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Well, I've noticed that there are a fair amount of people that seem to want to start learning piano every week or so. If you're one of these people, let's get you started! Knowing your goals One way that I think that piano stands out from other instruments is how different you go about learning the instrument depending on what you want to do. So basically the first thing you need to ask yourself is; Do I want to play Jazz? Do I want to be able to hammer out Cold Play for my girlfriend? Do I want mad technique like Horowitz while having the touch of an Angel like Lang Lang? Once you know this, skip down to whatever catagory applies to you. I want to play "Clocks" by coldplay Ok, if you don't want to invest major time into learning the piano and you don't want to make an investment or have a teacher, this is probably where you'll end up whether you like it or not. So now that you know that let's make the best choices we can with what we've got. Selecting an instrument If you're not really wanting to learn anything serious and don't feel that you will have that much time to devote to this past time I definitely recommend buying a Keyboard. It's compact, hopefully less costly then a piano, you can play it whenever you like without any noise restrictions and if you wanted to join a band all you have to do is throw 30LBS in your car! There are many features of a keyboard, a key one being weighted keys. This is the difference between a thin piece of plastic and something that is meant to replicate the feel of a real piano. Why does it matter? Well, playing a non weighted keys keyboard is like rollerblading on a gym floor. It's fast, it's easy, but it can't be compared in any way to skating on ice other then the standard motions. This is the same, don't expect to be able to play a real piano as efficiently as if you were playing your keyboard at home. The other features of a keyboard are immense ranging from arpeggiators to recorders. Figure out what bells and whistles you think you'll need and then make a smart choice  .Gigging, keeping noise down and size restrictions don't matter to you? I recommend then buying a used upright piano (Yamaha is what I would recommend). The best place to find deals on these are local churches. If you're lucky they'll be upgrading their choral room upright and most likely sell it for 3-400$! The prices that you'll see when buying electric keyboards or used uprights standardly vary from 1-300 dollars - 76-88 Key non weighted keyboard 3-700 dollars - Weighted keyboard or used upright piano A new upright Yamaha will set you back $2000 and a top of the line keyboard will do the same. These are just ballparks though so you could be looking to spend a little more or a little less How I should practice Despite the fact that you're not going to need big technique to play Umbrella by Rihanna it's always a good thing to have some simple things to practice before you decide to practice the song that you've been wanting to learn. I recommend starting off with 5 Major Scales and three note chords. If you don't know what a Major scale is it's probably best to consult the theory thread same with chords. I recommend simply learning C, G, F, E and B major. That will start you off. What you're going to want to do is start by playing the scale with one hand only at a slow tempo. Bring the speed up on the one hand and then do so with the other hand. After this, bring the speed back down to the original tempo and learn both hands together. It is VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE THE SAME FINGERING EVERY TIME YOU PLAY SOMETHING. Knowing all the notes is great but when you want to increase the speed without thinking or memorizes things easily, muscle memory is the way to go. Now that you've gotten your little bit of technical work out of the way, start learning the songs the same way with exception to speed. Simply learn one hand first, then the other hand seperately then put these two hands together. After you do this bring up the speed. If it's hard, learn it in small parts, if it's easy then you can probably judge how far you can learn in a week. I want to play Jazz piano Starting out The best way to learn how to improvise is to KNOW how to improvise. This means that you'll need to hit the theory books . I definitely recommend having a teacher. When you go to select a teacher don't just do it based on how decorated his wall is or how cool he looked at a gig. Not everyone can teach piano properly even if they're good at it. And, not everyone who was a Professor at Juliard will make the best choice ( Well maybe if it's JULIARD ... :P ).Select your teacher and ALWAYS listen to what he says about your technique, if there's anything that you get out of having a teacher it's learning good technique. If you don't, you'll be crippled down the road when you want to learn anything of actual challenge. Selecting an Instrument This one is a lot more about personal preference in my opinion and again what you'd like to get out of it. Jazz relies a lot on touch so it's preferred to either have a real piano or a weighted keyboard. (See "I want to play Clocks" - Selecting an instrument) I want to play like that starving jewish guy in the Pianist! Starting out Above all else, becoming a decent classical musician requires the most time out of anything you'll probably ever want to do. Do you want to play Chopin's Ballade in G Minor? Ok, see you in 9 years. I don't want to push you away but at the same time I want people to know their limitations. Playing the most complex pieces possible will take time patience and maybe even some natural talent. BUT, ITS ACCOMPLISHABLE!! How to go about doing this? GET A TEACHER. This is basically a MUST if you want to play classical music well. Technique is most important as you grow as a musician and begin to learn newer pieces. Listen to everything your teacher says and tell them exactly what you're wanting to get out of it. The mindless technical work, the silly fingerings, the dumb hand positions and posture. They are ALL things that you need to take seriously and learn. There's nothing harder to do then fix bad habits. Selecting an instrument All I can say here is that you need to have a real piano. Despite our amazing keyboard technology nothing rivals real sound. Start off with an used upright and work your way up to a used baby grand . I myself believe that used pianos are better then buying new because you'll most likely get more bang for your buck. Just go to a piano store and ask one of the people working there to show you what would work for where you're at and have him play you a little ditty. But, remember that the sound that you're hearing standing 5 feet from him is not necessarily the sound you'll hear sitting and playing.---------------------------------------------------------- Well, I hoped this helped you out a little bit if you have any other questions feel free to ask.
