Get Into the Christmas Spirit with Me on Piano

No doubt that you've noticed that my blog writing has taken a slightly lazier approach with the impending excitement of Christmas, but as I'm sure you are getting ready with basting turkeys, roasting chestnuts, drinking mulled wine and visiting just about every friend and relative you've ever met - so am I!

But I didn't wish to be neglectful of my blog and - whilst time isn't quite enough on my side to be creating anything brand new - I thought I'd dig through the archives of my YouTube account and try and fill you with some festive cheer that I uploaded last year and prior - before the piano even joined my in Congleton!

So enjoy the following treats as I entice you into Christmas with the unmistakeable chiming of Mariah:

...I shall leave it to your professional judgement as to whether or not you prefer the piano solo or feel that Mariah's voice is necessary here.

Of course, there's nothing like picking up the pace with a bit of Jingle Bells. But why Jingle your bells when you can rock your jingle bells? Or something to that effect...anyway...

Of course, we can get all the more traditional with a bit of Bing. Are you a 'Holiday Inn' or a 'White Christmas' fan? Or both? Perhaps the latter, seeing as my interpretation below covers the much lesser known verse too! -

And now for Christmas films. There are so many...from Scrooge to Scrooged. From Home Alone to The Polar Express. From Love Actually to Die Hard (said merely to cause divide at this happy time). However, the following song comes from The Grinch / How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

Of course, we musn't forget the true meaning of Christmas and so - for those wanting to remember the Greatest Story Ever Told with a bit more direct reference, here's a lesser known but stunning carol - a piano cover of Pentatonix's version:

And that about concludes it! So now I conclude this blog by wishing every reader, pupil and human being in general the merriest of Merry Christmases.

Who can resist a blast of this to finish. Sing along, you know you want to! :

Watch the whole Christmas Playlist on YouTube!

And just in case I ever add to it, subscribe to my YouTube channel for more festivities. And piano. And learning!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#piano #pianist #christmas #christmassongs #merrychristms #christmaspiano

Piano Lessons in Congleton

Good citizens of Congleton rejoice!

As if it’s not enough that Christmas isn’t just around the corner, you now have the added excitement of a neighbourhood piano teacher offering lessons in their home in Congleton.

What a joy!

The Piano on its first day in the new home in Congleton!

Consider the following:

• Learn piano on a professional upright piano (Ritmüller P122) - a real treat if your piano is a little older or you need to use a keyboard or a digital piano.

• Close to the town centre - I am just off Rood Hill, so whilst there is a free car park just at the end of our street I am a mere short walk to the bus station (approx. 25 minute walk from the train station if you’re quick, so not quite as convenient on that front!)

• I am well reviewed! - In fact, here are some that I have pasted directly from the Google! -

A* piano tuition.

Jack is a fabulous piano teacher, an absolute treasure of a tutor who shows genuine interest in and dedication to the progress of his pupils. His lessons are always engaging, instructive and motivational. Each week I learn something new and am thrilled at the progress I have made, all because of Jack's guidance. He is always encouraging and informative, very much responding to the requirements of the tutee. Jack's teaching skills and expertise are impressive and inspirational. I highly recommend Jack and cannot praise him enough.

I always regretted not learning to play the piano as a child, and decided in retirement to finally start. Jack was great from my first enquiry, telling me it was never too late. We agreed goals, and he has been encouraging, patient, and a splendid teacher. He ends every lesson on a high so I leave feeling inspired.

Hurrah for the copy and paste function! And from pupils who I haven’t paid for the big up! In fact - they pay me! So I must be doing something right…right?

So…what on earth are you waiting for?

Taster lessons are just £20 for 30 minutes

AND

If you then book in for a regular slot, that gets deducted from your first payment: first lesson free!

Not to mention you can book your taster lesson online if you’re feeling a little shy (deposit required).

Read more here or e-mail me on jackmitchellsmith@gmail.com and find out more about how I can help you!

Piano Taster Lessons in Congleton

Your taster lesson is really just your first lesson with me. Whilst the name alone implies something of a beginner’s nature, this is still the case for those moving from a different teacher, starting again after many years or picking it up at a much more advanced stage!

In an absolute beginner’s taster lesson we may get your fingers working, explore rhythm a little and even work on the basics of a tune in one hand.

