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Trying to find a song to learn on piano but nothing comes to mind? You can’t think of a song you want to learn. I’ve put together a list of 5 essential songs on the piano that all players should learn at some point. So if you’re stuck for something to learn why not consider one of these.

In this list are three songs great for beginners and another two for more advanced players so players of all skill levels can find something here.

The Beatles – Hey Jude

Unless you live under a rock you’ve heard this huge hit by the Beatles. With a fantastic opening on the piano this has to be one of the best piano pop songs ever written. While the song may sound complex it’s really not that difficult for beginners who know a few songs already to pick up. Learning the chords is the hard part, the progression and rhythm are quite easy.

Journey – Don’t Stop Believing

Some people view this song as cheesy, personally I like it. This song was likely the biggest hit for stadium band Journey. This song has been recorded by many other bands and has had it’s share of TV appearances on HBO’s The Sporano’s and newer hit musical show Glee. The intro to this song is awesome, and if you’re able to sing while you play give it a try on this song.

Guns N Roses – November Rain

Probably not an easy song for beginners to learn but Guns N Roses November Rain was and still is a huge hit for the band and main piano player Axl Rose. This song has beautiful piano through the verses that carries through out the tune. There are stripped down piano only versions of this song you can find to learn online.

The Beatles – Let it Be

Another great Beatles tune, Let it Be is a staple for all beginners. Similar to the other Beatle’s song on the list, Let it Be sounds more difficult to play then it is. The chords to the song are straight forward and not too many difficult parts exist any where else. You can find the basic piano chords online and then listen to the song a couple of times to pick the progression out by ear.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Many people forget just how much piano is in this song. If you do some searching you can find some piano chord charts that break the electric guitar portions of the song into a more simple acoustic piano version.

This Queen classic is another great song to sing and play if you’ve got the chops for it.

Concerned these songs might be a little to advanced for you? Not to worry, why not consider a piano lesson dvd to bring your skills to the next level? Home study piano courses like Learn and master piano will teach you the basics of reading music, playing by ear, chords, scales and more entirely from home and on your own time.

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The one handed drum roll is a pretty fancy technique. This isn’t something for a brand new beginner but it is worth learning early on in your drumming career.

I’m going to explain the basics of playing the one handed drum roll, but for more detailed instruction you may want to consider a drum lesson dvd.

In the grip

Much of this technique comes from the grip on the drum stick. Hold onto the stick loosely and wrap your middle, ring and pinky finger around the stick, but keep it loose because you’ll need to squeeze that hand later to push the stick. Your fingers should be loose enough that with a squeeze and light movement of the wrist the drum stick will hit the snare drum.

The Movement

Using your wrist and arm hit the snare once. As the stick leaves the snare make a slight wrist movement and squeeze your fingers and the stick will be pushed back towards the snare. This movement will push the drum stick and hit the snare again.

The secret to this movement is the fingers. You can move your fingers much faster then your entire arm and wrist making the one handed roll possible.

The Timing

When perfecting the one handed drum roll there is a lot to do about timing. Timing is everything with this one handed technique. As soon as the stick leaves the snare on first strike you must make the motion to complete it.

Not Just for Drum Rolls

Learning this early on in your drumming career is important because the same motion isn’t only used for a drum roll. This is a great technique to use on the ride cymbal or high hat as well when you want to play quickly with just one hand. After you master this technique you’ll be incorporating it into all your drumming.

As mentioned above video instruction or DVDs can be helpful with this skill. Two courses to consider arethe drumming system or learn and master drums.

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Beginners can look at chords and thing how will I ever learn these, when in fact they’re nothing more then several keys being played at once. The tough part is knowing which keys to play. In this article I’ll introduce you to 3 note chords and how to easily discover the right notes to play.

Easy Three Note Piano Chords

Basic piano chords are 3 notes all taken from the same scale. Before we can make a chord we must first know the given scale for the chord we want to play.

Example: To play a C chord you should be familiar with the C major scale.

The 1st, 3rd and 5th of the Scale

A 3 note chord is made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes from a given scale. So if you want to play a C major chord you would look at the C major scale and pick out the first, third and fifth notes from that scale and play them all at the same time.

C major scale: C    D    E    F    G    A    B

The name of a chord is designated by it’s root note which is also the first note. So for the C chord the first note is the C note and that is also known as the root.

By first looking at the scale for the chord you want to play, then knowing where those notes are on the piano you can formulate any 3 note chord. A trick is you only really need to know the location of the first note and then move up from the first to the 3rd and 5th.

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Use your Thumb for the first note, your middle finger for the third note and your pinky finger for the fifth note. This is the proper technique for playing 3 note chords.

Learn your Scales

If you haven’t realized it already your scales are the key to understanding how to create piano chords. So if you haven’t been start practicing your scale. It’s not the most fun but it will speed up your learning of different piano chords.

UnderStanding scales is a beginner skill you can learn from free videos, a piano lessons dvd also private instruction. The key is that you take the time to learn the basics and also practice them. for a jump start on scales and other beginner piano concepts I suggest trying Learn & Master Piano.

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