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Sep 2, 2007 12:46
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the Steve posted:I don't know where you live, but a new Yamaha upright piano is at least $10,000 and a good used one is at least $3-4000. You generally don't want to go anywhere near a $300 used acoustic piano, unless you want to spend at least that much again to get it even moderately playable. code:UK£ 1 495 = 3 014.219 U.S. dollars I don't think that any beginner should be playing on U1 uprights or anything like that. The way I look at it, if you can't tell if you're instrument is good or not, you shouldn't be buying anything higher than a student model. Where I am located we have a dealer that offers 100% trade in value on all pianos bought from him, so it makes perfect sense to buy a B1 and then upgrade to a U1 then upgrade to a Baby Grand. Again, not every $300-500 used upright is going to be golden but the point is to try to find a good deal. Unless you think that the highest quality custom upright Grand from yamaha is what a beginner should start out with I believe that your prices are far from realistic. Alizee fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Sep 2, 2007 |
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Sep 2, 2007 13:51
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Why do you believe that they should learn on u1's or better when they most likely can't even tell the difference yet? I'm pretty sure the biggest problem I ever had when learning piano was the fact that my U1 had such heavy keys, it made it ridiculously hard to go and play on my teachers 40 year old light action grand and get the sound I made so easily at home.  But still I would prefer that over a keyboard. I have a Korg Triton Extreme and it's deffinitely a bad idea to do serious practicing on it when trying to perfect my touch And a side question for you, do you open up the front of your U1's? I personally can't because well it doesn't flatter the living room very much and others live with me but I would certainly do so in a studio as I love how vibrant the sound becomes.
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Sep 2, 2007 14:49
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The most important thing about buying a keyboard is the touch. Since you've had at least 3 months experience playing a real piano with your teacher you will probably have a clue what kind of touch is nice. Get into a music store, start playing the keyboards and whatever jumps out at you that feels really nice take to the check out. A few things you might want to consider though, -Do I want a lot of voices? -Do I want built in speakers -Do I mind buying used -Am I going to be doing recording? If so, do I want to record to midi, usb, etc.? A few things you NEED -88 keys -Damper Pedal (try to get them to throw one in for free) -Good Headphones, unless you live alone in a large house headphones are wonderful when you get the urges late at night or early in the morning  I recommend especially since you have a budget to get whatever has the best feel and is most compact. I wouldn't worry about voices myself because you can always get one of those midi controller thingies :p As long as you stick to Roland, Yamaha and Korg (in no perticular order) you'll be good. Hope that helped a bit, sorry I can't recommend specific models but I never shopped for a bang for your buck keyboard Happy hunting
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Sep 2, 2007 21:19
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External Organs posted:Do you have any advice for someone looking to use a keyboard for composition and not for performing? Like, learning the layout and I guess theory... Shouldn't matter what you're using if it's composing, hell I've composed on a 3 dollar My first Piano toy because I just needed something for pitch :p
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Sep 5, 2007 04:03
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ProdigalSon posted:This is helpful. I've been messing around on a 76-key keyboard I got recently for a few months, learning some basics songs through Youtube instruction. I'll look up information on the chords mentioned in the OP and practice those. I really recommending you spend $7.50 and pick up "THE BROWN SCALE BOOK" (scales, chords and arpeggios for piano). Published by Frederick Harris Music. It's really worth the money and gives exactly what it says, all the chords scales and arpeggios for all the major, natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor keys in addition to A LOT more. ProdigalSon posted:This is helpful. I've been messing around on a 76-key keyboard I got recently for a few months, learning some basics songs through Youtube instruction. I'll look up information on the chords mentioned in the OP and practice those. I really recommending you spend $7.50 and pick up "THE BROWN SCALE BOOK" (scales, chords and arpeggios for piano). Published by Frederick Harris Music. It's really worth the money and gives exactly what it says, all the chords scales and arpeggios for all the major, natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor keys in addition to A LOT more. http://www.frederickharrismusic.com/fhmcCN/catalogue?selection=details&code=258 Alizee fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Sep 5, 2007 |
