How to Quit Your Piano Lessons?

Mentally state the Reason. Why do you want to quit? Are you tied up with School? Are you financially in debt? Make sure that your reason is legitimate and that quitting is no other option. Saying "'Coz I don't like practicing" will make you sound like a fool and your teacher will be glad having you gone.
Rehearse your Speech. Make sure you know what you are going to say before you tell your teacher. Making it up as you go along will make you less articulate.
Tell your Teacher you're quitting. Bring this issue up at the beginning or end of your lesson. Stating that you are quitting right after you've finished playing "Moonlight Sonata" is a bad time to bring this up.

Add that this is temporary (unless you know for sure that it is not) and will return to him/her again at a later date or another teacher. Totally giving up is a waste of your time and talent.
If your teacher is a bad one, it is perfectly okay to quit. If you're 16 and have been playing for 3 years and has you practicing level 2 songs, you definitely need to quit.
If it's because of money problems, don't be afraid to state that it is. Otherwise, your teacher will think it was her/his fault!

How to Practice Sight Reading Piano Music

Assuming that you already have basic knowledge of playing the piano, and are learning how to sight read the music sheet a few hints on how to learn to read might help. Just like in typing, playing the piano requires that you do not look down at your hands, and that reading the notes, becomes as second nature, as reading words in a book!

Find a book of music, other than the ones you are using, at around your skill level, or a little easier. This should be music that you think you would like, but have never heard before. You should find, to start with about 5 pieces.
Sit at the piano, and open the book to the first page. Try to look at the notes,say the notes softly, and understand the piece a little bit without actually playing any part of it. Now, start playing, very slowly, saying the key names in your head as you play and looking at them to see what they look like. It is very important to not stop and restart when you make a mistake. Just keep playing. Look for patterns while you are playing, and always try to read a minimum of one measure ahead.
When you finish one piece, repeat it until you feel comfortable knowing the name of the notes. Remember, its is once again like typing, your mind will tell your fingers where to go, once you practice it often enough.
Continue with the same piece, and when the notes are easy to play, learn the timing of the piece. No piece can sound decent if the timing is incorrect.
Keep practicing in this manner as often as you can. Feel free to go back and study the pieces you played in more depth. The more you practice, the better your sight reading skills will become.

You can, if you do not have a piano nearby, read the music notes, without even playing. Look at their position, and remember what they look like. Get it to memory.
A very good skill when sight reading is recovering from mistakes. You will make them. Don't let them fluster you, just keep playing. It is almost guaranteed that if the listener isn't familiar with the music, and you don't give it away, they'll never know.
One of the hardest parts of sight reading music is getting the rhythm correct. It helps to count out loud, "One and two and three and four and..." Of course the numbers that you count depends on the piece.
It helps to accompany a singer or other instrument while sight reading. This forces you to stay honest.

How to Play the Piano to Amateur Concert Level Status

This is not just about playing the piano, but playing the piano well, to Amateur Concert-Level Status.
Always place your fingers on the keys before you play them. That way you will always know that you're hitting the correct free piano sheet music key. (You don't have time to look at them all when you're playing fast.) It will also ensure that you don't hit the keys too hard, which you should never do.
Either lift the finger from the key (while keeping contact with the keys with the other ones,) and let it drop on the key, or use *slight* arm pressure, with very relaxed fingers to press the keys.
After the key has been pressed, slide the fingers to the right or left. The fingers should not stick, but glide across the keys. That way you don't lose contact with the ivory (as Josef Hofmann said,) and you don't need to look at the keys again to re-set your hands in the proper place.
In places where you need to go a long ways (i.e. 2-3 octaves,) you may need to look at the keys to see where they're at, but still, you must TOUCH the keys first before playing them. This ensures maximum accuracy (very important at high speeds,) a SOFT touch (very important for expression, and not hammering the keys,) and very little effort or work to do for your fingers, which makes it easy to play long, fast passages without mistakes, and without fatigue.

