So many people say that they can’t read music. This is probably true because there are many, many people that do not play a musical instrument and therefore have no need for being able to read musical notation. There are also many people who are musical but have never really tried to read music and ... Read more The post Why People Say That They Can’t Read Music first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

It seems to be a very common complaint that learning music theory is boring, especially various advertisers of online courses that teach you to play the piano. First of all, the majority of people that claim that learning theory of music are kids and teenagers. The reason why they label it as boring is because ... Read more The post Theory of Music – Who Says It Has To Be Boring? first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

I know it seems like a crazy question to ask, but are you practicing too much? Even though the vast majority of piano students don’t practice enough, there are some that are practicing too much. I am not suggesting that this happens very often at all, but there are some circumstances where a person is ... Read more The post Are You Practicing Too Much? first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

The sustain pedal, is on the right, whether your piano has 2 pedals or 3 pedals. Sometimes it is referred to as simply ‘the pedal’ because it is used so much more frequently than the left pedal (known as the soft pedal) or the middle pedal ( which is only found on some pianos). As ... Read more The post What is the Sustain Pedal and How to Use it Effectively first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

I understand that this might seem a little strange, especially when I so often advocate that practice will equal progress. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe this – I know that this is true but there are circumstances when some things are impossible, or very much close to it. Let me explain. For as ... Read more The post There Are Limits to What I Can Play and No Amount of Practice Will Change This first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

I get it, I really do. Most piano students are kids or teenagers. This is true not just for piano students but for anyone learning to play a musical instrument. If you think about it, it’s not just learning an instrument, it’s art, it’s sport and it’s often creative pursuits like knitting or sewing, that ... Read more The post Why Learning to Play the Piano in Retirement is a Good Idea first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

Learning about scales or keys, especially when you are a beginner can be rather confusing and daunting. I’m not surprised that it is daunting because there is so much information on the internet and lots of people with lots of opinions about what is essential to know. It can get confusing, especially when there are ... Read more The post Scales and What You Really Need to Know first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

This is a topic that I am very fussy on and very passionate about. I think that it is incredibly important that you hold your hands in the correct manner, when you are playing the piano. I also think that it is really important for piano students should learn good hand positioning from the very ... Read more The post How Important Is Your Hand Positioning? first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

How many times have we been in a car, driving a half and hour or more, or even on a road trip, a kid will ask the age old question of “Are we there yet?” and we the adults try and give a satisfactory answer. These answers can range from “we’ve only just left” to ... Read more The post Are We There Yet? first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more

I know that this is quite a strange concept, the idea that learning to play the piano is a lot like growing your hair. I get that this analogy is not perfect because usually a person’s hair grows automatically where as you don’t learn to play the piano just by waiting, you do actually have ... Read more The post How Learning To Play The Piano Is A Lot Like Growing Your Hair first appeared on Piano for Retirees ..read more