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6. Get Piano and Vocal Lessons

pete

Brassica Oleracea
Staff member
Administrator
First off, they don't need to be intense lessons. You just want to be able to ...

* Play a four-part piece on the piano.
* Be able to sing pitches in tune.

Seriously, I regret that I was forced to take piano lessons at a young age and then I abandoned it. I can play a four-part piece (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) from a vocal lead sheet, but VERY slowly. Hey, if you're in just about ANY professional capacity, it's EXTREMELY helpful to be able to play piano.

The singing is another thing. While it would be great if you could see a middle C on the score and sing the correct pitch (and in tune) for your out-of-tune oboe player (pick, pick), the best that most people could do is sing a part in relative pitch -- that is, you can sing the intervals properly if you have a starting pitch.

Again, you don't need intense lessons.

For me, while I had been in a lot of choirs through high school, I never developed a good singing voice until I was in my late 20's and people wanted me to sing in their various groups. From my late 20's to mid 30's, I took lessons from a couple pro singers/educators and I found that I actually had some singing talent. That's also a kewl thing.
 
My daughter was in the music shop buying reeds with me the other day, while I was paying (as usual) she started playing the piano. I asked her how she could do that, she says, she knew which key her teacher hit to give her a note and it wasn't 'that' hard to work the rest out from there.

She already does a fair bit extra curriculum, I'm reluctant to squeeze piano in too, will she lose that if I don't pursue it?
 
I think you lose any skill if you don't exercise it.

As I mention above, basic piano skills are good. You do want to be able to play a bit of four-part harmony, at least. If she's got the basics and practices every now and then, I'd call it good. Just note that she should be able to look at a piece of music like: :TrebleClef::Line0: and know that a) it's a middle C and b) where it is on the piano.
 
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