“You need to improve your ear” Beethoven: What?

When the piano said: 🎶🎶🎵🎵🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶🎶 I felt that.

That simply piano ad with 9 years old girl in it: *plays first 10 notes of fur elise "I already know how to play piano"

Me : watch a piano video The Simply piano app : Let us introduce ourselves

1. Focus on the parts you have the most problems in and try to improve them, don't just play the entire song 2. Don't just blindly focus and become obsessed with pressing the right keys at right times. Listen to yourself and the melody that you are producing. 3. Don't just keep on practicing what your teacher teaches. Think outside the box and also try to apply those techniques from your teacher to your musical experiments. 4. Watch other people play so you can associate. Listen to varieties. 5. Improve your ears. Relative pitch over perfect pitch, understanding somewhat major third or a perfect fifth. Understanding the distinctive feelings given by the chords. Singing in a proper choir can improve your ears and also your sheet reading massively. 6. Work stuff out for yourself. Understanding melody and harmony of the commonly heard music of yours. Basically, playing by ear which is by understanding the theoretical shapes in the formation of the music. 7. Composing your own music. Be creative. 8. Learn to read and write music.

Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

1) Don't just practice hard, practice smart 2) Listen to yourself for the quality of the sound 3) Go outside of your zone of comfort 4) Watch other people play piano 5) Improve your ear 6) Work stuff out for yourself by ear 7) Write your own music 8) Learn to read written music

Personally, I think one of my tips for really learning anything is to have fun. Being frustrated and disliking what you’re doing is a big hold back when it comes to practicing stuff.

You should practice 40 hours a day.

A pro has made more mistakes than a beginner

Addition to the first tip: I've always been taught to play "measure + note" which is to say, play the measure you're having trouble with and the one note exactly following it. That helps prevent creating a new crux right after.

tip #1- practice SMART not HARD :) do what you struggle with ATTACK THE PROB tip#2- listen to yourself! dont just press the “right notes” focus on musicality! tip #3- go outside of what you are learning (your teacher is teaching you or what you are teaching yourself) tip #4- WATCH! watch others play the piano to associate sound with action tip #5- improve your ear, not perfect pitch but RELATIVE pitch. tip #6- work stuff out for yourself to help your ear and your understanding of melody and harmony tip #7- write your own music! you dont have 2 be Mozart HAVE FUN :) tip #8- “Learn. To read. Written. Music!” :)

when he said "yeah" i felt that

I agree that learning to read music is crucial. It's as important as learning to read the alphabet is to school work! Once I learned to read music I realized that EVERY song ever written was available to me! It was a truly amazing and liberating experience. Mind you, I am still a rank beginner.

Hey man, I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate what you're doing. Your whole channel. I've always wanted to get better at improvisation and you taught me stuff I didn't know of. I did the electronic Keyboard with Trinity College till grade 2, and tried to get better by myself after that. I want to be able to play for the church choir and sound amazing. i also want to get better at Jazz, riffs and licks. all your videos are so helpful. thank you so much. Please keep doing what you're doing

Thanks for the tips Bill ! I played drums for a wedding band in the 70's & 80's. Just started piano lessons at age 63! Your advice brings me back to the same principles I learned from my drum teacher in the 1960's. Keep up the good work, you have a new fan. Mark McD. ....MA. USA

Like for the British accent.

Im 13 and i only have been practicing the piano for month. I hope this all comes back to me in the future because I trust the information you have given to me to be very useful.

People today are lucky with KZfaq ,I had to grind out hours is scale practice in freezing cold rooms and constant writing of sheet music for years.Today Can,t be bothered to learn songs just improvise and insert parts of the tune I remember or like and come in and out of the melody.lovely,well done bill great vids

"Think of a song while you re in the shower, get to the piano, GET DRESSED FIRST" it does sound like in the past something happened there 😂😂😂

This video was such a "aha" moment for me. I've been playing piano for about 6 months starting out as a total beginner and doing a course offered by my college by master pianist. Anyways I've learned so much from her and she definitely got me in the right steps of getting better and improving even with covid pandemic, but now that I'm out of school and no instructor I've been kind of loss what to do. Yeah I practice my scales everyday doing them at different tempos, different rhythms, doing them with only-stecato, etc. But before this video that's all I did. I can read any kind of sheet music thanks to my professor who taught me how to read music, but I'm so concerned with learning the basics and all fundamentals I can learn such as chords, arpeggios, and learning music theory. But now I'm playing songs from video games like ff9 sleepless city treno and it's enjoyable and all these tips have been helping me so much and I feel I'm gaining more in my practices

Bill buddy you've got awesome charisma in your videos, thank you for the upload! I'm still a newbie but it's really fun watching you.

