Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard: Away in a Manger
August 13, 2010
How to play Away in a Manger on the piano or keyboard. Note that this is the English version of the melody. Here is a well-known alternative tune for Away in a Manger.
View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books at Amazon.
Introduction
Like Silent Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Away in a Manger is in 3/4 (Waltz) time.
It’s written here in F major, which is a comfortable key for most people to sing it in.
Main Melody
With the exception of the last couple of notes, which are swapped, almost exactly the same melody is repeated twice in each verse. However, the accompaniment chords do vary very slightly.
Here’s the complete melody written out on the treble clef stave, as you’d play it with the right hand:
Listen to the melody (MIDI file, should play directly in your browser. Alternatively, iTunes or Quicktime will play it).
Those notes are:
- – C | F F G A | F F A Bb | C C D | Bb G A | Bb Bb C |
A A F A | G D F | E C | F F G A | F F A Bb | C C D |
Bb G A | B B C | A A F A | G D E | F -
Single Note Bass Line
Here’s how to add a single bass note to each bar to add a little harmony. In fact, it only uses three different notes — C, F and G.
Chords Only
If you simply want to play appropriate chords so you can sing or have another instrument playing the melody, here are very simple ones. Note that in bar 8 the chord is a G major in first inversion (this is significant because it requires you to play a B natural not a B flat). It doesn’t sound bad if you play a G minor chord here, but I prefer this version. [Find out more about major and minor chords here]
Melody and Accompaniment
The final version features the playing of chords in the right hand, with the melody note as the highest, plus two bass notes an octave apart in the left hand.
Note that the lowest one or two notes in each right hand bar are held for the duration (three beats) while the melody notes are played. This can either be done by physically holding the notes down (if comfortable), using the sustain pedal, or a combination. See what sounds the best — generally sustaining a whole bar when there are only a few melody notes in each will still give a pleasing sound without fear of notes running too much into one another.
I hope you find this guide useful for helping you to play Away in a Manger.
View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books
Series Index: Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard
Popularity: 1% [?]
Has Susan Boyle bought a grand piano?
August 3, 2010
We’re not much into celebrity gossip at Piano & Synth Magazine, particularly when the source is a British tabloid paper, but then again we are quite interested in who gets their hands on a grand piano.
So…
The Sun is reporting that singer Susan Boyle, despite being on a £300-per-week allowance, has splashed out on a grand piano:
“Recent purchases include a grand piano, a top iPhone – worth £600 – and some new furniture from Edinburgh’s finest department store, Jenners, for her gaff in Blackburn, West Lothian.”
What amused me straight away is that journalist Gordon Smart obviously has no clue how much a grand piano costs. Note that he swoons at “a top iPhone worth £600″, yet an acoustic grand is likely to cost at least 20 times that.
If true, that’s quite some spend.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Preschoolers get iPhone music app that teaches them keyboard skills
June 10, 2010
You know how much kids of all ages love to experiment with new toys, and how they are often irresistibly drawn to shiny technology like the iPhone and iPad. Well, to ensure they’re learning a whole host of things — including basic music reading and keyboard skills — while they’re having fun, we have the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Preschool Storybook Piano app, launched today on the iTunes App Store.
Full of cute, colourful characters, musical notation and a keyboard, the app lets young kids begin to learn how to read music from a stave and play the keyboard using well-known nursery rhyme songs.
Key features:
- Watch the story unfold and hear the song being sung
- Press the start button and sing along
- Record and hear their own voice
- Select 7 different types of instruments and learn about the sounds they create
- Add animal sounds to the song
- Watch the piano keys light up one-by-one with the melody
- Follow the lighted piano keys to play the song
- Match the colorful music notes to the piano keys and play along
- Sing and read karaoke-style lyrics in English, French and Spanish
- Include their parents as they sing and read together
- Increase their vocabulary and language awareness
- Improve their auditory comprehension and listening skills
Available now priced $0.99 (59p). iTunes Link (Via)
If you’re looking for other resources, here are 10 recommended books to help your child learn to play piano and keyboard
Popularity: 1% [?]
