Dazzle Them with Odd Christmas Facts
You’re dashing with your kids, from store to store, madly trying to finish your Christmas shopping. You know that it’s only a matter of time before the clock runs out on your children’s patience, and they start to crash. They’re tired of the Christmas CD you’ve been playing in the car, and the games you’ve brought along have run their course. You’ve got three more malls to hit today, and your biggest fear is trying to shop with bored children.
Here’s one way to keep them entertained-dazzle them with your knowledge of odd little Christmas facts.
For instance: When you hear the Gene Autry classic “Here Comes Santa Claus”- for the fiftieth time, today-ask your kids if they’d like to visit the real Santa Claus Lane someday. That’ll make them think, at least for a minute. Though they may be disappointed at the lack of snow and ice, if they do visit Santa Claus Lane. See, every year since the 1930′s, Hollywood Boulevard has been officially re-named Santa Claus Lane, during Hollywood’s annual Christmas parade.
More semi-useless, but attention-grabbing facts:
What’s the most popular Christmas song of all time? Bing Crosby’s version of “White Christmas”. And “Silent Night”-arguably the most recognizable Christmas hymn-was written in 1818, by an Austrian pastor, Joseph Mohr. As Christmas Eve came, that year, the organ in his church was broken, so together with his friend, Franz Gruber, he wrote this new tune for the service that night, and played it on his guitar for his congregation. And “Jingle Bells” was originally written for a Thanksgiving celebration, in 1857.
As important as Christmas is to us, today, it’s only been in the past 150 years or so that the day has been an official holiday, in America. Thanksgiving was a much more important secular holiday to early Americans. In fact, Alabama was the first state in America to recognize Christmas as a holiday, officially, in 1836-and it wasn’t until 1905 that Christmas became officially recognized by Oklahoma.
Electric lights for Christmas trees were first invented by The Edison Company in 1882. Up until then, if trees were lit, candles were used-and then, usually only on Christmas Eve night.
The Christmas abbreviation-Xmas-is thought by some to be sacreligious, but in fact the first letter of the Greek word for Christ is chi, which is X. Before the invention of the printing press, “Xmas” was often used, in print, to save time and ink.
We get our custom of hanging stockings by the mantle from the Dutch, though their custom is to leave wooden shoes by the fireplace-they fill the shoes with fruits for the donkey St. Nicholas uses to carry his gifts for children.
See how easy it is? Just keep tossing out these little tidbits, one by one. Either your kids will marvel at your brilliance, or they’ll fall asleep in the car. Either way, they’re occupied. And you’re almost done; Christmas is almost here. Just keep talking.
Eminem – Short Biography
The story of Eminem is similar to that of his songs, it needs a little censoring. Some may not be appropriate for those viewed as too young, but here I feel it’s important to look at why his music, and consequently Eminem himself, appears so angry. Everywhere you look in his life from his hard child hood with an unstable cruel mother, to his well-publicized and rocky relationship with wife Kim, you see that Eminem raps about what he knows. His life is the subject of his music and he makes no excuses. But a hard upbringing only propelled him into superstardom as you can read in magazines like The Source and XXL. Eminem took his humble beginnings and built a career.
