Coles Whalen

If you want to catch an artist on the brink of stardom, then Coles Whalen is your girl. I recently got a chance to finally see her perform live in Chicago, and she was absolutely incredible. Since this is a music learning site, my general policy is to only spotlight artists who I’ve actually met and whose music I really connect with. About a year ago, a friend and I were hanging out at a bar... [Read more]

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Feed Your Right Brain with Online Music Lessons

The issue isn’t really new. We’ve been seeing funding for arts programs dwindling in our education programs for quite some time now. It’s unfortunate, because statistics show us that creative programs enhance a student’s ability to do well in other academic subjects. Awhile back I read Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind which explores the relationship between the left (analytical)... [Read more]

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Four Online Resources to Learn to Play the Piano by Ear

It always amazes me how some people can just hear music and play it on the piano. I studied piano formally for ten years, and most of my training emphasized sight reading music. When I went to music school, ear training was kind of hard for me, because I’d never really paid much attention to it. Over time I’ve become better at it, but I think of how much more advanced my skills would be... [Read more]

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Fast Track to Learn Piano Keys

I’ve seen a lot of search requests on how to learn piano keys, so I decided to make a quick video that briefly summarizes the notes on the piano and their basic functions. Here is the video embedded via YouTube, with the transcript of the contents below: Looking at a standard keyboard, you’ll notice that there are 7 notes for the white keys and 5 notes for the black keys that repeat themselves... [Read more]

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What’s The Easiest Way to Learn to Play Piano?

There really isn’t any definitive way to just pick out which method is the easiest or fastest  to learn to play the piano. The truth is that we all have different goals, learning styles, musical intuition, and practicing habits that influence progress. It’s usually an endless cycle of climb and plateau. The first thing to consider is what  you actually want to accomplish when it comes... [Read more]

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Beginner’s Music Production Setup

As a beginner songwriter, artist or music producer, it’s  a good idea to have some kind of recording setup in your home. It’s a great way to get creative ideas out, hear what you sound like, experiment with your style, and cut your teeth in the production of your own music. It may be awhile before you’re ready to cut some tracks in a professional studio (for some of you, you might... [Read more]

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