Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum AHAH!...Help me get this music out of my head!!!

Hello Everybody,

I just signed up today because I am desperate.

I was born in Russia in 1981 (Moscow). Ever since I was a little kid (3-4) years old my grandmother would take me all over Moscow to all kinds off classical concerts/operas/plays.

I was constantly exposed to a very wide range of different styles/ composers/performers.

I developed an incredible attraction to classical music.

During the week I would attend a week long Kindergarten school (in Russia Kindergarten lasts a whole week, you spend the night there, parents picked you up on Fridays) and be free on the weekends to spend with my grandma

When I was around 4-5 I had a hard time falling asleep, so what I would do is compose simple melodies in my head. Pretty soon it progressed to more complex music, and soon, I would add words and "parts" for voice you could say kind of like opera.

But keep in mind that this was just in my head..I would not sing it out loud..but sing it in my head..if that is not too confusing.

So I kept this up for a few years to help me get to sleep.

When I turned 9 my parents got a divorce, my Father married another woman and we fled Russia, to Austria. We were poor, had no radio/tv/money, so pretty much I was just stuck sitting home...again I continued to make up melodies to pass the time, and to remember my grandma who I missed very much.

A year passed and we moved to Italy. After Italy, we moved to USA (we were Jewish and were waiting to see if we would be sent to USA or Israel)

So a lot of time passed and finally we were living in California, I was 14, and got my first keyboard (hand down electric, old, 2 keys didn't work).

My parents were again poor...so I got no formal teaching, or musical attention. My father was an artist, and wanted me to follow in his footsteps so he dint see my attraction to music.

So I would pound away at the keyboard, trying to make what I heard in my head come out. It was a very difficult time, I didn't understand what I was doing.

Now I am 25 live by my self, and still have the same problem.

I hear music but I cant make it come out.

I think that anybody that understands anything fully, they can explain it to a 3 year old kid with out any problems or confusion.

Now I need YOUR help. So if you know of some great resources please let me know. I have no money for a teacher.

Here is where I need help:

1. I know the scales, chord structure (major, minor, major 7th, dominant 7th, inversion. But I don't understand the big picture. How do chords RELATE to one another?

2. It seems to me that music is all about causing tension and then releasing it. But how does it work?

3. Why do some chords sound good together and not others?

4. What are the LAWS of music? I need to know the boundaries.

5. It seems to me like I can speak the musical "language" but I don't know the rules of its grammar.

6. I can arrange all the scales in my head in all keys so its just one musical phrase, but when I look at the keyboard my mind goes blank....say I start on a C scale in my head I can pick out what sound will go next..but my hand does not know which key to hit...

So please...if you can help me free this demon out of my head you will save my soul. Sorry for the long post.

Until four months ago, I wrote music by trial-and-error. Melodies would come to me, but I would have no idea what to do with them. Like you say: my hand did not know which keys to hit.

Then I joined www.pianomagic.com and all the pieces came together. It's fairly expensive (though much cheaper than a private teacher), but for me it was very worth it. With Piano Magic, you learn how melody and how chords relate -- what you call the "laws of music".

You can also learn this from books and courses that approach it the traditional way, but Piano Magic makes it much simpler.

On one hand, I wish the information from Piano Magic was freely available because it would really help so many people to understand music better. On the other hand, learning it takes a certain commitment and paying money for it proves that you are committed. Besides, the most important asset from Piano Magic isn't the information but the teacher.

Having said that, here are a number of ground rules and suggestions. These are the basics of what we learn in Piano Magic (although simplified a little), but you'll also find this info in other courses.

- There are 3 primary chords in every key. You can use these to accompany most songs. In the key of C they are C major, F major and G major. These are the most important chords, and all other chord possibilities are derived from them. Focus on these three chords first. If the chord sounds "kind of okay" but not quite, try to substitute with a minor chord (Dm, Em, or Am).

- Melody tones are mostly chord tones. For example, if the current chord is C, then the melody will focus on the tones C, E and G. If the melody moves to emphasize a tone that is not in the chord, it's time to switch the chord. Each possible chord change has a unique sound that leads up to it. Learn to recognize those sounds, and you'll know which chord to hit.

- Start simple. Begin in the key of C, on C chord. Then play your melody, and notice how the chords move. In the key of C, the "home chord" is C. You begin on the home chord, leave the home chord, and come back to the home chord, over and over again.

- If you want to make more advanced chord progressions, check out http://chordmaps.com/ for a map of how chords tend to move.

Hope it helps!

Hey..I will check these guys out...thanks for the tip....although I dont have much money..maybe they will offer a payment plan..

demise_420,
Try www.practicespot.com (lots of info there, including scales and whatnot). And also www.musictheory.net is another great site. I got a lot of my theory training from the music theory site. Check 'em out when you get a chance.

Demise... from your post I get the impression that learning how to play classical music would free you from these 'deamons'.

Why? Because that is what resinates with you, that is what you have grown up with and, above all this will allow you to express your own compositions.

Would you describe the music you hear in your head as similar to the music you grew up with? While piano magic will teach you how to play melodies, they will be in 'pop' style, ie. right hand melody with left hand chords.

Perhaps you could take 2 or 3 lessons with a teacher to give you a head start and then find some instructional books/DVD's keep you going. Do you have any friends who play the piano who could help you?

Whatever you do stick with it.