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Hey guys,
a couple of years ago, I picked up a cheap electric piano, my Yamaha P85.
I bought it used for 50 € and up until now, it's been sitting there collecting dust and lookin' pretty, as I was forever more drawn to my guitar.
I love music and although I wouldn't say I'm very good at the guitar, listening to music is an inextricable part of who I am and what mood I find myself in. Having quite a bit of free-time on my hands, now that I can't play SC2 anymore, there's nothing stopping me from finally playing.
However, if my guitar journey is any indication, I will need some guidance. I don't shy away from grueling exercises or playing a piece or passage 70 times over, but I do tend to lose track of what I'm supposed to do.
This blog is going to be thrice useful:
1. If you play, I would value your help by giving me a rough guideline on how to progress.
I sponge up any and all input on the pieces I upload, on fallacies in my learning methods and so on.
If you can recommend any literature, pieces of sheet music, excercises or whatever else might be usesul information for a beginner: do cough it up!
2. I will update this post at least once a week. This way, other beginners might get some insight on what awaits you when you start playing the piano or other instruments
3. Even if this gets totally ignored, I will have written proof of finally sticking to something for myself. It's sort of a kathartic progress log.
This project had to be delayed, as I unexpectedly got invited to take an entrance exam to a great university, so I had to study and look for a new flat in a foreign city.
Now let's get crackin':
Week 1: Every Good Boy Digs Fat Asses (March 15th to March 22nd)
+ Show Spoiler +
What did I do?
What went well?
What didn't?
Uploaded Piece:
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Dear kafkaesque,
I apologise for not having any advice to give you given that I am musically disabled. However, I would like to wish you all the best in your future endeavours regarding the piano. It's cool to play an instrument.
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You got that for really cheap then, I actually really like that model...
Get a teacher if you can! Especially a good one with a very good reputation. If not, read books, since they're incredibly useful and YouTube can be a good resource too, with caution
I'm glad to see you're learning how to read music :D Keep that up so worth it
Good luck!
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I wish I could play music like that  . I tried guitar and then realized I should probably uninstall. That said, your mnemonic device is pretty clever  .
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Google circle of fifths.
Also for major scales, whole whole half whole whole whole half steps (not the steps part ofc, also say it fast its easy to remember.) Try to memorize atleast the major scales.
1st and 2nd inversions. For example instead of playing a c chord as c e g,(as 1st 3rd 5th of a c scale) you would play e g c (3, 5, 8) as a first inversion. 2nd inversion would be g c e(5, 8, 3), and this applies to every chord. So basically you play the same notes in different order.
To go down a keyboard crazy fast like you see some people do its just one or 2 chords just using inversions to go down the keyboard really fast.
I know some of this you haven't got to yet, but it will help you in the future.
Also CONSTANTLY stretch your fingers, try just playing however big your hand can reach and constantly stretch it and play it for atleast 5 minutes every time you sit down to play. If your pinky/thumb hurts for a couple hours it is a good thing.
Edit: You played guitar so you probably know some/most of this, but ohwells
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Also what kind of music are you into?
classical, rock(organ and piano are in the best songs :D), modern stuff, etc.
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On February 02 2013 09:39 Azera wrote:
Dear kafkaesque,
I apologise for not having any advice to give you given that I am musically disabled. However, I would like to wish you all the best in your future endeavours regarding the piano. It's cool to play an instrument.
That is very kind of you to say.
@ grush57: chord inversions? Slow down there, bro!
@ XDJuicebox: thanks for the advice, I will definitely get a teacher in the long run, but right now it's rather tricky, as I'm in the middle of nowhere until April.
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Ooo the piano! Love it! I learned when I was little, so I don't remember a lot of the basic stuff, but I do remember my piano teacher sliding a pencil between my fingers and the keyboard to make me keep my palms off the keys and make my fingers curve correctly. She told me to imagine that a train was coming down the keyboard and it needed to get under my hands, like going through a tunnel. I bet there are tons of YouTube videos out there that can help you get started. I've just picked up the guitar, which is super awkward for me - too bad we can't exchange knowledge Matrix-style! Good luck!
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On February 03 2013 03:05 Zaranth wrote:
Ooo the piano! Love it! I learned when I was little, so I don't remember a lot of the basic stuff, but I do remember my piano teacher sliding a pencil between my fingers and the keyboard to make me keep my palms off the keys and make my fingers curve correctly. She told me to imagine that a train was coming down the keyboard and it needed to get under my hands, like going through a tunnel. I bet there are tons of YouTube videos out there that can help you get started. I've just picked up the guitar, which is super awkward for me - too bad we can't exchange knowledge Matrix-style! Good luck!
Haha, I will keep in mind the passing train, but does that also apply when I play black keys and whites in succession?
Like when I play an Fxx (F Sharp, for the lack of a better symbol resembling the sharp symbol) knowing the next note is an F?
What I love about the piano so far: the next key is always one half-tone step from the next, so you can super easily visualise basic music theory. Like the C Major scale is basically exactly the whites from one C to another, thus the scale is 2-2-1-2-2-2-1. Super bitchin'.
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EPT
