1. 80% of students normally quit before they reach level 2 lessons, usually denoted by playing a simple song with both hands simultaneously.

2. Professional pianists practice 8 to 10 hours per day.

3. Most teachers start their students out by having them practice the C major scale.

4. To aid in conveying proper technique to the student, the teacher refers to each finger as a number...1 through 5 starting on each thumb.

5. The average beginner piano lesson lasts one half hour and costs $30.00.

6. The common exercises done to gain and maintain speed and finger independence are the Hanon and Schmidt exercises.

7. It is generally easier for a jazz pianist to switch over to classical music study than vice versa.

8. For beginner's, practicing 15-30 minutes each day between lessons is more beneficial than cramming all practice time into hours on end.

9. The two most popular songs beginner pianists learn before they take formal lessons are Heart and Soul and Fur Elise.

10. Over 95% of piano music does not call for the use of the middle "sostenuto" pedal which only sustains notes already being held with the hands as the pedal is pressed.

Not only can robots play according to a strict set of instructions, they also can be fitted with the ability to hear harmony and correctly play their own solo line over it as an improvisation.

This video shows how robot can faithfully reproduce a transcribed saxophone solo.

It could be that I'm just very partial to owning a hard copy of all my music, that I enjoy looking at the cover art, or skimming the liner notes, but I love my CD's. Even with iTunes and the availability of mp3 downloads, the first CD release is and will always be the artist's second birthday. When you look back at cassettes and vinyl, it's obvious why they didn't stand the test of time. Audio degradation with each play would ruin the music, but CD's can practically last forever if handled properly. There is no physical friction that wears any surfaces down, just a reflecting laser beam. An mp3 file doesn't age. It's case doesn't crack from being opened too many times. It's label doesn't start to peel away and you never feel it in your hands or see it sitting on top of your stereo. Fans will always want to feel connected the to artist by holding the album in their hands. That's real ownership.

I'm really on the hunt for a keytar! I want to bring this awesome instrument back to the forefront of stages throughout the city. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a small keyboard you throw over your shoulder like you would a guitar strap. What's awesome about it is it let's you share the front of the stage with the lead guitar so you aren't stuck behind a big synthesizer. The audience goes nuts whenever a good keyboardist gets on the keytar, no matter what style of music is being played. You should check out Patrice Rushen's YouTube videos and old Steely Dan clips to get a good sense of how it's done right!

In the jazz world, there have been few innovators like Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, and Wayne Shorter. These guys kept the music fresh, and others still love playing their songs. They'll never die. It's now time for some new artists to step up to the plate and give this next decade, still young, it's signature sounds. It's up to all of you to discover them and give them a chance. There are only 12 tones in our chromatic scale. That's it! What's been done with them over the past few hundred years is breathtaking, and what lies ahead is exciting, uncharted territory! If you can't find musical talent within yourself, find it in others.

In the past year alone, I can't believe the amount of talent and hard work I've seen go into performances all around the Philly and Bucks County areas as well as South Jersey. To The Max, a wonderful dance band that plays every Friday night at Cafe Madison in Riverside, NJ will get you out of your chair in no time! They are a premier wedding/banquet band and deserve major publicity. Steve Lynn @ basssatisfaction.com is an extraordinary bassist who has the talent to bring down the house every single time with a duo or a 30 piece band! My own duo that writes its own original songs and also plays covers is great for cocktail hours, private affairs, and restaurant/tavern brunch and dinner hours. Only Human is a terrific Christian rock band that performs covers and originals pretty steadily at least once or twice a month. No matter what your taste in music, there is something here locally you'll enjoy. Check out the scene, and you'll be coming back for more shows over and over again!

I'm often asked what contributes most to making a solid musician. The answer is listening to other music, and various types, no matter what your favorite style might be! I say listen to different music because if you like Rock n' Roll, you're always going to gravitate toward it. You naturally won't break free from your comfort zone, and someone has to push you. Discover different rhythms, odd time signatures, play in weird keys like D-sharp minor , never be afraid to write your own melodies, no matter how simple they are. The only thing you really need a music degree for in this world is teaching formally. If you just want to perform, it's better to get out there playing gigs as soon as you're ready. The early experience molds you into a more responsible, dependable, and dedicated musician because you realize there is plenty of work to do before you become truly great at your instrument, and when you play in front people, you never know who may be listening.