Eminem (Marshall Bruce Mathers) was born on October 17, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri where he lived for twelve years until he moved to Detroit. He never had much of a chance to make friends moving every other month because his mother continued to get evicted for the lack of pay. Eminem went to school up to the 9th grade where he failed three times before dropping out. He then continued to strive for that record deal to make him famous. While trying to achieve his goal he little Haile Jade Scott was born on December 25, 1995 with long time girlfriend Kim Scott. (Eminem homepage) Eminem continued to rap after the birth of his daughter entering into 97 Rap Olympics in Las Angeles that produced 1,500 to the 1st place winner. Eminem furiously came in 2nd desperately needing the money not knowing that a few producers had seen him from Interscope. Finally he had the opportunity to show what he is made of with Dr. Dre, Dr. Dre was so impressed after hearing Eminem free styling on a Los Angeles radio station that he put out a manhunt for the Michigan rhymer. (Eminem homepage) a famous rap producer that wanted to open the doors for Eminem. The two instantly hit it off, recording four songs in the there first six hours of working – three that made it to his first LP. (Eminem Bio.) Now officially making it, Marshall and Dre set to make his second LP. The album became the Marshall Mathers LP and won 3 Grammies and was the first rap album ever to be nominated ‘Album of the Year’, selling more than 8 million records in the United States alone. (Eminem Bio.) Eminem continues to succeed with the his partners who started his career for him although he continues to face many difficult times between the media, his mother and the long conflicting relationship between him and his girlfriend. After they had broken up they had obviously still talked, either about there relationship of for the sake of their daughter Hailie who means more to Eminem then anyone in the world at this point of his life. I wanted to be a family to Kim and Hailie and raise my daughter the right way and not cut on her like my father did to me. My family is all I have ever fought for and all I’ve ever tried to protect. The only thing I’m scared of is being taken away from my little girl. (Chuck Weiner) Eminem was also scared to raise a family and wasn’t sure if he would have sufficient funds or know how too. When my daughter was born I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to raise her and support her, as a father should. Her first two Christmases we had nothing, but this last Christmas, when she turned three she had so many f*ckin’ presents under the tree, she kept opening them saying, ‘this one’s for me too?’ My daughter wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. But she’s got one now! (Chuck Weiner) Eminem can’t help but to spoil his little girl being that he feels it was degrading that way his mother treated him. If my mother is f*ckin’ cruel enough, knowing she didn’t help me get where I’m at, try to take food out of my mouth and out of my daughter’s mouth, try to take me for everything that I have, then I’m not holding back on this album. She’s always been out to get me, and now she knows I have money so she won’t leave be alone. I know that’s not a nice thing to say about your mother, but unfortunately it’s true. (Chuck Weiner) Eminem has so much hate toward his mother that has built up in all the recent years in his life that he will do anything to keep Hailie happy and keep a healthy relationship between the two of them. His mom on the other he can’t seem to forgive because of all of the grief and trouble that she has put him threw.
Eminem has psychologically turned 360 degrees throughout his life. From the fighting and confusion with his mother, never meeting his father to being one the biggest success stories in rap history. The best example is an experiment of Eminems anger management, after he had started to rise he would get opinions from people saying “Your white, why are you rapping” & “Go play Rock and Role” and he said that drove him angrier and angrier and he emphasized it throughout his lyrics. Eminem was probably born as a kid with no chemical imbalances, but after his mother put him threw so much hell after he has grown up he may have a chemical imbalance and not be able to control some of his emotions that he feels when people disrespect him. When he is presented on T.V. he looks as if he is always sad of something is always bothering him that he can’t be proud of his achievements of happy to be where he is and it’s got everything to do with his childhood and recent terrible interactions he’s had with friends, family and rivals.
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Baby Boomer Music – Top Ten One Hit Wonders From the ’60s
We loved them all. Several “One Hit Wonders” had very successful songs throughout the ’60s. Hey, how could you not shed a tear every time you hear, “Who Put the Bomp in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp, Bomp, Bomp?” Maybe even two or three tears, huh?
Well, as the Baby Boomer Music King, I have my own very valuable Top Ten list of One Hit Wonders. Remember these?
10. “In the Year 2525″ (1969) by Zager and Evans – These two University of Nebraska students hit #1 in the summer of 1969 and stayed there for six weeks. Over time this single has sold over 10 million copies. The two remain friends to this day. Denny Zager still lives in Lincoln where he builds custom guitars.
9. “Do You Love Me” (1962) by The Contours – Four young men from Detroit got their start in 1959 and did not chart with their first two releases. But they hit it big in 1962 when “Do You love Me” went all the way to #2. The group played for several more years but never hit star status as members came and went like a revolving door.
8. “Rhythm of the Rain” (1963) by the Cascades – All four band members served on the USS Ticonderoga while in the Navy. After leaving the Navy the four formed a group and began creating songs with an emphasis on voice harmony. Two releases did nothing, but then came “Rhythm of the Rain” which rose to #3 in early 1963. * (Make sure you watch the Cascades do an updated version of “Rhythm of the Rain” from a few years ago. It sounds better than the original.)
7. “Who Put the Bomp” (1961) by Barry Mann – Barry’s song peaked at #7 and stayed on the charts for twelve weeks.