For a more intermediate / advanced taster lesson we may discover where about you are up to in your learning and check that there are no gaps in your knowledge / skill, checking things such as sight reading, keyboard geography, rhythm and more.

The important thing to remember about your taster lesson is that it commits you to precisely…nothing! If you don’t like your lesson (perish the thought) then that’s fine - you have no obligation to come back.

If you do, however, consider that first one a freebie as your first monthly payment will show a deduction of £20!

Debunking the Myths

Here are some things that you are not:

• Too old: a worry amongst many people past a certain age, but not a valid one. If you are determined and realistic with your goals then you can do it!

• Too young: Same point as above. I am always open to a taster lesson for most anyone and - whilst it’s true that many children just aren’t quite ready yet - it’s fair to say that many are too! So don’t be shy…we can only try (rhyme unintentional).

• Too unmusical: If you have no rhythm or no musical ear then that is exactly the sort of thing that we will be developing, of course! Piano lessons cover a grander scope of learning music than just making a physical connection with the keyboard. Everything gets developed, and developing everything else - as we often focus on in lessons - develops piano!

• Too stiff / arthritic: This is a common issue but one that piano can be of immense benefit for. It’s important that you recognise your own physical limitations and are realistic, so whilst you may not be destined for ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, you can’t immediately cut off all the joy it could bring you with pieces such as ‘Gymnopedie’.

• Too forgetful: If you want to learn piano, it’s important to enjoy the learning process but also to enjoy the practice process. Because if you enjoy practising, you practise more and if you practise more it helps all that skill and knowledge transfer to the long term memory! Unfortunately there’s no magic trick to a fast-track (much as the ads will try and convince you that there is…for a lot of money!), but if you have the time and the motivation then the rest will follow!

Do I Need a Piano?

Controversial topic, but actually no. Not if you’re a beginner.

However, I will always argue the point that the closer you have to a real piano the better. Ergo, if you have a 5 octave keyboard, it won’t be as good as an 88 key stage piano on a stand, which won’t be as good as a digital upright piano which won’t be as good as a digital grand piano which won’t be as good as an actual upright piano!

But you need to consider two things:

• Are you buying for for trying or are you determined now? - If the latter, an investment will serve you better. A piano - or at least a digital piano - will not only save you money in the long run as you improve and improve, but if you’re testing the waters then maybe a 5 octave keyboard will do the trick for now, just as you find your feet.

• Do you have the opportunity to play the real thing? - with the best will in the world, a piano can’t fit easily - visually or audibly - into a small apartment, for example. So if you find yourself in need of purchasing a small keyboard then it’s worth having a backup plan as to somewhere you can go to practise piano too! Churches often have them, as do schools the piano lessons are for your child. Having this will be a massive bonus for you if you can’t have your own piano and - even if you do - it’s always an idea to keep your options open and try different ones every now and then!

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#pianoteacher #pianolessons #pianotutor #pianotuition #learnpiano #congleton #cheshire

Christmas-ify Your Scale Practice on Piano

We’re now well and truly in December and - as our thoughts turn to Christmas - it’s time to start thinking about how your piano practice can benefit from a little more…festivity!

And what better way to think about it than to use the simple idea of learning scales and key signatures by practising - instead of scales - a piece of music.

No less a piece, in face, than ‘Joy to the World’.

The beauty of this piece of music is that - with the exception of a couple of interval jumps - it’s  stepwise. This means that you move up and down the scale one note at a time to create a melody.

Practice a Carol on Piano for Christmas

Let’s begin our Christmas piano practice by choosing a major scale that you wish to familiarise yourself with more. Most people know C major, so why not try a different one. G major is also quite commonplace, so perhaps try E major or A major.

If you’re more advanced you could try a black note starting scale, such as A♭ major!

Point is, we’re looking to confine this to within an octave in the right hand.

Starting at the top, descend one octave using the fingers as you would normally.

Now do so with the rhythm we all know and love:

“Joy to the world - the Lord is come”.

For example, a C major descending scale would be attributed to the words as such:

Top C: Joy

B: to

A: the

G: world

F: the

E: Lord

D: is

Bottom C: come

Brilliant! Phrase one sorted!

