A metronome works by setting different beats per minute (bpm).  For example, 60 bpms would be a beat every second, since there are 60 seconds in a minute.   So you can set the tempo (speed) on your metronome by picking out how many bpm’s you want (60 is a slower tempo, while 120 would be a faster tempo). 

Working with a metronome takes a different kind of listening.  You have to listen to both the metronome and your piece at the same time, so you’re widening your circle of focus more than you’re used to.  Just think of yourself as a vessel, absorbing the sound around you, and your fingers become an instant reponse to that sound.

When you work with a metronome for the first time, it can be difficult to use–even frustrating.  I think it’s best to first try a simple exercise with the metronome before you jump on in to using it with one of your pieces:

• Set the metronome to 60 bpm’s and listen to the constant click.  Now try to play one note on the piano over and over again at the exact time of each click.  Usually when you use a metronome, you have each quarter note in your song (which is 1 beat long)  equal one click.  So in that case, in this exercise you would be playing quarter notes.
• Now let’s trying playing eighth notes (which are 1/2 beat long) with the click.  So now you want to play two notes for every click.  That means one note you play with be at the exact time of each click, while a second note is played in between each click.
• Try switching back and forth between quarter notes and eighth notes and see if you can still sync it up with every click on your metronome.  You can also make up your own rhythms adding half notes (which are 2 beats long) and other notes.  Once you feel comfortable doing this and can continually sync up your notes with the metronome’s click, you can try it with one of your songs.

It helps to have someone else with you (like your teacher!) when you first start working with a metronome so they can tell you if you’re in time or not–if you can’t tell yourself.  The best thing to do is have patience.  With not too much practice, you WILL be able to work with a metronome–but you have to put in the focus up front so that you can figure it out before you get going.  

For more on rhythm, check out my post “Playing Rhythmically” at http://mypianoteacher.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/playing-in-rhythm/

Now it’s time to give the songs a little personality.  That’s where staccatos and accents come in.  At this point things can sometimes get overwhelming.  You start to feel like there are too many instructions to keep track of at once.  Don’t worry, after a while that feeling goes away. 

It’s like when you learned to drive a car.  You had to remember everything consciously: foot on the brake, move into drive, foot off the break and onto the gas, check your mirrors, put your blinker on, pull onto the street, etc.  But now, do you think about any of those things?  No!  It just happens automatically. 

This will happen to you in your piano studies as well.  At first, you’ll have to have a lot of patience with yourself as you try to get all the notes right, all the dynamics (louds & softs), all the rhythm…and oh, while you’re at it, can you add some accent here and a little staccato there?! 

Ok, some of you may need to know: What is an accent?

An ACCENT (>) written over a note means to play the note “with emphasis”.  This means that the accented note will end up being slightly louder than all the notes around it.  Just remember that when you play a note with emphasis, it’s easy to forget to go back to normal with the notes that come after.  That’s why I’ve noticed that a lot of times there needs to be almost more focus on making sure the notes around the accented note are not emphasized.  Especially when you’re a beginner.  If you play an accented note with emphasis, and then accidentally play a few other normal notes with emphasis, it cancels out the emphasis you were supposed to have: the accented note won’t stick out over the rest.  Make sense?

Also, we always hear how music is a language.  Well, adding an accent to a note is very similar to something we might do when we communicate with each other.  “I am not going to do that again” has an accent over the “not”, and “What if we both washed the dishes” would have an accent over the “both”.  It naturally that when we communicate, whether it’s through words or music, that some words or notes need emphasis over the rest.  When you add accents in your music, you are communicating more to your listener–and making what you say in the music more interesting.

Hopefully, this post has made you well informed on what to do when you see an accent mark.  Check out my following post on the staccato music symbol for more information about reading music notation.

It’s important to warn you of accidentally increasing tempo when you play staccato notes.  Often, when my students first learn staccato, they get uncomfortable with the idea of letting there be silence in between notes and try to compensate by quickly pressing down a new note before any silence can take place.  This ends up almost doubling the speed they are supposed to play!  And it completely defeats the purpose because half of the concept of staccato is to create notes that are detached–so by that definition they have to have silent space in between each note.

I’ve found through trial and error that the students who I have add staccatos, accents, and other notation the very first time they play the song always remember it, and the students who wait to add them until after they know the piece have a harder time remembering to do it.  So my advice would be to start playing them right away, when you first learn a song, and make your life easier.

Well I often find that in the eagerness students feel to rush to the finish line, they are tempted to take short cuts along the way—shortcuts that only end up pushing the finish line farther away.  And one of the first items that gets thrown to the wayside (besides sightreading–don’t even get me started there!) is RHYTHM. 

