Technique Tip 4

Paula Maya Music Lessons: Free Tips

On my post 'Technique Tip 2' I talked about the importance of having strong fingertips for playing the piano beautifully with technique. It is indeed one of the factors that will help you play faster. And, like I said before, when you are playing a really fast phrase or exercise, you keep the sound light so you can glide on the keys.

Take for example 'Hanon - The Virtuoso Pianist', the technique exercise book that most of us classically trained pianists have played at some point or another. The exercises are made of patterns of notes and fingers going up and down the C scale. Two patterns per hand, per exercise.To reach the final fast speed they recommend the exercises to be played at, you must use your strong fingertips. You don't splatter your fingertips outwardly, but pull them slightly in, like a cat. And, keep your wrists flexible, moving slightly to one side and the other, following the patterns. See example below:

Try it, you might love it!
See you soon everybody,
Paula

P.S. I hope you find this information helpful! Please feel free to share with anybody you might think could use it. For information about private lessons, please visit my lessons page: http://www.paulamaya.com/musiclessons

Harmony Tip 5

Paula Maya Music Lessons: Free Tips
 

Music is very close to math. Harmony certainly is. You don't need to memorize things. Use logic, math, your ears and be consistent with your practice. 



For example, if you know the C (major) scale, and know that every (western) major scale follows the same exact pattern, then by knowing the C scale, you know all major scales. And there are different paths you can take to figure them out. One is to know the famous 'Circle of Fifths'. Another path, if you don't know the 'Circle', is to understand the intervals between notes that are present in the major scale.



By knowing that the major scale is comprised of: step, step, half-step, step, step, step, half-step, you can figure out C# major scale, D major scale, Eb, E, etc... Please see the example below:

I hope you find this information helpful! Please feel free to share with anybody you think could use it. For info about private lessons please visit my lessons page: http://www.paulamaya.com/musiclessons

See you soon everybody!
Paula

Technique Tip 3

Paula Maya Music Lessons: Free Tips

So you have been playing piano, or keyboard, for a while. Or maybe you just started. And here come the scales. There are many things we could talk about regarding scales. But there is one basic but very important detail: an agile thumb.

To be able to play seamlessly a C major scale, for example, in several octaves, as if you had not 5 but 40 fingers in each hand, your thumb must be agile and move under your hand way before its time to play. It moves and wait its turn, eager to perform its duties.

The basic pattern for the right hand of 3 fingers, 4 fingers, 3 fingers, 4 fingers, etc... until the last octave going up, ending in 5 fingers, with the aid of a ready and willing thumb will create a higher quality and even sounding scale.

Try it today! A little every day, done right, goes a long way.

I hope you find this information helpful! Please feel free to share with anybody you might think could use it. For information about private lessons, please visit my lessons page: http://www.paulamaya.com/musiclessons

See you soon everybody!
Paula

Technique Tip 2

Paula Maya Music Lessons: Free Tips

If you play the piano, or keyboard, I have one word for you: fingertips. Maybe two words: strong fingertips. Your fingertips are like the fine tuning of your hands. There are many ways to produce sound on a piano. One is, you can apply force starting from your arms down to your hands, and pound the @#$% out of the piano. You can also let the natural weight of your arms fall on the keys, which produces a much higher quality sound than pounding. Or you can start the movement from your wrists, and don't use a whole lot of finger articulation.

But, when you want a very soft but controlled sound, or you wanna play fast with agility, you can start the movement from your knuckles, articulating clearly each finger, keeping the fingertips strong. The intention of the movement is to pull the fingertips slightly in when you play the notes, like a cat.
Try it! You'll be surprised how much more control of the sound you have, and how beautiful a sound you can produce.

I hope you find this information helpful! Please feel free to share with anybody you might think could use it. For information about private lessons, please visit my lessons page: http://yellowhouserecords.com/musiclessons

See you soon everybody!
paz
Paula

Technique Tip 1

Hi everybody!

I've been a music teacher for many years, and over the years had great teachers who passed to me invaluable musical information, from harmony to piano technique and all in between. Sometimes I like to post music tips on my blog to share a few golden things I've learned along the way. I hope you'll find it useful and enjoyable. And that you'll give it a try! Please find below 'Technique Tip 1'. For past music tips please scroll my blog's past posts.

Technique Tip 1

If you play the piano, or keyboard, it's very helpful to have a background in classical music technique. But even if you don't, there are some important helpful things that you can learn, and if you practice the correct way  you will get better.

One of these essential things is to move your elbows to the sides as your right hand slides to the far right and your left hand to the far left, as if you were gonna take flight. The elbows lead your forearms and hands. With that movement your hands stay in the optimum position to play the keys. Students that don't know this 'detail' tend to move their forearms to the right or left led by the hands and not the elbows. And the end result is that the player loses control of the fingering, precision and beauty.  Just be careful so you don't raise your shoulders. Below is the example. Try it!

To learn about private lessons please visit this link. Thanks for stopping by!

