Just needa take a moment to thank you, Michael, for everything you do. The way you take a slow pace with your explanations, not leave any stone unturned and answer questions that would naturally come to mind as a new topic is learned makes you the best musical educator on UA-cam in my opinion - not to take anything away from the others. Your videos made me understand concepts I've been struggling with for literally years and had given me the fundamentals with which I see so many new avenues opening up in my musical education. Keep on doing what you're doing! Cheers.
I'm a Pianist. I practice 5-6 hours a day. I'm not classically trained and I play solely by ear. I have very good relative pitch. but when you say that can eventually "run out of steam" I can feel it. Based off everything you've discussed it really seems like having a good understanding of how to play by ear and being able to read sheet music well, is the most diverse and best way to approach the piano. it all falls back to it being written. maybe I should start learning sheet music.
With all your dedication, and because you use a lot your ears, learning some theory would be really beneficial for you! And trust me, it's not hard at all and doesn't take to much to get use to. I've been playing guitar since i was 11 (i'm 20) and i just learn to read musical notation a year ago :)
Oh, and if you want to make a living on music, and maybe get a degree in music (i think jazz would fits great to you) it's very important to read some music too.
Sheet music and theory. I began playing keys by ear when I was a kid. And, yes, running out of steam is a good description of what eventually happened. Recently I began learning notation, proper fingering, and basic music theory through some adult piano method books and some introductory music theory books. Very quickly I could see how these would open vast areas of music that would've remained inaccessible to me. One tip: It can be frustrating at first to be doing such rudimentary work when in the back of your mind you're thinking, "But I can play!" But remember you're working on new skills and it will eventually meld with your other skills and pay massive dividends. I hope it all goes well for you.
Thanks for clearing up these misconception I had about sheet music. I thought I could just get good at sight reading and play whatever I want but you made it clear that not the case
Saying you're a very good teacher is an understatement. You're very good at explaining things to mortals like me and I've been playing the piano and guitar for >10yrs.. Write a book Michael! :D
I think it's also important to acknowledge the role of music programs ;) With today's MIDI options it is possible to compose without writing sheet music actively
I get a weird kind of joy when I see all the positions, fingering, open strings on guitar tabs. It feels like this way I can see... a soul of guitar melody? Something like that, hard to find words.
Seriously, you're my new obsession! Finished watching your Basic Chords Theory 1 and you just crammed all that into my brain in 25 minutes, when I've been trying to figure it out for months, with random tuts and dozens of books. Been playing the piano (leisure) for 17 years. Had 1-year of lesson when I was 11y.o.. and just now getting into piano chords, my head hurt for 2 days because it's so NOT guitar.. haha. thanks!!
Good video, I played organ as a small kid and learned from my father who played by ear and taught me to play by ear. Later in life I started the trumpet in middle school and through my teenage years, about 7 years. Once I hit 18 I had learned most of the class instruments and picked up every class instrument and could reasonably play all of the class woodwinds and brass instruments. I started piano about 15 years ago and I think having played by ear, and then years of improv with horn made making musical phrases easy, learning to read music as a kid was probably the best thing and without being able to read music I would have been limited in my choices of instruments.
Just watching your video, Michael, makes me revisit my own unspoken logic on what I do, why I am doing it/what I am trying to accomplish, the continuous assessment of whether it is working, what is the importance-hierarchy, whether things have changed, how am I progressing, etc. You are a smart dude, and sometimes, just watching a tube vid like this or a podcast is what you need to figure things out yourself. Thx!
Hi Michael, thanks for this helpful video series! There's also programs that can turn midi in to sheet music. This lets you just play something on eg. a piano and it is automatically transformed to sheet music. So the music is basically recorded but instead of recording audio it records the notes and writes them down. All you need is a instrument that can transmit midi (which is probably the case if your instrument is connected to your computer by usb).
Kudos Michael. The content, delivery and format of your tutorials are really excellent. I wish Udemy and other learning portals had contributors of your quality. I hope most of your subscribers also join Patreon to support you.