6. “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon” (1965) by Jonathan King – He was a singer songwriter and a Cambridge University undergraduate in 1965 when he released his one hit wonder. It was a world wide hit that sold over 4 million copies. King is still in the music business after writing several songs for other entertainers for years.
There were many others that did well during the 60′s. One Hit Wonders carved out their share of music history and often climbed to #1 on the Billboard listings.
“Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey” by Steam went #1 as did “Telstar” by the Tornadoes. There are several great songs that I wanted to add to this Top Ten but that would have made the list a Top Twenty.
So, here are the Top Five One Hit Wonders from the 60′s.
5. “Liar Liar” (1965) by The Castaways – This rock group originated in the Minneapolis-St Paul area and released “Liar Liar” in 1965. The song hit #12 and was eventually featured in the movie “Good Morning Vietnam.” The group is still playing with one of the original members.
4. “In-a-Godda-Da-Vita” (1968) by Iron Butterfly – This song was actually recorded on the first take which is almost hard to believe. The original 17 minute version has a great extended drum solo. The song developed a cult following and sold several million copies.
3. “For What Its Worth” (1967) by Buffalo Springfield – Steven Stills and Neil Young became big stars with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) but they were one hit wonders as part of Buffalo Springfield.
2. “Hey! Baby” (1962) by Bruce Channel – Although recorded in 1960, “Hey! Baby” didn’t become a hit until 1962 when it shot all the way to #1. Bruce Channel is still in the music business to this day even though he only hit it big time with one song. “Hey! Baby” has had a rebirth of sorts as a favorite among college students throughout the country.
1. I have a tie for the top spot… “Hippy Hippy Shakes” by the Swinging Blue Jeans (featured in the movie “Cocktail”), and “San Francisco” by Scott McKenzie. Listen to both songs and tell me which one should sit by itself at the top.
You can find music videos on all of the songs on this list by simply searching Google. I suggest you watch each one and let these videos take you back to our time… the 60′s.
Guitar Tablature – Learn To Play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star With Guitar Tab
Even if you haven’t played guitar tablature before you can impress or maybe shock your friends by playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Let’s start playing guitar tab!
We will use guitar tabs so you will not need to read traditional sheet music. You will only use the thinnest strings on the guitar which also will make this song a little bit easier to play.
The string with the highest pitch is called the first string or E-string. Look at the following guitar tab staff:
1. —————-
2. —————-
3. —————-
In this guitar tab staff we have three lines representing the three first strings on your guitar. The top line represents the E-string on your guitar. That is the thinnest string or the string with the highest pitch.
When you look at a guitar tablature staff you will find numbers on it that tells you which frets to press down. Here is an example:
1. ————
2. ——–3—
3. —-0——-
The number zero on the third line tells you to play the third string without pressing down a left hand finger. This note is a G. In other words, the number O represents an open string. The number 3 on the second string indicates that you shall press down the third fret on the second string and play the note. This note is a D.
Here are the first line of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with lyrics and corresponding guitar tab:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
1. ——————-0—0——-
2. ———–3—3———–3—
3. —0—0———————–
What to do with your left hand? I mean, which fingers should you use to press down the frets?
I admit that this is a little bit tricky at first but I suggest that you use your index finger for the notes on the first fret, the middle finger for the notes on the second fret and your ring finger for the third fret.
Time for the next tablature staff:
How I wonder where you are
1. ——————————-
2. —1—1—0—0—————
3. ——————-2—2—0—
Maybe you feel that it is difficult to use your left hand fingers the way I described. The only thing I can say is, be patient! Very soon you will reap the benefits from using these fingers when playing guitar.
1. You will be able to keep your hand from moving as you use three fingers instead of one finger for the three frets which will make it easier to play more advanced melodies on your guitar.
2. You will not have to look on the fretboard as much as your fingers have their fixed frets to work with and they will help you find your way around the fretboard.
Next guitar tab:
Up above the world so high
1. ——————————-
2. —3—3—1—1—0—0——-
3. —————————2—
You can’t see the length of the notes in these guitar tabs. Actually it is possible to notate even the length of notes but I guess you already know this melody well and will be able to find out how to play the rhythm of the song by ear.
