LEARN PIANO using MIDI SONGS! You'll PLAY BETTER, learn FASTER, and have more FUN!

UPDATE: January 1, 2012 - It's only natural; practicing or playing piano with live or pre-recorded accompaniments makes music more fun, more interesting, and allows for the student or player an opportunity to understand and comprehend piano playing in a way that speeds up the learning process. It's like a piano teacher saying to their student, "OK, I will play the left hand part and you play the right," or "I will play the right hand part and you play the left." And it becomes even more motivational when the teacher plays both hands while the student follows along.

Ultimately, the more exciting the accompaniment is, the more motivated and likely the student is to learn, to practice, and to improve. And when the pianist and/or student gets a chance to play piano with a full live orchestra or band, that experience is even better! When I get to personally play along with an orchestra or contemporary band accompaniment, it is very inspiring and I also become a better player. It's one of my favorite things to do as a musician. But most piano players and piano students don't have an orchestra or band available in their home or studio to play along with. That's where MIDI songs come in:)

MIDI (pronounced "middy" with emphasis on the short "i") songs are pre-recorded digital accompaniments in the form of note data, (not traditional audio recordings) which play "live" music (without the vocals) on certain types of digital keyboards, digital pianos, and computers. MIDI stands for "musical instrument digital interface" and it is a standardized technology using MIDI inputs & outputs to connect computers or sound modules with a MIDI cable (pictured above left) to the back of a MIDI digital instrument (left). Actually, MIDI connections are fading away in favor of USB connections. But there are so many new & used MIDI sound models floating around that MIDI connections are still important to certain musicians and keyboard players.

"General MIDI " (aka: GM1 or GM2) is a standardized format of instrument sounds & effects that refers to the actual songs when playing them in a (in this case) General MIDI equipped digital piano. When your computer is playing music through a program like a game, etc, that music is using the General MIDI format from your computer soundcard which is located inside your computer. General MIDI was developed in the early 90's and is available in many brands and models of new digital pianos. This song format is designed to play up to 16 separate instrument parts plus 8 for percussion (from a menu of 128 instrument sounds) which can play simultaneously on an General MIDI equipped digital instrument or device that can take a digital memory card like an SD card or USB flashdrive. This gives the piano the ability to playback & record very big orchestral, rhythmic, and other styles of music. More advanced General MIDI song formats (GM2) respond to key action velocity change (volume), attack, decay, release, reverb, and other features that make a MIDI song sound good.

Just about any song, composer, or band you can think of has their music in a General MIDI format. Thousands upon thousands of songs in every style and era are available including Classical Beethoven & Bach, Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson, Celine, Big Band, Swing, R&B, Latin, Rock, Christian, Broadway, Waltz, Movie themes, Children's music, you name it and you can probably get it!

The MIDI songs can be downloaded from on-line MIDI song web sites for about $1-$5 each, and there are also web sites that provide free MIDI songs. The more authentic & professional sounding the song is, the more money it typically will cost. Piano students can purchase entire lesson book MIDI song accompaniments for just $15-$20 each, which is a very low price.

For years the MIDI songs were available on floppy disk, but since that format is now extinct, USB flash drives (left pic), and digital memory cards (above) have taken over. There are certain digital pianos made to accept these new kinds of devices so that MIDI songs can be played, recorded, and saved. Generally speaking these MIDI playback & recording digital pianos with authentic piano touch & tone have been very expensive starting at $3000 on up, so few people wanted to spend that kind of money, but that is changing now due to some lower prices. I have used MIDI song files for years on various digital pianos and I really like them. Some of the songs are so professionally done that they sound like the original recordings. If you haven't heard "General MIDI songs" before, you will be amazed at how exciting & authentic they really are! By the way, you don't need MIDI connections or cables to play or record General MIDI songs; just the right digital piano that is already set up for General MIDI with memory card or flashdrive input.

What makes MIDI songs unique (as opposed to CD's & MP3 files), is that they can be played directly on a home (or pro) digital piano designed with that GM function giving the player the ability to adjust song speed for slower or faster playback, which is critical for proper learning. The digital piano also allows for adjustment in volume and balance between the accompaniment and the live piano part being played by the student or player. The most exciting use for General MIDI songs, is to enable the piano student to have a more satisfying piano practice experience in their home while learning to play piano in ways that makes them a much better player with a greater understanding of music, rhythm, and note reading. A few of the major piano curriculum & lesson books published these days are available with MIDI songs including Faber Adventure series and Alfred. The top piano instruction publishers have jumped into this format because they know how good it is.

If you are not currently using General MIDI songs in your lessons and/or at home, then you should consider it and/or ask your piano teacher about them. And if you are a piano teacher and haven't used the General MIDI song format before, than you should definitely try it like so many other piano teachers have and are now using them in their studios. And as far as a proper digital piano that will have realistic piano tone, key touch, and great General MIDI device input for a low price, I would recommend you consider the Casio AP620 Celviano piano (below left). It is internet priced at $1399 and is an amazing instrument in its lower price range. The AP620 also has an attractive furniture cabinet with a very nice acoustic piano tone and a realistic full upright piano key touch.

Please go to the following link if you want more info on the Casio AP620:
http://azpianonews.blogspot.com/2010/01/all-new-casio-celviano-ap620-piano-is.html
You would have the best of both worlds with an excellent piano that would enable you to play your practice pieces to full accompaniments using your General MIDI songs. The Casio AP620 piano uses an SD  memory card for song storage. It's thin, easy to use, and inserts simply into the card slot on the piano. 

The thing that most every piano student really wants is to have fun and be motivated to play their piano at home as well as looking forward to their practice time. In my opinion, General MIDI songs help make that a reality. Unfortunately, many piano teachers are set in their ways and do not understand General MIDI songs and how they can be a positive part of the teaching and lesson curriculum. But if it didn't work, then the most popular piano method books wouldn't produce them, and yet they do, as I mentioned earlier.

So do yourself a favor; if you're a piano student and/or a pianist, and you don't already have a General MIDI digital piano with full song playback & recording capabilities, then seriously consider getting one, even if you already have a regular acoustic piano. It's worth the investment  in your musical future, and there's nothing more exciting to me than to see a piano student excel at their playing while being motivated to practice often:)

For more info on General MIDI song lesson practice & play-along and how it all works, or if you want to purchase one of these new General MIDI capable digital pianos for less then internet pricing, please contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864