When you're going for accuracy (i.e. no wrong notes,) touch the keys with just the tips of the fingers. It should still be a soft touch, not bony. That will ensure that your finger fits easily into the key without possibly touching the key to either side of it.
Never hammer on the keys. That is the way most amateurs do it, and it sounds horrible, not to mention cause them to hit tons of wrong notes, causes fatigue, makes it harder to memorize pieces, etc.
When you play with a good touch (fingers touching the keys before playing,) your fingers will almost play by themselves, and you can have a good deal of songs memorized simply by touch (as well as by sound, and by chords also,) because the fingers naturally know where to go next.
The best books on playing piano that I've read are Joseph Hofmann's "Piano Playing, with Piano Questions Answered," and Josef Lhevinne's "Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing." Those are worth more than all the "method" books combined.
If you start out with the right technique (playing from the fingers, and touching the keys) you can skip 10 years of practice and mistakes, and get to the more interesting pieces much sooner.
Still repetition does help to make you more consistent. Repetition will help you gain a lot of experience very quickly. The above-mentioned tips are the things you would eventually figure out if you did enough repetition on the piano. So it's good to know them up front, so you can save yourself a lot of wasted time.
Learn songs that you like. You will naturally play the piano better / more musically if you learn songs that you like. But the musicality is pounded out of a lot of young would-be pianists by forcing them into songs that they don't like. Passion and sentimentality is the center of art, and if it's not there, you don't have art.
So if your children are learning the piano, help them find some songs that they would actually ENJOY learning, in addition to what they're already learning. Give them something that they enjoy, and they will keep up with it by themselves.
For the most accurate playing (with the least amount of error,) play mostly with the fingers, raising them and dropping them on the keys, without moving the hand or wrist, or the arm. The fingers, even when they're lifted considerably, may only move about 2 inches from the keys. Whereas even a small movement of the arm may go farther than that, thus considerably increasing the chances for error. Moving the arm also re-shifts your 'base of operations,' making it harder for the fingers to come down on the correct keys.
However, playing with only the fingers all the time may fatigue the fingers, so it must be distributed somewhat with weight from the hand, slight movement from the wrist, weight of the arm (for more fortissimo passages,) and sometimes even movement of the forearm.
Even though you play with the fingers for piano man maximum accuracy and speed, the fingers, hands, wrists, arms and shoulders should never be stiff. They should always be relaxed.
bbc news

How to Play the Piano to Amateur Concert Level Status

This is not just about playing the piano, but playing the piano well, to Amateur Concert-Level Status.
Always place your fingers on the keys before you play them. That way you will always know that you're hitting the correct key. (You don't have time to look at them all when you're playing fast.) It will also ensure that you don't hit the keys too hard, which you should never do.
Either lift the finger from the key (while keeping contact with the keys with the other ones,) and let it drop on the key, or use *slight* arm pressure, with very relaxed fingers to press the keys.
After the key has been pressed, slide the fingers to the right or left. The fingers should not stick, but glide across the keys. That way you don't lose contact with the ivory (as Josef Hofmann said,) and you don't need to look at the keys again to re-set your hands in the proper place.
In places where you need to go a long ways (i.e. 2-3 octaves,) you may need to look at the keys to see where they're at, but still, you must TOUCH the keys first before playing them. This ensures maximum accuracy (very important at high speeds,) a SOFT touch (very important for expression, and not hammering the keys,) and very little effort or work to do for your fingers, which makes it easy to play long, fast passages without mistakes, and without fatigue.