Let’s continue with the guitar tabs:
Like a diamond in the sky
1. ——————————-
2. —3—3—1—1—0—0——-
3. —————————2—
Now when you understand guitar tab notation you can find many songs written this way on the internet. A complete guitar tablature staff has six lines representing the six strings.
Here is the last guitar tabs to learn. Actually you know this melody part already:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
1. ——————-0—0——-
2. ———–3—3———–3—
3. —0—0———————–
How I wonder where you are
1. ——————————-
2. —1—1—0—0—————
3. ——————-2—2—0—
Now you have completed the song! But you still have to learn it by heart to be able to play it to your friends! One line at a time until you know the whole song!
List of Filipino Folk Songs
Folk songs are, quite literally, songs of the people. And in determining the identity of a country, one can look no further than this form of music for clues to a particular culture. This list of Filipino folk songs offers a few examples of the many simple yet timeless tunes long since ingrained into the Philippine people’s consciousness.
BAHAY KUBO
This song is as familiar to Filipino schoolchildren as the “ABC’s” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” are to kids everywhere. Credited to have been written by composer and 1997 National Artist for Music Felipe de Leon (1912-1992), it tells of the traditional Filipino rural house, the humble “bahay kubo” or nipa hut, and goes on to enumerate the various vegetables planted in its vicinity.
PAKITONG-KITONG
Also called “Tong Tong Tong Tong Pakitong-kitong,” this Filipino folk song has both a Tagalog and Cebuano version. It describes a crab that is delicious to eat, but hard to catch because of its snapping pincers.
MAGTANIM AY ‘DI BIRO
Credited to Felipe de Leon, “Magtanim Ay ‘Di Biro” (“Planting Rice is Never Fun”) describes the tedious chore of planting rice. It has been covered by Filipino rock band The Dawn, and former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada even rewrote it into a much more “inspirational” version entitled “Kung Tayo’y Magtatanim” (“If We All Plant Rice”).
O ILAW
A popular example of the traditional Filipino love song genre “kundiman”, this song was made famous by Filipino singer and actor Ruben Tagalog (1920-83). The real title of the song is actually “Aking Bituin” (“My Star”), its current title having been derived from its first two words “o ilaw” (“o light”).
ANG PIPIT
“Ang Pipit” (“The Sparrow”) relates the story a sparrow who falls off the branch its perched on after being stoned by a cruel man. It was co-written by Lucio D. San Pedro (1913-2002) and Levi Celerio (1910-2002). Named National Artist for Music and Literature in 1997, Celerio had composed over 4,000 songs and has even been included in the Guinness Book of World Records for his unusual talent of playing music from a leaf.
SA UGOY NG DUYAN
Another collaboration from Lucio San Pedro and Levi Celerio. “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan” (“The Swing of the Cradle”) is a haunting and nostalgic lullaby expressing the feelings of a child finding tranquil security in the arms of a loving mother.
SA LIBIS NG NAYON
This song describes the beauty and serenity of life in the countryside. It was written by Santiago S. Suarez and popularized by Filipina singer and “Queen of Kundiman” Sylvia la Torre.
BAYAN KO
Written in 1929 by Filipino poet Jose Corazon de Jesus (“Huseng Batute” 1896-1932) and later set to music by Constancio de Guzman (1903-83), “Bayan Ko” (“My Country”) was meant as a patriotic song protesting the American occupation of the Philippines. Since then, it has practically been a second national anthem for freedom-loving Filipinos, a theme song for some of the most momentous events in Philippine history. Its most famous rendition is the one by Filipino folk singer Freddie Aguilar.
It can be said that a country is defined by its folk songs. From this list of Filipino folk songs, we can gather that the people of the Philippines are a humble folk, full not only of mirth but also of deep aspiration. They are also an industrious people, with a love for the simple things in life, as well as a great yearning for peace and national freedom. And of course, the Filipino people are a talented lot, capable of crafting songs that reflect the nature of their beloved country.
Free Online Lessons – Acoustic Guitar For Kids
What I find truly amazing is the abundance of people searching for everything and anything online as long as it is available for free. The internet is the optimum commercial marketplace, where people gather to buy and sell. Like any good marketplace, and as part of the commercial enticement to buy, there are many free offerings, from free music downloads to free online guitar lessons, including acoustic guitar for kids.
