Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847) was born in Hamburg (Germany) and died in Leipzig (Germany). Mendelssohn’s family was prominent; his father was a banker and his mother was an amateur musician. Mendelssohn’s music education began with his sister Fanny, who taught him how to play the piano, and studied music and composition as a child. Mendelssohn composed his first piece at age 11, and at age…read more
History notes for Liszt, Romantic Era Composer: complete with Liszt’s life, works, contributions, influences, and musical styles. Liszt (1811 – 1886) was born in Raiding, Hungary, and died in Bayreuth. Liszt’s father, Adam, played the cello in the local orchestra, and taught Liszt how to play the piano. He was employed as a secretary of Prince Estérhazy and asked for extended leave to further Liszt’s…read more
Accidentals change notes higher or lower. Accidentals give you a wider range of music and are needed in every key but C major (and A natural minor). Learn the names of piano keys and how to read notes before you learn the accidentals. Pieces don’t sound right if they’re not in the right key– without the right accidentals! This post is targeted towards beginner pianists as a resource…read more
The web is a great place with treasures in little nooks and crannies. To help everyone out, I’ve compiled a list of essential music resources, from writing music to starting your music business, full of goodies. Also, I share exclusive playing tips with Artiden’s private email list; click here to join (no spam, I promise).
Learn the dynamics and how they work with this all-in-one guide. Dynamic markings are guidelines for volume. Most dynamic markings are in Italian. Tip: Dynamics are relative to each other. Basic Dynamics Fortississimo – Very Very Loud Fortissimo – Very Loud Forte – Loud Mezzo-Forte – Medium Loud Mezzo-Piano – Medium Soft
Reading piano keys, explained. Learn how to recognize any piano key and how the music alphabet works. You’ll also learn where middle C is and why it’s so important. This post is for beginner pianists as a resource for piano teachers and students. The Music Alphabet and Notes Notes are the musical language: you should play, hear, and understand them to communicate musically. Every tone…read more
Knowing the piano keys and musical alphabet isn’t enough– you need to know how to read it on a staff, too. Learn how to read notes on the staff quickly and easily with these little tricks. The Clefs The five lines form a staff; there are two sets of five lines joined together by a brace on the left– the whole thing is called the…read more
Every pianist should be able to sightread. In fact, the more you do it, the better it gets. This post walks you through the sightreading process. :) Sight Reading Sight reading means playing a piece (that you haven’t seen or played before) for the first time. Sight reading is different from “learning” a piece because you can’t restart once you’ve started playing. The goal is…read more