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Jerry,

First, I want to thank you for your RESPECTFUL reply. Not everyone has to agree. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's nice to see that there are actually people that can state their opinions with respect for others.

Generally I agree with everything you said. No matter what the approach, learning to play the piano takes work. But, like Lee referred to, PianoMagic doesn't seem like work. You do have to put time in, but that time is ALWAYS enjoyable (at least for me).

With regards to your comment: I think you'd be surprised.

Best regards,

Troy

from where does Mike take time to respond to so many piano members? does he have some kind of collaborators?

another question.. when you are playing, you know the next chord to play before play it, or just your hand goes to the place where the chord is? I mean, do you know the next chord is Cm before play it?

when I play the melody from ear with my right hand (single notes) I'm not always sure that I'm going to press the right key, usually I do it right, but there's always some uncentain feeling, I'd like it to be like whistle, cos I never have doubts whistling...

can pianomagic make me play without that insecurity?

how does piano magic approach pitch? absolute or relative?

cheers

Hi Minoco,

Mike is a one man show. He has no collaborators other than the other members. Sometimes Mike is the first to answer your question. Sometimes a member answers first, but Mike will definitely make sure the member is giving the right information. Right Lee?

Absolutely, but to accomplish that you won't be starting out playing Cm. You'd want to make sure you understand a LOT of information before you start messing with Cm.

I don't know that I understand your question about pitch. Sorry. I will say that, at first, everything is played in the key of C.

Thank you,

Troy

Hi minoco

There is a huge community there who have all learned from the same lessons, are all on a similar journey, have probably all asked the same or similar questions and members are encouraged to join in and help newer members

Some of the students (erm... me) get the answers wrong from time to time (often) and get pushed back into line by Mike...but, that helps us learn too

Yes you'll learn why and how the chords move, you'll learn to hear them before you play them and you'll understand where to pick the melodies from and why melody is quite a flexible thing

Simple answer = relative

Big long winded answer:-

It teaches you to learn pitch by teaching you to learn how to play most of the songs you can hum whistle or sing and it teaches you to see how many of the songs that you know think similarily or almost exactly the same as many of the other songs you know.

It teaches you to see how simple songs are really only difficult songs played simply and difficult songs are really only grown up simple songs ...once you see that connection you are well on your way. You have to be lead to make that discovery for yourself...but, once you do....BINGO!!!

hope that helps?


Lee

absolute pitch vs relative pitch is a typical debate about the way to play. Relative pitch is to play using intervals, once you play to first tune you play the second using an inverval, a fifth up, or down, a second... that's the way I play

with absolute pitch when you ear a note you know with note is it and can play it

seems absolute pitch is a gift and very difficult to learn


Thanks for your answers troy1troy and Seaside_Lee, guess I'm going to sign up that course...

I'd like to hear more song from the members before be a member... is there a public place to download them?

I like this video, can you play it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t6CdbZ8jxs

cheers

Piano Magic is about relative pitch. Through playing many songs you train your ears to hear the proper intervals -- however, there is no explicit interval training, nor do intervals figure into the theory or your thinking. They're there, but you don't worry about them. Because we're talking relative pitch here, it's easy to play in other keys besides C major, because in the end all keys work exactly alike.

I definitely haven't got it so you don't need it to play by ear

and sure it can be considered as a gift, but (from what I've read these past few years) it can also be considered a curse too


Lee

Hi minoco

There are recordings in every recital and scattered around the monthly piano bars


look for

Bob Muir, Sharon, mahlzeit, deepelem, johnny boy, some dude who lives by the sea, Frank W, jesseB, Elssa, balladeer...I'm sure I've missed some but, that should keep you going

Sure I could play a version of it...you'd get a Seaside version though (it wouldn't be note for note)...way cool video BTW


Lee

where are those piano bars? in this forums? a web site?

Hi Minoco


Oops sorry (my bad)

Every month a "pianobar" is opened by someone posting up a piece of music and entitling the thread that contains it "December Piano bar" etc... etc. (within the Adult Beginners Forum)

hence January Piano bar, February piano bar and so on


If you search for "Piano Bar" in the title within the ABF you should get a list of the threads?

Here's the link to the first one:-

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/32/1721.html


regards


Lee

Seaside_Lee, I've been reviewing your video on the pianomagic site. I like the way you play and the enthusiasm. Great work. I like how you correct your error on "I dreamed a dream", you play the correct chord then

But I have noticed that on the left hand you play the arpegios without using the thumb finger, you only use it for the highest note. In my sheet music I use to pass fingers over the thumb to make the arpegio. I'm afraid I could have problems because I'm used to use some finger in a certain way

For example in the video for test the system Mike plays

C G (one octave up) C E G wi this 5 2 5 3 2

I'd have used 5 (2 1) 2 1 , that way I get to (join, tie, ligate?) the notes

Is this the way to play in pianomagic? is fingering important or do you use the fingers you feel more confortable?

Hi minoco

The fingering will probably be different and probably uncomfortable for a week or so...

But, there's a reason for it and it leads you to a different thinking (a simpler thinking ) when you play...which makes a BIG difference .

Its worth the little effort it takes to master it and once you can do it, you'll be able to do it either way


regards


Lee

Hi everybody!

This piano magic fascinates me. Bob brought up some points that scare me, such as the 'all the song sounding the same'. But let me tell you my purposes for wanting to join piano magic, and those of you who are apart of it can say whether my reasons are valid or not. The reason I ask, is because 190 coconuts, is a butt-load of coconuts. Particularly for a college student.

Anyway, my background is that I learned piano about 10 months ago. I bought, "piano for dummies" and promptly went from, "what do all these white and black buttons do...?" to, playing rather well. Anyway, I have no problem playing by sheet music(disclaimer: I suck hugely at sight reading... I basically memorize the sheet music as I play), in fact its all I know how to do. I generally like alternative, rock, and pop. I'm not a big classical fan. While there are some absolute beautiful pieces like moonlight sonata, my distaste for classical comes in that it is a big boring I feel, and secondly there are butt loads of VERY FAST finger movements. But I digress, a lot of the songs that I like particularly from the band Something Corporate, don't have sheet music, and if there are sheets it doesn't do the song justice as in I feel they are too simple or too lyric based. Well, I heard an acoustic version of a song that I loved, and the only instrument used is piano. "Oh hells yeah!" I thought, I'll just listen to it a bunch of times until I can play it!!! Nope. After listening to it for 4 hours I'm convinced the A-hole that composed this piece had a 96key piano, because I tried all the keys on my ypg625 (88key) and none matched the first chord.

So, I don't want to learn how to just play by ear, there are a lot of good pieces that are on sheet music, but there are some songs like that one, in which only piano is used and I want to be able to transcribe it exactly as it is played. Also another main reason would be the songs that I learn from sheet music, perhaps I could sprucen up a bit by adding my own touches. However, transcribing some songs in my own interpretation would be a plus too. Will piano magic help me in that mission?

Nope. From what you described, I would not recommend Pianomagic for you.

Simple, here's an excellent transcription program, called Transcribe!:
www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html

I agree: you'll have to learn to transcribe which is not what Piano Magic teaches. Transcribe! is a great program, but you'll still need to do all the work yourself.

Hey thanks guys!!! I appreciate the quick responses, as well as a solution!

And on a sidenote, mahlzeit, great playing, big fan of "tonight we dance"!

Thanks very much, simple.