Choosing a free offering, such as learning to play the guitar can be a powerful incentive to ultimately purchasing the entire music instruction program. Many a young music career has started with free online lessons and acoustic guitar for kids is no exception.
When you learn to play guitar online, even with the free instructional course, you are able to access a variety of resources, including a comprehensive library of chords and chord progressions. It all starts with basic introductory lessons, including such simple tasks like how to hold the guitar correctly and positioning of the hands and then eventually progresses to making a commitment to the full program and following the comprehensive and easy to follow instructions. Why not discover a whole new world of guitar music and learn to play like a pro. And it all started with free online lessons. Acoustic guitar for kids can catapult a young musician into a lifetime of music performance and accomplishment.
With the abundance of resources available online, it is not difficult to learn how to play guitar quickly and easily and it is possible for you to learn to play virtually any guitar song you hear with the right online program. If you are serious about learning how to play the guitar – the details of guitar theory, scales and chords – or if you have always dreamed of playing in a band, then you should start today with basic free lessons, available online from a variety of great websites.
How to Play Jingle Bells on the Piano
Jingle Bells is one of the most easy piano songs in the world. The great thing is that it’s fantastic to play this song as one of your first piano songs and to learn to accompany yourself on the piano while singing it. You’re going to be the surprise of the evening on Christmas eve when your family will discover you can play this song while they join and sing along.
So how are we going to learn to play “Jingle Bells” on piano? Well, to begin with we’re going to learn to play the melody with the right hand, and then we’re going to focus on playing the chords with the left. Finally we’ll learn to accompany the song while singing the song. We’ll play the chords with the right hand and we’ll play the bass with the left hand.
The Melody
We can play the song in all different scale but I’m going to make it easier for us and play the song in a C major scale. I usually recommend trying to find the song by ear.
Now some of you can’t or don’t like to read piano notes. Since the chorus of Jingle Bells is built out of only five notes I’m going to simply write the letters of the key names. All you have to do is place your hand on the C above middle C position (So place your thumb on C and the rest of the fingers on D, E, F and G respectively).
Then play the notes as written here below. If a letter is written without any addition it last the length of one vowel in the song. The longer the line next to it the longer you have to hold the note. This tab will help you a lot.
Tip: Stay in the middle C position while playing and use all your fingers.
Chorus:
| 3 3 3_ | 3- 3 – 3__ | 3 -5 1 -2 | 3___ |
| e -e -e_ | e -e -e_ | e- g -c -d | e___ |
| Jin-gle bells | jin-gle bells | jin-gle all the | way |
| 4 4 4 4 | 4 3 3_ 3 3 | 3 2 2 3 2 5 |
| f- f- f- f | f- e- e_ e e | e- d- d- e | d_ – g_ |
| Oh what fun it | is to ride, in a | one horse o-pen| sliegh |
| 3 3 3_ | 3- 3 – 3__ | 3 -5 1 -2 | 3___ |
| e -e -e_ | e -e -e_ | e- g -c -d | e___ |
| Jin-gle bells | jin-gle bells | jin-gle all the | way |
|4 4 4 4| 4 3 3_ 3 3 | 5 5 4 2 | 1 |
| f- f- f- f | f- e- e_ e e | g- g- f- d | c____ |
|Oh what fun it | is to ride, in a | one horse o-pen | sliegh |
Verse: (In the verse we switch the hand position and place our right hand thumb on G under middle C)
| 1 5 4 3 | 1 1 1 |
| g – e d – c | g___ (g-g) |
|Dashing through the| snow, In a |
| Bells on bob tails | ring_____ |
| 1 5 4 3 | 1 1 |
| g – e – d- c | a____ (a) |
|one horse open |sleigh |
| Mak -ing spi -rits | bright, What |
| 1 5 4 3 | 1 |
| a – f – e – d | b___ |
| O’er the fields we | go |
| First Ending:
| 5 5 4 2 | 3:||
| g – g -f d | e____:|| X2 (Repeat verse but skip to 1st ending to 2nd ending. |Laughing all the | way:||
Second Ending:
| 1 5 4 3 | 5 5 5 5 |
| a – f – e-d | g – g – g g | (play upper G in this bar)
| fun it is to | laugh and sing a |
| 5 4 3 2 | 1 |
| a – g – f – d | c_ – |
| sleig- ing song ton | ight |
The Chords:
In the left hand we’re going to play the chords. The nicest thing is that this song contains only three chords. C major, F major and G major. Play them in the octave under middle C as follows (I’m already writing them in the most comfortable chord inversions).
