Archive for February, 2010
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Reading Guitar Tablature (TAB) – Free Full Version from SheetMusicDirect.com
February 20th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Here is the full version of the ‘Reading Guitar Tablature’ . For more guitar video lessons, including more free videos visit http://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/Browse/Store.aspx?category_id=store3
Duration : 0:10:59
Posted in sheet music direct | 
Tags: Free, full, guitar, lesson, tab, tablature, tutorial, Video | 
1 Comment »
Fireflies – Owl City Piano
Fiireflies piano cover sheet music +piano mp3 below!
SHEET MUSIC+ MP3
http://iwillbot.blogspot.com/2008/09/hello-world.html
Personal Account + Piano Lessons
http://www.youtube.com/WillTingMusic
Sheet Music Links on Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/iwillbot
http://www.twitter.com/iwillbot
Duration : 0:3:41
Online Piano Lessons Angry Young Man Billy Joel
online piano lessons angry young man billy joel notes sheet music www.webpianoteacher.com
Duration : 0:8:55
Sheet music & MIDI: Pokémon – Lugia’s song
Sheet music & MIDI: Pokémon – Lugia’s song (A.K.A “The great guardian” & “The legend comes to life”). Well, I was tired to make it. Here you can download the MP3/MIDI/Sheet Music: http://pokemon262.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/download-pokemon-music-pokemon-the-movie-2000-the-legend-comes-to-life/
The MIDI and sheet music was made by me.
And so, you can download it for free!
I making this video with:
- Notation Composer v2.5 (Software) [For compose the MIDI and area for recording sheet music]
- Camtasia v6.0 (Software) [For completing the video and record the screen]
- Microsoft Paint (Software) [For drew the text]
Duration : 0:4:30
Learn Guitar Tab – Does it Help You Teach yourself Guitar?
TAB, which is short for tablature, is a good way for many people to learn to play the guitar. When learning to play the flute, piano, saxophone, violin, and other types of music, a person uses written music. However, the guitar is different in that chord diagrams are used instead. Now, some people have the ability to read chord music quite well while other people struggle. Because of this, a different method of learning was devised whereby a person can learn guitar TAB.
Tablature is simply a way in which a series of notes are written so a person can learn a riff or run on the guitar. For many individuals, the option to learn guitar TAB is a blessing, helping them learn quickly and with much less frustration. However, you need to understand that while TAB has many benefits, a few drawbacks do exist.
First, when playing the guitar, you are playing not only notes but also rhythm. With TAB, transferring information specific to an intended rhythm is difficult, if not impossible to do. For instance, if you play a musical instrument using sheet music, part of the music shows the rhythm so you know how fast or slow a song should be played. However, when you learn guitar TAB, this rhythm information is not there. For this reason, most people will choose a song they already know the rhythm to so all they have to learn are the notes.
A major difference in how a person would learn guitar with TAB is that the lines on the sheet music have lines that represent the guitar strings. In addition, the music would have dots on the lines, which is the appropriate finger placement. With this, you simple look at the fingers and place yours on the guitar string to match. Again, for many people to learn guitar TAB is the only way they can grasp this particular instrument.
Another important thing to know about TAB is that as you read the TAB, the line on the bottom is the sixth or deepest pitched string on the guitar while the top line is the first or highest string. You will also find when you learn guitar TAB that the dots may or may not be accompanied by a number, which is a reference to the fret on that particular string you need finger. For this, you would make the decision as to the finger used.
Then, as you learn guitar TAB, understand that if a song has two or more notes needing to be played simultaneously, they would show up on the TAB with one directly above the other. Additionally, when looking at a tablature, anything that shows up as an “O” means an open string or no finger placement on that particular string.
For most people who learn guitar TAB the beginning is a bit awkward and confusing but with time, it will soon become extremely easy. Many people learning to play guitar prefer this method for a number of reasons. In addition to being visually easier to learn, hundreds of TAB songs are now available online, giving them a much greater selection of songs to learn without having to pay for expensive DVDs, CDs or instructional material.
