INPUT ARTICLE: Article: There are many sites that offer online piano instruction. Find one that works for you by looking at several sites, and comparing their features. Great online sites may offer users the opportunity to ‘sample’ or ‘try’ lessons before buying a subscription or paying for lessons. Examine the site and the piano lessons to confirm that they seem professional, thorough, and genuinely educational. Since any individual can start a piano-instruction website, you may want to take some time to vet the website for security issues. Look at the site’s security policy. In the anonymous world of the internet, this is extremely important—you want to be sure that the person who created the website—and who you may be paying for their service—is safe. In the first couple weeks of lessons—or even before lessons start— familiarize yourself with the technology that the website uses for instruction. You may need to download a new media player or use audio or video files you’re unfamiliar with. Also familiarize yourself with how the website handles the logistics of scheduling and paying for lessons or instructional material. Consider:  Does the site let you schedule a set of lessons up-front? You don’t want to keep having to add things to your calendar and then forgetting. Can you get discounts when purchasing packs or lessons in bulk? What is the site’s cancellation policy? When making a payment, how secure is the site? In the event of technical problems, how responsive and extensive is their customer support mechanism? Many websites that provide piano instruction will offer different “levels” of subscription, ranging from “basic” access, with limited features, to “premium” access, with extra perks and bonus features. Consider if you need the extra features, and choose the level of subscription which best suits your goals. If you’re indecisive, start with the cheapest and most limited subscription level. You can always upgrade to a “premium” level, but it may be difficult to downgrade to a cheaper level. Must instructional websites will route you from simple lessons—such as identifying keys on the piano and playing a couple of scales—to more complex lessons, including playing with both hands simultaneously and learning all 24 major and minor scales. If the option is available, it could also benefit you to learn some music theory. Even if you’re not planning to compose your own music or to analyze chord structures, having some theory knowledge will help you to better understand the music you’re playing.

SUMMARY: Find a trusted website. Investigate the logistics of the website. Choose a level of access that suits your goals. Start with the basics.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Everyone argues with those they feel close to. The strongest relationships involve partners who argue, but do so with resolution in mind. If you don't argue at all, it's a bad sign. If even the simplest arguments turn into week-long drama-fests, it's also a bad sign.  When couples don't fight, it usually means that one or both people are not being entirely honest. When needs, desires, and difficulties are not voiced, they are not addressed, and the relationship remains weakened. Healthy arguments are free of violence in all its forms: verbal and physical. The fights are fair, and no one tries to manipulate the other party. The two of you should be able to laugh with each other and at each other. There should be room for seriousness in a serious relationship, of course, but you also need to balance that out with a healthy dose of humor. The teasing that goes on between you two should be gentle and playful, though. If one person routinely breaks into tears, you're doing something wrong. If the two of you need constant chatter and excitement to make your relationship work, it could be a sign that your relationship won't work, or it may just mean that your relationship is still too new to predict the future.  Enjoying the mundane means wanting to learn the little details about your partner's past and present life. Enjoying the ordinary also means feeling content to sit in and spend a quiet evening together. It's natural to crave excitement from time to time, but you need to be able to enjoy your partner's presence during the dull times, as well. The two of you should connect in little ways and big ways. Look for shared interests and similar quirks. Also ask yourself if the two of you share similar priorities and goals.  If the two of you have different goals, your lives will naturally move in different directions. For example, if you want to settle down, marry, and have children, but your partner wants to explore the world and has no interest in raising kids, the things you want out of life may simply be too different to make things work. Hobbies and everyday interests are less important than goals, but still worth paying attention to. Having one or two shared interests will make it easier for you to spend time together. The more unusual or obscure those interests are, the better. A strong relationship is built around respect and commitment. You need to be able to respect your partner, but you also need a partner who will respect you in equal amounts. Respect leads to everything else a healthy relationship requires: commitment, trust, communication, and general satisfaction. Without respect, none of these other qualities can take root. Think about past conversations the two of you had concerning the future. When the topic comes up, both of you should feel comfortable discussing it, and both of you should be able to picture the other as a part of your own future. Your talks about the future don't always need to be serious. If it's still early in your relationship, you might casually of the things you should do together "next month" or "next year." As your commitment grows, however, the two of you should be able to talk about your long-term future and the rest of your lives. Your significant other should be the one person you want to share everything with. “Everything” means just about everything—exciting news, fears, that great new coffee shop you found, and so on.  Ask yourself how often you stumble upon interesting things you want to share with your partner later on. The more often this happens, the more deeply rooted that person is in your mind. A deep connection signifies a deeper level of commitment. More significantly, honesty needs to feel natural for both of you. If you find yourself keeping secrets or know that your partner routinely hides information from you, that's a bad sign. While a committed relationship definitely runs deeper than mere physical attraction, good chemistry is also important. Fireworks do not need to go off every time your eyes meet, but there should at least be an occasional spark. Physical intimacy and emotional intimacy are closely related. You need both to balance out a romantic relationship. " Both of you should have a greater interest in working through things together than working through them separately. You may need to put the welfare of the relationship above your own individual desires from time to time, and you both should be okay with doing so when the situation really calls for it.  The first "we" thoughts are usually positive. The mind shifts from "what am I doing this weekend?" to "what are we doing this weekend?" Eventually, though, your "we" thoughts need to shift to more serious matters. For instance, if you're offered a new job in a different location, you should be just as interested in how it will affect your future as a couple instead of only thinking of how it will affect your future as an individual. Ask yourself how much time you spend being together and how much time the two of you spend talking about how things or and how they should be. Being able to live in the “now” is important if you want to stay together in the future. Of course, you need to be able to address issues and desires as they come up. If these problems preoccupy you too often, though, it's a signal that things don't flow naturally between the two of you.

SUMMARY:
Manage conflict but drop the drama. Laugh. Enjoy the ordinary and the mundane. Connect. Respect and be respected. Talk about the future. Share everything. Look for fireworks. Put "we" before "me. Live the relationship more than you talk about it.