What I was experiencing was not necessarily a lack of self confidence, or a fear of the unknown, or anything like that. I just think that for a solid month or so I felt like I had “arrived” and had accomplished all of the things that I had wanted to accomplish up until that point. The problem was that whatever this sense of accomplishment was, I rationally did not posses it but instead felt it on a subconscious level. I guess a better way to put it was that all of the sudden I had lost my “drive” and whereas one month prior I was waking up at 5:45am, running 5 miles a day, going to class for eight hours straight, and then catching up with work for my job after class, I was now having a hard time just waking up for work at 8:30am.

What was weird was how hard for me it was to find enjoyment in all of the things that I used to love. Exercising felt oddly pointless to me, all of my music sounded the same, and even working the two jobs that I loved (my job here at Pianobreaks, and my job with a production company) seemed oddly burdensome.

The post The Power Of Creation first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

Giving Yourself Permission

No one but yourself, can ever know what’s best for you. Even if it seems like you don’t know what’s best sometimes after making a mistake, when you can rely on your own intuition rather than having to keep asking for permission and advice from people, your light shines.

My psychologist used to say that one of the biggest recurring themes in his practice was that life is about giving yourself permission. Giving yourself permission to what?

Permission to. Permission to be yourself. Permission to take the job. Permission to succeed in life. Permission to live as a free human being.

Permission to be happy.

Examples from my own life:

I ask for permission from people to follow my heart, dreams, or intuition in very subtle ways. What I’m doing is asking for permission from someone else so that I can get the courage to follow what my gut is already telling me to do. It is incredibly stupid, I will admit, because in my gut the decision has already been made so I usually know what I’m going to end up doing, regardless of the advice I get in the end. It’s a waste of time to even ask, not only of the time it takes to ask, but in the time I spend pursuing those paths that others believe would be better for me.

Asking people for their opinions on things, rather than just acting, hands the power to direct my life over to people who don’t have my best interests at heart. Not usually, and not really.

Strangers or friends or experts have little real basis to tell you what you should do for your life. No matter how much experience they’ve had, human beings’ paths are too varied and unique to fall for the predictions of other people. There are some that can make predictions on your life and be right, but that is no way to live to believe that other people are more authoritative on your life than yourself. Even if they are right some of the time, it’s still worth being wrong that time so that you will habitually learn to trust yourself in more scary situations where you won’t be dependent on someone else’s ability to make your own decisions in the place of you. I’m sure you already know that dependency on anyone or anything to make you happy is a big no-no.

We betray ourselves by asking for permission from other people to give us the OK to do what we want, just do it. Betray is a strong word for strong reason, because if you don’t trust in or believe in yourself, you kill the way you’re supposed to be naturally as a human being who is capable of making his or her own decisions by listening to their intuition and feeling their way through the situation, given the facts.

You are not a slave! You are a master!

The post The Greatest Freedom in Life Part 1 first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

These are two of my favorite songs in the world. Freetempo knows how to meld chords together in a structure that feels like a curtain is being drawn over your head. A warm, cushy curtain that slowly envelops you, rather than draping all over you in one second. The beat pulses with upbeat continuation, the bittersweet feeling of melancholy and the almost determined explanation of what she should be knowing about herself, but she is scared of going towards those feelings of joy because, well, it’s scary to let go into joy.

What I get from this song is really a feeling of explanation of her (someone’s) feelings and being a benign angel of reassurance. A beacon shining in the right direction in order to give light to a relieved soul.

Freetempo – Beautiful World (Feat. SHEEAN)

Boom. Lights, camera, racing cars in fast forward motion pushing a melodic rainbow of pure, unadulterated, joy and hope and utter goodness in the world. There just has to be goodness in the world with a song like this, making clear that everything is right in the world, or can be right in the world, regardless of what is happening. As soon as you turn on this song the liquid injection of bursting bright colors spreads throughout your body like a coursing vein of mercury saturating your whole system. Musical liquid cocaine like an intravenous drip. I love it. So much.

The post Freetempo – Sky High and Beautiful World (Feat. SHEEAN) first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

First, a dorian scale is just a scale that starts off on the second note of a major scale, and then continues up to the same note in the same major scale.

