Piano Guidance
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Is C minor a sad key?

Last time we looked at C major – let's move to C minor. According to Pauer, C minor is the key that is expressive of softness, longing, sadness, solemnity, dignified earnestness, and a passionate intensity. It lends itself most effectively to the portraiture of the supernatural.

Which is better offline or online classes?
Which is better offline or online classes?

Offline classes promote group projects with other students, and it helps the students to learn new skills. Online education makes students more...

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How should I sit for online classes?
How should I sit for online classes?

Common knowledge dictates placing your laptop on a higher surface that almost levels with your chest while sitting. It will cause less straining...

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Weber: Der Freischütz: Act II: Finale: Milch des Mondes fiel aufs Kraut (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond.)

Schubert: Des Mädchens Klage, D. 191 (Regina Jakobi, mezzo-soprano; Ulrich Eisenlohr, piano)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Roger Norrington, cond.) Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: III. Allegro (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Roger Norrington, cond.) The Austrian composer and pianist Ernst Pauer (1826-1905) was a student of Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, before moving to London in 1851. He was one of the first piano professors at the Royal College of Music and also worked with the music faculty at the University of Cambridge.One of his most interesting works is his book, The Elements of the Beautiful in Music, published in London in 1876. In the second chapter, he looks at the affective properties of keys, as did many other 19th century composers. But, unlike them, he actually listed works that he felt fulfilled his requirements.Last time we looked at C major – let’s move to C minor. According to Pauer, C minor is the key that is expressive of softness, longing, sadness, solemnity, dignified earnestness, and a passionate intensity. It lends itself most effectively to the portraiture of the supernatural. Soft longing.His examples cover Weber with another scene from Der Freischütz, a song by Shubert, and 3 movements from Beethoven symphonies.Weber’s opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman) was one of first German Romantic operas and is full of the supernatural: there are enchanted bullets to hit the target in the competition, with the last bullet intended to kill the heroine, we have the ‘Wolf’s Glen’ scene, with its night setting and magical summonings from the dungeon dimension as Casper calls upon the demon Samiel.Moving out of the supernatural to a softer side, we have Schubert’s song “Des Mädchens Klage” (The Maiden’s Lament). A young woman sits on the seaside during a storm, the fury of Nature matching her internal torment: her young man has died and with him, her heart.Beethoven, of course, brings us the first movement of his Fifth Symphony in c minor and the third movement, which Pauer calls the “Funeral March.” The two movements couldn’t be more different yet they both capture the dignified earnestness that Pauer sees as characteristic of the key of C minor.Although these are the only works that Pauer lists as emulating C minor, we have to note that Beethoven’s own works gave C minor an association with heroic struggle and post-Beethoven composers took this as critical to their own use of the key.We can add to this list Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor where he struggled for 20 years to match Beethoven’s achievement in the symphonic form, Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 in c minor, and Bruckner’s three symphonies (Nos. 1, 2, and 8) in that key. There were dozens of symphonies in C minor written after Beethoven’s No. 5 in 1808 and they must be considered in light of the effect that Beethoven gave to C minor.Next: G major

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What is the easiest rock song to learn on piano?

Top 5 Easiest Rock Songs To Play On The Piano 1) “Let It Be” by the Beatles. 2) “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon. 3) “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. 4) “Hey Jude” by the Beatles. 5) Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue. Are You Ready To Learn The Piano?

Playing the piano is a skill that takes years of practice, dedication, and desire. Our students study every type of music during their piano lessons including classical, jazz and pop music. If you are just getting started with your piano lessons and are looking for some instant gratification, you need to take the time to practice and be patient. With all of our NYC piano lessons, we aim to focus on small achievable goals, starting with the easiest songs to play on the piano. Other students that are enlisted in online lessons, might have a different set of goals, depending on the lesson schedule. To get you started, here are some easy rock songs to get you ripping up the keys in no time!

1) “Let It Be” by the Beatles

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