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Sep 5, 2007 19:19
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Fat Turkey: I recommend buying a RCM Studies book, this will both aid you in your quest to become fairly proficient at classical music and will help you to become proficient in all aspects of playing. The point of these studies is to help develop all aspects of your playing. A lot of these songs can be dissected very easily to something as simple as " Oh this song is just scales with dominants in the left hand " or " Hey this song is just diminished seven chords played quickly with lots of leaps ". That may sound like a turn off because, hey, you're playing a piece that's just scales... but a lot of the greatest pieces ever written can be broken up just as easily. The hard part for you would be finding out what Grade level you are. Do you have a piece that you think is the hardest that you can play well with no mistakes? Knowing what this is would help place what Grade you'd be able to play in. P.S. I don't know if you know anything about RCM but it is the Royal Conservatory of Music, a standard followed by Britain and Canada I know for sure, not sure about other countries. There are 10 Grades and then ARCT. For example, Fur Elise is a Grade 7 piece, and Moonlight Sonata Third movement is an ARCT piece. The RCM provides books consisting of Piano Repertoire, Piano Studies, Theory work books and other things that I haven't even gotten into myself. The great thing about buying these books is that they provide groups of wonderful pieces for that Grade level breaking them up into categories such as Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century. So that by simply picking out songs from each list (A,B,C and D) you will have a great variety in your playing and basically have an instant program. [EDIT] I got so caught up in trying to help you with ways to fix your left hand that I totally forgot about your wanting to improvise. I don't improvise myself but I've always thought before you can start creating any music with the goal in mind to create something great is you first need to know why something sounds great. Aka, before you can write a great song, you have to know how. So I'd probably start with song analysis, when you start to see patterns you'll not only be able to sight read better, memorize songs better but also you'll be able to draw from that knowledge when your creating something. I assume the same would be true for on the spot improvisation. Alizee fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Sep 7, 2007 |
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Sep 7, 2007 01:05
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I think the idea of "getting a little better" before seeking out a teacher is a bad one. At the beginning of learning to play the piano is where it's of the greatest importance to have proper instruction. And also, you may be thinking that a teacher doesn't want somebody that knows nothing. Well, you'd actually be the ideal starting student for a teacher, you've already started learning chords and arpeggios before learning songs and understand the importance of theory. (It took years to drill into my young mind that technical work was more important to learning a piece than learning a piece) :P. Um... How about the Little Prelude in D Minor BWV 926 - J.S. Bach It's a G6 piece and it's one of my favorite early easy pieces. It has nice little ornaments too in the left hand and a quick passage on the second page with 16 notes. Good luck!
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Sep 8, 2007 00:30
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Corbet posted:I just picked up a M-Audio MIDI keyboard with 49 keys. It was only $200 and I really got it to also learn Keyboard. How do you recommend I start out? I have GarageBand which basically simulates a grand piano but I seriously have no idea where to start. Can you read notes? If so, learn some scales grab a few beginner books and get to work. If not, you need to learn them lol. Flats, sharps, key signatures, accidentals, rests, etc. etc.