Writing my own music has been some of the most helpful for remembering what I’ve learnt , hearing 3rds 5ths and 6ths, .... helps my reading , transposing my favorite song from C major, down to A flat for my voice, .. I play so I can sing. Reading the treble staff, I love, I struggle with the bass staff, but do me sol, re fa la, fa la do, la re fa re la, (6,9,11,9,6). I guess so much breath control and soft palate, I need to rethink hand coordination, playing pass notes and melody, or forcing myself to accompany myself, not enough time with the metronome, writing new pieces , revisiting my sing in B flat. My obsession with melody has messed up my understanding of harmony, Playing more Harmonic intervals, getting better with left hand specifically ,

Thank you for the video bill...my favourite tip is no8...I really love the challenge of learning to read music! I've been learning for only 3 months from John thompsons adult piano course ( very near the end of the book) and I find it very satisfying to be able to read the music and NOT look at the keys...in fact if I do glance at them, I'm lost.lol. So that's where I am. Thank you.

I've always avoided learning to read music, in fact I think I watched this video before and clicked off when I heard you say I gotta learn to read music... but this time my brain is saying UGH FINE FINE I'LL TRY IT So. I will make the attempt

thank you now im subscribed and going to learn from these tips and i am now more hyped on learning on how to become a better pianist.

Good tips. I took music in high school, but never learned piano and just picked up a keyboard. I will surely keep all this in mind

I listened to your video the other day and you have helped me realize some reasons why my piano has not been improving. I am taking a different approach to improve my performances. Thank you.

I used to play flute many moons ago, admittedly I don't pick it up anymore... but I got a keyboard for christmas and steadily learning :) It's so handy having know how to read music! I must also encourage everyone to learn to read sheet music

I was in a bit of a piano rut so I switched on this video and BAM. Right, off to rehearsal now!

You are on track. Refreshing to hear someone give this kind of advice. anyone reading to this- he's talking sense!

This is awesome, you're not saying jokes or anything and you still have about a thousand likes- showing this video to friends and family and subscribing. Keep being a brilliant musician and teacher.

This is my opionion: 1. Cell phone tripod. Record everything on KZfaq live so no wasted time uploading. Very easy to.do, too. It's one click. 2. A good piano leaning program. 3. A good teacher. 4. The problem bars and one before and after. 5. Metronome. Timing. 6. Pocket. That's the feel. Can't really be taught. 7. Scales can't hurt. 8. Small increments, 15-20 several times a day. If annoyed, change songs or switch focus for a bit. Don't sit hours at a time; it can give you a stroke or heart attack (thick blood, cured by moving around and donating blood as often as possible=truth). My personal strengths are natural timing and remembering songs well. I don't need any help with pocket; already have that. Flaws: not a great reader. Rely on my ear too much when the sheet is right there. I don't yet "see" the song in the sheet. I'm bad at theory. I took up drums so it wouldn't come up much. Have rhythm, already. Have issues slowing down to 40bpm for any reason. I get crazy bored.

I agree with all of your tips! I am a self-taught pianist, organist and keyboard player. I mainly sight read but have also learned a variety of pieces by ear. I understand the theory, chords and harmony, again self-taught. And I also sight read choral music and have for many years sung in a church choir. And I can improvise. AND, for many years now I have been a professional musician. SO, I concur with all of your good advice and encourage others to do the same. Many thanks for your wise, enthusiastic and practical advice.

I feel so grateful for knowing those great tips right in the beginning of my journey as a keyboardist. Thanks a lot for sharing them, Bill.

@Bill Hilton Thank You for taking the time & effort in your videos. Much Appreciated. Jake

So I want to be a better pianist and as soon as he said "join a choir" I had a huge smile because ive beem in choir for a really long time now and i absolutely love it. and hes right, it definately helps a whole lot.

I wish I knew all this when I began learning piano as a ten year old! Now I’m 17 and have been playing piano for a while but I’m lacking skills in improv. I recently quit my piano lessons and have been learning more songs on my own. Due to all the music theory training I received, I’m not having a very difficult time but improv and jazz are what I want to do. I’ve played tons of contemporary, romantic, classical, baroque pieces but I want to expand my skills

I'm going be really cheeky from the back of the class and suggest number nine :) If you are buying an instrument, do not spend ages picking the perfect instrument first time. Get a cheap 61-key , possible used and start learning the position of notes, scales and good habits like daily practise. In a few months I have progressed, entirely with Bill, from total beginner to reading score (slowly) practising (efficiently) and choosing my ideal digital piano (first one was a freebie). Oh, and have fun! Thank you Bill.

