Piano play-by-ear hopefuls would be wise to take a lesson from a beginning guitarist. A beginner doesn’t think much about theory or rhythm, the names of notes, scales, numbers, reading or timing. They barely know how to tune the guitar.
. . . but they do know, to be successful, they’re going to have to learn some chords. All they work on is learning how to finger 3 or 4 chords cleanly. They know that until they can do that, there will be no music. For them, there is really only one goal.
“Learn the chords and practice them.”
If there is a lot of desire to play, that beginning guitarist will practice all day with “Karate Kid” dedication to perfect just 3 chords. ALL DAY!!! They are focused on one task only and don’t get bogged down concentrating on the meaning of life. Their only mantra is “Practice. Practice. Practice.” They know that once they get the chords down, the rest will fall into place.
Piano players, stop saying “I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN!” Follow the path of the beginning guitarist. Find a simple song you want to play, figure out the chords and PRACTICE. Take action. Pretend like you’re totally ignorant of music.
Don’t focus on anything else. Just learn the chords and play a song. When everything comes together, you’ll feel an exhilarating sense of accomplishment. You’ll get excited to start work on the next one.
Get over the first hump of fear and hesitation. Everything starts to make sense after you get that first song under your belt.
© 2011 Keyed Up Inc