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Sep 8, 2007 16:12
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Corbet posted:Yeah, I really can't afford private lessons, I'd imagine they are expensive 1 on 1. The classes at the local college max out at 16 students, I looked at this semester's classes and the average size is 13 people. My private teacher is only $30 CAN an hour, I see her once a week for an hour and she's quite an accomplished musician. She also does half hour lessons for $20 so if anyone's really serious about learning the instrument I'm sure they could find some way to squeak out $20 dollars
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Sep 10, 2007 05:44
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Himmler posted:A shame to see such a great and useful thread get left behind, if anyone is finding it hard to find sheet music then register here http://www.pianosheets.org/ Not sure if that's 'files' or not. But I use this site and recommend it. A recommendation for the nublets, I'm sure you've all heard it by now. "Hey that Halo piano song is pretty neat!" Yeah, that would be Chopin's Raindrop Prelude cutie  It's a really easy, straight forward and one of the most emotional pieces I've heard that don't require amazing virtuoso talent.
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Oct 10, 2007 04:37
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An0 posted:I'm new at piano, and thanks to my flatmate, now have an electric 88-key piano in my room. (with hammer-action or whatever it's called - what makes it have dynamics and harder to push on) I haven't checked out the book you mentioned myself but it sounds about right. After you plow through a couple beginner books start the RCM books . Probably good to skip to Grade 2.Really you need to ask him that, I've met some people that have played an instrument all their live and know next to nothing about it =/. There are the obvious advantages to having a teacher but having someone that knows what they are talking about can help a lot too.
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Oct 10, 2007 04:41
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Fat Turkey posted:Whoever said it on the end of the last page, this is indeed too interesting a thread to die, and I hope some more people in my boat join in. I'd go with any of these: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata 1st movement Chopin's Prelude in E minor 28.4 Chopin's Raindrop Prelude [edit] Yeah... Triple posts are cool... (Sorry)
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Oct 10, 2007 04:46
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Apparently you're learning Fur Elise, that is a grade 7 piece. The problem though is you really can't just start out in grade 7 just because you can throw down Fur Elise with some hard work. You'll have bad technique and bad habits in both playing and learning. I'm not yet a teacher myself so I can't go too far into the specifics of why it's a bad idea, but... I'm pretty sure it is. However, if you feel that you just want to learn on your own. You might as well just go from Grade 6 or 7 and work your way from here, this is how it goes. Grade 1 - Beginner Grade 7 - Intermediete Grade 9 - Fairly Accomplished Grade 10 - Final Grade, becoming Virtuoso ARCT - You can now teach anyone and you're really drat good. If you'd like to find out a lot about all the specifics as to what's required, theory wise, technique wise and pieces wise you should look into buying the Syllabus. It has everything that you would want to know about the grades in it. Each grade is an improvement from the last but personally looking back I think I could have skipped a few more grades. Not sure however if I would have lost technique along the way. Sorry, I can't clarify things better, but it's late I'm tired and I don't know the entirety of this :P
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Oct 11, 2007 03:35
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nomad2020 posted:I'm considering buying myself a keyboard for myself again. I played when I was young, went into band and played brass for awhile as well. I really liked the piano better. I was wondering how heavy is too heavy for weighted keys? Is there such a thing? Go to a music store, try out a few real pianos (preferably grands to uprights) then go try to find a comparible key in a keyboard. My keyboard weighs 63 pounds (Korg Triton Extreme 88 key).
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Oct 11, 2007 15:04
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Fat Turkey posted:I thought in an earlier post you mentioned to try out Fur Elise, but looking back you don't, you just mention it is a Grade 7 piece. I don't mind scrubbing that out, I would just like to know some songs to start off with that are both satisfying and challenging. That is a challenge in itself. Just try some things out dude, try out like... Mad World or something to that nature. Fur Elise although a Grade 7 piece isn't so for technical ability. At least not the A and C section. There are like 8 measures after the main melody that requires some technical ability but if you're just wanting to see what you can do you might as well give it a try. If you find that too hard, I can look through my RCM books and try to find some interesting pieces in lower grades Note: The reason why I'm not necessarily saying to start out at the Grade 1 level and work your way up religiously with the books though is because I myself see some of the requirements in technique and knowledge to be minute at best. So the way I look at it, if you're not going to have a teacher you might as well just see what you can play at and go with it!