El Paso Pics - Dancing in the City

Here are some pics from our Dancing in the City show in El Paso in July. Nice stage, great sound. Yes, I had a new band, performing for an audience comprised of 99% strangers, so one never knows. But it was really fun! Inspiring to see a lot of people dancing through out the night. I was thrilled to play and sing to a lovely receptive new audience! With Jodavid Reyes on drums, Pancho Anguiano on bass and Manny Flores on percussion. Will upload a video as soon as it's processed.

The last few pics are inside Chope's, a famous old joint in La Mesa, NM. We were introduced to Chope's by the lovely Karla and Michael, Robert's brother. Good times :) Feel free to sign up to receive my weekly-ish e-newsletter. I strive to keep it interesting and informative.

Here are three pics. To see all ten pics please visit my website. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Paula Maya at Coffee Break with Candace

Coffee Break with Candace

It's a YouTube series with music performances and interviews with Austin musicians! Candace Bellamy is the Producer, Host and show creator, plus a talented singer and my friend :) She was kind to invite me to be a part of it. We sang together 'Corcovado (Quiet Nights) and then we talked. Or maybe I should say, I talked! Check it out below:

 

 

2nd Brazilian Music in the Garden

Produced by Newsom's Garden Party and Brasil Musica e Cultura.

A whole lotta rain in Austin, TX. Record rainfall indeed! Seattle allover again ;) But Sunday should be a beautiful day and the 2nd Brazilian
Music in the Garden is on, happening this Sunday Jun 5th! We are very excited about it! I have great players with me, Mr. Joe McCreary on drums and Sticky Lopez on bass and back vocals. Such a great vibe is Bill Newsom's garden. Perfect for an event like this. All we need is you :)

A couple of friends and talented artists will be selling their jewellery - in fact you've seen me wearing gorgeous necklaces made by one of them. Also, I'll be making the famous Brazilian brigadeiros - delicious chocolate balls. A tiny bird told me there will be some Brazilian pão de queijo - cheese balls, some home-made savory scones, and who knows what else! We encourage you to bring a dish or finger food to share - not required though.

Come share a great day of music, food, community and fun!
* Children are welcome! (no dogs please)
* Gorgeous swimming pool and fire pit!
* Dancing
* BYOB
* Feel free to bring heat resistant food to share
* Music from 4-6pm
* Free street parking
* Please bring folding chairs and/or blankets to sit on.
* $10. suggested donation

* Facebook event link

For more pics please go here. Thank you so much for stopping by!

2016 Paula Maya Video

Pic by Lisa Hause

My band has a new promotional video out. It is short, less than 3 min!

This short video features several clips from jazz festivals, a few pics, recordings off our new release 'Iluminar', and even a drum solo. All in less than 3 min, if you can believe it!

Please go here and check it out. I think you will be entertained, and will be helping great independent music and musicians in the process!

Thank you so much! Muitíssimo obrigada, ou, obrigadinha, como diria a minha vó Toni!

Newsom's Garden Party - Video & Pics

 Hi all. Wow, how lucky we were with our music series, the first Newsom's Garden Party, Brazilian Edition! The day started cloudy but early afternoon a beautiful sun came shinning through! Since that weekend it seems to me that we've had a lot of rain! Thank you all who made it to Brazilian Music in the Garden!

Here are some pics taken by Bill Newsom and Robert Wyatt. Also, here is a link to a video of Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) taken by our friend Magic Jack. It starts at the drum solo, with Joe McCreary on drums and Brad Houser on bass. Enjoy! We'll see you soon.

Dancing Around Their Queen

I don't know if any of you sees it this way. When I listen to baroque music and all the ornamentations that go along with it I imagine the tonic (the first note of a scale) or any of the 'more important' notes of that scale as a beautiful noble lady. And I envision the ornaments as her 'súditos', her subjects, dancing around her. All the trillos, mordants and cadences are dancing baroque steps, inevitably arriving at their Queen sitting on her throne.

Spring

Tulips of many colors: purple, yellow, red, orange and silver. The ground was like a giant colorful wave swaying in the wind. From the sky my wings melted and I dove right in. The petals were soft like satin and they smelled like fresh life. Slowly I hovered over the purple ones and sank in till my body kissed the Earth. And so I rested.

Throw It All Up In The Air

Throw it all up in the air and see how everything falls down.

It's very windy today. The doves are cooing, as usual. A staple sound of Austin. The birds sing and the siren screams. Saturday morning in the midst of SXSW. The colors outside are reserved. Green, gray and cream. The chimes tell us of tales not ever told. We daydream listening to its words of wisdom. Whispers from a past long ago.

Sim querido vento me conta as suas histórias e aventuras. Quantas folhas te passaram. Quantos pássaros te cantaram. Quantas árvores você já adormeceu, quantos galhos são sua família? O seu sino é cristalino, lá do céu, do Paraíso. Esse seu Paraíso que é realmente na Terra. Seu som, sua música eterna, sua vibração que nunca vai parar. O vento canta nas folhas, como se fosse o mar. Você pode imaginar um mundo sem esse som? Sem árvores, sem verde, apenas pedras e areia? Não. Não quero. Isso seria profundamente infeliz.