So to play a dorian scale in any major scale, first play the second note, and then play all of the notes in that major scale up until the next “second” note.

For instance, in a C major scale, D is the second, so starting from D going up in the C major scale, all white keys, gives you D E F G A B C D. It’s the same as the C major scale, except that you’re starting from the second note instead of the first note.

The main use for dorian scales is giving a foolproof way to solo over minor 7th chords, and sometimes entire chord progressions too. They are second to maybe pentatonic scales and blues scales, in my opinion of course.

Anyways, to continue on, I form dorian scales using two basic methods. One of which I think is easier:

The Whole Step Down Method

A ‘whole step down’ is 2 notes down, including black keys. E a whole step down would mean E to Eb, and then down one more note to D.

Another whole step down example would be B down to Bb, and then Bb down to A (often said as “A is a whole step down from B”)

To find a dorian scale with the whole step down method, play in the major scale that is a whole step down.

For C dorian, the major scale that is a whole step down from C is Bb major, so C dorian starts on C and then goes up in the Bb major scale, C D Eb F G A Bb C.

In D dorian, a whole step down is C, so D dorian starts on D, then continues in the C major scale.

In G dorian, a whole step down is F, so G dorian starts on G and goes up in F major.

Basically you’re just starting on the 1st note of the dorian scale that you’re trying to find, then going down a whole step and playing in that major scale.

That’s it for this method. It really is that simple and all you need to know to use it are your major scales. But if you’re finding that the whole step down method isn’t intuitive for you, feel free to try the additional method below, which is also very simple to understand:

Flat 3rd and Flat 7th Method

To find any dorian scale, simply flat the 3rd and 7th of the major scale. If you want to find the C dorian scale, all you do is take the C major scale, and then flat the 3rd and 7th notes (Eb and Bb) and play up in that scale (C D Eb F G A Bb C).

For the flat 3rd and flat 7th method, to find a dorian scale, just flat the 3rd and 7th of the major scale.

Here are some examples of this method in action:

F Dorian is the F Major scale with a flatted 3rd and a flatted 7th (the notes A and E are flatted to Ab and Eb), or F G Ab Bb C D Eb F.

D Dorian is a D Major scale with a flatted 3rd and flatted 7th (F# and C# change to F and C), or D E F G A B C D.

G Dorian is G Major with the 3rd and 7th flatted (B and F# change to Bb and F), or G A Bb C D E F G.

Test it out for yourself and try to find the answer to Bb dorian:

Which 3rd and 7th are flatted for Bb dorian? What is the Bb dorian scale?

Answer: The 3rd and 7th of Bb major are D and A, which are then flatted to get the Bb dorian scale, Bb C Db Eb F G Ab Bb.

Simple and Immediately Useful Way To Use Dorian Scales

Dorian scales are good over minor 7th chords and minor chords in general. If you ever just want to sit down at the piano and play, minor 7th chords with dorian scales sound beautiful.

All you have to do is take two different minor 7th chords and each of their dorian scales, and go between the two chords and scales.

This video will show you 3 different minor 7th chords and their dorian scales, so you can be left with something practical that you can actually apply right now, rather than only theory.

Chords and Scales

E minor 7
Left Hand – E G B D           Right Hand – F# G B D
Solo on 2 sharps scale – E F# G A B C# D E

Eb minor 7
Left Hand – Eb Gb Bb Db   Right Hand – F Gb Bb Db
Solo on Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb

D minor 7
Left Hand – D F A C             Right Hand – E F A C
Solo on D E F G A B C D

If after watching this you are still hungry for more, 15 Free Beginner Lessons and the Jazz Piano PDF await you. Don’t underestimate the power of this approach to learning jazz piano. Additionally I will never ask for anything in return for these free videos and resources, so they are yours to do with as you please forever.

I promise you that you will see results in a matter of days by applying these techniques and this approach to jazz chords and soloing. I am big on actually applying the things that you’ve learned, so posts like this that give you immediately tangible results you’ll find will be the norm here.

