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#155781 - 08/27/07 01:11 AM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by Nesh:
My left hand skills are horrible - I can only trigger fingered chords on the arranger, but not play counter melody or even bass part, which really bothers me.Can this be improved at my age after such long negligence? Nesh: Your question brings back a memory I'll NEVER forgot, when one of my music teachers, renowned vocal coach ( Judy Davis ) reminded us (her students) that she only accepted new students (under 25) because they haven't yet developed too many bad habits to unlearn, while older students have probably already developed too many engrained bad habits too dificult to break. That said, I believe even an older student has the potential if able to dedicate the time & work (though more difficult) to improve their playing & musicianship. You first need to set your playing goals (both near & long term). I strongly suggest, if at all possible, finding a GOOD keyboard instructor in your area to work with. The advantage of this is that they'll be able to watch & hear you play and observe things about your playing, of which you may not be able to see (or hear) yourself. From this they can guide your path to keyboard improvment. It's one thing to appreciate and hear counter melodies, bass lines on a CD, etc, but it's quite another to get your fingers to duplicate & play what you hear, including coordinating both Left & RT hands to concurrently do different things. Mastering basic keyboard playing skills (scales, chords, progressions) will help to this end, whether playing (reading) from music, or by ear. I think mastering both these skills is equally important. I also suggest recording yourself and listening and critiquing your playing as objectively as possible. Good luck. - Scott
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#155788 - 08/27/07 09:20 AM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by tony mads usa: he had me using Hanon ... I soon developed a problem similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and had to stop the exercises ... Keith Emerson had the same problem which almost killed his career . This showcases the point I made in my reply (above) of the advantage of working with a GOOD music teacher. Too many music students take it (unknowingly) upon themselves to teach them self how to play/sing from books or CDs alone. A qualified music teaching professional can show & guide you to correct posture, arm, hand, wrist & fingering positions to avoid playing tension which is the culprit which leads to carpal tunnel and other keyboard performance injuries. Unfortunately these are rarely covered in the instructional books themselves, and if they are, there is nobody to watch, guide & correct you if you are doing things wrong. On that note, here are two highly respected piano technique methods I used with teachers in my piano studies, of which has helped me avoid potential injuries: Alexander Technique Taubman Institute Check them out ! Scott
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#155789 - 08/27/07 12:47 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Member
Registered: 03/12/06
Posts: 845
Loc: Miami FL nov-may/Lakeville CT ...
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is 40 too old you ask? hmmm.. check this out:...
there was always a piano in my house, so as
a child, I often doodled out tunes by ear on it, could read just a tad. At age 11 i was given a clarinet and classical lessons. I got hooked on jazz at 14 and at 16 swapped the clarinet for sax, and jazz lessons. I got only good
enough to play a couple of weddings and to sit in at some jams, but decided that I preferred to get serious about learning to be a jazz pianist at age 21. but i was then told by so many
people that it was too late..that you have to
start very early, and have put in hours and hours, and on top of that have exhibited signs
of being a prodigy, so I never tried, just kept sporadically doodling on the piano for fun, sang, and
I put away the sax and never blew a note on it again for 14 years..until i was 35. then I had the strange notion to seriously go back to sax..too old to do that? i would never have tried to get serious on piano at 35(what i really wanted) because I was only
a doodler and was intimidated by the experts..but I was dumb enough to think that because i had studied reeds seriously in my
teens i could perhaps become a good jazz sax player even though i had not touched a horn for 14 years. what a moron! but by the time i was 45
I became, to everyone's surprise, including me, a competent jazz sax and bass clarinet player. too old to do more? by the time i was 55 i had become an excellent player. too old to do more now? by the time i was 65 i was world-class(one of the many who never translated that into fame/fortune--so far!LOL)) Now the keys story..At age 58 I saw that work was
disappearing for groups, and with the advent of arranger keyboards, felt maybe they would give me a shot to be a solo/duo act. so i shed for about a year, then went out and started working...someone who never did anything but
doodle on keys all his life. Now i'm 68 and
I'm a competent keyboardist..and if it follows
the sax suit, when I'm 78 I'll be excellent and by the time i'm 88 world-class LOL. Mind
you, Mr. ancient 40 yr old, this was all accomplished by someone who was too stupid to know it couldn't be done..who is not a musical prodigy, who is lazy and undisciplined and has never put in long hours
at anything except playing..certainly not doing book exercises or taking formal lessons
or working very hard at it..just by the process of staying immersed in it and loving what i was doing..getting encouragement and discouragement but never allowing those to puff me up or bring me down..(although i was close to throwing in the towel so many times along the way)..so do you still think it might be too late..at 40..as i thought at 21?
