Sahara Naini's blog

You probably already know that daily practice is essential for developing your skills as a musician...but do you actually practice every day?

If not, you might benefit from scheduling your practice sessions. Don't wait for inspiration or motivation. 
Practicing can be a lot of fun, but it's the thinking about practicing that can be so difficult and distracting. Instead of spending energy deciding when you'll practice, plan your practice in advance. 

In the following video, Adri explains a trick you can use to identify a key signature that has flats in it.  

Looking at the key signature, your major key is always going to be the name of the second to last flat listed.

When you have a key signature with 1 flat, this trick doesn't work. Just remember that if there is only 1 flat (B flat), your major key will be F major. 

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Michael demonstrates how you can compose your Own Halloween Song using a certain set of notes.

In a major key, your notes are normally Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol. 

1. Change Mi to Me by playing a half step lower to create a minor sound. Your notes will be Do-Re-Me-Fa-Sol.
2. Play a half-step below Do - this note is called "Ti"
3. Play a half-step above Sol - this note is called "Le"

Using any combination of this set of notes (Ti, Do, Re, Me, Fa, Sol, and Le) you can make up your own spooky-sounding melodies. 

Adri demonstrates how you can turn a song from Book 2: Beat Bots into a spooky-sounding Halloween song by changing the note Mi into Me (pronounced "May").

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The following video is Part 2 of a series by Adri, who explains everything you need to know about key signatures.

How to identify what the major key is based on a key signature that has sharps (also known as #):

1. Look at the last sharp listed (the one furthest to the right)
2. Find it on the keyboard
3. Go 1 half step up from that note

For example, if you see 7 sharps listed, the last sharp is B. If you find B# on the piano and go up one half step, you will land on C#. This means that your key is C# major.

In the following video, Adri breaks down everything you need to know about key signatures.

Key signatures tell you how to play certain notes. For example, if you see a sharp on the top line of the staff, it is telling you to play the note on that line a half step higher. Flats, on the other hand, tell you to play notes a half step lower.

Key signatures also tell you what key you are in, or what scale you're going to be playing in.

The following video demonstrates how you can go from playing the classic "Happy Birthday" song at a beginner level to an advanced level on your piano. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @cmamusicschool or on YouTube for more content like this!

In the following clip, Michael shows 2 ways you can find major scales in any key on your instrument. For more tips like this, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @cmamusicschool!

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Here is a great way to teach scales for students on the piano, from beginners all the way to advanced players.

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Now that summer is winding down for a lot of us, we're trying to ramp up our practice schedules again after taking some time off during the summer. Even if we take a week or a few days off, sometimes it can be quite challenging to get back in the groove when it comes to practicing.