Unless you grew up with musicians or are one of the few who just have rhythm in your blood, it may not come naturally.  You probably won’t automatically have an inner beat that you can sync all of your music notes to when you first get started.  It also may not be easy to understand how rhythm is broken down at first.  But don’t skip this part!  If you do you’ll just spend the rest of your piano career compensating for the lack of foundation.

Even though you may not understand rhythm as a performer in the beginning, you definitely already understand it as a listener–whether you know it or not.  When you listen to your favorite Killers hit, I’m sure you find yourself either bobbing your head or downright jumping up and down to the “pulse” of the music.  If this pulse didn’t happen at exactly the same time every time–like a heart beating or a clock ticking–it would be pretty hard to bob to right?  Well, that continuous pulse creates a “tempo”–the speed at which you play a piece of music. 

I’m sure a lot of you know that, but I find that in both the beginning and intermediate stages of my students learning process, tempo is often thrown out the window.  Just remember, you have to pick one speed and stick to it.  The problem is, even though we may recognize a steady tempo in the songs on our ipod, we may not have the ability to create a steady tempo ourselves without a little practice.  This is where a metronome comes in–that little machine that provides you with a continuous clicking/beeping sound that you can sync your notes to.  

So there’s my first piece of advice:

USE A METRONOME! It can be hard to use at first, I know, but the good news is you can mostly use the metronome as training wheels until you can “ride the bike” all by yourself.  As you get more advanced, you will develop an internal pulse that you always feel, and you can then sync your music to your own inner tempo.  After that point you will use the metronome mainly as a reference for different bpm (beats per minute).  

My next bit of advice is a possibly painful truth:

YOU MUST COUNT! Again, you will not have to count every note you play for the rest of your life.  But you have to earn the right to be able to stop counting.  Don’t skip this part or you will just always play incorrect rhythms-it’s not worth it!  And it’s not hard to do–it’s like remembering to brush your teeth…something easy that just requires a little discipline. 

Here’s the basic guidline: anything that is one beat or longer (quarter notes through whole notes) can be counted using numbers only.  1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.  Any rhythms using eighth notes should be counted as 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.  Using sixteenth notes?  You must count in 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a–or whatever method for splitting a beat into 4 parts that you’ve been taught.  

Count this way OUT LOUD every time you practice your piece during the first week.  You may think you can count in your head, but it’s a funny thing–time does not always move the same way in our minds as it does out loud, and often you will not be keeping even time.  

After you’ve practice the piece counting out loud for your first week, you probably will have memorized the rhythm and should be able to play it in rhythm without counting.  Again, don’t skip that part!  I’m sure a lot of you have already noticed: if you learn the rhythm wrong on a song the first time, it takes 4 times as long to learn it correctly than if you’d just learned it right to begin with!

Ok, now that you know some steps to take to rhythmic freedom, let’s go over some common rhythm-related bad habits:

1) Rushing during the easy parts: 

You’ve all done it, you’ve gotten the first 2 lines of the song down perfectly (because you didn’t take my advice in “the best approach to your practice sessions” -http://mypianoteacher.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/the-best-approach-to-your-practice-sessions/) and now you rush through the part you know and then slow down drastically when you get to the part you don’t know.  This is bad.  Make sure you only play the song as fast as you can play the hardest part of the piece.  You will learn the piece faster if you keep a slow, steady tempo than if you constantly slow down and speed up.

 2) Rushing during the slower parts:

Don’t rush when you get to slower parts of the song just because there are less notes in each measure.  I’ve notice a lot of students doing this even when they’ve finished the piece.  It’s very anxiety-inducing for the listener to listen to a piece that feels like it’s speeding up and slowing down.  We need a steady tempo.  Imagine your favorite rock hit being played at an uneven tempo–how would you know when to bob?

3) Accidentally shortening the longer notes:

Often I find that half notes (2 beats), dotted half notes (3 beats) and whole notes (4 beats) are cut short.  After you’ve followed my initial advice to count EVERYTHING when you first start playing and have graduated to being able to mostly “feel” the rhythm, you probably will still have to count the longer notes.  It’s just too easy to cut them short.

4) Trying to put 4 beats in every measure when there are only supposed to be 3:

When you’re a beginner, you’re mostly playing songs that have 4 beats in every measure.  That’s the most common time signature and most students already have a feel for it.  So watch out when you start learning pieces with only 3 beats in the measure.  About 60% of the time, I find the students trying to make the last note in each measure 1 beat longer, just so they can force the measures to have 4 beats and turn the song into the feel that their used to. 

So watch out for this!  Even if you’re counting 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, along with the music, you could still be doing it wrong–I’ve caught a lot of students counting to 3 like they’re supposed to–but saying the 3 longer (“one, two, three-ee, one, two, three-ee”)–essentially adding a 4th beat! 