I didn't know you before that video. I'm absolutely amazed by how you talk and tips that you give. Now I'm one of your subscribers :)

These are great tips and reminders for learning piano, Bill. I am partly self-taught and I take lessons occasionally. I do try some spontaneous writing but that is still a work in progress. Thanks again for these videos!

Haha ‘get dressed after the shower, assuming you have other people in the house’ love that

Very, very helpful stuff, friend! 2 years later and it still helps the same!

I am a Classical pianist, but I will use this video to structure my piano lessons-thank you, Bill, for sharing and I will check out your playing by ear video as well as continue to work on my ear training, improvisation and composition skills.

Thank you for all your videos Bill! I always come back again and again to learn something new and use it on my own compositions. It's an incredible labor of love!

Great tutorials. You have probably heard this a hundred times, but to reduce mechanical key noise, turn up the piano and voice gain settings and then reduce the master recording volume.

Thank you very much for the Video!^^ This really helps me out and will be vety usefull for my Piano skills devolempment. And the first thing I will do is to learn to read (and write) writtrn music. I even can play some songs with two hands (thanks to synthesia) but I cant read it yet! So thank you again for thr video and have a nice day everyone :)

Been there, done that. I'm moderately good at playing the piano for an eleven and a half year old. My keyboard sound is the issue, though. It can't support custom sounds, and its normal sound sounds nothing like a piano. That's where I begin to have issues.

What was that amazing piece at 4:37 ?? I wanna learn it im also a beginner watching vids like this really makes me confident and boosts me up Great vid bro thanks!

I've been learning with my girlfriend's keyboard for the past 2 weeks and have started figuring out Under Paris Skies. It's a little tricky considering it's written on 3/4, but I have been able to track my daily progress efficiently and I certainly notice myself getting better everyday.

Its like Gordon Ramsay teaching me how to cook though its piano lol. Great job Bill! Thx for lesson you help people who want to learn!! Godbless

Fantastic advice! I am a concert pianist and came here to see if I follow all these things! I do mostly but it is nice to be reminded. I think it's good to be reminded at any stage! And yes I sing in a choir too! Only thing I would add is to record yourself which ties in well with your "listen to yourself " tip. Also perform to others too! My friends and family listen to me all the time and they give me honest feedback! It's very useful ! Especially if they are musicians. Great job! I've subscribed ☺️.

Once again, Bill, you have helped me approach my piano playing in a better way. Thank you.

Wonderful tips! P.S. The Nord Piano sounds really great...

you know what? I just realized that I am in fact not capable of playing the piano.

I'm so glad you exist. These videos are really helpful and really interesting at the same time. *Keep it up!* And btw I *subscribed!*

when i hear ear training i think of putting a thread around your ear, and putting a dumbell at the other end of the string. Then you do squats. Thats a real ear workout.

Expand your repertoire, listen to other people, ear training, working out a song, composing are all good tips. As a member of a music group, I'm used to playing a variety of music at different levels. Back in my school days the problem is lack of time. Since I did not Major in Music, had to do many assignments on other subjects. From experience I'd divide people into 2 groups. There are those who rely on reading music to get through a piece. Even playing a C chord they need to see CEG on a staff to know what to play. There are others who are comfortable with improvised music and would play songs not in books assigned by a teacher. Some people are not comfortable performing in front of others. Some are afraid to learn a song on their own because they may be playing the wrong way or they don't feel they are as good as their teacher. Some students tend to stick to the pieces assigned by the teacher or stay within the level their teacher feel they are at... like someone at a Gr. 4 conservatory level would not play pieces at a Gr. 5 level. Once had 2 young man playing "Minuet in G" (piano-violin duet) at our home because their teacher assigned the piece.

Most who learned to play with a conventional teacher tend to stick to a standard set of repertoire. You find half-dozen versions of "Minuet in G" online that most students played. If you are with a music program like Suzuki, you get a standardized set of books. Suzuki music students give recitals with songs from various Suzuki books. Many can play very well but still using songbooks everybody else is using. The advantage is that you can compare your results with Suzuki students anywhere in the world playing the exact same songs. Know 1 man who learned several difficult pieces not exactly by ear, not by notations, but by watching finger sequences as a demo video is being played. Questioned him a few times why he never bothered to learn the notations and he would always say notations is a foreign language he wouldn't be able to master. For someone who is retired with a lot of free time, there is no excuse why he can't spend even half-an-hour a day practicing to read.

i got banned from my choir

Great tips here! You called me out on not paying enough attention to reading, since it's never been much of an issue for me as a guitar player. But thanks :)

Thank you for sharing your advice and experience! I hope I can get as far as you!

