I have an old piano in the garage that I have been learning how to pay on. I am waiting this summer for it warm up so I learn how to play. I am learning to play in an oldtime Baptist Church.

I dont read any music and have played the guitar by ear years but I dont pick stuff out that much. But I am a great rythum player.

I know my chords and how to use two octives with my left hand to get things sorta up and going but my timing is off.

I am looking for an easy cheep video to teach me to play by ear using chords and runs like. I just interested in playing church songs like Old Rugged Cross, Amazing Grace, All Alone, and Just as I Am

Really into that good old plain interesting sound of a church player,

Please let me know if yo can help

howardtravis@aol.com

-- Tj howard (howardtravis@aol.com), February 22, 2005

Answers

Well, you get what you pay for with any system. But, here are a couple to look at:

http://www.scotthouston.com/index.html

This is the "Play Piano in a Flash" person that you may have seen on your local PBS station. Usually his special is carried around pledge time. He also apparently has a weekly series. If your station does not carry it, maybe a friend or family member can record it for you to see if it meets your needs before you invest any money. His book is carried by Amazon, as well as most larger bookstores.

Main advantage of this program--you have an opportunity to watch him on PBS before investing money. Disadvantage--he seems to string things out so if you bought everything, you would be spending a lot of money over time, and it gets old, even on DVD, waiting for the credits to roll by and fast-forwarding through the ad-libbing.... The "Keyboard Chord Finder" he sells would be useful for a chord piano student, but unfortunately it is NOT solar-powered, and does not have an adapter. I would check around on pricing to find the best price.

A better program, imho, is this one by David Higginson:

http://www.pianostar.com/index.html

This one is more expensive up front (it is now on DVD also, the site has not been updated yet), but I think it is more comprehensive and to the point (no "filler"), and if you're playing for services, you could ask your church to buy it for the church, which would also mean that others could learn as well, so you would have a pool of people who could play for services.

Hope this helps.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), February 22, 2005.

Meant to say, "maybe a friend or family member living in another area" can record the show for you.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), February 22, 2005.