Tricky business huh?  But don’t worry, if you’re conscious of the possible problems I’ve noted here, you will be able to prevent the mistakes.  A big part of learning rhythm is understanding what the pitfalls are and avoiding them right from the start.  It’s much harder to correct later after bad habits have developed.  So make sure you take note of this advice and you’ll be fine!

Pianos differ greatly in size and weight.  Some can be incredibly heavy-up to 1000 lbs for some grand pianos!  So proceed with caution before moving a piano and follow these steps from Ruth:

“If you need to move a piano, hopefully you’ll have professional
help available. If you decide to ask friends, you will have to give
them very clear instructions to avoid inflicting damage to bodies
and objects.

Move a Piano Within a Room

1. Make sure the piano you want to move is easily accessible from
all sides.
2. Make sure the new location you have chosen is suitable for the
piano. Do not move it into cold drafts or close to heating devices.
3. Lower the lid and lock it before you start moving.
4. Position at least one person on each end of the piano if you are
moving an upright piano.
5. Move the piano endways, not sideways. 6. Make sure you do not
bend your back when handling the piano to avoid severe back strain
or injury. Lift with your knees bent and your back straight.
7. Be certain there are no obstacles in the way the piano is
moving.
8. Be careful not to strain the legs of the piano if you have to
move it on carpeting or over a threshold.
9. Move the piano slowly and carefully, just a few inches at a
time.
10. Put at least three persons around a grand piano, one at each
leg.
11. Take enough weight off the casters to make it roll more easily,
but do not lift it off the floor.
12. Make sure you lift the casters over bumps in the floor, one leg
at a time.

Warnings: Because most of the weight of an upright piano is located
toward its back, it does tilt over easily. When moving it away from
a wall, be absolutely sure no one is standing behind it. Spinets
and console pianos have thin front legs that can break off easily
if caught. Tip the piano back very slightly as you roll it to avoid
damage. “

The first thing you’ll need to decide is whether an acoustic piano is best for you, or if you’d prefer a digital piano keyboard.  I think that an acoustic piano is ideal because you get a much more organic sound that resonates through the instrument, whereas with a keyboard you get a replicated piano sound that comes out of speakers…That said, there are many advantages to having a digital piano keyboard. 

You may want to buy a keyboard over a piano if:

• You live in an apartment and are worried about disturbing the neighbors
• You want to be able to practice at all hours of the day/night without anyone hearing you (using headphones)
• You have no space and need something compact
• You would like to be able to move the keyboard around to practice at different locations

But if you have space and aren’t worried about the noise level, then an acoustic piano would be a great option.  You get a much more satisfying sound that makes playing more enjoyable.  Plus, piano’s are beautiful instruments that can really make your living space feel artistic and classy. 

And the interesting thing is–a piano can sometimes be more affordable than a keyboard.  You can find a used piano for free or for only a few hundred dollars from private owners in classified adds or on craigslist.com (these cheaply priced pianos are usually no better than fair condition, but may be a good fit for a beginner).  When I lived in Chicago, I found a piano on craigslist for free that had a scratched body but a really pretty sound.  Then in Los Angeles, I’ve found a free piano that was a little clanky but still had a decent sound, and a $200 piano in great condition that was comparable to some $800-$1000 used pianos I’ve found in the piano stores.  Be careful with free pianos-sometimes it’s just because people are moving and just want someone to take it off their hands, but other times the pianos are just a mess and barely play. 

I hope this helps you understand about the pros and cons of pianos vs. keyboards.  Both options are definitely attractive in their own ways.  If you do decide to get a keyboard to use for your piano lessons, make sure it has a few key features so you don’t kick yourself later:

1. Weighted keys-the keyboard should have keys that present a little bit of resistance when pressed down to imitate the weight of the keys on a piano.  This will help you develop finger strength.  It will also keep you from having a difficult time playing the songs you’ve been practicing on your keyboard on a real piano.  If not, when you go to a friends house to play a piece you’ve been working on on their grand piano, you can expect to make a lot of mistakes.
2. 88 keys-some keyboards are smaller and don’t have as many keys as an acoustic piano.  The keys in the middle of the piano are still included, but the very high keys and very low keys on either end have been cut off.  61-key and 49-key digital keyboards are common.  This might not affect you when you are a beginning student and mostly playing in the middle of the keyboard.  But, you will definitely want to have all the keys so that you don’t run into problems as you begin working on more advanced music that uses more of the keyboard.
3. Touch sensitive-the keyboard should be able to make louder or softer sounds depending on how hard you press the keys.
4. Sustain Pedal-the keyboard should include a pedal that plugs into it call a sustain pedal.  This pedal makes the sounds on the keyboard hold over even after you’ve lifted your fingers off the keys (mimicking the “damper pedal” on acoustic pianos).  It’s a very commonly used affect and is usually introduced in the first few months of piano lessons (more like 12 months for younger students).  If the pedal is not included, buy one separately and you’ll have everything you need to take piano lessons!