I think that players of fretted instruments have always had difficulty with staff notation (what you call "sheet music"), for the reasons you mentioned. Tablature isn't just for guitar -- it was first developed for describing _lute_ music, and has been in use (in several different forms) since the lute was developed in the late 15th century. Some other historical fretted instruments, even those using bows, are also sometimes written in tab (the so-called "lyra viol", a type of small bass viola da gamba uses tablature exclusively).
Michael, this is wonderful, i've been having kind of a complicated time trying to figure out how to practice effectively and i'm not doing it quite well. So these videos mean a lot to me! Also, about playing everything directly from your mind. It certainly doesn't - practically never - happen. But there's a person! He's called Aydin Esen, Rick Beato has a great video talking about him, and some videos of his music. Wonderful. Thank you so much!
Excellent Michael! Many thanks. It's memory that I'm failing on! Especially with 'other peoples' (sheet music). I can translate (slowly), but find it very hard to commit to memory. Suggestion under 'Storage'? How about audio recording (for improv / own music)? Surely an option for longer term? Look forward to the next one.
Hey, I had watched your previous video "Meta for 2017" in which you explained you wanted to communicate a little more with your fan base/community. I suggest setting up a community tab on your channel. I'm unaware of the specifics of it, however I'm positive you could find something on UA-cam about it. Other than that loving the content and keep up on the good work, you're doing well.
I think maybe it's worth mentioning that the auditory method is important when playing other people's music, simply because sheet music often isn't available unless you're playing classical music (and even then, plenty of contemporary classical music has been recorded but the scores haven't published). So if you're in a covers band and you're asked to learn the opening riff to song x, you want to already have the ear training skills to be able to work it out.
Hi Michael, first of all I would like to thank you for your lessons. It is a boon for many adult learners like me who never had a chance of formal piano training. I would like to draw your attention to one issue which I face (guess many others also face it). When I hear a song/tune I can play it with my right hand (more or less accurately). The problem is I cannot decide which chords to play and at what intervals should I change the chords. If in any of your tutorials, you can explain this it will be of great help.
Interesting! Love your insights. I'd just like to say that something that always bothers me in tablature is the lack of some sort of "time demarcation". I mean, if you take softwares like Synthesia (piano rolls as you call it), they not only show you which keys to play, but also the time they should be pressed or maintained by pedals... But in any case, after all, it's always easier to listen to someone playing what you're planning to read (be in tablature, piano rolls or sheet music). BTW, nice Don't Starve Winter Hat you have there!
+Gustavo Augusto Yes, good observation. I wanted to talk about how guitar tabs are actually an incomplete form of written music and that you usually have to rely on another method like using your ear or sheet music to get the rhythm, but I felt like it would just make the video too long. Glad you brought it up though. And I'm glad someone finally noticed my awesome beanie.
Lol, the video cut off at the end... I'm guessing you didn't mean to do that :P Thanks for the advice. I really appreciated the stuff about writing your own music and it gave me some pointers on what to focus on.
Hi Michael. I was wondering if reading along to sheet music while listening to the piece would help you understand sheet music more. I use sheet music for learning music theory (stacking triads to learn the chords in a key). But reading it is something else. Do you have any software you can recommend for writing sheet music (preferably something that has the ability to play back what you write)? At the moment I just punch out my guitar bits into FL piano roll and throw some generic drums over it.
I use MuseScore for writing sheet music (musescore.com), it's free to download, although you do need to make an account, and it does have a playback feature.
Hi I am a learning composer so even though my main source is 'My own music' I analyze other people's music to learn from their songs & their thought process so I can see the whole structure, different voice leadings, rhythm changes & dynamics. I think for this my main focus would be Auditory Learning or ear training. How do I improve my relative Pitch & recognize & get faster at analyzing polyphony & simultaneous voice leadings?
lol I love the way you end up the video like "support me on patreon and meh no one will ever reach that far let's stop here" x) Anyway very interesting video but very much stuff to process ^^
i disagree of things getting to difficult to learn by ear. the reason we have things like the program transcribe is so we can slow down complex music we cant figure out at the original speed. even when there's alot going on, your ears learn to pick everything out as they get better.
