Joy to the World around the Circle
Last year I did a holiday challenge where I had students learn the major scale in all keys and then play the opening bars of Joy to the...
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Sarah Lyngra
Nov 41 min read
Take a birthday trip around the circle.
In the endless development of motor skills, another trip around the Circle of 5ths is in order. It's been over a year since this...
Sarah Lyngra
Oct 171 min read
October Mountain King Challenge
Honestly, the circle of 5ths challenges are the gift that keeps on giving. When I'm teaching variants of In the Hall of the Mountain King...
Sarah Lyngra
Oct 112 min read
Around the Circle Again!
I can't help it. The change in my students since I started teaching around the circle is remarkable, interesting, amazing, satisfying,...
Sarah Lyngra
Sep 92 min read
Circle of 5ths workout for Jazz
(scroll down to download the free pdfs) I recently picked up a book by Daniel Levitin, "I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, Music and...
Sarah Lyngra
Sep 32 min read
Circle of 5ths Workout
Do you teach all keys from the beginning? Why (or why not)? I've been using key finder cards to teach all keys for over a year and a half...
Sarah Lyngra
Aug 71 min read
Unleash Your Inner Jazz Musician with this Chord Progression
The 2-5-1 chord progression is one of the most beloved and useful ones in jazz. Learn to play them, learn to hear them, learn to...
Sarah Lyngra
Jul 132 min read
Demystifying the Circle of 5ths
When do you start teaching or learning the circle of 5ths? How do you do it? Recently I went down a Circle of 5ths rabbit hole on...
Sarah Lyngra
Jul 31 min read
7th Chord Video Library
This is a video reference library to get you started in learning the 7th chords that get played again and again in music. It was created...
Sarah Lyngra
Jun 171 min read
Blues Chords for piano two ways
I think pianists are privileged. As a soloist, a pianist can play unaccompanied for hours, in front of a crowd or at home, with a full...
Sarah Lyngra
Jun 171 min read
The Blues Scale
When I think of the blues scale, I think of a handful of crayons. Or, a handful of pitches. The blues scale uses half, or 6 of the 12...
Sarah Lyngra
Jun 141 min read
The Major Scale
The major scale is a series of whole and half steps based on the white key pattern between C and C. Pictures and videos speak better than...
Sarah Lyngra
Jun 112 min read
Cream butter and sugar. . .
Earlier this week I was having a conversation about what you need to know before teaching something. For example, if you saw: Cream...
Sarah Lyngra
May 301 min read
What's a Riff
Once you have mastered the swing eight pattern, how about learning riffs. In this case, a riff is a short melody that gets played over a...
Sarah Lyngra
May 291 min read
It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing
I was about to do a video on riffs- short melodic phrases that can be played over a 12 bar blues form, but to sound great, the swing...
Sarah Lyngra
May 261 min read
Blues with Both Hands #1
So you're at the piano and have figured out how to play a basic blues pattern with the left had, and you can play shell voicings with the...
Sarah Lyngra
May 261 min read
Adding the Right Hand to the Blues
If you have been following along with the "I'm at the piano, now what?!" series, you may have wondered if the right hand ever plays...
Sarah Lyngra
May 211 min read
Blues for the Left Hand Round 3
This is the 3rd left hand blues video in the series. If you haven't mastered the first two, I'd suggest that you go back a step or two....
Sarah Lyngra
May 201 min read
Blues Round 2
Have you been working on the Blues? This is video 2 of the "I'm at the piano, now what?" Blues Edition. You continue to practice moving...
Sarah Lyngra
May 152 min read
Don't get the blues while playing the blues
Learning to play the blues is empowering for pianists. It's the gateway into jazz, improvisation, playing with others, playing alone...
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