Nick seigal
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-guitar-tab-does-it-help-you-teach-yourself-guitar-420712.html
Music Chords: How To Become a “Chord Detective” And See Through The Notes Right Into The Music!
Over the years I have been a piano teacher I have had many people call or write me and ask me something like this:
“I play by ear, or by chords, but lots of music doesn’t have chord symbols written in — how do I know what chord to play when?”
“Our hymn book doesn’t tell which chords to use — how can I know what to play?”
“I read music but don’t have a clue what chords are being used. How can I know what they are?”
What do you do if you want to play a song using chords instead of the written sheet music notes, but the song doesn’t have any chord symbols printed — symbols such as Cm7, G13, B+, D dim7, etc.?
There’s a logic behind every note written in music, & you can learn to understand that logic, and therefore understand music. If you can read music to some degree but don’t “see through” the written music — don’t understand what you are seeing — it is now very possible that you can put on your “chord glasses” that good “chord detectives” wear to see through all that mass of black printed notes on a white page of sheet music to quickly understand what chords are being used and the “family logic” behind it all.
The “family logic” is this: In every key there are certain chords which are organic to that key –”family members”, so to speak. For example, in the key of F the 3 most used chords are F, Bb and C. In the key of G the most used chords are G, C, and D. In the key of Eb the most used chords are Eb, Ab, and Bb. Do you see a pattern here?
Chords are based on scales, and the chords which are used the most in any key are built on the 1st degree of the scale, the 4th degree of the scale, and the 5th degree of the scale. They are identified by using the Roman numerals I, IV, and V.
So the most used chords in any key are the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. They are the primary chords, and they are all major. They occur way more than other chords. The next most used chords are the ii chord, the iv chord, and the iii chord — all minor chords.
Just knowing these simple facts gives a musician a giant advantage when learning or playing a song. If he or she knows the most likely chords that are going to occur in a song, based on the key of the song, then they can scrape together other evidence quickly to build an air-tight case that they know the chords of that song.
For example, let’s take two musicians about to play from a piece of sheet music. Both read music, but only one knows chords and music theory. The first musician looks at the notes and sees a Bb in the bass clef as the first note, a Eb in the bass clef in the second measure, a Bb in the 3rd measure, an F in the fourth measure, and so on. He can play what he sees, but nothing else, because he doesn’t grasp the fact that the first few measure have given away the fact that the primary chords have been outlined.
The second musician looks at the same music, but with “X-ray eyes”. He sees through the same notes into the chord structure behind the scenes.
The first musician is tied to the written music and limited to the notes printed on the sheet music, while the second musician has the best of both worlds: he can read the music and play it as it is written, but he can also add chords and fills and come out with a much bigger, more interesting arrangement than the first musician.
The benefits of becoming a chord detective are many:
It allows a musician to immediately identify what key a song is in… It allows a musician to know POSITIVELY which chords are most likely to occur in each song… It allows a musician to look at the first measure and the last measure and immediately know the harmonic form of any song…
Plus:
It works in any key — major or minor… It works with any kind of hymn or gospel song… It works by releasing a musician from being “tied to the written music”… It works by allowing a musician to add chords of his or her own…
The bottom line is this: knowing chords and music theory allows a “chord detective” to develop “see through eyes” that immediately perceive the structure of a song and then allow that musician to use both the written score and any fillers or improvisations he or she desires to add to a song.
Duane Shinn
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/music-chords-how-to-become-a-chord-detective-and-see-through-the-notes-right-into-the-music-106509.html
All About Bandit Signs
So you’re thinking, what on earth can there possibly be to learn about putting up plastic signs??? Well, you might be surprised at how much there is to know. I was!
I’m going to figure that if you are BUYING properties then you are most likely SELLING or RENTING properties as well. Therefore I will try to cover both the BUYING and SELLING aspects of signs.
The particular type of sign discussed herein is called the BANDIT sign, or in some areas the RENEGADE sign. They are called that because many cities have passed ordinances against them. Even so, they are a big part of my marketing plan. Did I mention I purchased exactly 150 properties and sold 97 of them in 1998? I’ve been putting up bandit signs for over 10 years and have never been fined… yet. Part of my experience is how to avoid conflict with the sign police. Now, I’m not saying I know everything about anything but I do know a thing or two about generating business from cheap signs.
NOTICE: This type of advertising is not for everyone. Research the laws and ordinances in your area and YOU decide if the risk is worth the potential reward.
First and foremost, Bandit Signs are the very least expensive and by far the most effective way to generate leads I have ever found. These signs have worked tremendously well at both the ACQUISITION and the SELLING side of the business. It always blows me away… I get more out of a FIFTY CENT sign than anything else I’ve ever done. For a while in my early career I didn’t even pay for the signs (more on that latter). Through the years I have learned more about signs than I even realized there was to know. I wasn’t until I sat down to write this SPECIAL REPORT that I actually consider how much thought goes into this simple act of marketing.
MATERIALS: I like COROPLAST. Coroplast looks just like cardboard in its design but it is made of plastic instead of paper. If you study a piece of corrugated cardboard you can see that the body is basically hallowed when you look at the edges. The hallow tubes that run the length (or width) of the Coroplast are called FLUTES. This material is very durable and can last up to 3 years in the sun and weather. In fact, the lettering will fade or deteriorate long before the body of the sign fails. You should be able to find a wide assortment of plastic sign materials in your local area. Look in the yellow pages under Plastic Supply companies and ask for “Coroplast.”
If you are on a tight budget I can tell you this; it is not that hard to find old signs laying around that you can flip over and write on… especially if it is just after an election. Generally, political signs are supposed to be removed within a very short period of time after an election is over (48hrs or something like that). They leave more than enough of those 4′x8′signs up every year to keep you in business for months. Take the old signs, cut them up, wipe the backside down (which is usually white)… then write your message on the back and go to town! Believe it or not I did a lot of this when I was starting out. I got a kick out of generating a great business with a 0% advertising budget.
COST: In my part of the country a 4′X 8′ piece of Coroplast is about as big as most companies stock and that costs about $8.00 if you order only ONE sheet. You can get a substantial discount by ordering in quantity. Of course, I want smaller signs than that so I have to ask them to cut the larger sheet up for me. They charge me $1.00 per cut. By ordering the larger sheet to be cut into 19.2″X 24″ sized signs I end up with 10 signs and little if any waste. The very best I have ever been able to negotiate was 45 cents per sign and I usually order about 400 units. I go with anything 50 cents or under and when I’m in a hurry I’ll pay as much as 60 cent. Remember, “DON”T TRIP OVER THE PENNIES ON THE WAY TO THE DOLLARS.” It is better to pay $1.00 per sign than to have NO SIGN at all. Argue with the distributor for a short while. Show him you’re not a push over. Let him know you are loyal and you’ll be back for more… then pay what you have to and get on with it.
WHAT COLORS TO USE: You can find all different colors but this is what I think. I think the phone company uses YELLOW/BLACK for a reason and upon further investigation you’ll find that the Yellow/Black combination is the most distinct contrast there is. Next is Red/White but the problem with anything red is that red is the first color to fade in the sun. The logical order is to purchase yellow Coroplast, plastic signs and write on them with a BIG, BOLD, BLACK MEGA MARKER. White and back is not bad either.
SIZE: I like to use signs that are 24″ tall and 19.2″ wide. I find them to be just big enough without being over bearing. It is important NOT to attract negativity. Home Owners Associations and Municipal Authorities are among those we wish to avoid. Sure, bigger is better BUT, as you can imagine, if you were to put up a 4 foot by 8 foot sign on a telephone pole you’d get a call and maybe a fine by the end of the day. That kind of “bigger” is not better. I’ll take a 100 smaller signs that stay around for weeks, months or even years over BIG AND GONE tomorrow – any day. One of my most effective marketing drives used hundreds of signs that were smaller still… 12″ X 14″. The more I put out at one time ) the DENSER I choose to hit an area) the smaller I like to go. I want to get my message out I BUY HOUSES or HOUSE FOR SALE so I can start getting calls. I don’t want calls complaining about my signs. Small signs are just as effective if you know where to put them. The main thing is that your message be CLEAR and DIRECT.
EASY TO READ: A sign must accomplish one thing; get the SELLER to CALL! Keep you sign simple, to the point: I Buy Houses – CASH – 210-805-XXXX. I especially like company names that say EXACTLY what they do and where to find them on the internet + a phone number; Cash4Houses.NET 866-303-XXXX. The above company name just happens to belong to yours truly. It says EXACTLY what I do and EXACTLY where to get more information about my company, either by computer or by phone. Try to pick a company name that says what you do.
So many people try to put to much verbiage in their sign. Remember, you only have a split second to pose the question, “Do You Have A House FOR SALE?” or “Do You Want To Buy A Home?” I have to assume that most of your prospects will be in a car and may even be moving. You’ve got to get your message to them quick and easy.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are harder to read than just Capitalizing The First Letter. Except for very short familiar words like FREE or CASH, I stick to that theory. If you have more than 2 lines then you should rotate “Bold Thick” letters on one line and then “thin skinny” letters on the next. If you are trying to BUY a house I see no reason you should ever use more than 4 lines… and preferably only 2 or 3 lines. So I’ll use a SELLING SIGN to demonstrate how to handle more verbiage: House 4 Sale, Possible Owner Finance, 115 Dryden St., 866-303-XXXX
You may feel that the phone number is more important than the address BUT when I’m SELLING I believe it’s more important to get the prospect to the house FIRST. My phone number will be there for the taking if they are impressed. I don’t like talking about SELLING a house if the person on the other end of the phone hasn’t even seen it yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the call either way BUT I’d rather them be parked in front of the property gazing with amazement and a wanton desire.
INDIVIDUAL vs. BIG COMPANY: Which look is best for you? You may want to leave your options open. Yea, I’ve seen it a hundred times. Some new and excited entrepreneur goes out and buys a hundred first class EXPENSIVE signs with his company colors and logo, Then puts them out front of a lower echelon home an intimidates the hell out of his unsophisticated prospects to the point they don’t even bother calling. They figure its going to be all about Banks, and Mortgage Companies and Good Credit and things they just aren’t willing to OR CAN”T go through and expect to end up buying. You got to deal with different markets differently. The fancy sign will work well in upscale neighborhoods but a simple plastic sign with “FOR SALE BY OWNER” in black magic marker just might be the ticket in another area… more effective and cheaper by a long shot! Also, the sign police are a lot less likely to bother you if they think you’re just an individual rather than some fancy company.
SIGN PLACEMENT: Obviously, you’ll want to put a sign at every property you own. If you have a lot to say you might put several signs at your property. Just make sure that at least one of the signs is SIMPLE, TO THE POINT, and OUT FRONT of all the others. I like to put at least one sign INSIDE if the property has a structure with windows. I know that a sign in the window is much less likely to wonder off in the wind or get knocked down or stolen.
There are plenty of other places to put signs. I like to put signs where the traffic is SOW or potentially STOPPED. I have been a big fan of telephone poles BUT I can tell you right now the powers that be DO NOT like you to put them on their telephone poles. If you insist then I must say “Do So At Your Own Risk” …and put them up just out of reach so they take some effort to remove. I like to use a 3″ step-ladder. I’m 5’8″ so if I add another 3″ foot to my height and then raise my arms even higher to post the sign I figure the sign is about 10″ foot off the ground. Somebody will have to have their mind made up if they are going to remove my sign. They’ll also have to have a ladder or some special made tool to reach up high enough to get the job done. The extra height will not deter the authorities (then again maybe it will) BUT it certainly deters competition from inadvertently ripping your sign down quick and easy as not to get noticed.
While we are on that subject; DO NOT take down your competitors signs. Any competition that would rip your sign down is unethical. All the “Go-Getters” are to busy making money to worry about competition in such a fashion. I have never torn down a competitors sign. I figure there is more than enough for everyone. The day I have to sneak around to tear down the competitions signs is the day I change businesses. Take the high road.
My signs have been abused by competitors and local “Do-Gooders.” I wouldn’t waste a lot of time on the “Revenge Section” of this report BUT there have been a few times I’ve STRUCK BACK. I’ll save that for last… it is pretty funny and pretty ingenious but like most ideas I use I do not invent them. Like you, I’m just smart enough to recognize a good idea when I hear one.
I also use wooden stakes and wire stakes when I can’t find something to nail my signs to. The problem with putting signs in the ground is that everyone and everything can knock them down. If you are depending on stakes driven into the ground… you need to check your signs every other day. Chances are they’re DOWN.
Put your signs where people have to STOP or WAIT. I like “stop lights” and “stop signs,” “bus stops” and “parking lots.” Places where people have a chance to read and then find a pen and a scrap of paper. The second best places are parking lots exits and or yield areas. Take special note of areas that move fast most of the day but end up in traffic jams in the mornings (going to work) and in the evenings (coming home from work). These areas can be just like parking lots at 8:00am and 5:00pm. People don’t have anything better to do but read what you put in front of them. Prospects call from their cars in traffic all the time. If you are in an area that is well policed you may NOT want to put signs at major intersections. Move inside neighborhoods and stay off the intersections with red lights.
FLUTE DIRECTION: The flutes are the hollow tubes or the corrugation that gives the sign its strength. YES, it makes a difference which way you choose to hang your sign. If you run the flutes horizontal (across from right to left) the sign will be stronger. If you run the flutes vertical (up or down) the wind will break the signs. When you see a sign on a pole folded in half it is because the flutes of the sign ran up and down.
AVOIDING THE SIGN POLICE: I have heard of people that go to great lengths to use bandit signs and avoid the power that be. One guy I knew used a digital pager number on the signs. When a customer would call off his sign he would be automatically paged with the caller’s telephone number. He would immediately call them back and he always made contact with the person right then and there. Of course, he knew the number of the sign police department and those call never got returned. His take on this was that the city employees were not about to go out of their way to find him. To the best of my knowledge he was right. He was never fined.
As I stated before, if you are worried about the sign police in your area “Go Smaller” and “Go Inside” the neighborhoods instead of to the major intersections. If you get caught, pay your fine and consider it a cost of doing business. Like I said, you use bandit signs at your own risk. There is no guarantee about anything when it comes to getting fined. The best times to put out signs are late at night and on the weekends.
WHAT KIND OF FASTERS TO USE: The best sign fasteners are those nails with the little fluorescent orange plastic washer that are about one inch in diameter, BUT frankly, I’ve been using roofing nails forever and I’ve got no complaints. Just use nails that have a larger head so that the wind does not blow the sign off the nails as easy. Do NOT put your nails in a straight line… zig-zag them. One a little to the right of center, the next a little to the left of center… and the next back a little right etc., etc. And again, keep them just out of reach of a man 6′ tall. Use a step ladder or a paint bucket or something to get your sign up out of reach
PERMITS: In upscale parts of town you are not going to get away with bandit signs all that easy. The neighbors will be dialing the sign police like there is some kind of reward or something. In these cases you are better off to just go and get the permits if you HAVE TO HAVE A SIGN. Typically you go down there and tell them what ads you want to advertise and they’ll give you the sticker… I’m sorry… this is government working with businessmen… they’ll CHARGE you for some stickers that you have to put on your signs. Those stickers will have expiration dates and you’ll be fined if you do not remove the signs before they expire.
DIRECTIONAL SIGNS: If you are selling a property you will want to use directional signs. Simply put the words HOUSE FOR SALE with an arrow guiding them towards your property. You will have to put a sign at every turn. Believe me, they will find you. I like to put the address in small print if the sign allows room.
PART TIME INVESTORS: Since you will be at work you may want to employ an answering service or send calls to a voice mailbox. I like answering services because I can get them to ask my caller things like “HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT ME” or any number of things. A service called PAT LIVE specializes in answering the phones for RE investors. You can use them from any town in the nation. I have used them before and they are more professional than most. Beware, a bad answering service can hurt your success. Call the service now and then to see how your clients are being treated. Pose as a Buyer or a Seller and see what happens to you.
KEEPING YOUR SIGNS UP: If you are unfortunate enough to have petty competitors taking your signs down then I do have an idea or two. First try things the compassionate way; simply coat your signs in new, clear motor oil. It won’t hide or even dull your message but it will deter your little nemesis. With any luck they’ll get oil all over their tux as they’re on the way to their wedding or something. If that doesn’t deter them you’ll have to kick things up a notch
REVENGE ON SIGN THEIFS: Every now and then you have to take off the gloves and declare war on the gremlins. I once had the president of a Home Owners Association taking down my signs every day. Every day I’d go to my property and everyday my signs would be gone. Not just the signs at the front of the subdivision but even the signs in the front yard of my own property. I couldn’t believe it! So one day I laid in wait to see who was taking my signs.
At exactly 5:30pm a well dressed yuppie in a new BMW screeched to a halt at the entrance of the subdivision. He jumped out of his Beemer leaving the door wide open. He briskly strolled over to my signs, pulled them out of the ground and threw them into the front, passenger seat and pulled away. I followed him to my property we he repeated the same scenario. Then I discretely followed him to his home. As the garage door went up I noticed that he had a stack of my signs stacked neatly in his garage. I was hot!
The next day I replaced my signs but this time I did them just a bit different than I’d ever done them before. This time I fill plenty of the flutes with 100% pure Clorox Bleach. I didn’t have to wonder long about what happened that evening. Mr. Yuppie man called me rather upset. He cooled down considerably when the police stopped by to recover the signs he had stolen from me. We came to an agreement. I wouldn’t press charges and he’d get off my case for a month while I sold that house… using MY SIGNS.
IN CONLCUSINON: There is a lot to know about even the most insignificant things in live. When it comes to being a RE investor, some things are more important than others. I hope you enjoyed my input on the subject of Bandit Signs as much as I enjoyed reviewing the subject with you.
This Article was written by Mitch Stephen
Author of the book, MY LIFE & 1,000 HOUSES.
Every investment association should recommend
My Life & 1,000 Houses to its members.
- Tom Hennigan, Founder, National Real Estate Investor’s Association
Winner at the 2005 Tejano Music Awards for “Crossover Song of the Year”
For the song “Who’s That Gringo” co-writer Billy O’Rourke
Mitch Stephen
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/all-about-bandit-signs-600052.html
Where can I print the piano sheet music (for free) for the song Wedding Dress by Taeyang?
Hey guys! One of my friends asked me to watch the music video for Wedding Dress by Taeyang on youtube…so I did and I thought the piano part was just so pretty and that I wanted to learn how to play it. I’d really appreciate it if someone gave me a good website to go to!! Thanks 
free?
that would be ILLEGAL
the copyright laws DO protect sheet music
Showcase Your Talent Through Mocazo Club
Have you seen the latest Social Networking Site? Mocazo Club your very own online activity place. You could make this your personalized space, where you chill and chat. This could be a place that unfolds your talent and creative juices. You can upload video, music, poetry, creative writing and all that makes you. This site is new and waiting for you guys to make it a happening place on web 2.0 Lets work on this with gusto and be a creator of a new world.
Mocazo Club a place for every Indian residing anywhere on this planet, more so if he owns a Mobile Phone . Zany group activity, common interests and also the possibility of seeing your own content on others Mobile Phones. Upload video, music, poetry, funky stuff and humors and let the magic roll. Mocazo Club is a place for funny hub here u can share u r funny pictures, short funny jokes, and funny jokes for kids, dirty jokes, blonde jokes, short jokes, funny pictures, funny quotes, knock knock jokes,more funny. Create u r own profile, and invite friends, make new friends, participate in chat rooms, create chat rooms, listing music, share photos and videos, share blogs , open discussion through forms.
Upload your self-creation. It could be a music video of your rock band, short film, advertisement, a piece of photography, a poem…..it could be anything original and rational…You can send in any number of entries. And if your content gets sold you get a part of the royalty. Upload u r great music and create own play list for u? Music became the most important medium in this world .The music business is very diverse and competitive, but if you don’t get your music out there, you have no chance of landing a contract. It’s up to you to decide if you want to make it in the music industry, Showcase u r music may be able to help you make all your dreams come true never stop chasing your dreams…See ya at the top.. Upload new urban music music lovers here win good prize. Like Hip Hop, Rock, R&B, Classic Rock, Country, Rap, Alternative ,Heavy Metal, Alternative Rock, Punk, Jazz, Electronic, Reggae, soul, Metal, bollywood, music 90′s, Pop, instrumental, classical, bhangra, paki, malayali, telugu, tamil, kannada, desi songs, ghazals, club music, popular music, flute music, guitar sheet music, American music, hindi music.More details log on: :Videos,Photographs,music online ,mobile downloads
Avularamesh4u
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/showcase-your-talent-through-mocazo-club-810494.html
Piano Lesson: How To Play From A Fake Book
A fake book can be a source of many inspiring piano exercises. It contains a lot of melodies written in a concise format that includes only the melody and chord names. Let us take a look at how you can use these melodies to become a better pianist!
First of all we will take a look at how melodies are notated in a fake book. Usually you will find the melody of a song in sheet music notation together with chord suggestions above the notes. This economical way of notating makes it possible to fill a fake book with a lot of melodies.
The advantage of this way of notating melodies is that you can have a fake book as a reference book with a lot of melodies at your disposal.
The drawback is that you do not have a written out arrangement of the song for piano. You have to figure out how to play the song by yourself. Actually this can be an advantage that will help you develop as a pianist letting you interpret the song’s performance as you feel is appropriate.
One little melody in a fake book can give you many exercises in different areas of your piano playing and help you in your development as a musician. Here are a few examples:
1. Learn to play chords together with a melody. For example, play chords with your left hand and melody with your right hand, play bass notes with your left hand and combine melody and chord notes with your right hand, play various combinations of bass notes, chord notes and melody notes with both hands.
2. Learn to find the right chords to use when playing a melody. In a fake book you will find chord suggestions that can easily be supplemented with more chords making the voicings and chord progressions more exciting.
3. Learn to improvise by using the melody as a starting point. This is often called melodic improvisation. You can also use the chords or the fitting scales as a foundation for your improvisation. This is called chordal improvisation and scale improvisation.
4. Learn to play the songs in the piano fake book in different keys thus developing your ability to play by ear and understand the piano keyboard by transposing songs you have learned.
Actually you can use a song in a fake book as the basis for your development as a pianist if your goal is to be a good piano player in the area of improvised piano music.
Let us take an example from a fake book. You have a song of your choice in front of you with melody, chord suggestions and nothing more. What can you do to use this song as a starting point for a piano practice session?
We suppose that the song starts with the chord C-major and then in the next bar you will find the chord F-major. Here are some suggestions on what to practice drawn from these two bars of music.
1. Work on chord voicings. Practice playing C-major triads with your left hand in the three inversions. That means that you play the chord C-major with the three notes involved, C, E and G, in three combinations, that is, CEG, EGC or GCE. Do the same with the chord F-major. Practice also to move from C to F in various combinations.
2. Work on playing the melody in different ways. Single right hand notes, playing right hand octaves, playing the melody with your left hand and chords with your right hand and more.
3. Work on adding more chords. For example, taking the C-chord to F could go via Gm7 and C7 thus creating the following chord sequence, C, Gm7, C7, F. Much can be done to spice the song by adding more chords to the ones in the fake book.
4. Add notes to the chords you use in your song. A C-major chord can easily be substituted with a Cmaj7 chord or a Cmaj9 and you can find more interesting chords if you focus on one chord at a time. Of course you can work on playing these new chords in different combinations and inversions too.
5. Use the song as a foundation for improvisation. Learn a melody passage by heart. Play this passage over and over again with small changes in the melody thus practicing melodic improvisation. Or use the chords. The chord C-major suggests two major scales to use when improvising. You can use a C-major scale or a C-major pentatonic scale for example.
To sum up you can use one single song in a fake book as the basis for piano exercises in many areas of your development as a pianist and at the same time you build up a repertoire with popular melodies for your own benefit and the enjoyment of other people.
Peter Edvinsson
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