Quick Tip: Use headphones to enhance your playing
April 14, 2010
A few months I recommended trying a new voice on your keyboard to reinvigorate your playing.
My next tip is to invest in the best pair of studio-grade headphones you can afford.
Not just for private practice
It’s common to think that headphones are only really of use if you are wanting to play without disturbing your neighbours, or if you are doing some sound recording and need an accurate way of monitoring the audio.
However, I’d like to suggest that headphones are a worthy addition to your equipment list just because they give you a different perception of your sound.
Firstly, it’s worth investing in some decent headphones. They don’t have to be top-of-the-range, but you will be disappointed if you try to get away with iPod earbuds or many of the lesser ‘in ear’ solutions supplied with MP3 players.
Buy proper headphones from the likes of Sennheiser and you won’t be disappointed.
Why use headphones?
Though digital pianos often have reasonably good internal speakers, pop on a pair of good headphones and the amazing sounds of your instrument will envelop you.
You’ll almost certainly hear tones and nuances that you just don’t get from the internal speakers.
Just as playing with new sounds or trying out new techniques can liven up and enhance your playing, hearing your piano in a new way can do exactly the same.
Though you may not specifically be trying to keep the noise level down, playing with headphones on may well increase your confidence to try new things, safe in the knowledge that only you can hear what you’re playing.
Whether you play from music, improvise or compose from scratch, you’ll become lost in your music far quicker without other distractions around you. If you really want isolation, buy ‘closed’ or noise cancelling headphones that aid in shutting out external noise.
Precautions
Naturally, you need to be careful when using headphones that you don’t use them at high volumes for extended periods of time.
Pick out a good pair of headphones and you’ll get a quality sound without distortion that you can enjoy at safe listening levels.
It’s worth bearing in mind that if you do need to play quietly so as not to disturb others, bear in mind the sound of your fingers on the keys. I’m not joking – on weighted keyboards this can be quite loud!
Recommendation
For what it’s worth, I use the mid-range Sennheiser HD215 Closed Back Headphones
Popularity: 2% [?]
Quick Tip: Try a new voice and stir up your keyboard playing
December 11, 2009
I’ve got a Yamaha P140S digital piano at home, and for the most part I use the three main piano voices, depending upon what mood I’m in, but I tend not to use the other voices much.
Then the other day I decided to play around with the three electric piano voices, and in fact found that I loved them.
Not only did I love them, but it forced me to play in a different style.
Things that sound great on an acoustic piano don’t always work on an electric piano.
Similarly, things that a normal piano sound can’t give you (ringing echoes or shiny vibrato, for example) are natural on some electric piano sounds.
Of course, if you’ve got a synth you can choose pretty much any sound imaginable, but the beauty of picking other keyboard sounds is that the method of playing them is still natural.
That being said, there’s a big technique and performance difference between playing a piano, an EP, a harpsichord, or any other keyed instrument.
That’s not to say you can’t extend the concept and play a whole range of different sounds, but if you’ve got a digital piano with a few additional sounds, why not crack them open a bit more often than you usually do?
This is an especially good technique if you improvise a lot but have got stuck in a rut. Even if you end up playing the same chord structures, I bet you’ll find new ways of playing to suit the sound.
Experiment and have fun!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Steinway White House Pianos Pay Tribute to America
July 20, 2009
In a continuing celebration of its 156-year history, Steinway & Sons commemorates the Steinway piano as a cornerstone of American music and culture. Since 1853, Steinway pianos have captured hearts and inspired generations of Americans, from New York’s Tin Pan Alley, to the stages of legendary jazz clubs and renowned concert halls to Hollywood studios and countless family living rooms in between. Two instruments in particular are notable for their place in American history — the White House grand pianos of 1903 and 1938.
“We’ve always known that Steinway & Sons is a great American original,” said Todd Sanders, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Steinway & Sons. “By producing the finest handcrafted instruments available, our factory in Queens has contributed to a significant part of American culture for more than 156 years. Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Billy Joel, among many other legendary composers and performers, have all drawn their inspiration from the Steinway piano. We’re proud to take a moment to consider how important our company has been in our nation’s history. The White House pianos are also a great reminder of this.”
In 1903, to celebrate the creation of the company’s 100,000th piano – and the 50th anniversary of the firm’s founding – Steinway & Sons offered to transform its standard concert grand piano into an artwork suitable for use in the East Room of the White House. The “Gold Grand” was presented to the White House, and President Theodore Roosevelt accepted the $18,000 Steinway “on behalf of the nation.” The piano served through the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt; it was then donated to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
The second White House piano was built and presented to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938 to commemorate the production of Steinway’s 300,000th piano. The new piano, designed by New York architect Eric Gugler, was more than nine feet long, with a case of Honduran mahogany and gold leaf by artist Dunbar Beck. Last renovated in 1992 during the administration of George H. W. Bush, the piano remains today in the East Room of the White House.
“Steinway & Sons pianos have always had a significant place in American popular culture,” said Dr. Richard K. Lieberman, Director of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, which houses the Steinway collection. “From references to Steinway in the lyrics of Irving Berlin to the enormous celebration of Steinway’s centennial put on by Ed Sullivan in 1953, the company and the pianos it produces have captured the American spirit. The White House pianos are just one example of how important these pianos have been to America.”
Popularity: 6% [?]
10 books to help your child learn to play piano and keyboard
June 27, 2009
Are you looking for a music keyboard for your child? Read our guide: Buying a child’s first electronic keyboard
Here are my recommendations for books that will help your child learn how to play the piano and keyboard, including identifying and playing notes and reading sheet music, plus some simple collections of children’s songs that you or your child can learn to play.
1. Usborne’s First Book of the Piano (with CD)
Featuring cute cartoons, large easy to use pages and diagrams, and plenty of well-known pieces of music to learn with, the Usborne First Book of the Piano is a great introduction to the piano for youngsters.
Buy The First Book of the Piano with CD
2. Usborne’s First Book of the Keyboard
Has similarities to the “First Book of the Piano” but is great if you’ve just bought a child’s first electronic keyboard because it also covers the basic features found on most music keyboards.
Buy First Book of the Keyboard
3. The Fantastic Big Book of Childrens Songs
A huge collection (67) of songs including some modern favourites: The Addams Family Theme, Blue’s Clues Theme, Bob the Builder, Linus and Lucy, SpongeBob SquarePants theme song, Thomas the Tank Engine and Welcome to the Blue House.
Buy The Fantastic Big Book of Childrens Songs
4. Really Big Book of Children’s Songs
Another “big book” from the same publisher as above.
Buy the Really Big Book of Children’s Songs
5. Very Easy Piano Tunes
A lovely book in the same style as Usborne’s First Book of the Piano, featuring a lot of easy to play traditional songs including Merrily We Roll Along, The Grand Old Duke of York, London Bridge is Falling Down, Home on the Range, Lavender’s Blue, Scarborough Fair and Auld Lang Syne.
6. Disney’s My First Songbook for Easy Piano: 1
The first in a series of books that will help you to play Disney favourites, including Cruella De Vil, A Whole New World, The Bear Necessities, Under the Sea, Beauty and the Beast and more.
Very simple arrangements and delightfully presented.
Buy Disney’s My First Song Book for Piano
7. The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes & Children’s Songs: 169 Classic Songs Arranged for Piano, Voice and Guitar
Also useful for those wanting to play the guitar, this is a huge collection of more traditional songs for you and your child to play and sing together.
Buy The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes & Children’s Songs
8. Kid Songs: Easy Play for All Keyboards
Book can be used with piano and keyboard instruments and comes complete with coloured stickers for labelling the notes. It’s also well illustrated.
