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Music Practice

10 Most Influential Jazz Pianists You Should Listen to

Categories Music Practice Piano

The number of truly wonderful pianists is astounding. There are countless innovative and unique artists that have taken composition and performance to new heights. It can be easy to get discouraged with your own playing in the face of such greatness, but I’d like to point out that there is one thing every great pianist has in common, regardless of time period or style – they all were inspired by and influenced by those who came before them! When I first started learning to play piano, I only played and listened to classical music. I wasn’t exposed to jazz until … Read more

Great Jazz Licks over the I-iv-ii-V and ii-V-I

Categories Guitar Music Practice

After learning how arpeggios are used to improvise and exploring the foundations of improvisation, it’s important to learn from the great improvisers and how they applied the theory so that we can reproduce these techniques in a musical and more authentic way.  One of the best ways to start internalizing the jazz language is to transcribe these great musicians. By transcribing we develop not only our ear, but it also allows us to train our muscle memory to feel swing, accents, and particular passages that are very common in, and are a crucial part of jazz music from a range … Read more

Understanding Time Signatures and Meters: A Musical Guide

Categories Music Practice Theory

At the beginning of practically any score of music you have ever looked at there are numbers and symbols that clarify how to interpret the music notation in the score. As a music learner, you’ve become familiar with these symbols and you know that the numbers tell you how to interpret the music’s rhythms, how to count and keep track of the beat, and that if you’re playing with other performers—the numbers help you stay together! Yet, there are so many numbers and so many ways for these numbers to be written: These are just some of the time signatures … Read more

Bach’s Favorite Piano Practice Exercises

Categories Music Practice Piano

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is one of the most famous composers of all time, and since his death, nearly all serious pianists have studied his works, which are seminal examples of the artistic style that was popular during the Baroque period. The Baroque period is known for its increased complexity and ornamentation in comparison to the artistic movements that preceded it. In Bach’s case, he helped to expand upon and codify a number of musical concepts that are ubiquitous today, like modulation (moving from one key center to another key center) and counterpoint (multiple voices with their own individual melody … Read more

Getting Started with Bach – 6 Key Pieces for Beginner Pianists

Categories Classical Music Music Practice Piano

Getting Started with Bach Few composers from history inspire awe and veneration quite like Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The ability to play Bach is a goal aspired to by players the world over. However, Bach’s work provides a unique challenge for budding keyboardists, due in large part to its use of a stylistic mode of compositional design known as counterpoint. A predominant feature of music during the historical period known as the Baroque Era (1600–1750), counterpoint treats each ‘line’ of music as an independent melody. The goal of the contrapuntal composer is to weave together multiple lines to create a … Read more

Using Major and Minor Arpeggios to Improvise

Categories Guitar Music Practice

Many of us have heard of the musical term “arpeggio,” but we are aren’t aware of what it actually means and how arpeggios can help our playing. To play all these notes–with big jumps up and down the fretboard of the guitar seems daunting, and the thought of improvising with them even more so! The reality of this is true in a sense. To master your arpeggios all over the fretboard takes a long time, but when you begin learning, you can use them right from the start, so the process happens naturally as you become more eager to expand … Read more

Mastering Jazz Progressions Using Barre Chords

Categories Guitar Music Practice

The previous article discussed jazz improvisation, and now the next most important aspect of music to discuss is the harmony. In jazz music, the harmony is often quite complex, and there are some classic chord progressions that make up a huge amount of the harmony of the jazz standard repertoire we know of today. Learning these progressions will help all aspects of your musical playing, from pop, rock, or even classical music, as it opens up your ear to new sounds and studying jazz is a great way of learning how harmony works. The Numerical System Jazz music, particularly that … Read more

The Circle of Fifths: The Clock of Key Signatures

Categories Music in General Music Practice Theory

Since the 17th century, the Circle of Fifths has been a prominent tool utilized by professional musicians and composers throughout Western Culture. Knowledge provided by the Circle of Fifths is practical for many situations and will become automatic with consistent practice. Musicians such as Bach (Baroque), Beethoven (Classical), Schubert (Romantic), Jerome Kern (Jazz), John Williams (Film), Selena Quintanilla (Teejano), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway), Beyonce (Pop), and Armin Van Buuren (EDM), are just a few whose music is built around the Circle.  The Circle of Fifths offers fundamental knowledge which can be applied to any genre or style of music. In this … Read more

7 Must-Know Tips to Ace the ABRSM Piano Examination

Categories Music Practice Piano

As a follow-up to our previous article, which covered the general ABRSM piano examination syllabus, we asked some of our past examinees to share tips that helped them score distinctions for their exam. Here at Liberty Park Music, we present their collective advice. Read and utilize the top 7 valuable tips gathered for your child to ace their ABRSM Piano Examination 2018! 1.Practice, Practice, Practice Ultimately, practice is key. Just like exercising or studying for an exam, effort produces results. As mentioned in our previous article, the examination pieces monopolize 60% of the total score. Acing this section is equivalent … Read more

Practicing as a Percussionist & Pianist: An Interview with Rachel Lee

Categories Music Practice

Liberty Park Music has always been keen on embracing a wide collection of genres. We love to provide perspective from musicians of different backgrounds, countries, and music styles. Following the episode on contemporary artist, William Benckert, today’s episode brings you a multi-talented instrumentalist, well-versed in piano and percussion, Rachel Lee. A graduate from Royal Academy of Music, Lee spent 4 years pursuing her bachelor studies in London. She returned to Hong Kong, spreading her love for music through teaching and performing. In pursuing piano and percussion, Lee tells us how she allocates her time to develop each respective skill, her … Read more