Leaping from the last stop of my education into a world of go-getters and pursuers, I decided to be more proactive with my life. Despite the safety net below for the next few months while I search for a career, I still want to have a near feeling of progress, the chase to learn and improve. I could play video-games all day, a repetition of my days during college and university. Or I could become what I've always adored, respected and even envied from those who can.
It was either taking up tap dancing again like I did when I was kid or consider going back into music. I'm not musically talented and in fact, I was pretty awful at my favourite instrument: The Saxophone. I was never interested then, but still always loved music. Even to this day, I get tugged and pulled by my favourite songs, my favourite pieces haven't changed in nearly 6 years. I never get tired of these albums, I only keep wishing I could play them myself, to be able to remotely imitate what I've teased myself with; such beautiful music.
Not exactly simple songs, definitely carried by the strength of violins. Spirited Away and Joe Hisaishi have been with me for many years. I never tire of these songs, of the movie, of the feeling it invokes within. I'm in awe of how it flows, of its highs and lows and would love for that to come out of my fingers. Out of the devices I touch, no matter how crooked and bad it would be for many months, even years
Although I won't officially start looking until next week, I wanted to get some advice on how to find a good teacher here in Montreal. I put in an inquiry about it via /r/Montreal and got some good responses: seems a lot of graduates are looking to do some part-time teaching. I already know how awful I am at music, barely able to comprehend beyond the basics of music theory and I have very knotted fingers (and my hands work as a mirror to one another, always doing the same thing simultaneously). I also know I want a female teacher; while I don't typically feel strongly towards one gender or the other in most cases (I prefer male psychologists over females however), to me; I would simply feel more comfortable with this personal desire of mine (whoa, how sexually implicit... ... ... ...).
I also don't want to do it in someone's house, but rather at a university or someplace open area, where it feels open and empty. Not sure why however.
For music genre, Jazz and classical music such as the above (I guess that would be more contemporary, no?). Piano pieces like Rhapsody in Blue or from Fourplay would be the goal of my run (unlikely to reach however).
Maybe I should learn Bass instead, I love this song! The piano version of this song also plays quite nicely
Always gotta have a star song that you know you'll never reach. Although it isn't nearly compromised of piano, I'd love to give this a whack
So my issue(s) is/are:
How do I determine who's a good teacher?
What are some areas I should look for in a teacher?
How do I figure out if a teacher's methods are good, subpar or simply wrong (there are many ways to teach, but there are things you need to establish as a teacher with your student in terms of process towards eventually playing the piano.
What are some realistic pieces I should aim for as sort of "checkmarks", to know that I am making headway.
This isn't really related to playing the piano, but it is related to teaching. After a long time I finally decided that I want to tell stories through art instead of writing. So I've been teaching myself how to draw for the past four months. Luckily, books are amazing resources (it's much different for music).
I've found it really helpful to clock my hours. The end of an hour is also a good time to take a quick break and restock on water/sharpen pencils. I recently picked up a Wacom, and while it's a source of endless entertainment, I still do my studies on paper (I'm still adjusting to it).
My advice would be to clock your hours. Note all your progress. If you play with a metronome, note speeds. Try your damndest to break everything down into mechanical elements (sort of like high level SC). Learning is as much about changing how you think as it is changing what you know.
And learn to see the beauty in mechanical interactions. Too many see them as dull. But they are beautiful. Endlessly so.
As someone who learned the piano myself, here is some advice:
- Get your posture/fingering correct from the beginning! When I learned piano, I was extremely young. I use that as an excuse for my arrogance, which led me to believe that I didn't need such a thing as posture or proper form. - While you play, you want your hands to be holding an imaginary ball. I was always told that this is for aesthetic appeal because it makes the pianist look graceful. However, I found that it's easier to lift your fingers doing this. - Learn the scales with proper fingering. For example, when you play a scale of 8 notes with your right hand, the fingering will look like this (5 = pinky, 4 = ring, 3 = middle, 2 = index, 1 = thumb): 1, 2, 3, (cross your thumb underneath your middle finger), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Then, as you learn how to play scales up and down the entire piano, make sure to practice perfect finger positioning. Do not let yourself deviate, do not let yourself just use whatever finger is most convenient. If you do this, proper positioning will become muscle memory and it will help you later. - Make sure to create a schedule and leave time for practice every day. Piano is not like homework; you cannot cram it all the day before the piano lesson. Well, you could, but you won't benefit. You need to practice every day to reinforce the finger movements. - Don't rigidly stick to the instructions on the paper. For example, when I tried playing some pieces, I tried playing forte and crescendos perfectly, and it just made things awkward. Before you play the song, read the piano notes on volume (forte = loud, crescendo = grow louder), and try to understand how the composer wants you to play it. After that, just play according to your intuition and mood. - Practice LOUDLY. This is just my personal shortcoming: when I practice, I often feel embarrassed because I can't play well. The consequence is that I practice extremely softly, and this screws things up. Piano is meant for other people to hear, so practice loudly and proudly. Note that this is advice to myself.
- Don't give up! This was my biggest mistake. I was lazy. I was foolish. If I had practiced just 1 hour per day, or maybe even 30 minutes per day, my piano skill would be so much greater right now. Don't let yourself give up because it's frustrating or because you don't have time. Piano is remedial, piano is expression. A year after you quit, you will find yourself wishing you could sit at a piano and play effortlessly.
