I’ve come up with for ‘Hey Jude’ by the Beatles. It’s written in the key of F Major, but I have transposed it to C Major so there are no sharps or flats (black keys) to navigate. I’ve also written out the rhythms in longer note values so it’s easy to read. You wouldn’t know that by listening to it, though! Once you speed it up, it all sounds the same.
I was delighted when I read this article! My only hesitation was- ok, well, where are all the students? 🤔
I think it’s absolutely wonderful for people to explore their new instrument on their own, figure things out by ear, or learn how to play songs from YouTube tutorials. But those things can only get you so far, and this can be particularly dangerous if you are a true beginner. (Unless you’re a prodigy, of course 😊). There will inevitably come a time when you will need a teacher to help you progress past a certain point or overcome a specific challenge. But if you wait until you get to that point, the chances are very high that there is more than one issue that needs to be resolved in order to move past it. You will most likely have developed a few nasty habits that you were completely unaware of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- it’s more work to have to undo bad habits than to learn something correctly from the start. It might be a little more slow-going in the beginning, but it is much more productive and far less frustrating in the end result. Use a real human teacher at various points, even if it is only for a couple of months, bi-weekly lessons, or even just one lesson a month. It will help to make sure you are moving along your piano journey well, and it’s inspiring to learn from a good teacher! A lot of teachers are more flexible with their schedules nowadays (particularly with adult students), in order to more specifically cater to students’ schedules and needs (learning, financial, or whatever they may be). Of course, the ideal situation is to have weekly lessons, but this is not always a possibility for students anymore.
That said- play away, all of you aspiring new musicians! 🎵👏😀 I hope it brings you as much joy and comfort as it does for me ❤️
As a child I took piano lessons. For years. Started in primary school and I stopped in the beginning of high school. Actually, what I should say is my mother stopped paying because my only practice during the week was the twenty minutes before my lesson. That’s it.
Let’s be honest, you have to practice – and I just couldn’t be bothered. I liked the idea of playing the piano, but not the reality of the effort it required to play well.
Years later, I could still play a little. But looking at my grade 5 piano book looked like a completely foreign language – one that I could never grasp. And when I felt the compulsion to “tickle the ivories” I stayed with the familiar and easy.
Last year on the Glass House of Music’s Facebook page, Tasi played this incredibly beautiful version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. She’s a wonderful pianist. It was so beautiful. So beautiful I actually thought – this might be something worth putting effort into.
Honestly, my goal had been to approach Tasi in the summer for lessons, giving myself a few months to learn the piece. But life! Instead, I ended up approaching her for lessons in December. ACK!
I live in Brampton and Tasi is a piano teacher in Barrie. Even if it wasn’t COVID times, I’d need to be doing this virtually. And I was nervous about learning the piano online. What would get lost? You know what got lost? Nothing! Tasi’s a great online piano teacher!
She has an amazing ear – so when I was playing, it’s not just that she heard that there was a wrong note – she could tell me what wrong note I was playing! I did have the web cam pointed at the keys, but still, she knew it even without looking. This theory was proven when the camera was pointing elsewhere!
She adjusted my fingering for ease of playing. She picked up on my bad habits and could show me where they were slowing me down or throwing me off. Tasi knew the parts that I needed her help with, and we would go over those during our lessons. My piano is out of tune, with one note sounding horribly wrong – but we worked around that hideous sounding note – only playing it when needed for the melody.
As an adult, I had more freedom in my practicing. The benefits of piano lessons in my middle age. I did it when I could. If I got frustrated, I walked away. I’m now mature enough to try and fight through the little things. So, while I still wished I had given myself way more time, because of Tasi’s help, I passably played the song on Christmas day for my own enjoyment and satisfaction.
For other adults out there – give yourself the gift of learning a song on the piano. It’s incredibly rewarding and Tasi’s a great teacher, support and cheerleader. Now the question is – what song do I want to learn next?
I’ve been asked many times before- do you ever get sick of teaching the same Christmas carols over and over? No! First of all, Christmas music is so beautiful. Secondly, it’s a different experience with every student I teach them to. Thirdly, everyone loves learning their favourite Christmas carol! So how could I possibly get sick of helping someone accomplish a goal that brings them and their loved ones so much joy?! Admittedly, I do get excited when a student asks to play a less common carol though 🤫 And last (but certainly not least), it’s a great way to introduce students to new notes and rhythms! They already know what these songs sound like, so they don’t have to overthink it. It gives them a chance to get familiar with them in a stress-free, enjoyable environment! The next time they see those notes & rhythms they will remember them from the fun Christmas songs they played, which makes it SO much easier to move forwards 😀
As for me playing carols, I always find it to be way more fun when people are singing along. I love to feel that energy in a room. I don’t think I’ll be able to feel the full effect this year due to limitations in gatherings, so I haven’t been playing them nearly as much. But every year I set out to learn a new one! This keeps it more interesting for me, and it’s kind of like a game for my family members waiting to see what it will be each year! This year’s new song is ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas’. You can check out my video on my Facebook page, which will be posted in time for Christmas next week. 🎄
I spoke of my latest project (the tattoo song), and how meaningful it was to me. It couldn’t have come at a better time, too. I was so relieved for the extra income, and I have ample amounts of time that I could spend on it. My practice time suffered slightly, but it just meant I was doing 2 hours a day instead of 3 for a couple of weeks. No big deal!
Just over a year ago, I moved to Barrie. This was after living and being a piano teacher in Brampton for 16 years. Between my home studio and the music school I taught at, I was booked full with students 6 days a week. Moving to a new city meant I basically had to start from scratch with my student base. Luckily, a few of my private students from Brampton opted for online piano and theory lessons in order to continue studying with me. I knew it would be a bit of a difficult transition, but I also knew that my studio would indefinitely build up on its own.
However, I did not account for a pandemic! It has made it nearly impossible for me to get new students. Last year I was teaching piano at a Montessori school; this year’s pandemic has made that impossible. Those students made up more than half of my local student base.
Luckily there was CERB. The only problem is that I didn’t qualify every month. The months that I didn’t qualify, I made about $100 over the maximum income allowed for the month. Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I do know that $1,100 is not enough to cover my monthly bills! Then came CRB, which I don’t qualify for because of my move last year. So things are financially quite scary right now.
Sometimes I wonder, how do I manage? Well, I keep focused and use this time to practice, practice, practice! I am exercising every day, reading more, and broadening the range of artists I am listening to. I allow myself some tv time (Netflix is my go to, to give my brain a rest, relax, and forget about the rest of life for a little while). I built a website, interviewed a favourite teacher of mine, and am writing a blog (that very few people read lol). But I won’t stop writing this blog, because it’s something to do! Something productive, that gives me a sense of accomplishment.
My hope is to have 5 solid days of teaching piano in Barrie each week. Until that happens, I’ll just keep working away and hoping for the best! It’s really all we can do right now. I just keep thinking, ‘this too shall pass.’
