This post is in response to an e-mail from Anna:
Just wondering - you stressed the importance of classically trained pianists learning to play from chord sheets. I have started doing this, but not very imaginatively - what is the best way to learn to do this?
Also, I have an 8 year old boy who is just getting interested in the piano and I have started teaching him a bit. I don’t particularly want him to be a classical pianist - I really just want him to love playing the piano and be able to play in church and improvise. Is it still best to go down the AMEB track, or is there an alternative way for him to learn?
Any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the question Anna!
A friend who studied psychology once told me once that of all the extra-curricular interests that children take up, there are two that stand out as the best predictors of IQ: classical piano… and chess. No offense meant to chess players, but if I had to choose between the two for my child, I’d pick classical piano!
Having said that, the my whole background as a classically-trained pianist is a bit of an ambivalent one for me. In fact I still have slightly bitter feelings towards my parents for sending me to classical piano rather than jazz lessons as a 6-year-old, because jamming with other musicians looked like a lot of fun!
As classical pianists, we struggle playing in a church band because we’re trained as soloists and rarely taught how to play flexibly (fitting around other instruments, improvising, reading chords, and playing by ear).
I grew up on Chopin, Liszt and Beethoven and learnt to play every note on the page and not a semiquaver more. And loved it. When I arrived at church as a young Christian I balked at the idea of playing in the band. People at church didn’t play the “piano” – they played “keys”, which usually meant playing everything but the notes written in the music. And if they were really good, they played with all sorts of other sounds on their electric keyboard too.
I started playing at church out of necessity. It was a student church, and the summer break meant that we didn’t have a whole lot of musicians available. They knew I could play, so they asked me. Sigh. “OK,” I said.
I remember my first song: “The Servant King” by Graham Kendrick. I played it through each verse exactly the same, exactly as written. The guitarist wasn’t too impressed: “C’mon Yimmy! Liven it up a bit!” All I could do was play louder – I felt very inadequate.
Over time, I started to get the hang of reading guitar chords. I have to admit I’m not the greatest keys player around, but when I actually threw away the piano music, the skills came fairly quickly.
As I’ve mentioned in the section on arranging the structure of songs, the point of any song arrangement is to help the lyrical message of a song “unfold” in an emotionally meaningful way. You can’t really do that if you only play what’s written on the page. You’ll also aggravate the other musicians – the piano is an incredibly dominating instrument! (I liken it to the fat sheep of Israel in Ezekiel 34!)
I’ve already written about arranging instruments in a church band, and playing keyboards well, but here’s my advice to classically-trained pianists who want to be more effective church musicians:
1. Swallow your pride. When you stop following the notes on the page, you won’t sound as good for a while, but the payoff is worth it.
2. Learn what notes the basic chord symbols refer to. Buy a jazz piano music book or visit a site like www.gootar.com/piano which shows you a basic voicing for each chord. Add notes from there. Remember you need to pay attention to the bass part - for example “C/E” is a C major chord with E played at the bottom instead of the C.
3. Learn alternative forms of chords (sus2, sus4, add9, minor7, major7) and work out which ones sound good in certain situations… then don’t overuse them.
4. Practice at home with the lead sheets to songs you already know. When you come to play at church, don’t be tempted to use the piano music.
5. Practice playing by ear. Try playing along to recordings of your favourite songs, without any sheet music at all. Practice NOT playing the melody, but fitting in around the other instruments.
6. Listen to the way pop songs use pianos. The parts are often very simple.
7. Try playing one-handed. It’s easier, which gives you extra attention space to develop more interesting parts such as riffs (repetitive patterns – Coldplay’s music is full of piano riffs).
8. Less is more. You’re not playing as a soloist, so you don’t need to fill up the sound yourself. At church, it’s not just you – there’s the congregation singing and you probably have some other instruments too. If you’re in a band, there should be whole sections where you’re not playing at all.
9. Think in layers – bass, mid, treble. You don’t have to exist in all three layers at once. Try isolating your playing to one layer at a time. Add layers to build a song or work around other instruments, such as an acoustic guitar – which exists mostly in the mid range.
10. If your kids are learning piano, send them to a teacher who will give them a solid grounding in music theory, but also train them to play flexibly. AMEB is great for music theory but as a system it won’t train you to be a good church musician, so it really depends on the teacher. On the other hand, Jazz piano teachers often neglect music theory and technical skills which are essential. Talk to musicians you know about where they went for training. Apart from the telephone book, music stores are another good place to find teachers (usually not classical ones). I agree that the most important thing when teaching kids music is that they enjoy it, and get a sense that their playing is appreciated and valuable. Get them involved serving at church early on, even if it’s in small ways at first.
11. While you’re at it, get a few formal lessons for yourself.
12. Finally, thank God for your gifts and use them in humble service of His people. Your gifts as a classically trained pianist are also valuable, but whether you get to use them at church really depends on the opportunities and needs. You could play some classical arrangements of songs at church (there are many good ones out there, see Sibelius Music for some examples). There are also often opportunities for solo items, and some classical pianists I know have played at outreach events and as background music for church dinners. Talk with the leaders of your church ministry teams and let them know you’re available if needed.