August 11, 2008

Musical Notes- Part 4 (The Piano)

Dominique Education Musical Notes, Piano

The Piano is the 1st instrument that I was introduced to as a child. It is also the 1st instrument that I have introduced to both Ryan & Roy. This instrument is normally the base instrument that one would learn before branching out to other secondary instruments Ie: Violin, Guitar, Flute.

Let me start off by showing you the skeleton of the piano

Whenever you strike a key on the piano, a felt hammer would have struck briefly at a particular steel string within the piano. The sound that is produced is a result of the metal string vibrating upon being hit. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies them.

When you play a chord, two or more strings would be vibrating at the same time and the blended sound would be resonating from it.

If you look at the bottom of the piano you would see 3 pedal in the centre.

The pedal which you would use the most often would be the extreme right – Sustain pedal. It lifts the dampers from all keys, sustaining all played notes, and altering the overall tone.The leftmost pedal is the soft pedal. By stepping on this pedal, the hammers moves closer to the strings, allowing the hammers to hit the strings with less force and produce a softer sound.The middle pedal called the celeste pedal.

This drops a piece of felt between the hammers and strings, greatly muting the sounds.However the middle pedal is seldom used unless you intend to play into the wee hours of the night and do not want to disturb the neighbours.For me getting my boys to learn the Piano at this stage is for them to enjoy music, develop their sense of co-ordination, ability to listen subjectively. It also helps in their right-brain training as it aids in them seeing the bigger picture between each and every piece that they play.A few months ago I posted on which piano method Ryan was using.

He is still playing songs from the Suzuki Piano Method Vol 1 and is halfway through that book. He is now able to co-ordinate both his right and left hands while playing syncopated tunes.Have you started your kids on learning a musical instrument?Tune in to the last part of the 5 part series on Musical Notes tomorrow.If you have missed any of the earlier parts of the series here they are:

Post in this series

– Musical Notes 101 (Part 1)

– Musical Notes 101 (Part 2)

– Musical Notes 101 (Part 3) The violin

–Musical Notes 101 (Part 4) The Piano

-Musical Notes 101( Part 5 Care for your Instrument

August 9, 2008

Musical Notes- Part 3 The violin

Dominique Thoughts Musical Notes, Q & A, Violin

Photo by Midiman

The violin in particular it is an instrument which relies heavily on touch and listening to get the exact pitch desired.

I started out learning the violin when I was about 8yrs old and slowly move my way up the graded exam ladder to a Grade 7 when I was 16yrs old.

To be able to play the violin one must first know the different parts of it.

Lets start from the top – The Pegs

Each peg is used to tighten and tune the 4 violin strings. The violin is normally tuned each time before practice/performance.

When the strings are plucked or bowed on, these are the notes that will resonate from the vibrating strings.

Here is a fingering chart to the notes that can be played on a violin.

To be able to play the violin you will need to have a bow.

It is important to know how to position your hand on the bow. If you have a bad hold on your bow you won’t be able to exert the correct amount of pressure needed to generate a good sound on the violin.

I went through a different violin teacher while studying in Sydney and he helped to correct my bowing technique. Here is a video which shows you how to hold your bow correctly.

The violin site has an interactive teaching site on the various parts of the violin. You will just need to mouse over the parts for it to pop up and say it’s name.

There are a couple of online resources which can aid you in learning how to read a violin score.

The violin case has online music flashcard which tests your ability to read notes on the staff.

Here are some Videos on how to play the violin. There is also an extensive collection of videos on the different parts of a violin and how each part is related to another.

Stay tuned for the next part on the Piano.

Pass Post on the series

– Musical Notes101 A Five Part Series

Musical Notes 101-( Part 2) Note Reading