directing a group while trying to grow

[Michael1987]

Dear,

LGM members I was ask in august 2006 by a group to help them out with there music. Since then I became their director. We made progress however the has let members go and acquire some new members in the process. Now we have 10 girls in the group.
I play the piano for them but when I am making new songs I an often stuck and making them songs and playing along with songs they heard and want to sing. I was wondering if there was someone out there who can help me to play better and learn more chords to produce songs. I taught my self how to play the piano and I find myself staying in the key of C. Somebody help to be a good director and while trying to progress playing the piano.

Sincerely,

Michael Antoine

[JoashStilltheman]

Antoine,
Welcome to LGM. Well you're in the right place Here, you can search for songs that you would like to learn to play and also be able to improve your playing skills. Maybe you can searth for a couple of songs that you don't know how to play and practice with these. Then you will discover new techniques and chords in this way and also you will be able to play in other keys as well.

For learning other keys, I suggest learning the scale first then find the chords.
It's okay to be a director and learner. It's probably the best way to learn..on the real.

[b_jizzle20]

I agree with what Joash is saying, learn the scale then the basic chords and progressions.

lol, i was also stuck on C until I saw some of Jamal Hartwell's videos then i got hooked on Eb and I learned more in Eb than I did in C, then I transposed the chords/prgressions and runs that I learned in Eb to Db then I got hook on Db, then I learned more chords/prgressions in Db than I did in Eb....And I just kept building up like that.


LGM has so much to offer, Drastic improvement is inevitable on this site, just "seek and ye shall find"


Peace!!
 

[Michael1987]

thankyou for replying back to the both of you. By any chance does it matter if the you learn a key with the right finging. 

[under13]

Welcome to LGM

First off, when playing for a group, you have to learn every key. Sometimes songs are gonna be too high or low for them to sing in and you cant expect the group to sing all their songs in one key.

What I suggest is that you get a teacher who can  teach you piano and how to give out choir parts. you can also try to sit in on other groups' rehearsals

[JoashStilltheman]

thankyou for replying back to the both of you. By any chance does it matter if the you learn a key with the right finging. 

That is a controversial subject. Since piano music rarely includes strict fingering guidelines for every note in a piece, pianists must learn some basic techniques for moving the fingers up and down the keyboard in the most efficient possible manner. One of the best ways to develop a sense of how to finger any piano passage is to learn piano scales. Learning to play scales forces you to resolve challenging fingering situations with practical techniques, such as passing the thumb under the middle finger when playing ascending notes. Once you learn a few of these techniques, you can apply them to passages in actual piano pieces with the most efficient fingering possible.