Now we finish on the bottom root note of the scale (tonic)!

And what do we need to do here?

Simple: Jump up one fifth to resume the melody.

If you’re unfamiliar with intervals, read my past blog to refresh your mind.

In a nutshell, however, count up five notes from (and including) the note you’re on (keeping strictly to the notes of the scale).

For example, in my example in C major, I have finished on C. Now count up:

C = 1

D = 2

E = 3

F = 4

G = 5 / Fifth.

From this note, begin your next line of ascent. Consider carefully how the melody goes and use your ear to choose between your two options:

• Notes go up

• Notes stay the same

This is really good practise for training your musical ear!

You will find that you end up back at the top note where you started, and from here you are ready to perform not one but two identical descents to represent the next two lines:

Always listen carefully and know where the melody goes - does it go down or does it stay on the same note?

If you deduce it correctly, you should descend down to the third note of your scale (or descend a sixth down from the note you started from at the top)

This takes us to the lines:

“And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and nature sing”

Again, these can be worked out by simply following the melody. Go up when the tune goes up, down when it goes down but be careful not to be tripped up by it being the same note! Sing along as you do it and really tune your musical ear in!

The last line - as we all know - is

“And Heaven and Heaven and nature sing”.

The first ‘Heaven’ features an octave jump: from the bottom note of the scale to the top - for example, bottom C - top C if following the example I’ve given above.

Make sure, therefore, that you are correctly fingering the music in the build up to this section as you need to be in a position to do this: most logically you would give yourself the widest handspan possible - thumb to 5.

With the exception of one sneaky interval, the rest is also all stepwise. When you reach the top note, you need to descend down by a third (this would be A if C is your top note) / you can also consider this to be the sixth of the scale.

Once you have found that, follow the shape of the melody to finally resolve to the lower tonic (bottom C, in our case).

Score It Out

One of the strongest things to help develop our reading of music is to actually transcribe it ourselves. It really allows us to get in to the mindset of not only pitch value, but rhythm. And this particular piece is a great one to start learning how rhythm is notated because it features dotted notes.

Without putting pen to paper, can you tell where they are?

I regret to inform you that I’m not going to put my answers on this blog - if anywhere! - because I don’t want to give you an easy ride! I really want you to think about this now.

Don’t forget to mark the clefs in - feel free to write a transcription of the same tune performed by the left hand in bass clef too! Maybe do them both together so you write a two part piano piece - try alternating lines between the hands and then you can practise rests too!

And, of course, don’t forget to mark in a key signature! If you are doing E major, for example, notate the correct number of sharps after the clef - and put them on the correct lines!

Adding Chords

Do you remember a few weeks ago, I wrote a lovely blog explaining about chords I, IV and V?

Well, here’s a perfect example of a song that uses…chords I, IV and V.

It’s best you read the blog for a more concise explanation as to what the chords are and how to find them etc. if you’re unsure, but for now let’s assume you have done and go with it!

Chord V can be a pure major triad or it can be a 7 (chord V as a seventh chord is called a dominant seventh).

So…

Find the chords associated with the key signature. For example, Chords I, IV and V in the key of C major would be C major, F major and G major / G7 respectively.

Now experiment!

Try transcribing them onto your score, and don’t feel that chords only need to appear once or twice in a bar! Sometimes it sounds good to move between them for every note.

For example, the opening four notes: “Joy to the World” - using notes C - B - A - G descending, could each be attributed its own chord: C - G/G7 - F - C - to create much more interesting harmony.

Use a little tactic when you decipher which chord and don’t guess. For example, in the above example, I chose G/G7 to go with the note B because it’s the only chords of the three that features that note. Same reason I chose to put F with A - it’s the only one of the three chords that feature that note.

Have fun with this piece because it is a great piece to practise over the Festive Period and - perhaps by the time the big day comes - you will have mastered it!

Enjoy…

Oh - and don’t forget to watch the video feat. over-distorted piano (sorry 🫣 ) to help you out. Do subscribe to my YouTube channel as well and then you can enjoy me wittering on about even more pianistic things (or just showing off!).

Happy practising 🎄 !

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#christmas #christmascarol #pianopractice #piano #pianoteacher #pianist #learnpiano