The lessons can save you literally years of frustration and confusion at the piano, wanting to express yourself in more ways but feeling like you can’t. Once you understand these simple ways to form chords and scales that you can play right now, like minor 7th chords, pentatonic scales, and full right hand chords, a whole world will open up to you that you never knew exists.

The post How to Form Dorian Scales Easily and Effortlessly first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

I used piano to express my emotions because I wanted to be heard from my parents, my teachers, and my classmates, and most of all, from myself, though I didn’t know that yet. I was taught very early on that my preferences didn’t matter relative to what other people wanted, and that I shouldn’t speak up when I have something to say because it wasn’t nice to make other people uncomfortable.

I was taught to shut up and hold in, rather than express feelings out, and that has resulted in many personal issues dealing with expressing emotions in general, and it has made for a difficult road in life for me and being a happy person.

Mom and dad were reserved and kept their emotions closed in as well, and in that way they were my teachers. I learned to be just like them, and to not be so vibrant and joyful as I was feeling at the time, even though I felt joyful inside. It’s not their fault though. That’s how they were raised too. Dad was raised as the oldest child in a strict catholic family, and my mom was raised to always smile and be nice, and to get along with other people by suppressing her own needs. I learned to do that too.

So the piano and music were my first go to when I wanted to be heard by other people, and to say what I wanted to say in my early teens. My highest priority in self-expression has ALWAYS been that, to say what I want to say.

Nothing really matters except the answer to the implied question there–“Did I say what I wanted to say?”

Be Heard

To live and not be heard is the greatest waste of life and potential, because usually you’re not expressing who you are. If you’re not expressing who you are, then why would you even want to be here in the world? The results of not expressing yourself are hard to deal with, and will crush your soul if you let it.

If the answer is no to “Did I say what I wanted to say?” and I leave the piano, or the conversation, or my work, without saying what I wanted to say, then I truly didn’t do my job properly, and it needs to be finished. I need to say what I want to say, otherwise I know it will be far worse down the line for me weeks, months, or years after.

Through piano I was finally be able to EXPRESS the happiness, joy, anger, frustration, sadness, surprise, disbelief, love, and confidence and strength that I’d never got to express (or very rarely had got to express). What you play has to mean something to you, or again, what’s the point in playing at all? If you’re not saying what you want to say, through dance, through music, in your work, or through other ways of expressing yourself, then you won’t feel calm and peaceful and full inside of love (or something close) by the end of it.

I believe in telling my story defiantly in a world that wants me to shut up, to keep quiet, and to hold my emotions inside myself, where they inevitably create all kinds of sickness and fester into problems in my life. Obviously I am talking about myself, but I’m really talking about you too, since it’s a universal phenomenon that not expressing yourself creates dis-ease. The world doesn’t give a shit about your emotions or whether your life will take a turn for the positive if you’re allowed to express them, or even often how many lives you can effect if you do. It would so much rather see you shut down, holed up inside yourself and throw away the key, rather than you beating down the doors of prison, and staging a rebellion with the might of your voice, so that it shines so clear that it shatters the prison walls like a glass house hit by a stone thrown with intentions.

Do you feel that clenching inability to express yourself in daily situations at work, at school, or in your family for the fear of the consequences? For the fear of consequences for saying how you ACTUALLY FEEL, but are scared of being ignored, dodged, or secretly shut down more for even bringing it up?

“We don’t want to hear what you have to say. Go somewhere else with your ‘Big ideas.’ That’s all they are, ‘Big Ideas.’ Get out of here, because what you say is completely unhelpful for us, and we already know everything you think you might have to offer. Your insights and perspectives are worthless to us, so don’t bother.

Thanks.”

Choose the Path

That is the big message I got from the world around me, but when it comes down to it, the choice is to either shut up, keep quiet, and be depressed and anxious for the rest of your life, or to take another approach, and open your mouth, scream your truth, and be expressive and energetic as yourself, affecting the people and world around you. Because in life it often looks like there are two choices, and in this case, that you have a choice to either express yourself, or suffer the consequences in terms of happiness. But that is a fallacy, because not expressing yourself has such an effect on your happiness and contentment that there is no possible way you would ever pick that road if you weren’t forced on it in the first place.

