Guide Sheet

My Top 10 Piano Resources

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Creative,

Josef here and welcome to my top 10 resources for piano. This is a collection of the most
useful ‘things’ I’ve come across in my long and somewhat experimental piano teaching
career.

From things to help you with sight-reading to the more off the wall concepts such as the
benefit of sleep… These will be perfect to explore, reap the benefit from and add value to
your piano playing life.

Lets get into this…

1. A Metronome - I know, but let's start out real simple. A metronome is invaluable as a
tool for your piano practice. You can buy a real nice fancy old fashioned one with a
hypnotic stick on it… use the dreaded gruugle or grab an app for your phone of which
there are plenty. No excuses here. Get one, use one!

2. My favourite sight reading books - These books are fantastic. I use them all the time
with my students. They are truly step-by-step and you can work through them at your own
pace. They are called 'improve your sight reading' by 'Paul Harris' and you can get grade's
1 through 8.

Generally I steer clear of more ‘traditional’ methods of teaching skills like this but I’m
mighty impressed by them.

3. Work on hand independence... ANYWHERE - I get it. Hand independence is the

number 1 thing we struggle with when first starting out.

The truth is, hand independence and your sense of rhythm go hand in hand (awful pun not
intended). Check out this useful video - https://youtu.be/IsR8SkkF0po 

After this, you will be a rhythm beast who can create your own rhythms, exercises and
work them into your daily life.

4. Sleep - Lets go a bit deeper down the rabbit hole! If you like looking at the bigger
picture, this episode is illuminating. Check out 'The Joe Rogan Experience' episode 1109
with Matthew Walker. A neuroscientist specialising in sleep.

I was personally blown away by the truth bombs laid down in that episode. Such as…

• Visualisation can result in 50% increase in skill

• Quality sleep can result in 20% to 30% gain in motor skill performance

© 2020 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com

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• At the 47 minute mark he uses piano as an example of the brains learning process,
sleep and how it relates to building familiarity and entering flow

Fantastic listen. Thoroughly recommend it if thats your thang...

5. Buying a piano? - Wondering what to buy or whether to go acoustic or digital? Here’s

the ins and outs of what to consider before buying your first piano - https://youtu.be/
HyoXN9FmAqo 


6. Chordie App - Well, I get asked this all the time in my U-Toob comments and by email.
What is that piano key lighty up thingie you have in your vids?

Wonder no more... Its called 'Chordie' and you can buy it here - https://gumroad.com/a/
151827571. It's created by an indy developer (nice chap) and teaches you all about
chords. Simply play a chord, it will tell you what it is. 


Disclaimer - Understand how it works before you buy (direct all questions to Chordie NOT
ME!) Also, the above link is an affiliate link which means I use and support the product
(well you've seen it in my videos). If you buy it... I will get a small commission.

7. The best adult piano practice plan - You may already have this, you may not…

But if you want to get good fast... You want a structured approach to the piano so you
know what and how to practice... go here - https://youtu.be/VYg6ZwKt3y4

This is a framework you can use to craft your own practice routines and stick to your own
goals.

8. Get fast at reading musical notes - This is a fun little app you can get for the iphone
(and I presume android) called 'music tutor'. You can set a time, a range of notes... then it
challenges you by displaying notes and you have to select which note it is. The more notes
you get correct in the time limit, the higher your score.

Also look at the app ‘Tenuto’ is said to be a stunning little app for not only learning those
notes but also training music theory. No experience with it myself but nearly all my
students say its fantastic. So check it out!

9. Write something everyday - By write, I mean create. Start exercising that creative
muscle. You will start to see massive improvements in things like improvisation,
confidence, flow and you will start to internalise what sounds good to you and gives you
those feels.

© 2020 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com

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Doesn't have to be great, long, a masterpiece etc. just a little chord sequence, a short
melody. 10 seconds... Something!

Write it down, record it, log it and keep plugging at it. Just dedicate short bursts of time to
exploring the more creative side of music. Trust me, there is nothing more satisfying than
creating your own little universe and nurturing it into something wild and beautiful!

10. The Perfect 'step-by-step' piano piece you can start right now - Rarely do I come
across a piece of music that guides you from beginner to intermediate so well. And Guess
what... You'll have heard it before. Promise!

This piece repeats the same thing over and over again, but gets slightly harder each time.
Perfect for a long term goal and impressive sounding to boot! (To boot? Wow, you don't
hear that phrase too often anymore) You need this specific version though...
Curious? Click here!

Bonus tip - Think about why you wanted to learn to play piano in the first place. What
gives you those butterflies in the stomach when you think about learning piano?

Grab it and hold on to it. Write it down and pin in up in front of your piano.
As you move forward you will be pulled in lots of different directions and if you make sure
your steps lead you in the direction of your ambitions... you can't go far wrong. 

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So there we are creative. I hope you use and abuse these tips and they give you
food for thought on how you set sail on the wild and untamed seas that is ‘piano
playing’.

You are not alone and I wish you every success. I want to leave you with one
thought. Whenever you feel down just remember…

“The toughest things we learn in life are often the most rewarding and there’s nothing more
rewarding than engaging in and with a creative form of art”

Josef Sykora

© 2020 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com

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Further Study…

Click any of the links below to find out more about my online piano course offerings

Creative Practice Routines - Smart, organised piano practice techniques to get you more
from your practice, in less time whilst having way more fun.

Creative Piano Patterns - Pure inspiration, pure music, pure fun. If you’ve ever wanted to
just sit and play piano for yourself and your family (and actually sound good) this could be
what you’re after.

The Epic Blues Starter Pack - A step by step introduction to the boogie boogie for the
complete beginner. I take you from the beginning through to improvising in true boogie
woogie ‘shades on’ style.

© 2020 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com