Hello to all!

Once again the Lengua Presbyterian School Choir in Trinidad performed for their Dedication Service on Friday, May 18th 2012. They sang "I love the Lord" as well as "All Good Gifts". Here's a video clip of All Good Gifts. Hope you enjoy:


 
Hey everyone!

I've got some exciting news. Starting this week, you can request topics you want me to talk about. We can even make arrangements to Skype for a better explanation of whatever topic you want!

Just send me a message (click on the 'Advertise here') link and fill in the simple form. Be sure to say what topic you want me to cover.

Also, very shortly, I will be commencing a once-a-week live stream to talk about all different music topics.

Hope you are as excited as I am!
 
Hi to all!

I've got some exciting news! My mom, sister and I bought a new laptop for my dad for his birthday this past month. It's much better than my current one and has a really good webcam. Hopefully, with his permission, I'll borrow it to start making instructional videos to put up on the site!

I know that people learn better if they are able to see and hear what is being taught as opposed to just reading it so I thought this would be a great idea. I love using Windows Movie Maker (the original one) and I look forward to posting my first video.

Till then, ttyl.

PS- I'm working on another song inspired by a facebook bumper sticker that I read last week. Stay tuned for more.


Jordan
 
So I've been thinking a lot about some of the songs for which I bought sheet music just to play along. I love when artists use the piano to drive a song as the piano is a complete instrument that can stand on its own.

Some songs that I've listed below use primarily the piano or can be played on a piano alone. I hope you enjoy my picks!

1) Someone Like You- Adele
All I can say is this: learning to play arpeggios certainly paid off when playing this song! It's a simple ballad that requires little more than the knowledge of arpeggios to play. Set in the key of A major, most persons who begin playing it, master it very soon. This is one of the great things about this song. It's so simple that it's genius! Here, less really is more as there are no flashy synthesised sounds or loud percussion, but just Adele and a piano! Definitely a winner in my book!

2) The Prayer- Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli
This too, is a very often downloaded song as the words and melody are are just beautiful. It's very appropriate for weddings, and I have performed it as a piano solo several times. When I play it, I immediately begin to think about the phrasing of the song and the legato beginning. A bit more challenging that Someone Like You, but when practised and performed, it is worth all the long hours put into it!

3) You Raise Me Up- Josh Groban
Such an uplifting song! I know that Josh Groban is not the original performer of this song but I first heard about this song after he covered it. I immediately bought my copy and had it shipped home. I must say that having two key changes in a song would ordinarily strike me as tacky, but with this song, it's very well done and capitalises on the emotions of the listener. When I played the song for the first time, as I approached the second key change, my immediate impression was 'OMG! Soo many flats?!!' I won't lie. This part of the piece still gives me trouble and if I play it for the first time in a long while, I have to really go slow! However, it's a joy when you can play all the key changes fluently! A must have for all pianists!

It seems as though I'm running out of time so I will continue this list soon!
 
Hi there everyone! In addition to posting up useful lessons on music theory, I decided to update you all on what's been going on in my life. The last day of school here in Trinidad, was Thursday March 29th, 2012. As such, the school ended the term with a church service, followed by the reading of class reports. As choir director, I thought it would be a good idea to teach them one of my own compositions, "Lord, I come."

The children enjoyed it a lot and they sounded great. Below is a video of them singing:

    About me...

    Hi there! My name is Jordan. I live in the tropical island of Trinidad. I've been a pianist for the past 14 years and I've been singing ever since I could remember. Here, you can read about what's going on in my life and the choirs I work with!

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