Others have given some good advice. I learned on my own for a large portion of my life, so I know some things to avoid though.

DON'T BUY A CHEAP 61 KEY KEYBOARD.

Let me repeat that for you.

DON'T BUY A CHEAP 61 KEY KEYBOARD.

If you spend a large portion of your time practicing on a cheap 61 key non-weighted keyboard, you will be completely worthless when it comes to showtime on an actual nice piano, not to mention you can get an actually decent piano for very little more. Spend just a little more money, and get a decent 88 key weighted keys piano. Get an old upright if you can, unless you plan on doing absolutely nothing but rock/pop stuff.

If you do want a keyboard for portability/space/etc try one of these out at a music store.

http://www.keyboardgalleria.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KGMC&Product_Code=YAMAHA_P95&Category_Code=DIGITALPIANO

http://piano.about.com/od/keyboardreviews/gr/yamahaP85.htm

Very decent beginner pianos/keyboards with weighted keys, and other random sounds to screw around with.

One last thing. TAKE FARKING LESSONS. Yes, you can learn on your own. You can even get very good on your own. But you'll get good in literally half the time if you take lessons, as well as having a rock solid base(unlike me). I taught myself piano from about age 10(? off and on) to 20. I got to a decent level, for example, I could play Mozarts "Rondo Alla Turca" decently. But within six months of taking lessons with a very good concert pianist, and actually learning scales and such, I was playing through the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, and pretty well. I would suggest finding someone who goes to a local college, and find a high level(junior/senior) pianist, and taking lessons from them to start with. They will be at a pretty high level, but will also be cheaper than an actual professional. Also, be sure and tell them what you want to learn. If you want to just play by ear for the most part, then they will be able to help you with progressions/chords/scales/etc, which is different than if you just wanted to play classical/sheet music types only. I would try to do both, but really, tbh, I've found it pretty difficult to get good at both at the same time.

I taught myself piano for the most part, but decided to go a different route with the cello, I got lessons right off the bat. As a result, 1.5 years later, I'm about as good on the cello as I am the piano, despite only playing for about a 10th of the time. Maybe that will motivate you to get a teacher, lol.

Melchior

United States112 Posts

December 27 2011 16:27 GMT

#22

On December 27 2011 10:39 harve wrote:
Learning piano sounds like a fantastic new years resolution. A couple of things:

1. I think it is important to identify what kind of music you are interested in playing.

4. Lol my actual final point? If you can, buy an acoustic piano! So much cooler.

Great points, although I'll point out with a real piano there's also maintenance/tuning costs, as well as potential noise complaints if you live in an apartment. If your goals/living situation align, though, it's a great way to go. Please at least get a full weighted keyboard with damper pedal, though -- I die a little every time I have to play on anything less.

Although I had classical training myself, I don't necessarily think that it's the only way to go. What is important is that just like SC2, you have to establish good technique before you can really get expressive/creative with your music, and consistent practice is the way to get there (even if it's only half an hour a day). Classical music is great in that respect because the available level of difficulty is much higher in the classical repertoire, but when you start out, there's nothing wrong with playing popular music either.

Good luck learning, and don't hesitate to ask any more questions! As a former piano major, I naturally think it's the coolest instrument in the world :-)

brachester

Australia1786 Posts

December 27 2011 18:17 GMT

#23

On December 28 2011 01:14 Sm3agol wrote:
Others have given some good advice. I learned on my own for a large portion of my life, so I know some things to avoid though.

DON'T BUY A CHEAP 61 KEY KEYBOARD.

Let me repeat that for you.

DON'T BUY A CHEAP 61 KEY KEYBOARD.

If you spend a large portion of your time practicing on a cheap 61 key non-weighted keyboard, you will be completely worthless when it comes to showtime on an actual nice piano, not to mention you can get an actually decent piano for very little more. Spend just a little more money, and get a decent 88 key weighted keys piano. Get an old upright if you can, unless you plan on doing absolutely nothing but rock/pop stuff.

If you do want a keyboard for portability/space/etc try one of these out at a music store.

http://www.keyboardgalleria.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KGMC&Product_Code=YAMAHA_P95&Category_Code=DIGITALPIANO

http://piano.about.com/od/keyboardreviews/gr/yamahaP85.htm

Very decent beginner pianos/keyboards with weighted keys, and other random sounds to screw around with.

One last thing. TAKE FARKING LESSONS. Yes, you can learn on your own. You can even get very good on your own. But you'll get good in literally half the time if you take lessons, as well as having a rock solid base(unlike me). I taught myself piano from about age 10(? off and on) to 20. I got to a decent level, for example, I could play Mozarts "Rondo Alla Turca" decently. But within six months of taking lessons with a very good concert pianist, and actually learning scales and such, I was playing through the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, and pretty well. I would suggest finding someone who goes to a local college, and find a high level(junior/senior) pianist, and taking lessons from them to start with. They will be at a pretty high level, but will also be cheaper than an actual professional. Also, be sure and tell them what you want to learn. If you want to just play by ear for the most part, then they will be able to help you with progressions/chords/scales/etc, which is different than if you just wanted to play classical/sheet music types only. I would try to do both, but really, tbh, I've found it pretty difficult to get good at both at the same time.

I taught myself piano for the most part, but decided to go a different route with the cello, I got lessons right off the bat. As a result, 1.5 years later, I'm about as good on the cello as I am the piano, despite only playing for about a 10th of the time. Maybe that will motivate you to get a teacher, lol.

Yep,, getting a teacher is 99% better than studying it on your own, as i have experienced with studying random stuff in general on my own. But i have never gotten myself a teacher except one during my 8, i didn't like piano that much, in fact i hated piano so i quit. Now, 8 years later, what am i doing now? trying to figure how to play one simple waltz song, but i don't have the time to have private teacher anymore

SO.... i'm strongly recommend any of you who is interested in piano or anything in general, try get a teacher who can teach you if you have the TIME and MONEY,... oh wait and PASSION (which include SC2)

TheMooseHeed

United Kingdom535 Posts

June 22 2012 17:57 GMT

#24

Ok so I am going to start learning piano at near the end of the year and would like a little advice. Would it be worth learning how to read sheet music in advance to aid in my playing or should I not bother? I mean I know I could learn by ear but I play other instruments and think it would be a useful skill that could be moved over in some regards. Its my understanding that sheet music is the same for all instruments except for percussion? May be wrong on that.

Alot of people have suggested lessons in earlier posts but being a cash strapped student at uni means that I cant really afford lessons. I mean I could spend the money I will use for my keyboard on lessons if the difference between self learning and taught is that significant.

Thanks