C major: C-E-G
G major: B-D-G
F major: C-F-A
And here’s the schema of the chords:
Chorus:
4/4 | C | C | C | C |
| F | C | G | G |
| C | C | C | C |
| F | C | G | C |
Verse:
| C | C | C | F |
| F | G | G | C |
| C | C | C | F |
| F | G | G | C |
Now don’t forget to count 4 beats for each bar o.k.? First practice each hand apart and then try to mix them together. You’ll be playing the song before you know it.
Here’s a free piano tutorial that will show you how to accompany the song Jingle Bells on piano.
Ukulele Tab: Learn To Play Love Me Tender
Can you play the melody to Love Me Tender on your ukulele? With the help of ukulele tab you can learn to play it in no time. Let’s start!
Love Me Tender is a song sung by Elvis Presley, to the tune of Aura Lee, a Civil War song by George R. Poulton. Elvis originally performed it in the movie Love Me Tender.
I will use my own form of ukulele tab to be sure that the tabs are readable on article sites.
You can find the more common ukulele tab staff on my site with ukulele tab, guitar tablature and free sheet music.
The string with the highest pitch on the ukulele is usually an A and is called the first string. This will be the bottom string when you hold your ukulele in playing position.
The first number indicates the fret. The second number tells you which string to play. Here is the first part of Love Me Tender with ukulele tab:
03 12 02 12 32 23 32 12 02 23 02 12
03 indicates that you play the third string without pressing down a left hand finger. We call this to play on an open string.
12 means that you press down a left hand finger on the first fret on the second string.
Play the notes with your right hand thumb or in some other way you like.
The length of the notes is not indicated with this type of ukulele tab notation. I guess you will find out this by yourself.
Let’s play the next part of the song:
03 12 02 12 32 23 32 12 02 23 02 12
A repetition of the first melody as you can see.
What left hand finger should you use when you play? I suggest that you play the notes on the first fret with your first finger, the notes on the second fret with your long finger and the notes on your third fret with your ring finger.
It can be a little bit difficult to play like this at first but don’t give up!
When your left hand fingers get used to this way of playing it will actually become easier for you to find the right notes.
When you get used to this way of playing you don’t even have to look at your fingers when you play.
The next part of the melody with ukulele tab looks like this:
01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 32 12 32 01
I guess that you hear that the seventh note should be a little bit longer than the rest.
01 01 11 01 32 23 32 12 02 23 02 12
In this last ukulele tab the seventh note should also be a little bit longer.
Now the melody is complete!
I guess this means that you can play Love Me Tender on your ukulele. Congratulations!
This melody can be played on guitar too with the use of the above ukulele tab notation! The first three strings on a guitar are tuned the same way but not in the same pitch.
I suggest that you take one melody line at a time and learn it by heart so you can play it anywhere and anytime!
Piano Practice: How Long Should I Practice Each Day?
Many people love to play music but they don’t necessarily like to practice it. Practice can be tedious, frustrating, and grueling. Much like athletes must work out, musicians must practice.
That’s not to say that practice can’t be fun. If you enjoy playing music, you should enjoying practicing and if you don’t, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Back in the dark ages of music, the way to practice was to go in to a room with a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The room had nothing in it other than a piano and a bench. (Maybe some water) You went in to this chamber and you emerged only after hours of hard work. Then, the next day, you did it all again. You repeat this process for a few years and suddenly, one day you emerge as an amazing pianist!
If that’s your idea of practice, no wonder you don’t like it. Very few people do that! Practice doesn’t have to be that way. Sure, you have to be focused, detail oriented, willing to face adversity, and yes, some days you won’t want to do it but there are numerous ways to practice to make it enjoyable.
First, how much? It goes without saying that the more you practice, the better you will be. If your goal is to be a professional pianist, let’s not lie, it’s going to take a lot of time. If your goal is to play in a more casual setting, then less time will be needed. If your son or daughter is in 5th grade and has an attention span of a 5th grader, even less time. Your teacher will be able to get you more exact amounts of time but try to get at least 30 minutes each day.
Adult piano students should break up their practice sessions into two or more segments, using the principle of spaced repetition. If you practice an hour a day, try breaking it up into 3 sessions of 20 minutes each. You will focus better without getting bored, and of course your rear end will appreciate the break.
Can you only practice at the piano? No. You could practice counting rhythms, using flashcards to learn your note names or musical terms. You could write in difficult fingerings. You could practice improvisation by tuning on your favorite song. There are many activities that make you a better musician that don’t require a piano.
Of course, most of your practice time will be in front of the piano but find other ways to break up your practice time if you find your mind wondering.
A basic practice routine may look like this:
Warmup- 10 minutes (Scales, arpeggios, chords)
Sightreading- 5 minutes- Find a piece of music you’ve never seen before and try to play it
Pieces- 15 minutes- Practice pieces for an upcoming recital or any other etude, exercise, or music that your teacher assigned to you.
Adjust these times based on the total practice time for the day.
Remember this: All of the great people in the world didn’t get there without hard work. Athletes with a lot of natural talent work hard. Inventors who process the ability to change the world often go through a series of failures, and musicians go through periods of frustration where things don’t seem to be improving. That’s a normal part of the process and the people we see every day who are at the top of their field were the ones who endured the tough days. Practice won’t be fun everyday but in the end you’ll be happy that you pushed through rehearsing your piano lessons. Maybe you’re the next great pianist of the world!
How To Tune A Guitar By Ear In 7 Easy Steps
Learning how to tune a guitar by ear takes practice to perfect but once you have mastered this skill you’ll be glad you did.
Guitar tuners are easier to use and a necessity when you are in loud environments where you cant hear very well such as bars. Tuning your guitar by ear will come in handy when you have a guitar but no electronic tuner around.
Besides, if you are playing songs around the campfire, your friends won’t want to see you stop and pull out your guitar tuner every time it goes out of tune.
So this is how you can tune your guitar, in standard tuning, by ear!
e|—–|—–|—–|—–|—–|—–|–
B|—–|—–|—–|—–|–x–|—–|–
G|—–|—–|—–|–x–|—–|—–|–
D|—–|—–|—–|—–|–x–|—–|–
A|—–|—–|—–|—–|–x–|—–|–
E|—–|—–|—–|—–|–x–|—–|–
1 2 3 4 5 6
It’s good to practice trying to tune the A string without any tools to help you. But until you can identify exactly how it is supposed to sound, you can use an A 440 tuning fork.
1. Gently tap the side of the tuning fork on your knee and place the stem of the fork on your guitar. You should now hear the tuning forks “A” tone resonating through the body of your guitar.
2. Now pluck your A (5th) string. Does it sound like your tuning fork? If it does, then perfect, you are ready for the next string. If not, turn the tuning peg down if the note is sharp and up if the note is flat. Once this string sounds like the tone from the tuning fork, you are ready to tune your other strings to this “in tune” A (5th) string.
3. Your next step is to press your finger on the 5th fret on the low E (6th) string and pick it. Now pick the open A (5th) string and compare the two tones. If they sound the same, then your string is in tune. If not, turn the E string tuning peg down if the note is sharp or up if the note is flat.
4. Repeat the last step but this time placing your finger on the 5th fret on the A (5th) string and picking the open D (4th) string. Tune the D string up or down until the two strings sound the same.
5. Now lets repeat these steps on the 5th fret on the D (4th) string and pick the open G (3rd) string. Tune the G string up or down until these strings sound the same.
For the next step you will have to do something a little different.
6. Press your finger on the 4th fret on the G (3rd) string and not the 5th fret this time. Now pick the G (3rd) string and then pick the open B (2nd) string. Tune the B string until they sound the same.
7. Next you will put your finger on the 5th fret of the B (2nd) string and pick this string and the high E (1st) string. Tune the high E string up or down until they sound the same.
Well, there you go. Now you know how to tune a guitar by ear!