5-Minute Piano Lessons

The piano world is waking up to CHORDS and their value

Years ago only professional musicians even knew fakebooks (books with just melody lines, lyrics, and chord symbols) existed. The few fakebooks available to such folk were very expensive and highly illegal (as the unknown authors simply ignored copyright and used that new technology of the photocopy machine to produce the things.) The regular pianist or piano student was taught that the supreme virtue was to read every note and every instruction on the piece of printed music. Making it up was, of course, “faking it” and therefore somehow less than capable.

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The proper priorities regarding chords and fakebooks can save time and improve your playing

Note: This essay is taken from my ebook concerning Advanced Chord and Fakebook Use. I felt it too important to limit it to that source.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of what I consider Advanced chord and fakebook usage, I want to urge you to keep your priorities straight as you study. These priorities are stated in this essay’s title, at least as I’ve found them in 40+ years of successful piano performance. I truly believe it will be very worth your time to consider my reasoning before you embark upon the study of the rest of this ebook. (more…)

Explaining the Symbols for Chords on Lead Sheets and Fakebooks

Chord symbols are those letters and numbers and funny characters that appear above the melody line on modern sheet music. Many times they are accompanied by a tiny diagram of the strings of a guitar showing physically how to play the chord. The chord, however, is the same note-wise for the pianist/ keyboardist. (more…)

Some simple guidelines for pianists and piano students

Pianists often want guidelines in arranging piano ballads and standard piano music when using “fakebooks” or when playing from standard sheet music in fakebook style. This is a short essay of such guidelines. I produced these for a piano student working on the show tune “If Not for Me.” (more…)