Seiji Ozawa
Most people think that to play the piano, you need to learn what all of the notes look like on the staff and be able to read everything - treble and bass clef. This simply is not true. As a matter of fact, if you learn the basic chords, you can play those chords and either add the melody on top or have no melody at all and just sing the melody. And if you are playing in a band, another instrument or voice can provide the melody!
Let's say you don't want to have a melody at all, well then the right hand would play the chord and the left hand could alternate between the root of the chord and the fifth of the chord. This is all you would need. Add a little rhythmic pattern to it and you're good to go. If you are playing a ballad, you don't even need to jazz it up this way, just the chords will do. You can have a lot of fun with making up your own arrangement by changing where you play the chord (what octave), how fast you play it, whether you invert it and how, and whether you play all the notes of the chord together or separate (arpeggiated). All of these factors determine how your song will sound!
A word or two about fake books. You definitely want to get one but there are all different kinds. If you are new to the piano, I would suggest getting a fake book in which all the songs are in the key of C. Have fun with it! That's what it's all about.
Debbie Gruber received her Master of Music Degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. She has been interviewed on numerous radio stations in the Boston area and has been featured in The Improper Bostonian for her unique teaching style. An accomplished singer and pianist, she has performed with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Carnegie Hall and has sung with Bobby McFerrin, Kathleen Battle, John Williams and Seiji Ozawa. She teaches extensively throughout Boston and MetroWest at many Adult and Community Education Centers and operates her own private teaching studio in Burlington, MA. Ms. Gruber has published numerous books, CD's and DVD's helping people how to play the piano the fun way not through reading notes but through understanding chords and then embellishing on those. http:http://www.EasyPianoStyles.com
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What's My Line? - Seiji Ozawa (1963, TV Show)
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