Buy Kid Songs: Easy Play for All Keyboards
9. Progressive Electronic Keyboard for Young Beginners: Book 1 / CD Pack
The first in another series of electronic keyboard learning books. This one comes with an audio CD and features graded lessons using 20 well-known children’s songs as examples.
Buy Progressive Electronic Keyboard for Young Beginners: Book 1
10. The Music People
Quite an old book (1980) and one that I grew up with. Cute cartoon notes and rests explain basic musical theory and example using the piano among other instruments.
Popularity: 10% [?]
31 Brilliant Piano Photographs
June 24, 2009
Here are thirty-one really cool photos of upright and grand pianos, their innards and their surroundings, arty and close-ups.
Click on any of the photos to go to the original Flickr photostream and to view them in larger sizes — many benefit from being seen in much greater detail, particularly those of the insides of pianos.
Enjoy.
1. Grand Piano by Spojení
I love the perspective and colours on this grand piano. Spojení describes it as a “lousy picture” but I really like it.
2. Grand Piano by Kentfield
Yes, really is made out of LEGO. Ironic that this Grand Piano is in fact a tiny model.
3. Grand Piano by crabchick
Another grand piano’s inside here, again with lovely colouring. I love the patterns formed by the strings and how plush everything looks.
4. Grand Piano by unforth
A lovely ornate 19th grand piano, so decorative.
5. Miro Grand Piano by codepo8
Just love the colours and sense of fun of this Schimmel grand piano. Definitely one for the kids… of all ages.
6. Grand Piano by pajp
OK, it’s a really blurry and grainy shot but I still see something artistic in this piano.
7. Under the Hood by warrenski
Yes, another grand piano’s innards. More subtle colours to the previous photos.
8. The Piano by Arjun01
The interior of a baby grand piano, in black and white. Definitely click through to the full size image as the lines of the hammers and strings is pretty special.
9. Ivories by Jono Rotten
Photo of a weathered piano, dirtied keys, fading and bronzing of the ebony.
10. The Piano’s Been Drinking by Hryck.
A close up of damaged keys, this piano’s not in a happy state at all but it’s definitely artistic even if it would be uncomfortable to play.
11. Torley on Piano – awesomelicious art by Wynter Bracken
Just love the colouring on this art composition.
12. Piano Tombstone by NatalieMaynor
Definitely an original gravestone, this.
13. Piano Keys by mararie
These types of shots are very common, but I love the light falling on these keys and the texturing that comes out from them.
14. Piano by MaltaGirl
Lovely black and white shot of an upright piano.
15. Fats Domino’s Piano, Post Katrina by delgaudm
“In the Cabildo in Jackson SQuare, there is a small room with artifacts that will be included in a Katrina Exhibit. One of the items on display is Fats Domino’s piano. This was a practice piano of his, and is pictured on one of his album covers.”
16. Piano Keys by Gog Llundain
Another close-up of piano keys — F, F# and G — with texturing.
17. Dirty Piano Keys by eflon
Shouldn’t let a piano get into this state, but it’s a great shot nonetheless.
18. Piano Strings by easement
More lovely colours and geometry.
19. Chickering piano by ktylerconk
Close-up of the logo of this Chickering piano.
20. Hammer of Piano by Hoder Slanger
Close-up of a piano hammer mechanism.
21. 2 Remaining Pianos by Luiza
Graffiti on these pianos which have been placed outside. Very interesting shot.
22. Moo Piano by Frostey
Definitely decorated as a cow, this upright piano in the meeting house of Friends Camp, South China, Maine.
23. Piano by t.spang
Another piano in house surroundings, with great reflections coming from the polished body and lovely shadow effects.
24. Piano Keys by isaac bowen
A really clean shot of this keys close-up.
25. 2.16.09: ivory by Team Dalog
I really love the colouring, out of focus photo. “A set of keys that haven’t been tickled in a while, I must say. You can see middle C is a little lower than the rest of ‘em, and the reason for this is that it gets stuck all the damn time.”