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Oct 11, 2007 15:12
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The key signature is still the same key signature always unless otherwise noted by an accidental or change in key So yes the E+ or c#- key remains
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Nov 5, 2007 08:54
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trimpton posted:I'm still confused by this - so I figured I would make a picture to help illustrate my confusion. All F's on that staff. However, if an F# below middle C is lowered to natural form, a sharp above middle C on the same clef is not effected. In addition all accidentals (Double Sharps, Sharps, Flats, Double Flats, Naturals) that are not indicated in the key signature are canceled out at the end of the bar. Archr5 posted:I picked up a 61 key Yamaha the other week just so I could start learning to read and play sheet music... You might regret it in the long run but standardly the majority of stuff that you'll learn for the first while you will be able to hopefully play on 61 keys. It also depends completely on what style you are learning. Classical music will cause more problems then say pop music in terms of keyboard size.
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Nov 6, 2007 04:37
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To answer FatTurkey and Tek's questions. For standard three note chords 1-3-5 is the way to go. For dominants and diminished chords however you can be a bit more liberal with your fingering, however always keep it the same. I use 1-2-3-5.
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Nov 9, 2007 04:06
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PerOlus posted:I'd say that only using 1-2-3-5 could become a bad habit, resulting in lowering your ability to use the forth finger. Also, when it comes to inverted four-note-chords of different kinds, for example jazz-voicings with the left hand, 1-2-3-5 is definitely not always the choice that's most confortable for the hand. Hah, I didn't think they were talking about anything other than tonics. Really, I'd just go with whatever gives you most agility and comfort. That's all I ever have done and it's worked for me. What fingers you use doesn't matter as much as making sure you use the same fingers every time. Basically the reason a lot of teachers say for you to use the given fingering is 1) because it's probably a good idea in most cases and 2) that way it's on the music and you'll use the same one every time. If you're going to be liberal with fingerings for pieces make sure you mark it in and use it because by keeping the same fingering it basically cuts learning and memorization in half.
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Nov 11, 2007 12:52
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ShinAli posted:Kind of a personal update. I don't really like Pearl River's myself, they all seem really cheap to me. Since price isn't that big of a deal go with a Yamaha.
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Nov 20, 2007 04:32
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Hughmoris posted:Well, I finally got my hands on my first keyboard. Its a used Casio 61-key keyboard, but as a broke college student its all I could afford and have room for. I realize its not a grand piano, but I'm hoping I can at least learn the basics on it and have it facilitate my learning of music theory. My short term goal is to really learn the theory behind the music, because I completely ignored that when I tried picking up the guitar. Good luck with that. The keyboard should work for your needs really. Keep us updated if you have an questions.
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Nov 22, 2007 01:46
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Hughmoris posted:Yes Trentoro, that answered my question, thanks. That works out just fine. Obviously when your notes leap you have to think the opposite way though. Also when it comes to chords it's very handy to just look at the top note of the chord and read the shape. Learning inversions makes it a lot easier to sight read chords because you're used to seeing the inversions and used to see the tonic. When you see that a chord has C on the top and it has two spaces filled underneath it you don't have to look at all the notes you just immediately know that the other two are A and F.
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Nov 24, 2007 19:28
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bald nanna posted:How do pianists play those long scales so fast? I just can't seem to get the hang of it, I'm guessing choosing the right fingers is very important. How would you play a C# diminished scale? I'm not quite sure such a thing exists. Do you mean maybe c#- harmonic or melodic? There are diminished chords. But I've never heard of diminished scales. Anyways, it's through lots of practice. You build up your technique and with that your speed, and you always use the same fingers.
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Dec 3, 2007 02:36
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^ It depends on where you are located.
