Q: i've been teaching myself how to play the piano for a while now, but the one thing i can't get down is playing with two hands at once (like have the 'background track' playing with one hand and the main tune with the other, if you get my meaning). any tips? thanks, love your stuff by the way.
A: i am actually not so keen on that either. to do that, you basically need 3 elements- bass, chords, and melody. that's 3 things, and you only have 2 hands. there are different strategies -- one is to play the bass with your left hand, and chords with your right hand, and sing the melody. another strategy is to play in a band where there is a bass player, your left hand plays chords, your right hand plays the melody (that would be like in a jazz trio or whatever). or maybe there is a bass player and a singer also, in which case you have both hands free to do the chords. the piano is used in many different contexts, and in many different ways. if you are trying to do an entire piece of music by yourself, i think it is better to do the melody and chords in the same hand (right hand) and play the bass with your left hand. so basically just harmonize the melody, and keep the melody note on top of each chord. because if you have chords in your left hand then there's no bass? so that would be awkward. here's the issue i have with the whole situation-- i think in most music, the melody is actually in the same range as the chords. so if you are doing chords and melody at the same time on the same instrument, they are really going to occupy the same space on the keyboard. that is why i prefer to keep them both in the same range. there are so many different ways to make music, you have to just experiment and do what is right for the situation, depending on whether or not you are singing, and/or if you are playing with other players