26. My Love Affair With the Piano by cristina.m
Piano keys trailing into the distance. Lovely perspective and colouring here. The structure of the foreground keys is great.
27. Abandoned by eflon
This is probably the piano that yielded its dirty piano keys. Definitely abandoned. Great shot though.
28. A better class of busker? (mono) by Mrs Logic
This amazing photo definitely needs a closer look. Wonderful composition, bizarre setting.
29. Hammers and Brass by chelseagirl
Another really cool piano innards shot, golds and oranges.
30. The Pink Octave by active metabolite
Just love how this photo has been composed. Great colour.
31. Chords by sanbeiji
Superb close up of the piano strings.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Piano Craft: Miniature Piano Pendant Necklace
June 2, 2009
For the piano lover who wants to wear their passion as jewellery, how about this Miniature Piano Pendant Necklace.
Made from silver metal and hanging on a silver chain, It’s only $6.90 and definitely makes a slightly different statement.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Jazz legend Chick Corea endorses the Yamaha AvantGrand hybrid piano
May 27, 2009
Legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea recently took Yamaha’s newly launched AvantGrand N3 hybrid piano for a “test drive.” Initially skeptical about the world’s first stringless piano to feature the sound, touch and action of a concert grand, the 67-year-old jazz superstar was quickly won over.
“My standard of comparison is the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano with a gorgeous, beautiful sound, so I was a little apprehensive when I first saw the AvantGrand,” says the Yamaha Artist, who was recently named JazzTimes’ 2008 Artist of the Year.
“I thought, ‘look at this little thing, what’s it going to do?’ It blew me away,” recalls Corea. “I sat down and adjusted the volume to make it sound like a big piano and immediately went into reverence at the R&D department and how they pulled it off, because it’s quite an accomplishment.”
Priced at a fraction of the cost of a concert grand, the N3 features the exquisite sound of the acclaimed Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano in a stunning grand piano style cabinet.
Currently on tour as a member of the Five Peace Band, also featuring John McLaughlin, Corea will be making select solo appearances, including the Nice Jazz Festival in Nice, France and the Detroit Jazz Festival in Detroit, Michigan. He will also perform with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White for several dates in September.
“Once I started playing the AvantGrand and getting into the musical flow of it, I could lose myself in the music just like I like to do. I could certainly envision using this instrument in my louder bands, my electric bands.”
Fusing 21st century music technology with Yamaha’s century-long heritage of piano craftsmanship, the N3 features highly advanced sound reproduction and sampling technology, without the tuning, cost or footprint of a comparable stringed instrument.
One of the greatest challenges in creating a true acoustic piano experience electronically is to accurately re-create the vibrations integral to the playing experience. The AvantGrand Series are the first pianos to actualise the physical connection with their instrument that pianists could only experience – until now – with an acoustic grand.
Its innovative Tactile Response System transmits “string” vibrations through the keys to player’s hands. Even the foot pedal action became subject to Yamaha’s demanding criteria. In traditional pianos, resistance is created in proportion to how deep the pedal is depressed. To replicate this, Yamaha created a new, specialized grand piano pedal for AvantGrand that reproduces the finesse of acoustic pedals, duplicating the spring, friction and inertia of traditional pedals.
The placement of the four-channel, three-way Spatial Acoustic Speaker System mimics the points where the original grand piano samples were taken, while the Soundboard Resonator create a non-directional sound dispersion directly in front of the player, duplicating the subtle reproduction of the buildup of sound felt by concert pianists. These technologies combine to authentically re-create the depth of tone of the Yamaha nine-foot CFIIIS grand piano, the choice instrument of many of the world’s top musicians and performance venues.
In addition to the remarkable grand piano sound sample, the N3 also features electronic piano and harpsichord voices.
The AvantGrand N3 is slated to ship in July 2009. The AvantGrand N2 upright model will be available in September 2009. Both include a matching padded bench.
Popularity: 8% [?]