Piano Lessons in Chicago with Backbeat Music Instruction
Backbeat Piano lessons in Chicago equip students of any age with a valuable skill. Mastery of the piano as an instrument permits limitless expression in music and music composition. But most important to learning the piano, is remembering to relax and just play. Backbeat Music Chicago piano lessons are designed to edify a student's musical understanding, while inspiring creativity and passion for the piano and music.
Most importantly we want you to express yourself. Learn to play the music you feel and sign up for a free piano lesson in Chicago for beginners at Backbeat Music.
Piano Lessons Q & A with Director Meghan Horman
Q: Any keen advice for beginning piano players?
MH: Patient practice makes perfect. With piano, you can be in a rush because both of your hands are acting like two different people. It's hard to coordinate one hand at a time. Try practicing each hand separately to understand what each must do before you try to put them together. Also remember that you're playing the piano to have fun, so don't let yourself get too frustrated.
Q: Is knowing music theory required to play the piano?
It's definitely not required. I have many students who come to me who have never read music. We try to correlate the keys on the piano with math, and it really starts to make sense for them. Of course, being able to read the music is a valuable skill, but many successful musicians do not.
Q: Can you express yourself with an instrument from the get go, or does it take years of knowledge and practice?
It depends on the person. For myself, I had to develop the expression over years of practice. When I was a teenager, I don't think I was comfortable in my own skin, so I couldn't really express myself through music. In college I became much more comfortable with "just being me" and my piano playing became more vibrant.
Q: What kind of roles does the piano take on in an ensemble?
In the jazz world, the piano is very percussive. The pianist is there to help keep the rhythm with the bass player and the drummer, so It's very important to be in tune with them while you're playing. I help students with this by reminding them that they don't need to play many notes because "less is more."
In the classical world, the piano has many "voices," sometimes as many as 4 that your hands are trying to bring out. It's very complicated, so I have students learn each voice or passage of notes very carefully and methodically so that they are able to hear each voice when they are trying to play them all together.