Whatever medium you use to express yourself, it allows you to scream your truth (or whisper, if that’s what you choose), roar until you can roar no more, and feel empty in the sense that you’ve expressed yourself to the the fullest, and with that emptiness feel fulfilled because you know you couldn’t eke out one more ounce of yourself into this world than you already did in that previous moment of expressing.

That is how you truly express yourself, and screaming your truth and fully committing to expressing yourself to every last drop is the way to really hit this world with everything you’ve got.

I like that saying, now that I think about it:

Express yourself until you’re empty and say what you want to say. Fulfillment will come naturally as a result.

For someone who has trouble expressing their emotions, this is a godsend. Find your medium of self-expression that allows you to get what you want to get out, out, and GET–IT–OUT. GET, IT, OUT…!!!!

If you answer no to that question, “Did I say what I wanted to say?,” do what it takes until you can say “Yes,” and show who you are.

The post Shut Up, Keep Quiet–How and Why to Express Yourself in a World That Wants You to Quiet Down first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

Major chords are chords that are built on the major scale. There are many major scales, but to keep it simple let’s focus on the C major scale and form a major chord from there first.

C Major scale – All white keys starting from C

(C is the note to the bottom left of the pair of black keys)

C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C

1   2   3  4  5   6  7  8

In a scale, the first note is called the 1, the second note is called the 2, the third note is called the 3, and that numbering continues until you get to the ‘8th,’ which is the same note that you started with.

Forming a C Major 1 3 5 7 Chord

To form a major chord, play the 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the C Major scale in your left hand.

Left Hand – 1 3 5 7 – C E G B

This C E G B is a major 7th chord, so it sounds nice and jazzy (It is called a major 7th chord because, rather than playing three notes (1 3 5) like a regular chord, the 7th note is included). Don’t worry if you don’t know about the theory too much. Just know how to play the chord and how to form it from a major scale.

Play the 2, 3, 5, and 7th notes in your right hand to complete the chord. This will give you a full chord voicing.

C Major Full 2-Hand Chord Voicing

Left Hand – 1 3 5 7 – C E G B    Right Hand –  2 3 5 7 – D E G B

Play both of these chords at the same time in your right and left hand. It should sound really beautiful and brilliant, just a really nice sounding chord. I call this a 1 3 5 7 chord, because your left hand is playing 1 3 5 7 and your right hand is adding extra notes on top of it (a 2 3 5 7).

You can form this chord with any major scale or minor scale that you learn in the future, so keep that in mind. If you ever want to form this chord again, all you have to do is take the 1 3 5 7, play it in your left hand, and play the 2 3 5 7 in your right hand.

Forming An F Major 1 3 5 7 Chord

The F Major scale is F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E. If you wanted to form a 1-3-5-7 chord, the notes would be F-A-C-E. Even though the notes are different, the chord still sounds great because we are playing the same chord (1 3 5 7 chord) for a different major scale

F Major

Left Hand – 1 3 5 7 – F A C E          Right Hand – 2 3 5 7 – G A C E

If you go between the F Major chord and the C Major chord you already know, it is called a 4-1 progression, which is a very beautiful progression that is used a lot, especially in contemporary music.

There are many other variations you can play by going between two major 1 3 5 7 chords too by trying different combinations, starting on different notes , learning their major scale, and forming 1 3 5 7 chords (C and Eb are good choices for this). If you like, try finding Eb major’s 1 3 5 7 chord and I’ll put the answer below.

Eb major 1 3 5 7

Left Hand – 1 3 5 7 – Eb G Bb D         Right Hand – 2 3 5 7 – F G Bb D

If you have any questions about incorporating major chords into your playing, please let me know.

This is just to get you started, but there are obviously many other concepts that can help you navigate major chords in a way that you can use immediately in your playing, rather than learning something that is hard to apply. You should be able to form 1 3 5 7 chords now, and for any major scale you learn, you now know a way to play a full major chord voicing by playing the 1 3 5 7 and 2 3 5 7 notes whenever you like.

The post How to Form Major 7th Chords first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.

The post Keyboard Buying Guide first appeared on Pianobreaks.com.