Zachary Crawford I find it is important to really learn to play in time, sometimes when I learn something hard, I play the hardest part a bit slower and I get into the habit of playing not the full song in time, so if you play someone else's music it can be very useful to have a metronome
can we cover ways to improve memory, classical pianists aren't allowed music in concert, and it's driving me crazy. (vocalist have a similar problem, just with other languages)
I don't think it's a good idea to give tab the light of day. I understand that you want to be comprehensive, but I don't know a single good guitarist who would recommend learning from tab, for all the reasons that I hope are obvious. (Plus the less obvious one that so very many tabs on the Internet are very inaccurate.)
![How to practice effectively | Figuring Out Your Practice Routine [3/3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ObdsCl_QkCU/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to practice effectively | Figuring Out Your Practice Routine [3/3]](/img/tr.png)
Just needa take a moment to thank you, Michael, for everything you do. The way you take a slow pace with your explanations, not leave any stone unturned and answer questions that would naturally come to mind as a new topic is learned makes you the best musical educator on UA-cam in my opinion - not to take anything away from the others. Your videos made me understand concepts I've been struggling with for literally years and had given me the fundamentals with which I see so many new avenues opening up in my musical education. Keep on doing what you're doing! Cheers.
I'm a Pianist. I practice 5-6 hours a day. I'm not classically trained and I play solely by ear. I have very good relative pitch. but when you say that can eventually "run out of steam" I can feel it. Based off everything you've discussed it really seems like having a good understanding of how to play by ear and being able to read sheet music well, is the most diverse and best way to approach the piano. it all falls back to it being written. maybe I should start learning sheet music.
5 to 6 hours a day?
that's nice
With all your dedication, and because you use a lot your ears, learning some theory would be really beneficial for you!
And trust me, it's not hard at all and doesn't take to much to get use to.
I've been playing guitar since i was 11 (i'm 20) and i just learn to read musical notation a year ago :)
Oh, and if you want to make a living on music, and maybe get a degree in music (i think jazz would fits great to you) it's very important to read some music too.
Sheet music and theory. I began playing keys by ear when I was a kid. And, yes, running out of steam is a good description of what eventually happened. Recently I began learning notation, proper fingering, and basic music theory through some adult piano method books and some introductory music theory books. Very quickly I could see how these would open vast areas of music that would've remained inaccessible to me. One tip: It can be frustrating at first to be doing such rudimentary work when in the back of your mind you're thinking, "But I can play!" But remember you're working on new skills and it will eventually meld with your other skills and pay massive dividends. I hope it all goes well for you.
5-6 hours a day [X] Doubt
Thanks for clearing up these misconception I had about sheet music. I thought I could just get good at sight reading and play whatever I want but you made it clear that not the case
Saying you're a very good teacher is an understatement. You're very good at explaining things to mortals like me and I've been playing the piano and guitar for >10yrs.. Write a book Michael! :D
Ha, thank you :) Not sure about a book, but hey maybe one day.
I think it's also important to acknowledge the role of music programs ;) With today's MIDI options it is possible to compose without writing sheet music actively
Yes Digital Audio Workstations play a huge role in composing
I get a weird kind of joy when I see all the positions, fingering, open strings on guitar tabs. It feels like this way I can see... a soul of guitar melody? Something like that, hard to find words.
Seriously, you're my new obsession! Finished watching your Basic Chords Theory 1 and you just crammed all that into my brain in 25 minutes, when I've been trying to figure it out for months, with random tuts and dozens of books. Been playing the piano (leisure) for 17 years. Had 1-year of lesson when I was 11y.o.. and just now getting into piano chords, my head hurt for 2 days because it's so NOT guitar.. haha. thanks!!
peterpanneherself
Thanks Michael. This series of videos is great information and very helpful to me.