Harmony Tip 4

A great way to practice ear training is to use our voices and bodies to feel the sound vibrations.

Here is an exercise I learned from my friend and bass player Andy Zadrozny, who also teaches ear training. Play a note on a keyboard using a sound that can be held with the sustain pedal, but has no reverb, delay, etc... Make it a pure tone. Then sing each interval within the octave over that pure tone. You can sing 'oooos', or 'aaahhhs', or 'eeeees'.

For example. Let's say you choose to play the note 'A' just below the middle 'C'. Sing in unison with that sound. Perceive how it feels in your body. Then proceed to singing the minor 2nd, which is 'Bb'. Now listen how the vibrations that were completely harmonious before, now sound like they are fighting with each other. Go back and forth between singing in unison with that pure tone, and singing a minor 2nd above.

Repeat the same process singing all the intervals within the octave against the pure tone of 'A' (or any tone that is comfortable for your voice). In time you will recognize the vibrations of each interval, both in your listening and in the feeling in your body. You will find that some intervals like the perfect 5th and the octave are very harmonious, whereas the minor 2nd and flat 5th are not. You might have heard the term 'interval of the devil', affectionally given by the church to this most infamous interval: flat 5th, the tritone! :)

Try it, it's fun!

Harmony Tip 3

Harmony is so amazing. This word means a lot of things, as Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s Grammy winning song ‘Ebony and Ivory’ sings about.

When I went to study with the great Luizinho Eça, I was already playing classical piano for about 10 years and was attending the Brazilian Federal University of Music, and The Brazilian Music Conservatory for music theory. On my first lesson I brought one of my compositions to play for him – at the time I hadn’t start singing yet, so it was an instrumental – and one of the chords in particular caught his attention. I think it was a 6 chord in one of its inversions. He asked me ‘ Why did you choose this chord here?’ To which I answered ‘I searched for the sound I heard in my head.’ Now, that caught his attention!

Eça’s method of teaching harmony was very unique, and at the core it was about finding the sounds we hear in our heads and/or trying different options until we find the particular chord with the particular bass that sounds like the emotion we are looking for for that particular melody.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t learn which chords belong to a particular key, and the relationship between them. That is a must. In fact, to use Eça’s method it helps to know by heart the most used types of chords in all keys. 

For example: I have a ‘G’ on the melody. That G belongs to many different chords. In the example below I identified 39 different basic chords that include ‘G’. I used the basic major and minor chords with 7th and 6th that ‘G’ appears. First as the Tonic, then the minor 3rd, then the major 3rd, the b5, the perfect 5th, the 6th, the 7th, the Maj7th.

 

Harmony Tip 2

I’ve heard songwriters say that sometimes they feel stuck in one or a few chord progressions and would like to try different harmonic paths. Or as I like to say, to dress their melodies with different kinds of clothes. The blog post from March 2nd presents Tip I, and I recommend that you read that one, if you haven’t already.

By the way, the example posted on Tip I as well as this method of choosing chords are based on the harmony method of the great pianist, arranger, composer Luizinho Eça, who was my teacher in Brazil.

I remember my first lesson with Luizinho. I was already studying classical piano for about eight years. I brought a tune I wrote, and one of the chords seemed especially unusual to him. The voicing of it. He asked why I chose that chord in that inversion. I said that’s the sound I hear in my head. And that’s what this method helps you do. Choose chords more by emotion than theory, the emotion that chord should impart on the melody – although knowing theory helps. Maybe you have studied harmony a lot and can’t get away from the thinking of what should be the harmonically correct chord.

I love this method because is so intuitive. However one does need to know how chords are structured. A basic way to figure out which chord you are playing, the name of a chord, is to stack the notes in thirds. I’m using the piano to do this – there is a reason why they say we have the whole orquestra on the piano!

Example: In the first two chords the E is the tonic. They are both E7 chords, even though in the first chord the D is in the bass position.

 

Harmony Tip 1

I’ve heard songwriters say that they would like to feel more free to choose chords for their songs, or as I like to say, to dress their melodies. Sometimes we may feel stuck in the common – I – VI – II – V pattern, or I – IV – V – IV pattern, or any pattern that obviously fit the key we believe the melody is written in.

Well, there is another way. Instead of picking the chord you believe should be the right one, try dressing your melody using your emotions instead. Try this:

Exercise 1 – Use only dominant type chords, such as a C7:

1- Write a simple 4/4 eight measure bass line, without thinking of a specific key. Each note with a Whole Note value.

2- Ask yourself about each bass note: is this the 3rd, 5th or 7th of which chords?

3- Write above each note the options.

4- Use the Fundamental Position (stacked 3rds) only on the last bass note. Don’t use the 7th here. Instead, double one of the notes (Tonic, 3rd or 5th).

5- Try to use the concepts of convergent and divergent movements – when the bass note goes up, the melody goes down, and vice versa.

6- Choose the chords according to the emotion, the color you want that chord to emanate.

7- Do this exercise everyday for at least one week to get the idea. Ex: