Advice For The Beginning Keyboardist

submitted: Jul 9th 2008 | by: ChrisChanning | Total views: 2 | Word Count: 536 | PDF View | Print Article

Those looking for a new pastime or hobby would do well to remember the benefits of learning the keyboard. But getting started out on this tough instrument will deter many new keyboard players away from becoming experts in their own fields of music. To help speed along the process and enjoyment, following a few guidelines would be in the musician's best interests.

Having a good time is what playing the keyboard is all about. Being able to show off one's skills in front of others is always nice, too! The best way to start out is find a couple of songs that one thinks holds a special value to him or her, and learn how to play it. Buying sheet music online or through local music stores is always a fun adventure, and learning to play one's most loved songs is more than rewarding in the long run.

A good tip is to play by ear. It is rather hard at first, and this can drive most beginners away, but the benefits from learning how to do so are amazing. Those who learn to play by ear will be able to write their own tablature on the fly, as well as listen to other scores and figure out how to play them with minimal effort. This will take much effort, but the benefits are well worth it.

Two more aspects of the expert keyboard player to keep in mind is timing ability and rhythm. Timing is best bettered by obtaining a metronome and sheet music of one's favorite song. Try playing the music exactly in time with the song, and listen to the tick of the metronome at the same time. Eventually, one's body will create a very precise timing measure that will enable the keyboardist to play without the metronome at all!

Next, it's good to try and use both hands where applicable. Even when one hand can be used to play multiple notes close together, it's good to use two hands to simplify the action and to help learn placement at a quicker pace. This way, less attention will be put onto trying to find keys with a certain hand, and more attention can be put on reading sheet music that most keyboardists require for learning.

In the end, the average keyboard player who is just learning how to play needs to realize that learning how to play the keyboard is supposed to be fun. As such, trying to keep the subject fun means pacing out the frustration in learning, and focusing on the finer points of playing the keyboard. If further difficulty arises, never be afraid to ask for professional help- although it may be rather costly to pay for such help.

In Conclusion

All in all, beginning on the keyboard is a tough prospect. But learning a bit here and there over the years will essentially make an expert of anyone, given enough time. Being able to play stunning performances on a keyboard on command is a valuable skill to have, and plenty of musicians make their living based on keyboards alone. Whether a hobby or a way of life, starting on this lifelong relationship with music is quite beneficial to growth and stress release for years to come.

About the Author

Learn more on song composition and yamaha tyros keyboards.


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