fbpx

No Need to Give Up! Special Tips for Small-Handed Pianists [Part I]

Categories Music Practice Piano

“How can you play the piano with such tiny hands?!” I have been asked this many times in my life. Yes, I do have small hands; my maximum reach is just an octave. It’s not even a comfortable reach – I barely reach one octave. After years and years of trying different methods and techniques to reach more notes comfortably, I have come to the conclusion – I have to adjust the techniques according to my hand size. I have to find what works for ME, not simply following what is “believed” to be a good technique. The more challenging … Read more

An Introduction to Latin Music: Cha-cha-chá History

Categories Drums

Its slow tempo and steady 4/4 metre mean that cha-cha-chá is often the logical first step not only for drummers looking to adapt Latin rhythms to the drum kit, but also for beginner percussionists. However, as with any style of music, if we want to play cha-cha-chá authentically, we must have a good grounding in its history and background rather than just learning the rhythms themselves. This article will cover some of that history while giving an insight into the styles that preceded cha-cha-chá, as well as recommending some important bands or musicians who played a key role in the … Read more

Guitar Chords: How to Progress from Beginner to Advanced Chord Shapes

Categories Guitar Music Practice

Guitar beginners are frequently overwhelmed by the number of chords there are to learn. Many will attempt to learn as many chords as possible without trying to master or memorize their shapes. This is a recipe for disappointment and I’ve seen it happen time and time again. The truth is, when learning how to play acoustic rhythm guitar, you want to start with songs that only have three or four open chords. This will ensure that you can learn the song in its entirety and that you can play the song smoothly. I teach this approach in Liberty Park Music’s … Read more

The Guitar Pedals Behind John Mayer’s Tone

Categories Buyer Guide Guitar

Guitarists, whether playing for fun or headlining a major festival, are known for amassing sizable collections of pedals. If you don’t have one yet, you’re probably working your way towards it! So it comes as no surprise that a guitar player like John Mayer would have a very large collection of guitar effects pedals. There are several videos on YouTube where Mayer, or his guitar tech, reveals a small chunk of his pedal collection. Mayer also occasionally shares images of his pedalboards on Instagram. This article covers Mayer’s guitar effects pedals and at the end of the article, we recommend … Read more

What are Keys: Learning About Chords

Categories Music Practice Piano Theory

What are Chords and How Can They Help Us Learn About Keys? Chords have been a staple device in the music of the Western world for, well, a long time. Prior to the Baroque Period (approx. 1600—1750, the musical era of Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi), European music was generally based on linear material, that is to say, on melody. Harmonies, the likes of which we might think of as chords or chord progressions, were the result of multiple melodic lines woven together. The Baroque Period witnessed the rise in popularity of a simple and effective manner of providing accompanists with … Read more

The Guitars and Amplifiers Behind John Mayer’s Legendary Tone

Categories Guitar

John Mayer is arguably one of the most influential guitarists of our generation. While he has mentioned that he doesn’t believe that he is as impactful or creative as someone like Jimi Hendrix, the comparison between him and Hendrix is often made by fans and even his contemporaries. Don’t get me wrong though, there are actually countless guitarists out there who even Mayer himself would consider technically superior. However, we’re not just talking about technical skills here; we’re looking at a body of work that is easily digestible by the masses, yet has enough complexity to influence many young guitarists … Read more

What are Keys: Learning about Scales

Categories Music Practice Piano Theory

What are Scales and How Can They Help Us Learn About Keys? Have you ever had conversation with someone about their bygone days of learning a musical instrument? Often the conversation begins with them remarking, “You’re taking music lessons? Nice. Yeah, I took some piano lessons when I was younger. I really liked it, but I wasn’t really any good. Think I learned Fur Elise and some Mozart and, you know, did scales and stuff…” It seems we’ve all heard of–or practiced–scales at some point. In terms of learning our instruments, practicing scales serves as an accessible method for improving … Read more

What are Keys and Why Should We Know About Them?

Categories Music Practice Piano Theory

In the Key of… “In the key of…” — we rarely get far into our musical endeavors before we find ourselves faced with this phrase. Minuets in the key of G, Sonatas in the key of A, Nocturnes in the key of E minor, Fugues in the key of F#, and so on. But what does it really mean to be “in the key” of something? As beginners, we learn that it in some way refers to the number of sharps or flats (accidentals) we encounter at the beginning of a piece. We learn that this key signature indicates which notes … Read more

Guitar Effect Pedals – Clean Boost Pedals

Categories Guitar

Clean boost pedals don’t usually get as much love as flashier effects like overdrives and delays, but they do find a place on the pedalboards of many professional musicians. They’re perfect for soloing situations where you’d like to retain your overdriven tone, but you’d also like a volume boost (without adding more grit to your overdrive) to cut through the band mix. You can also use it to boost the volume of an already clean signal. As its name implies, clean boost pedals simply add a transparent volume boost; however, there are many clean boost pedals out there that intentionally … Read more