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Dec 6, 2007 00:58
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nyro posted:When playing and just doodling around with major and minor chords, do people actually memorize every chord possible or is it just finger/hand memory on root notes? Ive gotten to the point where I can figure all the maj/min/inversions out but it takes time, and I would like to get to the point where I could just play them on queue It completely depends. It helps out a lot in the long run. Do you need to know every possible dimished, augmented, 7th with certain tensions. No, not really. But, it's definitely a good thing to know all major and minors and play them quickly in inversions and arpeggios. Diminished and Dominant 7ths are not as important . Zigmidge posted:I played classical piano through the RCM program for 12 years (I would have done it in 10 but I had to do grades 6 and 7 for two years each) and quit just before taking the exam for grade 10 (which is like a grueling two hours of song recital, written theory and aural testing). I was recommended to take the ARCT by my teacher but because I dropped I never did finish and do that. Quite a pretty choice, check out some nocturnes too! It depends what you want to do. If you're just going to be playing for your own enjoyment you can just continue to teach yourself. But I'm doing grade 9 right now and prepping for my University auditions and I could never fathom not having a teacher for the quality of interpretations I'd like to produce. I think the biggest things in advanced teaching is that you notice the small things that can make music wonderful. You really take control of the keyboard and learn how to manipulate it's sound to the highest degree. Also, with a good teacher, you can't get away with mistakes and working through a piece but not perfecting it. I think learning how to perfect music and when it's perfected is also a great skill. Hughmoris posted:Wow, this thread definitely needs more love. The "New To Guitar" thread is pushing 1100+ replies, and we are struggling to make page three. I refuse to believe that there aren't more people out there playing the piano. This man speaks the truth! (Don't be shy fellows). Anyways like many other are doing I'll state my progress etc. Right now I'm working on three songs for my University auditions. Chopin's Nocturne in C#- post op. It's completely learned, I'm just working on giving it my own stylistic touches with tempo rubato. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in c minor What a bitch this piece is. The prelude's notes are done and under the fingers. I'm working on tempo and keeping the drat hands together. The fugue is another matter all itself. It's ultimately going to payoff and sound wonderful but working through it at like 1/4 tempo sounds so robotic and choppy I could kill myself. It doesn't help I haven't been practicing on it Christmas Break. Status: Worried I won't get it done well for the auditions. :S Mozart's Fantasie in d minor This piece is going along quite well and I'm excited to further get it under my belt. Should be polished by my auditions. Overall status: worried. EDIT: Also if you can record stuff. Record your progress! It's always fun
Alizee fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Dec 30, 2007 |
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Dec 30, 2007 07:53
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TheChipmunk posted:I'm currently working on a Prelude in Fugue by the great Bachmiester (...Bach) in D Minor. I always have a hell of a time with his Well Tempered Clavier... Nonetheless, I hear its 'good for all pianists'. Nah I'm applying to 3 different universities at different periods from march to may. Western, Wilfred Laurier and Queens.
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Jan 19, 2008 06:00
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Lamb Virtuoso posted:What's up fellow Toronto goon Burlington but close enough 
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Jan 21, 2008 07:48
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Underdog posted:Another beginner here. I have no musical experience, but I figure 28 isn't too old to start. Eh, depends how you look at it. It's interpretations are all over the place. Some people, like myself believe it needs to be at a moving tempo instead of the stagnant pace everyone normally plays it at which might be considered grade 6. I will say one thing though, (not being harsh) but you'll completely butcher it unless you have some crazy natural ability. People that have been playing the piano for many many years fail to capture any emotion in it. (Now to get off my high horse :S) Realistically, you could be playing that in 6 months pretty well. I think it may actually be a good idea for you to get into it early and play it through your progress because well, it's a song that will only improve as you do.
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Jan 25, 2008 03:50
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nomad2020 posted:My piano just rolled in today. I was going to buy a digital, but I couldn't find one that felt right to me. So against my better judgment I bought a used Harrison upright piano. $1k delivery and a tune included in the price. Unfortunately the only tuner in the area only really makes a few appearances a year so it may be a few months, but I've only found a few keys to be off enough to matter. Next step over the weekend is to find myself an instructor and a few basic books to start off with. Mix it up. Maybe go with RCM grades and on the side play some Radiohead, Coldplay, Ben Folds Five. All of them have some easy piano stuff that will be sure to draw the ladies. Coldplay: Clocks, The Scientist Radiohead: Karma Police Ben Folds/Five: Army, Brick
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Jan 25, 2008 03:54
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Underdog posted:Thanks for the tips. I've only had my second lesson this week, so I'm not quite ready to tackle it yet, but I will certainly work in that direction. Okay well in the first movement of Moonlight there are a lot of important things other than just playing the right notes. One of the easiest things it seems for people to get wrong is the tempo. Tempo = speed or beats per minute. I didn't mean "moving" as in the tempo shifts, more that the tempo carries through without seeming to stop time. Here's what I mean in a way we can all easily understand Slow Tempo: (What I and many hate)  Moderate Tempo: (Ahhhh there we go)  P.S. Sorry about the mistakes, I was just sight reading  The other things that are really important in this are rolling hands, being able to unevenly shift the weight of your hands without causing bumps, dynamic control, good peddling, knowing when to stretch the time and being able to do 9ths with ease and making that very simple but beautiful melody sing. All of that just comes with practice and learning from someone good. However, there's no reason for you to not start attempting to learn the notes now
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Jan 26, 2008 18:49
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Underdog posted:Got ya. I tend to agree - I don't think this is quite as fast as your example, but I consider this to be a good performance. That's a really brilliant interpretation.
