Teaching Piano with a Nintendo DSi?

Yup - that little game system can indeed be a useful tool when teaching piano. It has several advantages - it's cheap, relatively speaking, is easy to use, and the "wow" factor is pretty high (thereby making YOU more interesting to your students, which is a great motivator).


More details in the coming weeks!

Keyboards vs. Pianos - the difference?

What's the Difference - from teaching, learning, and Musician's perspective? Some semi-random thoughts.

1. There's nothing like playing a well-maintained concert grand. NOTHING.
2. But few people have access to a concert grand, much less a well-maintained one.
3. The new Roland V-Piano is supposed to come close, though. At roughly $6,000 it's a lot cheaper than a quality grand, but you're going to have to invest in some amps and speakers.
4. Keyboards/Synths give me capabilities that a piano doesn't - different sounds, etc.
5. I play a Piano and a Keyboard differently - even when the keyboard has a great action (like my Roland RD-700 sx).
6. I'd suggest learning the Piano, and integrating the "keyboard" part of it as a part of the process. To play keys you need to learn how to work your buttons, how to change what you play depending on the sound you're using, and how to improvise a part while looking at a chord chart.
7. Best way to learn how to change your touch? CLASSICAL PIANO music! (especially Classical, Baroque, and Romantic eras).
8. To Comp (i.e. accompany) you need to know your chords and scales. Those are the tools that let you combine bits and pieces into something interesting that fits the song.
9. This is true regardless of the style - rock, jazz, pop, urban, country, world.......
10. You still have to practice - every day is best.

The MacMusicGuy

The 4-fingered pianist

A friend sent me this link - it's a video of a 20-year old girl born with 4 fingers (2 on each hand) who is playing the piano. The video opens with her playing some Chopin.

Click here to view the video.

See what some practice can accomplish?
(hint hint)

New video performance

This is a performance of "I Surrender All" that I did at Vineville North in July, 2007. This was a jazz improv version - inspired by the thought that this traditional church tune sounds kinda mournful - but the idea of surrendering to Someone who is perfect is pretty cool, and should be cause for celebration!

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Acoustic vs. Digital Pianos

Heard mention the other day that a local piano tuner was recommending to some of his clients to switch to digital. He said he was tired of keeping all those acoustics in tune.

Sounds to me like he's ready to retire!


My views have changed on this subject over the years as technology has evolved on both the acoustic and digital fronts. While I do believe there is NOTHING like playing a quality grand (the expressiveness and sound is unbelievable), the digitals come out ahead when comparing a quality digital piano and the cheaper spinets and consoles.


The acoustics have the advantage of longevity - even a cheaper spinet will last for decades (IF taken care of). I don't believe the digital keyboards will last much longer than a decade, of that long (Depends on how much they are played, of course). The acoustics in general allow a bit more touch control, and especially pedalling nuance (things like half-pedalling, etc are just not possible with most of the digitals.)


On the other hand, digitals never go out of tune. You can use headphones. They generally have additional sounds, useful for keeping practice interesting (ever heard Bach played with a harpsichord sound? A vibe?). The MIDI capabilities, when used with a computer, open up a world of possibilities. Some are portable.


So what do I recommend when buying a digital? I look at three primary things: Key size, Keyboard feel, and Sound. The keys have to be full sized, and the feel needs to be as close to a grand as possible. (I currently really like the feel of the Casio Privia series, for example - especially in it's price range.) I tell my parents to sit down and really listen to a piano's sound for an extended period of time - if their ears aren't tired of hearing the sound, then it will probably work.


I wish all my students could use a quality grand piano in their practicing - but that's not going to happen in this lifetime. The digitals are a great alternative.

That's my opinion. What do YOU think?


So what do I prefer?



I'd REALLY like a Bosendorfer Imprerial Grand - but that ain't gonna happen in my lifetime, because not only would I have to put down well voer $100,000 for the instruments, I'd also have to buy a MUCH bigger house to put it in!

I love playing a good piano - there really isn't anything like it. HOWEVER< i also use digitals, and have for years. I've learned to adapt my touch to different intruments, and can make music on just about anything.

I currently have a Roland RD-700sx (88 note fully weighted hammer action keyboard which feels pretty good).



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