Canadian Musician - January / February 2020 | Page 26

PHOTO: ERIKA KAPIN PHOTOGRAPHY KEYBOARDS Brenda Earle Stokes, BFA, M.Mus, is a pianist, vocalist, composer, and educator originally from Sarnia, ON and currently based in New York City. In addition to her work as a performer and recording artist, Brenda runs a busy private studio in NYC and is the creator of Piano Skills for Singers – the only online piano course for singers created by a singer. www.pianoskillsforsingers.com. By Brenda Earle Stokes, BFA, M.Mus Piano Skills for Singers Avoiding the Usual Pitfalls & Finding Success at the Keyboard: Part 1 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 I have had so many friends and students who are phenomenal sing- ers but are being held back because of their sub-par or non-existent piano skills. In my 20 years of teaching experience, I had discovered a way to distill piano training down to a very specific set of skills, and have empowered a great many singers to use their piano skills to build their employability as performers and educators. I have identified five issues that plague singers when it comes to learning piano. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Thinking that it will take them years to develop piano skills, which can cause them to avoid taking it on because it’s “too big of a project.” Thinking that it will be prohibitively expensive. Buying a stack of piano method books and sheet music. Working with a classical piano teacher or a pianist who has no experience working with singers. Thinking that they have to be as good as Sarah Slean or Sarah McLachlan to be able to accompany themselves at the piano. This results in either quitting before they start, thinking it is going to be too big of a project, or dropping tons of money into private lessons with someone who doesn’t understand which skills are actually needed. They waste time learning a lot of unnecessary skills, practice for months, and still can’t play what they need to. I have seen all of these issues come into play and cripple singers from finding success at the piano. It doesn’t have to be this difficult! My philosophy of teaching piano avoids the usual pitfalls that many people face when getting started. 26 CANADIAN MUSICIAN 1. 2. 3. Get to the material that you need to play as soon as possible. This will provide a useful bang for your buck, plus it will be motivating for you to continue. Have a clear path for your goals. Start singing with your piano playing as soon as possible. Which Piano Skills Do Singers Actually Need? Technical Skills Everyone should learn how to sit comfortably at the piano with proper posture and hand position, therefore minimizing the risk of injury. Prac- ticing the piano should be eased into, starting with just a few minutes a day to build up strength in the hands and arms. Basic finger exercises to get you used to playing in the five-finger position can be a few simple patterns played with relaxed hands using good technique. These simple exercises are helpful to get you moving around the piano. You don’t need to practice hours of Hanon to accomplish this! Practice Exs. 1-3 hands separately and hands together in different keys. In part two next issue, we’ll look at accompaniment skills, playing chords, and then put it all together on a song. Check out Brenda’s Piano Skills for Singers website and enter coupon code CanMus20 for 25 per cent off of any course!