Good video, I played organ as a small kid and learned from my father who played by ear and taught me to play by ear. Later in life I started the trumpet in middle school and through my teenage years, about 7 years. Once I hit 18 I had learned most of the class instruments and picked up every class instrument and could reasonably play all of the class woodwinds and brass instruments. I started piano about 15 years ago and I think having played by ear, and then years of improv with horn made making musical phrases easy, learning to read music as a kid was probably the best thing and without being able to read music I would have been limited in my choices of instruments.
Awesome!
This is priceless.
I’m glad I found this clip.
sight reading is memory! inception! love your channel thank you :)
Just watching your video, Michael, makes me revisit my own unspoken logic on what I do, why I am doing it/what I am trying to accomplish, the continuous assessment of whether it is working, what is the importance-hierarchy, whether things have changed, how am I progressing, etc. You are a smart dude, and sometimes, just watching a tube vid like this or a podcast is what you need to figure things out yourself. Thx!
Hi Michael, thanks for this helpful video series!
There's also programs that can turn midi in to sheet music. This lets you just play something on eg. a piano and it is automatically transformed to sheet music. So the music is basically recorded but instead of recording audio it records the notes and writes them down. All you need is a instrument that can transmit midi (which is probably the case if your instrument is connected to your computer by usb).
Kudos Michael. The content, delivery and format of your tutorials are really excellent. I wish Udemy and other learning portals had contributors of your quality. I hope most of your subscribers also join Patreon to support you.
I think that players of fretted instruments have always had difficulty with staff notation (what you call "sheet music"), for the reasons you mentioned. Tablature isn't just for guitar -- it was first developed for describing _lute_ music, and has been in use (in several different forms) since the lute was developed in the late 15th century. Some other historical fretted instruments, even those using bows, are also sometimes written in tab (the so-called "lyra viol", a type of small bass viola da gamba uses tablature exclusively).
Michael, this is wonderful, i've been having kind of a complicated time trying to figure out how to practice effectively and i'm not doing it quite well. So these videos mean a lot to me!
Also, about playing everything directly from your mind. It certainly doesn't - practically never - happen. But there's a person! He's called Aydin Esen, Rick Beato has a great video talking about him, and some videos of his music. Wonderful.
Thank you so much!
Excellent Michael! Many thanks.
It's memory that I'm failing on! Especially with 'other peoples' (sheet music). I can translate (slowly), but find it very hard to commit to memory.
Suggestion under 'Storage'? How about audio recording (for improv / own music)? Surely an option for longer term?
Look forward to the next one.
Hey, I had watched your previous video "Meta for 2017" in which you explained you wanted to communicate a little more with your fan base/community. I suggest setting up a community tab on your channel. I'm unaware of the specifics of it, however I'm positive you could find something on UA-cam about it. Other than that loving the content and keep up on the good work, you're doing well.
I think maybe it's worth mentioning that the auditory method is important when playing other people's music, simply because sheet music often isn't available unless you're playing classical music (and even then, plenty of contemporary classical music has been recorded but the scores haven't published).
So if you're in a covers band and you're asked to learn the opening riff to song x, you want to already have the ear training skills to be able to work it out.
Hi Michael, first of all I would like to thank you for your lessons. It is a boon for many adult learners like me who never had a chance of formal piano training. I would like to draw your attention to one issue which I face (guess many others also face it). When I hear a song/tune I can play it with my right hand (more or less accurately). The problem is I cannot decide which chords to play and at what intervals should I change the chords. If in any of your tutorials, you can explain this it will be of great help.
could you do a video on techniques for memorising music?
Awesome video again Michael!! Are you ever planning to do a video on Chord Substitutions or voicings? 😁
+Heinrich Olivier For sure. I want to get the last video in this series finished and then I may do a few theory videos.
Sounds good man, keep up the awesome work. Really really good channel, glad I found it!
He's got a Degree in music, thanks for the valuable information. I struggled with this idea for a while.