All instruments can sound excellent using their built-in sound system in an intimate setting, but the technology is out there to give you that extra boost, extra warmth, and extra rich sound. When looking for a great PA system to amplify your presence in a room or outside, it must have the wattage required to support the loudness coming from your instruments and the fine controls to keep the stereo balance and equalizer just right. A Yamaha StagePas system is my choice for a general, excellent quality system. You can leave the mixer/amplifier board inside the back of the speaker or take it out and mount it remotely for easy access during performances. A sound check before the first song is a must. The balance may sound good from the stage, but a good rule of thumb is to stand about 10 rows back in the audience and make your adjustments based on that point. Stereo speakers must be placed wide enough apart to avoid frequency cancellation and faced inward on a slight angle to give the listener the feeling of being "inside" the sound!

On the bandstand, many things can go haywire at the last minute, and its how you handle the problems that make you a good musician or ultimately meet your fate. An older piano will have a bit of a bite to it, and possibly will not hold a perfect tune even if it was just serviced. That's not a problem for the iPhone! Just play a B-flat and the iPhone tells you just how many cents its varied from the normal pitch. If your Real Book doesn't contain the tune that was just called, you can look it up on the Real Book app and the chord changes and sometimes melody line will appear on your screen. I saw this with the iPhone, but it works much better with an iPad. Did you come up with a cool melody on the way to work? Use voice recorder to capture it! Yet another app, an actual mini keyboard complete with damper pedal option will let you play something into it, and later on, you can listen back and even transfer it to your computer. Though it has nothing to do with music, I think the coolest app is the Zippo lighter with the flame that changes direction depending how you hold the phone!

Today's digital pianos and pro workstations can outperform and outlast an acoustic piano for many reasons. I use mine to loop very high quality drum samples through a sound system on my gigs, while occasionally backing that up with a bass, guitars, strings, and brass sections. Digital pianos sound so authentic because HD samples of the actual instrument are taken at all different volume levels and transferred to the keyboard's internal permanent memory. If you're a keyboardist, you can play almost any instrument imaginable with the keyboard, and when it's recorded, you can't even tell it apart from the real thing without hours of training with someone who tells you what nuances to look out for in the different instruments. Another excellent feature keyboards offer is the ability to multi-track a sequence; therefore, doing all the hard work of playing individual parts before the performance and saving them. When you go on stage, all you have to do press "Play." They can also notate your pitch and rhythm almost instantaneously and be your best friend when you never know what kind of condition the piano will be in at your next club date!

The most advanced system that incorporates a fully functional acoustic grand piano seamlessly mated to a state of the art computer is inside the Yamaha Mark IV Disklavier. It's open architecture design allowed for continued improvements on the design launched in 2003. Not only can this piano play solo pieces and accompany itself with a fully synthesized orchestra or live CD sound, it can record whatever you play on top of your favorite songs and play it back in perfect synchronization. You can connect to the Internet and download new songs right to it's 50 gigabyte hard disk or pay $200 per year for a 24/7 radio service that spans more than 12 channels of music specially made for the Disklavier Mark IV. It is also fully capable of working with a connection to other like pianos that allows each player, now matter where they are in the world, to instantly teach a far away student or jam on demand with the band back home! The piano can even teach you how to play a simple melody by itself by wiggling each key you're to play to keep you up to tempo!

Despite all the hype that describes people that "have no money" and are "waiting for the tide to turn" to start spending again, the affluent are not waiting much longer on those large purchases...and Steinway pianos are no exception! The motivation behind the purchase lies somewhere between the romance of owning the world's most recognizable brand and in knowing the piano's value will increase steadily year after year. Still, in between the romance and investment reasoning, these pianos are still handcrafted in New York, and are built to a standard, not a price. The prices reflect an incredible value to the consumer when considering all the preparation and logistics, workmanship, and pure sweat equity that goes into making one of these fine pianos. Each of them have a slightly different feel and sound, some more noticeable in difference than others. For example, I was playing a Steinway B 7' Concert Grand a couple weeks ago, and no other piano to date has sounded that good to me. If you are a serious pianist, you owe it to yourself to test drive a Steinway!

in the video it show how a robot might change the game of baseball.


http://www.popsci.com/category/tags/future-sports