The State of the Site
Dear *|FNAME|*,
It's a wonderful thing to create a website you're passionate about--to keep adding to it bit by bit, and see it slowly begin to resemble the vision that inspired you in the first place.
And when people start to enjoy your tutorials, learn from them, and maybe even take a moment to say how they feel about them, as these folks have done--well, that makes all the work seem worthwhile.
Granted, DoctorKeys.com has a long way to go before it even begins to cover all the skills and music I enjoy teaching, but I am making progress (as you'll see in a moment).
First, though, a word to those of you who subscribed in the past and may have let your membership lapse. To thank you for being among my very first site members, I've got a special offer for you.
Membership now costs $15 for six months. But if you re-subscribe by March 31st and send me an email to let me know, I'll extend your subscription so it lasts for a full year.
By the way, now that I'm using a dedicated newsletter service (MailChimp) and have a proper mailing list, I promise to stay more in touch.
Hope to see you soon at DoctorKeys!
-- Bruce SiegelNew 2-Part Tutorial: Piano Accompaniment Styles for 50 Great Songs
Rather than focus on just one song, this extended lesson helps you play a huge variety of songs both slow and fast, including pop, rock, folk, blues, Broadway--you name it.
To play most of these songs, you'll need only the four chords you've learned so far in the course: I, IV, V, vi. In the key of C, that's C, F, G, and A minor. (The vi chord is introduced in this lesson.) On the videos, I even tell you where to get free lead sheets, transposed to your key and ready to print out. Read more and watch the video. . .
Axis of Awesome’s 4-Chord Songs
If you're taking my online course, you know that it teaches you, step by step, to accompany your own singing. We began with songs that use only three chords, and in my most recent tutorial, Accompaniment Styles for 50 Great Songs, we added a fourth.
That's why I was so happy to come across this Axis of Awesome video. On it, the talented and very funny Australian group plays dozens of well-know songs (see the complete list below) that use the four chords we've studied so far, and most of the tunes are pretty recent (unlike the ones I often choose).
And here's the interesting part: not only do the songs all use the same four chords, they use . . . Read more and watch the video. . .
The Top Three Myths About Learning to Play the Piano
Whether you've been playing the piano for years or are just getting started, what you think you know may be holding you back. Here are the common fallacies we’ll look at.
- It all starts with learning to read music.
- It's all about the fingers.
- Practicing means playing a piece over and over.
Our conversation will touch on all styles of music–-pop, jazz, classical, etc. Somehow, a simple blog post has grown into a three-part seminar, complete with tips, exercises, and resources.