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MusicBasics4Keyboard

544 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago -

Greetings from North America. In 1990 I graduated from a small college in New Jersey with a music program where I majored in piano, attended concerts in NYC, and watched my first opera with Luciano Pavarotti. As a keyboard instructor today and big fan of popular music including light opera, I encourage you to watch We Are Family Wednesday nights to hear the exquisite harmonies coming from the stage. Two episodes brought me back to my roots growing up in the 1960s singing along to girl groups like The Supremes. The beat goes on. I love Cher's music. Read my book "Songbird at the Shopping Mall".

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Episodes

Buttery Flaky Pie Crust and Rockin' Music 4Keyboard

January 12, 2024 00:42 - 2 minutes - 2.37 MB

We got it right this time, friends, for buttery flaky pie crusts for chicken pot pie. I learned that working the dougball should be somewhere between wet and dry. It should be moist and "bouncy" neither wet nor dry. Watching this video takes me back to when my mother and her mother made noodles from scratch on Sundays in Ohio after church services. It's all about the love, isn't it, for mom's homecooked meals and grandma's hearty dishes (and raising chickens) that make lifetime memories? Now...

Quiche for Beginners with Easy Listening Solo Guitar

January 01, 2024 02:11 - 2 minutes - 2.6 MB

Man shall not live by music alone, but with savory egg dishes like fully loaded potato and broccoli quiche. Learn more by visiting Sally's Baking Addition Internet site. TIP NO. 1: slowly roll out the dough ball. TIP NO. 2. when there's no parchment paper in the pantry, try this. Foil wrap the bottom of a sauce pan lid for blind baking the dough. It fits perfectly in a glass 9 inch pie plate. Works like a charm. Happy New Year, dear friends!

Whisking the Night Away with Music for Bakers

December 29, 2023 14:50 - 2 minutes - 2.2 MB

We're still rockin' around the Christmas tree and cooking up a storm. Happy New Year, music lovers. Wishing you and yours happiness, love, peace and realizing your dreams. I'm happy I never dreamed about opening a bakery, God knows the desires of your heart. Relax, keep a song in your heart and dream BIG in 2024. Thank you for your support over the past two years. Has it really been that long? I promise to figure out how to find and read your comments.

Whisking the Night Away with Music for 2024

December 29, 2023 02:36 - 2 minutes - 2.2 MB

We're still rockin' around the Christmas tree and cooking up a storm. Happy New Year, music lovers. Wishing you and yours happiness, love, peace and realizing your dreams. I'm happy I never dreamed about opening a bakery, God knows the desires of your heart. Relax, keep a song in your heart and dream BIG in 2024. Thank you for your support over the past two years. Has it really been that long? I promise to figure out how to find and read your comments.

Play Along to a Song in F Sharp Minor for Christmas

December 26, 2023 03:28 - 1 minute - 1.63 MB

Playing this Yamaha demo song is in response to time with friends today playing volleyball and who own musical instruments and play. It's great for music students who want to up their game from C major music and all major keys to a minor keys. This song is "high energy" and tremendous for anyone ready and willing to jump in with both feet and hands. I'm standing while playing. Not reading sheet music. Take flight with this one. There is no sheet music that I'm aware of. There are more high e...

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in D Major One Chord

December 22, 2023 19:24 - 2 minutes - 1.96 MB

Just as you think you can't play another note, you hear Norah Jones sing, if you're lucky, and you begin to pick up where you left off musically. These are the song lyrics from her latest video for this song on YouTube. Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light Next year all our troubles will be out of sight Ooooh Have yourself a merry little Christmas Make the yuletide gay Next year all our troubles will be miles away Here were are as in olden days ...

Super Easy Mary Poppins Chim Chiminey wAudio Track

December 20, 2023 21:14 - 4 minutes - 4.4 MB

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, dear friends. We've discovered the magic of audio tracks for beginners with TEMPO CONTROL in songbooks by Hal Leonard publishers. This is about downloading easy play audio tracks and mobility for those of us almost ready for prime time. This is a dream come true for piano and keyboard players who are interested in backing tracks and group settings with other beginners or just listeners. Lights, camera. Action!

Frosty The Snowman for Beginners in B Major

December 11, 2023 04:34 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MB

A new window opened this weekend regarding keyboard. In one day, I went from C Major to B Major with five sharps in an otherwise easy play song from Hal Leonard. Dear students, let's take a flying leap into the great unknown with more advanced music like this starting today. Together, we can overcome the fear of making mistakes and play new songs with black keys in a reasonable amount of time. While we're still young. Forget about making tiny little musical mistakes. We all make them. This i...

