Learning piano/vocalist
I have a working understanding of basic music theory and am a reasonably competent acoustic guitarist and singer, but want to learn to play piano, specifically as a singer/performer. I feel this is different to learning traditional piano so how should I approach it? I want singing and playing together to be at the core, not one or the other.
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A song is a combination of harmony/melody. When you sing you are the melody. That's why alot of singers/songwriters are drawn to guitar because they can strum chords on the guitar while they sing.
So with the piano the right hand is the melody and left hand is the harmony. The right is essentially what you're singing. So you don't necessary "need" the right hand to play the melody. So just focus on the left hand, play harmony aka chords. If you don't know the diatonic chords of a scale then that's where to start. Start by practicing chords of a given scale. Then sing to different chord progressions. You can then use the right hand to emphasize certain notes or certain chords.
I would start playing the piano like the guitar or b- drum and snare: l.h. bass tone, r.h. chords, so you are free to sing the melody. Basic: lead sheet or song text and chords.
Then you could play “easy piano“ arrangements with added the melody in the right hand to the chords or the the chords in the l.h. added to the bass. There are such easy piano editions for free download or to find under images in google. But you can still use your lead-sheets or lyric sheets if you know what chords to play. (May be you need to find the triads and inversions on the piano first in root position and train the inversion. So you also should study sight reading what can be trained by reading the mentioned easy piano editions or by notating yourself the chords as sheet music. (Look up: reading by writing in my profile.)
Now you should be able to read and play advanced arrangements (first without singing) or to embellish your simple accompaniments by extensions in chords, rhythm and harmony, for instance rock songs with bass riffs, folk songs, from pop albums (the Beatles, Ray Charles).
Don’t forget on each step to transpose the songs in other keys and to practice first the scale and chords of the degrees in those keys. Improvise on cadences, play the Blues scheme and V7- and ii-V7- chains in the circle of fifths.
Now you are ready to play like Elton John.
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