------------------ Miami Mo
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Miami Mo
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#155790 - 08/27/07 01:03 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
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#155802 - 08/28/07 01:48 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14194
Loc: NW Florida
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Although practice at home, and a good teacher (best of luck finding a good one used to teaching ADULTS!) are the start of developing a new technique, nothing beats the pressure cooker of forcing yourself into a position where, on a nightly basis, you have to use those new skills in front of a crowd, with no opportunity for do-overs... Case in point... About ten years ago, I was offered a job/gig in a high energy 9-piece on Bourbon St. in N.O.. The catch was, despite being a large band, they used key bass! (4 horn players and two singers made it necessary). Well, I had always made a firm commitment, playing in bands, that I NEVER played any bass parts at all. I HATE hearing keyboard players step all over the bassist, when they can use their LH for far more important things. So I had long developed a style where my LH comped, or played string or horn lines, or played the piano part while the RH did the organ part, etc., etc.. Basically, ANYTHING but the bass line. But the offer was good, the club owner thought I would work out OK, so off I went. A couple of weeks to get all the basslines down for the show, and straight in... Now, I'm not saying, at the start, I was doing it very well Just even THINKING like a bass player was foreign, and disciplining yourself to place that much concentration on the hand that used to take care of itself most of the time was initially strange. BUT.... having to do this, five nights a week with some VERY highly skilled players on stage with me (the drummer had spent years with Harry Connick Jr, Charmaine Neville, and a who's who of NOLA players) pretty much pressure cooked the skill, and soon enough it became second nature. So... although home study and teachers can get you part way, nothing beats forcing yourself to use those new skills on a nightly basis, where stumbling exacts a greater penalty than at home, with no-one watching...
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!
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#155809 - 08/29/07 09:32 AM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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Fran,
I should mention that most enlightened piano teachers today teach a combination of pop, jazz, and classical and other types of music.
Things have improved muchly since you were in short pants and tripping off to your lessons.
Yamaha's piano course addresses those genres, and also has the students play in ensemble, with each player doing a part of a score...including the bass.
Not all teachers/music schools are created equal.
Ian
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Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#155811 - 08/29/07 12:25 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14194
Loc: NW Florida
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Come on Fran... you know you got about as much chance of getting Ian to agree with you as you have of getting Bush to admit he goofed in Iraq... The thing is, training only goes so far... Sure, all 'competent' players (and teachers!) will have had some instruction in how to do LH bass, maybe even read it off a chart, but how many actually sit down (or stand up ) and DO IT, much of the time? Theory, and instruction only get you so far. You want to develop as a LH bass player...? Do it constantly for several months. Turn OFF the arranger parts, just use the drums, and play LH bass, RH comp and solos. FOR MONTHS... THEN, you'll get a feel for it. Want to get it faster? Join a band, and HAVE to do it every night! You MIGHT have got some instruction in this IF you were lucky enough to a) get a good teacher and b) actually get enough time with them that they got around to walking basslines (remember, a lot of the adults here get instruction on their arranger, NOT a full piano), but it isn't exactly a skill that the average player gets to grips with until he has been taught for several years. And you look at most classical music, the LH does NOT play the bassline... It plays a combination of bass notes, arpeggiation, chording and high end stuff, too. About the only time you see a 'pure' bassline is a two part Invention. Not exactly the best practice for playing a bassline in a band! The thing we have to try and remember, here, is that this is NOT a 'pro' forum. Many of the members here may have had VERY little formal training. Some are still limited to One Finger Chord mode Advice needs to be offered that can be of benefit to a wide range of skill levels. It isn't of much help to say to someone that asks about how to do something that "Left hand bass comes naturally to any competent piano player..." Tell me this isn't what you say to YOUR students when they ask a question, Ian...
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!
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#155815 - 08/29/07 12:50 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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Originally posted by Diki: And I get the sense you are starting to realize you are ALWAYS right, Ian...
Now that Gonzales is gone, Bush is looking for someone else that is NEVER wrong... You got any legal training (not that you need it for Attorney General, these days!)? Gee Diki, why would you say that? I've been wrong many times, and of course, I always admit it, no problem. Let's see....there was the time I bought a Roland E-70... Then, there was the time I honestly took you seriously.... Mmmmm...I'll think of a few more and maybe I'll get back to you later. The only Gonzales I know of was the cartoon character, "Speedy"....the little mouse who was really intense and ran very fast. Reminds me of you, actually. Now, smile Diki...it won't hurt you...honest! Ian [This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 08-29-2007).]
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Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#155817 - 08/29/07 12:53 PM
Re: Improving left hand skills
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by Diki:
Theory, and instruction only get you so far. You want to develop as a LH bass player...? Do it constantly for several months. Turn OFF the arranger parts, just use the drums, and play LH bass, RH comp and solos. FOR MONTHS... THEN, you'll get a feel for it. Yep, I gotta totally concur with Diki here. Luckily, both my piano teachers cited above, and who remain nationally renowned gigging pro keyboardists, have always pushed (required) their students to do exactly that. B4 discovering the financial income benefit of arrangers, I played acoustic piano & sang in jazz combos and learned perhaps more from those working seasoned musicians (on the job) than I ever did from books. motto: The best way to become a better musician is work & play with musicians better (and more experienced) than yourself. Scott
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