Melissa McDermott

Designer & Social Media Manager

Melissa McDermott is a Musician and accomplished Social Media Manager at coBranding Studio based in New York City. She has over seven years of experience teaching piano and music theory, she currently works as a Piano Instructor at O DiBella Music Inc. Additionally, she specializes in creating meaningful, informative, and quality social media content for health and wellness brands and musicians. Melissa received her B.A. in popular music studies from William Paterson University.

wikiHow's Editorial Process wikiHow partners with over 1000+ experts from a wide range of fields to ensure our content is accurate and based on well-established research and testimony. Content Managers conduct interviews and work closely with each expert to review information, answer reader questions, and add credible advice. Learn more about our editorial process and why millions of readers trust wikiHow.

Q&A Comments (6)

What is the difference between a Minor chord and a Major chord?
So let me start off by explaining what a chord is to provide some context. A chord is three notes put together, and each of the notes has a very specific function and interval in the chord. So, typically, when we have things like C major and C minor, it refers to a change in the third degree of the chord. In a chord, we have the first note, the third note, and the fifth note: 1, 3, 5. And so, typically, the difference between major and minor lies with the third one. And if it's a minor, the distance between the first note and the third note will be what is known as a minor third, whereas if it's a major, the note between the first note and the third note will be known as a major third. So, typically, the difference between a minor third and a major third is one-half step.
How can I improvise in playing piano?
What you can do to practice and strengthen your improvisational skills is to practice playing scales. So, typically, for piano, I would recommend learning the minor blues scale and getting it under your finger. Once you get more comfortable with the scale, you can experiment with different kinds of rhythms.
Do you have any tips on improvising jazz music on a piano?
Typically, when you're playing a piece of jazz music, there'll be sections for improvising and then sections to play the melody, kind of like when everyone comes back together. So, typically, in a jazz ensemble, everybody will take turns. You'll take turns doing your improvisation. It will be based on the same scale as everything else. And then everyone kind of returns to the main melody.
See more comments

Co-authored Articles (14)

How to

Sell on eBay

Selling on eBay is a great way to earn money for stuff you don't need anymore. '''Once you get your eBay profile set up, you can start selling in no time'''.

How to

Read Piano Tabs

Tablature (usually shortened to "tab" or "tabs") is a type of musical notation that uses common text characters to represent the progression of notes and chords in a song. Because tabs are simple to read and easy to digi...

A Beginner’s Guide to Playing “Chopsticks” on the Piano

A step-by-step guide for performing this classic and easy waltz“Chopsticks” is a classic piano tune that’s easy to learn and fun to play. You certainly don’t need to be a classically trained pianist to master thi...

How to Sell Your Items on Craigslist

Start listing and selling items on Craigslist with this handy guideReady to make some extra cash and get rid of that imported beer can collection? This article will show you the best way to position your formerly pricele...

How to

Write Sheet Music

Learning to write sheet music is a valuable skill if you want to transpose the beautiful complexity of the music you're hearing in your head, or working out on an instrument, and give it to other people to play. Fortunat...

How to

Play Middle C on the Piano

Middle-C or C4 is very important in understanding music theory and playing almost any instrument. But how can we find middle-C on the keyboard of a piano (or almost any kind of musical keyboard like E-Pianos and Synthesi...

How To Find Trending Sounds on Instagram

Find the top trending songs on Instagram to add to your Reels Using trending audio in your Instagram Reels can expose your content to a wider audience.. 8 August 2023. Adding music to Reels is easy, but it can be tricky...

How to

Write a Symphony

Writing a symphony is perhaps the most ambitious task a composer can undertake. Although Mozart was composing symphonies when he was a boy, for most people, construction of a symphony can take months or years. Although w...

How to

Sell on Amazon

Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, which makes it the ideal market for selling your books and other items. Selling on Amazon is perfect for individuals who want to make a little money while selling the things...

4 Differences between Pianos and Harpsichords (Plus 2 Similarities)

Pianos vs. harpsichords: learn how to tell them apart from their sounds, playing styles, and unique histories If you’ve ever heard western classical music, you’ve heard pianos and harpsichords. But how are these two...

How to

Play Major Chords on a Keyboard

Chords are what make music interesting and give it character. They are some of the most basic and important things for every pianist to know, and they're really easy to learn! We'll show you the rules, and then let you g...

How to

Sell Furniture on Craigslist

Craigslist is a popular marketplace to sell furniture with buyers all across the globe. Bring your furniture up-to-spec by giving it a dust and polish before you take photographs. Upload the listing on Craigslist adding ...

How to

Livestream on TikTok on Android

This wikiHow teaches you how to live stream on TikTok on Android. The option to go live is only available right now to users with 1,000 followers. As live streaming is still in the testing phase, not all TikTok users wil...

How to

Sell Shoes

Everyone needs shoes and most of us have more pairs than we need. But how do you sell shoes to people that already have them? Whether it's in a store or online (and we'll cover both), the answer is with expertise and a s...