When you're going for accuracy (i.e. no wrong notes,) touch the keys with just the tips of the fingers. It should still be a soft touch, not bony. That will ensure that your finger fits easily into the key without possibly touching the key to either side of it.
Never hammer on the keys. That is the way most amateurs do it, and it sounds horrible, not to mention cause them to hit tons of wrong notes, causes fatigue, makes it harder to memorize pieces, etc.
When you play with a good touch (fingers touching the keys before playing,) your fingers will almost play by themselves, and you can have a good deal of songs memorized simply by touch (as well as by sound, and by chords also,) because the fingers naturally know where to go next.
The best books on playing piano that I've read are Joseph Hofmann's "Piano Playing, with Piano Questions Answered," and Josef Lhevinne's "Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing." Those are worth more than all the "method" books combined.
If you start out with the right technique (playing from the fingers, and touching the keys) you can skip 10 years of practice and mistakes, and get to the more interesting pieces much sooner.
Still repetition does help to make you more consistent. Repetition will help you gain a lot of experience very quickly. The above-mentioned tips are the things you would eventually figure out if you did enough repetition on the piano. So it's good to know them up front, so you can save yourself a lot of wasted time.
Learn songs that you like. You will naturally play the piano better / more musically if you learn songs that you like. But the musicality is pounded out of a lot of young would-be pianists by forcing them into songs that they don't like. Passion and sentimentality is the center of art, and if it's not there, you don't have art.
So if your children are learning the piano, help them find some songs that they would actually ENJOY learning, in addition to what they're already learning. Give them something that they enjoy, and they will keep up with it by themselves.
For the most accurate playing (with the least amount of error,) play mostly with the fingers, raising them and dropping them on the keys, without moving the hand or wrist, or the arm. The fingers, even when they're lifted considerably, may only move about 2 inches from the keys. Whereas even a small movement of the arm may go farther than that, thus considerably increasing the chances for error. Moving the arm also re-shifts your 'base of operations,' making it harder for the fingers to come down on the correct keys.
However, playing with only the fingers all the time may fatigue the fingers, so it must be distributed somewhat with weight from the hand, slight movement from the wrist, weight of the arm (for more fortissimo passages,) and sometimes even movement of the forearm.
Even though you play with the fingers for maximum accuracy and speed, the fingers, hands, wrists, arms and shoulders should never be stiff. They should always be relaxed.

How to Play the Keyboard

Here is a basic outline on how to play a keyboard, in addition to opinions on why you should buy one and how the keyboard measures up to the digital piano. This article will explain how to play the keyboard, how much easier a keyboard is to learn than a piano, and how the keyboard gives you more playing options than similar instruments, like the digital piano. This also tells you about performing in bands or solo.

When first positioning your fingers, please be aware that some sheet music has little numbers, which represent each finger placement next to some black dot notes on the sheet music stave. These are 1= THUMB, 2=INDEX (pointing finger), 3=MIDDLE FINGER, 4=4Th or ring finger, and 5=LITTLE FINGER. This sheet music shows you, by placement of these numbers, which fingers play either the white or the black keys.
Learn how to read sheet music first.
Play a tune on the keyboard in 1 of 2 ways: either play a song you remember "by ear," or follow the sheet music.
Learn to play "by ear." Remembering the sound of a song and finding which notes on the keyboard to press is not easy to do. Here is how you can start.

Sound Colours. Particular songs are closest to one of 12 "sound colours." If you know DO RE ME FAH SOH LA TI DOH or the song "Doe a deer a female deer," then press a C to begin (again see the fingering exercise linked below to find out where this is.) Now sing the next note UP while pressing each WHITE note to the RIGHT of the C on the keyboard. Play the following notes: C= doh D=re E=Me F=Fah G=Sol A=Lah B=Ti C= DOh again. You have just sung or played one of those 12 colours!
Key of C: The entire combination of notes is called the key of C. When your ear is good and practiced, you then begin to recognise some songs on the radio as "fitting" into the Key of C. You will need to know that there are another 12 quite different keys to recognise and that some songs might "fit".
Think of the keyboard as having 3 kinds of "brains," each of which is a type of memory. The first type of brain is called a sound brain, or more commonly known as a tone. This works by storing all the sounds like pianos, strings, flute, and even combines some of these tones to make new ones like "fantasy" or "synthesized " keyboard sounds. A 2nd sound brain is known as the "rhythm brain," called "rhythms" on some keyboards or "styles " on others. Here the keyboard sets off a whole little band of drums, bass guitar, piano and other combinations and allows you to play a right hand melody along with it. The other kind of keyboard brain or memory records what you play. For instance, if you played a left hand Bass guitar part, you could later play accompaniment with that. You could then play something entirely new, like a piano or voice melody, to "fit together" with what you originally recorded.
Decide between keyboards versus digital pianos. Consider the following:

Learning to play the keyboard seems easier than learning to play the piano in some ways. Some beginners find playing a keyboard easier to learn because they can play a larger variety of music, like pop, rock, country and jazz.
Don't confuse a keyboard with a synthesiser or a digital piano. These instruments have different abilities.
Classical music sounds far better played on a piano than a keyboard. A digital piano is comparable to a piano, but doesn't operate like a keyboard. A keyboard is more like a one-man band, and a fun way to learn music as a beginner.
Try taking it up a notch, play in a band. Get a couple of friends who can play drums and a another one who plays guitar. With the instruments, the guitar does chords in C major, the keyboard does the C major scale, and the drums outlines the rhythm patterns.

Try and learn from people who know.
Avoid silly mistakes, especially in performing.
Don't expect to learn overnight. Mozart and Beethoven didn't learn things quickly, so practice.
You can choose any instruments in the keyboard, but the properties of the sound differ to other instruments. Like the tie in in the piano. If you do this when you select the trumpet, the sound will stal forever.

How to Play the Concertina

The Concertina is a free reed instrument with a bellows similar to an accordion. It is smaller, lighter, and a little more difficult to play.

Decide what kind of concertina to play. Anglo-German or English are the two most available.
Procure a concertina. Buy, rent, or borrow one.
Learn about the fingerings for your particular concertina. The website www.concertina.com is a good place to start.
Get a book of simple songs, or even a specific book for your concertina. "Del Rey's Deluxe Concertina Book" is older, widely available, and good for the Anglo concertina. "The Concertina: A Handbook and Tutor for Beginners on the English Concertina" can be found on the concertina.com webpage.
Learn how to use the bellows. Gently pull the bellows or push the bellows while holding down individual buttons. Don't worry about playing specific chords when you start. Concentrate on first making a scale from "C to C". If you aren't able to get the basic 8 note scale, or octave ("oct"=8) you will have a difficult time learning songs.
Learn a few simple songs with melodies that you know in your head. If you can't read music you can learn how to play by ear as well.
Practice. Practice. Practice!
Get a friend who plays the guitar to play chords for you while you play melodies. If you can download sheet music on the internet you can find notes and chords to match. Most songbooks or "fakebooks" have simple melodies with chords.
Study the history of the concertina so that you can be a proud concertina player!
Search YouTube for "concertina". There are quite a few good tutorials there, as well as talented performers to help give you an idea of what can be played.

Search YouTube for "concertina". There are quite a few good tutorials there, as well as talented performers to help give you an idea of what can be played.

There are several types of concertinas, but you'll likely only run across the two major ones: Anglo-German and English. The Anglo concertina plays different notes on push and pull (diatonic, much like a harmonica) whereas an English concertina plays the same notes on push and pull (chromatic, like a piano accordion). The easiest way to tell the two apart from pictures is that the Anglo has a wrist-strap while the English has a thumb strap with a metal "J" at the bottom for the pinky finger.
An Anglo is good for Irish music or folk music, with push/pull on the bellows quickly changing the notes. An English is more versatile having additional buttons for the accidentals (sharps and flats). If you are used to playing accordion or want more choices in the music you play choose an English.
Look through eBay for one on sale, ask your local musicians where you could rent one, or ask if anyone happens to have one from their grandpa in an attic that you might borrow. There are a lot of expensive or antique concertinas out there (1800's-1900's) so don't be dismayed to see concertinas selling in the multiple-thousands of dollars. A good starter instrument should run from $80-$200.
An Anglo will typically have a particular chord associated with it "C/G" or "G/D" for example, and have rows of chords. An English will have columns of buttons, the middle 2 columns are the natural or "white notes", and the outer two columns of buttons are the accidentals. A 30 button English will have some missing places for sharps/flats, whereas a 48 button English should have all 4 columns filled with buttons.
The number one producer of accordions and concertinas in the 21st century is China and you may see die hard concertina players grumbling about the quality of Chinese instruments. Don't get the cheapest one available, but you don't need to spend more than $200 on a starter instrument.
There are some producers of concertinas in the United States and Europe. If you eventually get to the the point where you wish a high quality instrument, seek out one of these manufacturers. These tend to be private individuals making them rather than mass produced, so the quality can be high but also more expensive.
A concertina has about the same range as a violin. Sheet music for the violin is playable on the concertina.
Chords are playable on concertinas, but start with simple melodies first. On an English or Duet concertina just about any major or minor chord can be made, if you are dexterous enough. An Anglo is more limited in that regard.
English concertinas tend to be a little more expensive than Anglos: More reeds and buttons!
Because it is diatonic (different note on push/pull) an Anglo can be more difficult to play for experienced musicians with other instruments. A lot depends on the type of music or sound desired. For more questions ask on a Concertina forum such as at www.concertina.net. Some players prefer one over the other than many players do have strong opinions about their chosen style.

Beware paying high dollar values for "antique" or "vintage" instruments that need repair. Older instruments can have problems with bellows, leaky wax around the reeds, buttons that stick, or other issues that a starting player shouldn't have to deal with it. If you are purchasing a used instrument as a starter be sure you can hold it, play all the notes, that no keys stick, and that the bellows are solid, tight, and leak free. Most newer instruments that are sold on eBay are okay, but likely to be made in China. The older ones sold on eBay for thousands of dollars, and made in 1890, are much like the electric guitars made by Gibson in the 1950's, a 1960's hotrod, or a grand piano. You're wanting to learn how to play, not get the highest quality instrument you can get.
A soft case gig bag is good for taking your concertina around, but when you remove it from the case don't pull it out! Always "pour" your concertina out of any box it is in otherwise you may stress the bellows and could damage your instrument. A hard case for your concertina is a good investment.
Never push or pull the bellows without holding down a button. All concertinas have an air button that allow you to close or open the instrument without making noise.

How to Play the Accordion

The accordion is one of the most interesting instruments, a combination of a piano keyboard, with pull and push to get the sounds out of the according. It takes strength and patience to play, but once you learn, you will enjoy it. This is one instrument that can easily be taken with you to all party functions...and makes a great accompaniment for sing-a-longs.

Stand behind the accordion so that the piano keys are on your right, facing away from you. Slip your arms into each strap so that the accordion is well supported on each shoulder.Once you are wearing the accordion, slip your left hand underneath the smaller strap on the left side of the accordion. Now you are in position to play
Undo the safety buckles (one on top and one on the bottom). Do not push or pull on the accordion yet.
While pressing down a key on the piano keyboard let the accordion fall open, supporting it with your left hand. (The right side of the accordion does not move).

It is possible to play music and even perform knowing this much. If you ever had piano lessons as a kid and you know your way around the keyboard you are ready to go. Try playing without looking down at your right hand. From this angle it doesn't help much to look anyway, so try to get comfortable with playing by feel, sort of like typing without looking at your fingers.

Feel under your left hand, the bass and chord buttons are organized in rows parallel to the floor. Find the bass C button. It will have a slight indentation and will be on the second row from the bellows. Some models have multiple buttons with indentations. If yours is one of them, the C is located in the middle of the bass panel, again, on the second row from the bellows.
Hold down this button, play a C scale with the right hand. You'll notice that the accordion falls open much quicker than before and ultimately you will have to push with the left hand to continue to play. After some practice this will become second nature. Eventually, you won't have to think about pushing or pulling at all.
Understand that the bass and chord functions in the left hand are a bit more complicated and require a simple knowledge of chord structure and theory.