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Jan 29, 2008 02:54
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Underdog posted:I just received my keyboard and stand, and wanted to follow up. The PX-200 does come with a pedal, although I don't like it quite as much as the one you mentioned. Lookin' good brosif. Now to work!
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Jan 29, 2008 03:29
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Okay so you can't get much sadder than this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dseJl09blm8 and then of course http://youtube.com/watch?v=O6txOvK-mAk and believe it or not, a great place for easy sad piano song is anime: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GfSqzuRauLI and http://youtube.com/watch?v=OOkvlIz3p4s
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Feb 1, 2008 17:44
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Here's an update of legal classical scores: http://vkgfx.com/scores/
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Feb 3, 2008 05:20
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ShinAli posted:Quick status update. I picked up a 10 year old Yamaha U3, and it sounds wonderful. I feel pretty bad practicing on it, though, as people often watch TV in a room next to it. Still, I love it. I got it for 4k. Uh depending on how studied your piano teacher is they may be able to teach you all three of what you listed. Repertoire, Theory and Improvisation. I was somewhat in the same boat as you this year for a while, while I had the money, so I did this. Mondays (new teacher)- Improvisation/vocals 30 minutes Tuesdays (standard lessons)- Repertoire 1 hour - Harmony - 1 hour It's just all about finding the right teachers etc. if you have the time. I didn't want to fully engulf myself into improv, just pick up some guidelines so I mixed it with something else I wanted to do. And then on Tuesdays I'd just double up my lesson with my teacher. At the very least you could have you teacher split lessons every week between theory and practice. Really, in my opinion if you're a diligent student it works better for a student to get lessons every two weeks.
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Feb 6, 2008 22:43
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Well I can't specifically recommend any model for you since I don't know much about medium end keyboards but as to what you're looking for: Touch is the number one. Weighted keys is a must for anyone that wants to be able to play on a real piano without significant drawback. 88 keys is also a must if you want to play any advanced songs etc. Voices and interface are lesser things that you might or might not be interested in. Keep in mind that just because a keyboard only has 5 voices doesn't mean that's all you can do with it. You can buy accessories that will give you limitless sounds from a laptop etc. And with the interface, that doesn't matter. It's an instrument. Other than that the final deciding factor is built in speakers or not. You can get a really cheap guitar amp for 50 bucks and in some cases depending on how expensive you go even that can be better than the built in speakers. In addition it'll give you added volume. Also make sure to buy a damper pedal. That's really all I can give you for advice P.S. My personal choice would be the M-Audio Alizee fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Feb 19, 2008 |
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Feb 19, 2008 03:34
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DukAmok posted:Hey guys! I got into piano a few years ago, and started learning on my own. I think I'm passable at improvising at this point, but I'd like to improve, mainly into the arena of jazz. It would be helpful if you included an example of that "professional sound". I thought you're improvising was quite good although I only listened to a third of it.
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Feb 23, 2008 07:27
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Resistance posted:I've been wanting to play the piano for a while now, and I've finally decided it's time to buy one and start learning. I have NO clue whatsoever on what to get, however. I have a budget of about $600 give-or-take. If anyone can help a newbie out, that would be great. The keyboard this guy is talking about sounds up your alley. Realjones posted:The PX-110 is the cheapest fully weighted keys piano keyboard currently available. The PX-310 is the same keyboard, but with more electronic bells and whistles. The PX-110 is around $400 here in the U.S. and it shouldn't be too hard to find someone to ship one internationally. Maybe look into that. It'd give you money for a stand,pedal and cheap guitar amp too!
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Feb 23, 2008 07:29
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DukAmok posted:Thanks =) Ahhhh Jordan Rudess. Really I didn't think that was amazingly interesting itself. It certainly was extremely technical but well... If I can think of anything that would add more interest to what you're wanting add more tensions and distinguish the melody more by bringing it up an octave in most cases. Sorry I can't be of more help vOv
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Feb 23, 2008 15:36
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