This week marks week five of my learning journey. I decided to try exploring podcasts to help me learn piano. I also got a really good start on playing “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran.
I am pretty new to podcasts so I had a bit of trouble finding good ones, but here are some that I found and what I think of them.
First is “Learn Piano: A Personal Practice” by Cynthia Ali. Below is the link to her podcast.
“Learning Piano: A Personal Practice”
What I learned:
- Setting up my space
- The importance of scales
- The best time to practice
- Creating a “wish list” of songs to learn
I found this podcast had some helpful tips, but it was not my favourite. It was very monotone and really hard to stay focused while listening to it. The episodes were short which did help a bit, but still not an easy listen for me personally.
Another podcast I found was called “Keys to Music Learning” by Krista Jabro and Hannah Mayo.
What I Learned:
- What are Tonal and Rhythm Patterns?
- Why are Tonal and Rhythm Patterns Important?
- Reading and Writing
- Building Listening and performance vocabulary
This podcast was a much more engaging listen. The problem I had with this one is it was very technical and was a bit over my abilities and understanding.
The last podcast I listened to was called “The Piano Superhuman Podcast” by Zach Evans.
What I Learned:
- Learning Piano as an Adult
- Motivation on Piano
- Importance of Technique, Recording Yourself, and Slowing Down
- “Scientific Practicing”
This podcast was interesting, easy to listen to, and at my level of learning. I really enjoyed the scientific method as a way to learn to play a song. Dividing the music into sections, taking it slow and then speeding it up once comfortable. Once learning all of the sections of a song you add them together to play the entire song.
Though I did find some helpful tips using these podcasts they are definitely not my preferred way of learning.
Here is my progress of “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran. I am currently using the “scientific method” strategy to help me learn the song. This is the first section of the song that I have learned. I am almost to the point of speeding things up on this one! Hopefully by next week.
Hey Amber! It is sounding great so far! Do you have the sheet music for “I see fire”? Or are using a different format to learn it? I apologize if you already mentioned how you are learning it in a prior blog post that I may have missed. I would love to learn this song!
Hi Nicole!
I have the actual physical copy of the sheet music for “I see Fire” I find it really hard to read music off of a screen.
Thank-you for listening and I’m glad you like it!
Hello Amber! I have never been a person who was interested in podcasts, but since about my 3rd year of university I have found a few that I love listening to. Most of the time I listen to them in the gym while working out. Watching the video, it seems like you really know how to play the piano. Did you start this learning project not knowing how to play at all? Keep up the good work!!