Loving the series so far! Thanks for the help
The auditory approach for learning music is the best option for vocals.
Please could you do more videos like passing chords or fill in chords. Thank you
Interesting! Love your insights. I'd just like to say that something that always bothers me in tablature is the lack of some sort of "time demarcation". I mean, if you take softwares like Synthesia (piano rolls as you call it), they not only show you which keys to play, but also the time they should be pressed or maintained by pedals... But in any case, after all, it's always easier to listen to someone playing what you're planning to read (be in tablature, piano rolls or sheet music). BTW, nice Don't Starve Winter Hat you have there!
+Gustavo Augusto Yes, good observation. I wanted to talk about how guitar tabs are actually an incomplete form of written music and that you usually have to rely on another method like using your ear or sheet music to get the rhythm, but I felt like it would just make the video too long. Glad you brought it up though.
And I'm glad someone finally noticed my awesome beanie.
Some tabs have the rythm written above in standard notation. That is generally the exception.
Lol, the video cut off at the end... I'm guessing you didn't mean to do that :P
Thanks for the advice. I really appreciated the stuff about writing your own music and it gave me some pointers on what to focus on.
Theres actually quite a lot of "piano roll" nowadays especially for newer songs. Search for a song + "Synthesia" on UA-cam.
Hi Michael.
I was wondering if reading along to sheet music while listening to the piece would help you understand sheet music more. I use sheet music for learning music theory (stacking triads to learn the chords in a key). But reading it is something else.
Do you have any software you can recommend for writing sheet music (preferably something that has the ability to play back what you write)? At the moment I just punch out my guitar bits into FL piano roll and throw some generic drums over it.
I use MuseScore for writing sheet music (musescore.com), it's free to download, although you do need to make an account, and it does have a playback feature.
29:00 Very good direction.
Hi I am a learning composer so even though my main source is 'My own music' I analyze other people's music to learn from their songs & their thought process so I can see the whole structure, different voice leadings, rhythm changes & dynamics. I think for this my main focus would be Auditory Learning or ear training. How do I improve my relative Pitch & recognize & get faster at analyzing polyphony & simultaneous voice leadings?
Thanks so much!
lol I love the way you end up the video like "support me on patreon and meh no one will ever reach that far let's stop here" x)
Anyway very interesting video but very much stuff to process ^^
If I may ask, where did you learn all you did about music theory? Did you go to college for it or are you a personal scholar?
i disagree of things getting to difficult to learn by ear. the reason we have things like the program transcribe is so we can slow down complex music we cant figure out at the original speed. even when there's alot going on, your ears learn to pick everything out as they get better.
You say it’s difficult to read sheet for a guitar! Try to read sheet music for a non- fretted instrument (i.e cell or violin) :D
Is a metronome really useful for getting the timing of your notes when writing sheet music?
Zachary Crawford I find it is important to really learn to play in time, sometimes when I learn something hard, I play the hardest part a bit slower and I get into the habit of playing not the full song in time, so if you play someone else's music it can be very useful to have a metronome
thank you!
It's pretty interesting how little of this applies to making electronic music on a computer
Maybe that's one of the reason common electronic music has become sooooo much boring ;)
i have been producing music for 7 years , i have a solid understaning of music theory , but i want to learn to play and i'm struggling
can we cover ways to improve memory, classical pianists aren't allowed music in concert, and it's driving me crazy. (vocalist have a similar problem, just with other languages)
Compare to a friend who memorized 3 pages of Scarrilloti in an hour
JavaPython have the same question. Difficult to remember any pieces
Subscribed!
kityyyy on the couch
so whats my daily routine?
@26:35 THIS refers to memorizing? is that correct? or did you mean site reading?
Tabs are great but they say nothing about rhythm
I’m confuse
I don't think it's a good idea to give tab the light of day. I understand that you want to be comprehensive, but I don't know a single good guitarist who would recommend learning from tab, for all the reasons that I hope are obvious. (Plus the less obvious one that so very many tabs on the Internet are very inaccurate.)
first