Those tips seemed awesome! Maybe perfect pitch doesn't exist, but at least PERFECT PIANO TEACHER does! I can assure you that your way of talking about the tips will improve my piano learning.

Super helpful video, thanks for it, Bill!

Great tips. Thanks for confirming all my ideas ;) Keep up the excellent work!

Duane, Tip #1 is a game changer, brilliant for those of us who perform weekly in public. Thank You for your insight 🎹 Tommy in Florida

I just bought an electric keyboard because I've been wanting to learn an instrument sinve forever and decided maybe this quarantine, I have time and I can give effort to crossing that bucket list out for the year because all my vacay plans are cancelled, blame the pandemic. I hope I can successfully learn something through out. Thank you for the tips. And are there any android apps that you can recommend for a self learner?

Fantastic video, your voice kind of reminds me of the TedEd voiceovers

I'm finally getting back into piano after years of relatively soul-less classical training! I feel pretty awful at it, because I'm finally branching out from playing the same songs repeatedly. This helped me out a lot with figuring out what I'm doing right and wrong in beginning to teach myself, and branch out to different genres. Thank you so much for making piano easier to enjoy.

I'm awesome at eating pianos

Y’all really weren’t kidding about the simply piano ad that I got one for this video

Bill, I'm 21 years old and I discovered your channel last week. I'm currently teaching myself to play the piano through your KZfaq videos and other internet sources. However, I was speaking to a pianist the other day and he told me that there was no point in trying to learn the piano because I am "too old" to start learning now. So my question is, is this true? I'm not trying to be a concert pianist or anything, I just want to be able to play the piano relatively well. Is this possible? Or am I too old to start now? I thought I'd see if I can get a professional's opinion.

I’m hoping to become a music producer. Should I consider learning how to read music still?

Thank you for your work (Video) Its very helpful. Danke!

Such great tips! Thanks xx

Always as good as ever. Thanks for the tips, Bill.

I always try learn music from those videos from channels like piano sheet boss and I am having fun, but then I realise I've been practicing for half an hour and am still trying to learn the first 10 seconds on a 2 minute video and get really demotivated and am not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or if it's just those videos aren't a good way to learn piano, that's why I'm here. Any assistance will help :)

You are amazing 👍 thank you for those tips

I agree that watching people playing is probably better. I picked up that habit by playing guitar for the past year. At first, watching isn't as great, but people have a tendency when watching (especially) a fingerstyle guitarists picking hand and not their left hand. When really, you can tell more by watching the chord shapes and even figure out how to play it with few headaches but figuring out the picking or strumming pattern after the fact. For Example: You'll notice when they "pull" a chord (instead of strum) that they lift up their left hand and often place the picking fingers back on the chord when they want to mute it. A good example of that is the song "more than words" when they play the a minor 7 and the C sus4 (think it is). That's not something that anyone goes over and explains as far as I know.

Thanks for the tips!! Massive things picked up today.

Thank you for the lessons!

Thank you. I enjoy your videos. You're a great teacher.

Thanks for the tips sir. I am definitely going to get use out of them :)

hiii, this was rlly helpful seeing as I’m only beginning to play the keyboard. On my own. Which is so hard. But I watch videos before. This doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes tbh, but this actually helped a lot

This video is awesome thanks m8👍👍👍

Aw jeez, I used to drill through my mistakes more than I do today. Thanks for the reminder.

Huh imma try this out when i get a piano, ive always wanted to play the piano so i might get one, thanks for the tips my friend

I have to do an assignment for this video for my piano class since schools out

Thanks so much, that was really helpful 😊

Thanks so much for these tips! Especially the first tip was something I needed to hear ;)

Your books are really cool and well done. A massive help!

Hey! Thank you for your video! I like how you explain things :D I bought a piano and i’m learning how to play it by myself and using internet

👍👍👍thanks man appreciate it trying to learn

Great advice!👍

Practice smart and hard

Well done Bill. I will share this with my students.

If you purchase a keyboard/stage piano, don't forget to buy a sustain pedal. It may sound silly but it is REALLY important.

is it possible to improve faster by pushing your own limits by playing hard songs?

Hey man, I really wanted to thank you, after this lesson I actually composed a background music right away without even having to think about perfection. Thanks a lot.