Easy Play Jazz Club Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

December 07, 2023 22:30 - 4 minutes - 4.55 MB

Thanks to super easy songbooks by Hal Leonard publishing, beginning keyboard players could put together a few Christmas carols with seven chords within a short time and daily practice. It happened to me recently with daily practice, basic left-hand chord diagrams, and simple right-hand melodies. Make your musical dreams come true with Hal Leonard Super Easy Play songbooks. Peace, love and joy. Many thanks for watching.

Super Easy O Come, All Ye Faithful

December 06, 2023 07:23 - 4 minutes - 4.15 MB

The sheet music for this song can be found in the Hal Leonard Super Easy Songbook for Christmas Carols. This video lesson in C major is about chords and fingering. The Yamaha E360 was used for this video with the following settings: VOICE -- 003 Bright Piano. STYLE -- 007 - 8 beats and ACMP. Wishing you the best holiday season ever, dear friends. Keep up the good work. Thanks for watching.

Super Easy First Noel in G Major

December 05, 2023 21:38 - 2 minutes - 1.9 MB

When you choose a song you know well, can hear it in your head whether or not you played it before on a piano or keyboard, the results could be spectacular and energize you like magic. Following the basic rules of "read the sheet music first and then play", what you hear in this video is what I played and recorded within about one hour. The sheet music in a songbook titled Christmas Songs by Hal Leonard got me started leading to memorization, a very good sign for musicians. Consider this met...

Easy Play Jingle Bells with 3 Chords

December 02, 2023 00:23 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MB

This is a popular American Christmas song written by J.S. Pierpont in 1850. Note to music students: never give up. Work on songs you know by heart. The third time is the charm. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a blessed and prosperous New Year. Thanks for watching.

Super Easy Little Brown Jug with Casio SA-76

November 12, 2023 00:28 - 3 minutes - 3.13 MB

Sheet music comes with this $88 Casio keyboard from Sweetwater. Need more help? Ask interested young children and start pressing buttons. "Little Brown Jug" is a song written in 1869 by Joseph Eastburn Winner, originally published in Philadelphia with the author listed as Winner's middle name "Eastburn". The Little Brown Jug is a harness race for three-year-old pacing standardbred horses hosted by the Delaware County Agricultural Society since 1946 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds racetra...

Brahms Lullaby with Trumpet & Guitar

October 17, 2023 21:51 - 2 minutes - 2.04 MB

Taste of Mexico with guitar backup, trumpet leading the melody and sheet music from the Classical Hits EZ Play songbook by Hal Leonard. Letter names inside each note. Just add a palm tree. We're dreaming about sand and surf within one day's drive for Thanksgiving. If you're making travel plans, remember to bring a keyboard or ANY musical instrument like an accordion to pick up the pace and liven things up. Thanks for watching.

Brahms Waltz Op., No 15 in G Major

October 17, 2023 00:45 - 3 minutes - 3.54 MB

This video contains two easy play arrangements in G Major from sheetmusicdirect and C Major in Hal Leonard's EZ-Play Today Classical Hits songbook. For beginners familiar or unfamiliar with this waltz, I strongly recommend playing the melody first, one note at a time, and then adding the left hand notes or chords or both. This video is about learning to read easy play sheet music arrangements from Johannes Brahms.

Super Easy Beethoven's Joyful, Joyful Melody

October 08, 2023 21:10 - 3 minutes - 3.43 MB

Thanks for watching. Have a great week ahead learning to play this beautiful melody with two chords from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Add more chords over time and enjoy this popular classical composition with Easy Play sheet music by Hal Leonard Publishing.

Holiday Songs from Rehearsal to Showtime!

October 04, 2023 03:25 - 4 minutes - 4.05 MB

Let's put together this year's holiday playlist dear friends. Our friends and family members are eager to see us at the keyboard, piano or accordion and HEAR how well we play in THE ZONE no matter what the level. Five easy songs should be nailed down by Thanksgiving just eight weeks away. One of the songs should be used as a backing track when you play another instrument. Bring along the lyrics for people to sing all five songs. Thank you for watching.

Liebestraum in G Major with Arpeggio-Chords

September 06, 2023 20:36 - 6 minutes - 6.1 MB

This is preparation work for the left hand before playing with both hands. A broken chord is called an arpeggio. Arpeggio is an Italian word meaning "in the style of a harp." A triad is a three-note chord. Watch the closing credits about musical terms. Thanks for watching.

Liebestraum by Franz Liszt in G Major

September 05, 2023 01:22 - 4 minutes - 3.67 MB

Liebesträume (German for Dreams of Love) is a set of three solo piano works (S. 541/R. 211) by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Both spellings are correct. Originally the three Liebesträume were conceived as lieder after poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. This is about playing along with the built-in song function in the Yamaha PSR-E360. The sheet music for this abridged arrangement is available at MusicNotes. Please visit other online sites for sheet music in the original A fl...

Easy Smetana Die Moldau Classical Favorite

August 31, 2023 02:20 - 3 minutes - 2.76 MB

Hope you play-along with this built in song from Yamaha for piano or keyboard. Want to learn more about this composition? Great! Spend time reading the sheet music available for download at MuseScore in E minor. Nearly all of my songbooks and sheet music are purchased online from Hal Leonard, MuseScore, SheetmusicPlus, Thrift Books and SheetmusicDirect, a Hal Leonard site. You'll need a computer to download the PDF file and print it out instantly, a great time saver for PC owners like me. Th...

What Happens on Porch Day worldwide?

August 26, 2023 18:42 - 5 minutes - 4.92 MB

Music on the Porch day is an annual outdoors world-wide event for people of all ages who can play a musical instrument or SING. Recordings are submitted in advance on Facebook, other media sites and YouTube for approval. For this event, I play a children's song in C major with my Yamaha PSR-E463 on the front lawn. Twinkle Twinkle is one of the prerecorded songs that come with the Casio SA-76 and Yamaha keyboards that young children in my part of the world like and can sing along with at th...

Celebrating Porch Day with Beauty and the Beast

August 25, 2023 19:45 - 5 minutes - 4.62 MB

Come gather 'round and I'll tell you a story, la, la - about teaching little fingers to play a musical instrument. Calling all parents, too, for the world-wide Music on the Porch day event this year on August 26, 2023. This video is also about people seated together at a piano or keyboard having a great time overcoming the fear of sightreading with easy play music by Hal Leonard publishers and Walt Disney. Thanks for watching.

A Kiss to Build a Dream On with 2 Chords

August 25, 2023 05:28 - 2 minutes - 2.44 MB

About This Song. “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” was written in 1935 by Bert Kalmer, Harry Ruby, and Oscar Hammerstein. It was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1951. Here are some of the lyrics. Keyboard players can download an easy play version of the entire song in C Major at Sheet Music Plus. Thank you for watching.

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with 5 Chords

August 22, 2023 20:46 - 5 minutes - 5.09 MB

Play this music from the Nutcracker songbook by Hal Leonard with big notes and five chords. This is EZ Play Today for determined keyboard and piano players. Work on the melody and chords separately. Practice everyday until it comes together and it will when you keep at it. Many thanks for watching.

Easy Play Cole Porter Songs in G Major

August 10, 2023 19:47 - 4 minutes - 3.72 MB

This is about an easy play melody with broken chords in the left hand from Hal Leonard publishers. This two-page arrangement by Elizabeth C. Axford can be instantly downloaded online as a PDF file for $4.99 from SheetMusicDirect. An audio recording is also available whether the music is purchased or not. Many thanks for watching and/or listening.

Super Easy Play Beauty and the Beast with 3 Chords

August 08, 2023 21:13 - 4 minutes - 4.15 MB

Learning to read music can be great fun for children as well as adults. First, choose a familiar song like Beauty and the Beast, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or any one of hundreds of songs you wish to play for keyboard. Second, locate middle C on the white keys. Count five notes up and down on the Grand Staff from middle C. Familiar songs, regular practice time and sight reading are the essential steps needed for great outcomes over time for keyboard and piano students. Music means commitme...

Puccini O Mio Babbino Caro Easy Play w4Chords

July 27, 2023 22:38 - 6 minutes - 5.7 MB

Play this famous aria by Giacomo Puccini in C major using Hal Leonard's Big Note easy play sheet music. Four chords: G major, D major, C major and A minor. More chords to learn possibly coming soon. Many thanks for watching

Puccini O Mio Babbino Caro EZ Play with One Chord

July 23, 2023 02:25 - 3 minutes - 3.18 MB

Let's begin with one chord, shall we? More chords will be added as time goes by. You can count on it. Many thanks for watching dear students and opera lovers (like me on occasion).

Yamaha E463 Bass Clef w/Three Notes 4Beginners

July 15, 2023 00:28 - 5 minutes - 5.18 MB

This episode is about three notes written for the bass clef. They are A, B, and middle C from the musical alphabet which consists of seven notes. That's it, dear friends. The same seven notes are used to write music for the treble and bass clefs. Only two clefs are used for these lessons. Treble and bass. Furthermore, the keyboard settings in the Yamaha PSR-E463 are as follows for this lesson. Style: 025 Classical 16 beats. Voice: 008 CP 80. Everything essential for beginners to master the k...

Yamaha E463 & MuseScore Digital Sheet Music

July 14, 2023 03:04 - 4 minutes - 4.18 MB

This is about reading sheet music on paper and digitally from Musescore. Moving forward, our attention will be on notation and the BASS CLEF without the use of big note songbooks. Check out John Thompson's book for little fingers. The bass clef is introduced on page two. The first lesson in notation (note reading) is introduced on page five. It's about time, dear students. Thanks for watching.

Songbook Guide for Easy Play Music

July 12, 2023 17:30 - 3 minutes - 2.78 MB

Learn to play piano or keyboard with music from easy play songbooks by Hal Leonard. See the videos with Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast. The keyboard used for this "Super Easy" song in C major is the Casio SA-76. Thanks for watching.

Super Easy Disney Lesson for Casio SA-76

July 12, 2023 16:53 - 4 minutes - 3.92 MB

Learn to play or teach with this sample lesson. Be Our Guest is the name of the song from Beauty and the Beast. The songbook is Super Easy from Hal Leonard publishers. The keyboard used for the lesson is the Casio SA-76. Thanks for watching.

Volley Ball and Beethoven's Adagio Sonata No. 3

July 10, 2023 04:43 - 4 minutes - 4.45 MB

Due to my work schedule as a former college student, practice time was limited to a few days a week. Whenever I sat down in a practice room at the college, I became LOST in time for 2-3 hours. While trying to get up from the hard bench after each session, I felt stabbing pain from a hernia after sitting in one position. I told myself I would learn to live with the pain even if it meant walking with a cane. No one in the music department knew why Darlene was in practice rooms for long hours e...

Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast with Casio SA-76

July 08, 2023 23:03 - 2 minutes - 2.54 MB

Learn to read the music and play the melody (only) with sheet music from Hal Leonard's Super Easy Songbook. The next lesson will contain chords and more information about sight reading and technique. Thanks for watching.

Be Our Guest 4Labor Day with Easy Play

July 07, 2023 19:07 - 3 minutes - 3.11 MB

Learn to play this song for keyboard starting today from Beauty and the Beast. Memorize the lyrics and gird your loins if you plan to play outdoors for friends and/or family. Three-to-five songs; keep it short. This is your time to shine. if you are also the host. Bring the food items out in large coolers with wheels and return indoors the same way. Maybe even sunblock, lip balm, sun hats, and golf umbrellas for guests in case of rain. Consider brown paper bags for cookie-type dessert items ...

EZ Play Today Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

July 03, 2023 00:05 - 2 minutes - 2.49 MB

This was a TEST to see if the song could be learned in one day with one chord. Students, when you "make up your mind" to do something, there's a good chance you will succeed with EZ Play Today songs in C major by Hal Leonard publishers. We'll add more chords over the next few days. Happy July 4th; time to celebrate. Thanks for watching.

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with EZ Play Today

July 03, 2023 00:05 - 2 minutes - 2.49 MB

This was a TEST to see if the song could be learned in one day with one chord. Students, when you "make up your mind" to do something, there's a good chance you will succeed with EZ Play Today songs in C major by Hal Leonard publishers. We'll add more chords over the next few days. Happy July 4th; time to celebrate. Thanks for watching.

Super Easy Beauty and the Beast with Three Chords

July 01, 2023 00:39 - 3 minutes - 3.09 MB

There are three major chords here chosen from many more in this "Super Easy Songbook" arrangement in C major by Hal Leonard publisher. Learn to play the melody first and then bring in C, F, and G major chords. Play for 30 minutes a day, work on fingering and watch the tempo begin to increase. You will amaze yourself. Heard in this video is the Yamaha PSR-E463. Thanks for watching.

Waltz of the Flowers E463 with EZ Play Today

June 23, 2023 23:04 - 3 minutes - 3.51 MB

Put together your song list, dear friends, with arrangements by Hal Leonard. Choose at least five songs you would like to play before a small audience of friends and/or family for this coming July Fourth. Include two patriotic songs. Videotape each song first. Your BEST song should be played last. Perform with sheet music if necessary. Thanks for watching.

EZ Play Today Happy Trails for 4th of July and Song List

June 20, 2023 18:35 - 3 minutes - 3.3 MB

Here to help keyboard players prepare a song list for the upcoming July 4th holiday with music by Hal Leonard. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light how PROUD we will be with a song list bright gleaming. And the rockets red flare, my heart bursting prepared, oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the BRAVE. Start now!

EZ Play Today Don't Fence Me In by Cole Porter

June 19, 2023 02:14 - 3 minutes - 3.49 MB

Celebrating Father's Day today with a song about wide open spaces and lots of land under starry skies above. Keyboard settings on the Yamaha DGX-640 are as follows: VOICE: steel guitar. STYLE: country. Thanks for watching.

EZ Play Today IN THE JAILHOUSE NOW

June 17, 2023 00:40 - 4 minutes - 3.76 MB

Looking to help keyboard players sight read easy play sheet music. Any song, any time, anywhere. Played on a Yamaha PSR-E360. Settings: Style No. 051 Soul. Voice No. 034 Rock Organ. Tempo 106. Many thanks for watching.

EZ Play Today Battle Hymn of the Republic

June 16, 2023 00:41 - 4 minutes - 3.94 MB

This publisher can take keyboard players from nowhere to somewhere in one day. Proof positive that dreams can come true with Hal Leonard EZ Play Today songbooks. The Yamaha Portable Grand DGX-640 is played for this video. Style No. 002, 8 Beats Modern. Tempo 92. The JVC Everio HD Memory camera was used. Many thanks for watching.

Super Easy Play My Country 'Tis of Thee Patriotic Song

June 14, 2023 21:05 - 2 minutes - 2.74 MB

Indoor hobbies like playing a musical instrument should make us happy and connected to the world around us. Sight reading, learning new songs and regular practice of 30 minutes or more is necessary. Included in this video are all settings for the Yamaha E463 and reading note values for interested keyboard players. Legato style used here means smooth and flowing without breaks between notes. Thank you for watching.

Your First Piano/Keyboard Performance in Public

June 10, 2023 21:58 - 2 minutes - 2.49 MB

Do you remember what happened before, after and during your first performance? Who attended? Was there a gathering afterwards with food and beverages? This video is about what happened during my first classical piano performance in college. Thank you for watching.

Easy Play Carly Simon for Keyboard

June 09, 2023 20:07 - 3 minutes - 3.35 MB

This lesson is about a song by Carly Simon in C major from the movie Working Girl. Lady in Red by Chris DeBurgh is also in this movie and on the soundtrack along with Let the River Run by Carly Simon. Play along with the soundtrack and sheet music to increase your playing skills. Performed on my Yamaha PSR-E463. Thanks for watching.

EZ Play TODAY Songs for Memorial Day

May 28, 2023 21:00 - 1 minute - 1.33 MB

Fire up your ambitions to play keyboard this holiday with sheet music from Hal Leonard. Salute our troops with music and grilled hot dogs while you join in with your own hit parade of songs. Be careful with backyard fireworks. Just saying. Thank you for watching.

Easy Play Carly Simon Music with Groove Creator

May 13, 2023 20:42 - 1 minute - 1.01 MB

This is Let the River Run from the movie Working Girl in C major. Words and music by Carly Simon. Here are the settings used with the Yamaha PSR-E463. Groove Creator No. 004, UK ELEC. STYLE: No. 001, Brit Rock. VOICE: No. 002, Oct Piano. Tempo 123 beats. WORKING GIRL PLOT: Savvy New York City receptionist Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) gives her conniving boss, Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), an excellent business tip, but Katharine simply steals the idea without giving due credit to he...

Nobody Does It Better E-Z Play for Mother's Day

May 11, 2023 21:17 - 1 minute - 1.71 MB

Happy Mother's Day!! Carly Simon was raised in an upper-class musical home. Her father was a cofounder of the Simon & Schuster publishing house and a pianist, and her mother was a singer and civil rights activist. Simon and her two sisters all pursued music; her brother became a photographer. Simon quit Sarah Lawrence College to perform with her sister Lucy as the Simon Sisters. In 1966, guided by Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, and accompanied by members of the Band, she began a later...

Easy Play 4Piano- Poison Apple Clue

April 23, 2023 19:42 - 1 minute - 1.17 MB

This song is from Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. This is my tribute song to music students, friends, followers and animal lovers. Song title: Some Day My Prince Will Come. Who am I? I am a college-trained classical music educator and mature vocalist with many years of public performance. My method deals with sound and symbol, the language of music for piano and keyboard. STORYLINE The Grimm fairy tale gets a Technicolor treatment in Disney's first animated feature. Jealous of Snow...