pianosoundboard

Piano

Gary Jugert’s Lead Sheet Piano Method

Sound great playing keyboard or piano.
Learn all the music theory too.

Note! This is for adults. If you’re a kid, you should learn via the traditional piano method from a real piano teacher in your neighborhood because you still might be a concert pianist someday.

If you’re an adult and ready to start (or get back to piano) the truth is you’re not going to be traveling the globe playing concert halls. As such, there’s no need to learn the stuff concert pianists know. Here’s what you probably really want:

  • A fast, easy and fun way to play songs you know.
  • A way to play along with a singer or yourself.
  • The confidence to work with other musicians.
  • Enough theory to unlock the mystery mechanics behind music.
  • The ability to write your own songs and make one billion dollars.

What you need is all here. You’ll have a great time on the piano even if you’ve never done any music before. This is a life-long activity, so play as often as you can, get with other people as often as you can, and have a great attitude about how long this is gonna take … the rest of your days on Earth … and try to avoid any negativity creeping into your soul.

What Instrument Do You Need:
  • Any keyboard is fine for learning.
  • A used one from the second-hand shop is great.
  • Any electronic keyboard with at least 32 keys (more is better) will get the job done. Leave it on the default piano sound instead of the robot voices it comes with pre-loaded.
  • It’s better if you have weighted keys as they’re heavier and feel like a real piano.
  • It’s even better if you have a real piano that’s been tuned in the last six months.
  • It’s best if you have a $300 thousand Steinway concert grand, but I would recommend you wait and work your way up from the second-hand keyboard first.
What Books Do You Need:

I need you to buy two books at first. They’re gonna last you forever.

  1. The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios & Cadences ISBN-13: 978-0739003688 This is the only theory you will ever need (probably).
  2. Your First Fake Book – C Edition ISBN-13: 978-1540060600 This is a great book of nice melodies and we’ll fancy them up by learning some theory and mastering left-hand accompaniment.
Enough Theory to Start:
  • What’s a Fake Book?
  • EGBDF + FACE + Ledger Lines
  • The Keyboard Layout
  • Note values of W H Q 8
  • How to Figure Out Chords
  • How to Use Your Ears
Section 1 (“learnin’ songs”):

Note: YouTube videos are often in a different key. Don’t try to play along to them. Listen and get a sense of how they go. If any of these links are broken, I’d appreciate an email so I can fix them for you.

  1. Love Me Tender: Elvis on YouTube
  2. Edelweiss: Sound of Music on YouTube (warning: schmaltz alert)
  3. My Favorite Things:
  4. Unchained Melody: Ghost on YouTube (seriously, we thought this movie was good back in the day.)
  5. Can’t Help Falling in Love: More Elvis on YouTube
  6. A Whole New World:
  7. Summertime: Ella Fitzgerald on YouTube
  8. Beauty and the Beast: Disney clip on YouTube
Section 2 (“gittin’ bettah songs”):
  1. Colors of the Wind: Disney clip on YouTube
  2. Bring Him Home (from Les Misérables): Colm Wilkinson on YouTube
  3. Heart and Soul: Big band version on YouTube
  4. Lean on Me: Bill Withers on YouTube
  5. Oh What a Beautiful Morning:
  6. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head:
  7. Somewhere Out There: Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram on YouTube
  8. Stand By Me: Eek, is this what 1961 looked like?
  9. Try to Remember:
Section 3 (focused topics):
Beatles
Broadway
Disney
  • Beauty and the Beast (See Section 1)
  • Colors of the Wind (See Section 2)
Elvis & Oldies
Instrumental
Jazz-ish
John Denver
Movies
Patriotic
Pop Songs
Sound of Music
Tin Pan Alley

Your Next Book (Movie Fake Book)

Don’t buy this until you’ve played everything in your first book.

  1. Godfather Theme
  2. Hallelujah
  3. Moon River
  4. Over the Rainbow
  5. Rainbow Connection
  6. Somewhere My Love
  7. What a Wonderful World

 

 

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