The rows of buttons move up in fifths and down in fourths. This makes it simple to play a song with a 1-4-5 progression. For example, F and G are the buttons directly below and above (respectively) the middle-C button.There are six buttons in each row. Each row of buttons contains, in order: the third, the root, the root chord with the fifth in the base, a minor third chord, a dominant seventh chord and a diminished chord.

Play around with these until you get comfortable with each key, their respective chords and moving from row to row. Listen to different styles of accordion music to hear how the left hand is played. For instance in a waltz it is common to alternate (in the key of C) between C and G on the down beats with the two upbeats being on the C chord button with G in the root (the button immediately following middle C).

How to Play Piano in Less Than One Hour

If you're looking for a way to quickly play the piano, you're going to love this. Most of you already know that the quickest way to play the piano is by learning chords.
Learn the chords. There are triads, seventh chords, diminished chords and thousands more.
Remember that there are closed position chords and the open position chord. With this chord you will be able to create your own music in less than an hour!
Become a piano player immediately, and enjoy playing your favorite songs. Start out with open position chords, you'll immediately sound like a professional!
Try the seventh chord because it's a modern sounding chord:
All this means is that the seventh note of the scale is used, along with regular triad notes to give it a more contemporary sound.
Jazz musicians use it all the time.
It covers more than 2 octaves of the keyboard, giving you a very nice "open" sound. If you love contemporary stylings, you'll be playing them in no time with it.
Last but not least, you use both hands right away to create with! In fact, the chord is so wide open that you can literally create music without moving your hands around at all.

While you might be able to easily and quickly play a song, you are not learning about piano techniques, scales, or chord study. You will not be a real pianist, but you will enjoy playing songs and having fun.
Any method that does not have your hands moving around, is not teaching how to play piano. The beauty of playing this instrument, is how nimble your fingers become, by learning scales, and moving your hands up and out, fast and quickly.

Remember, that anything worth learning, takes time. If you wish to really become a pianist, play the classics, enjoy performing and understanding music and how chords are created, it is suggested you take piano lessons, and learn by a master teacher.

How to Play Fur Elise

"Für Elise" is the popular name of "Bagatelle in A minor", one of the most famous solo piano pieces, by Ludwig van Beethoven. It seems that everyone who learns how to play the piano always plays this piece. It sounds extremely impressive when played, but many musicians are tired of it because it is played much too frequently, learned by almost every classical music student, and often played poorly.
Get the sheet music for Für Elise.
It begins in 3/8 time with a right-hand theme accompanied by arpeggios in the left hand; the harmonies used are A minor and E major.
Learn that the next section maintains the same texture, but broadens the harmony to include C major, which is A minor's relative major, and G major, C major's dominant key.
Notice that a faster section follows, written in the key of F major, then a few bars in C major. This section is one that many pianists, who easily play the opening, are forced to either skip, or spend a lot of time developing the necessary coordination to play. Next the piece moves into D minor with a theme set over a pedal point. After a modulation back to A minor and a gauntlet of arpeggios, the main theme returns, and the piece quietly ends in its starting key of A minor, with an authentic cadence.
Start out by playing through the piece with just your right hand then once you have that down, play through the piece with you left hand.
Practice playing it with both hands. It probably won't sound very good the first time you play it, but keep practicing and you'll get it. Practice it slowly; never rush when learning.
Add in dynamics, musicianship, and you passion (which should be evident) to the mix.
The tempo of the piece is Poco Moto, which means with a little motion. This means you need to play it with a little speed and you need to keep the piece moving.
Don't be intimidated by the sixteenth notes or the sixteenth note triplets. They seem fast at first glance, but because of the time signature, they are more like eighth notes (to a quarter note).
It has never been known who Elise was, whom the piece was dedicated to. One theory is that Elise was a name generally used to describe a sweetheart and this was written to all and for all sweethearts. It might have been the love for a woman that inspired him to write this piece without them ever meeting but it is left entirely to the imagination.