Can you get an inexpensive keyboard? That's what I use since I don't have my piano anymore.
They aren't exactly the same. Some keyboards don't come with pedals. Also, the keys of a keyboard are softer, so you don't need as much force to press the keys. Finally, I feel that the piano is more... honest, more expressive, while the keyboard is easier to play. If you practice on the keyboard and are suddenly confronted with a piano, you probably won't play it perfectly on the piano. You need to practice on the piano to play the piano, but in most cases, a keyboard is a very decent substitute. Much more convenient.
Don't forget you can play around with the settings of a keyboard!
With a teacher, an adult should be able to play any Joe Hisaishi song after 3 years of practice, 1 hour a day.
Get a second-hand keyboard for $100 or less, it is enough to learn.
edit: How do I figure out if a teacher's methods are good, subpar or simply wrong (there are many ways to teach, but there are things you need to establish as a teacher with your student in terms of process towards eventually playing the piano.
Feel it out. Though, assuming you're an adult, I would assume the suzuki method is not so good for you, I have only seen it work for children.
Any tips or advice in general?
Music is easy, just put the time in and the songs will come. Practice just like you would in anything, focus on weaknesses before strengths. Learn in parts, not wholes.
Awesome. Wish I was still in Montreal, I'd help out, but back to Halifax now.. I definitely think getting a teacher is the way to go over "self-learning" - even if its only one hour a week or even month; just having someone to show you things in person really speeds up the progress.. But I will warn you, music is a never-ending journey, and it takes a lot of dedication to get really good. I relate it to being a top korean progamer, its literally that hard (and its why I stopped playing competitively; I cant do music + starcraft, and a fulltime job to support myself, its impossible)
But, to make a generalization, as someone who teaches people and has taken guitar lessons from some of the best jazz guitarists in all of Canada, the biggest difference in finding a "good" teacher vs a sub-par one is solely their attitude. They need to realize the goal is for the student to reach HIS goals, whatever they are, rather than force-feed you the same bullshit practice schedule in any music beginners book. Especially in piano, its an instrument that is very "regimented" and set in its ways in regards to learning. Watch out for that.
So, you have to decide what your ultimate goal is; if its just to play a few songs, or if its to be a competent song-writer/improviser, or a complete master capable of playing any genre/jamming with anyone on the spot. The methods of instruction is quite different for each IMO, as obviously if you just wanted to play a few songs here and there, you only need to know the basis of theory (enough to know how to sightread and understand basic scale/chord relationships) but if you want to be an improviser or one of those super-rounded "masters" you really need to get a huge foundation in theory to the point where spelling a chord or scale is a thoughtless process.. Think of it as if you were learning korean, If you want to just be able to visit Korea and survive in small talk/getting around, thats like learning songs.. but if you wanted to actually teach korean in school/university, being completely fluent, thats the improvising "master" level.
So map out your "end-goal" in this journey, tell your teacher that and hopefully he can set you on the correct path to achieve that. Its going to take time and dedication either way. The absolute worst thing a teacher can do though, is teach someone something they have absolutely NO interest in just because its the "standard" - when I teach guitar lessons and the kid wants to learn Metallica songs, I don't make him play sweet home alabama and american pie on acoustic for the first 6 months, he'l just get bored and lose interest and end up quitting.
If we are talking about learning songs though, in its most basic form.. Everything in music you have to START SLOW.. like really slow, one bar at a time.. 1/4th the speed (or less even) and do it over and over again until it sounds right then slowly speed it up. Take the next bar or 4 bars, repeat. You should be able to play the phrase absolutely perfect in a loop of 4 times in a row before moving on to the next section of the song. It may take you 4 hours just to get 10 seconds of a song down, but thats the dedication required.
Think of it like learning to macro in SC2, you can understand the theory behind "I need to spend all my money, make more hatcheries, spread creep better, inject more with my queens" but its only until you play at least acouple hundred lategame situations that it finally starts "happening"..
I love Fourplay also, but if you are into that type of music, check out TSQUARE and Casiopea.. Amazing bands. Especially if you played Sax, some great Saxophone in TSQUARE
Reputation is always something to consider, the music grapevine is pretty extensive and almost always accurate, if you ask around there will generally be a consensus as to which few are best suited for beginners. Your first teacher should always be reliable, and willing to work things out with you. You don't need a teacher the caliber of Alessio Bax or anything quite yet, just somebody who can get you on the right path. There are a lot of teachers from where I'm from that are well-known for taking adult/slightly older than normal students along with your typical k-12th graders.
As far as methods go, basic technique (hand position, moving your hands up and down the keyboard), rhythms, and scales are must-haves. I personally find music theory to be of secondary importance. Again, ask around, those teachers who have good methods and are considered "good teachers" will generally receive lots of positive reviews, while those who have bad methods typically go unnoticed or develop a bit of a bad rep. As a personal thing, I always loved teachers that would cultivate my own passion for music, and would alter their teaching selections so that I would more enjoy playing/practicing. Having a fun personality is also a big plus, things generally go a lot more smoothly if your first teacher is a more laid-back type because you definitely don't want a strict teacher right from the beginning killing your love of music. Your teacher should be asking you "What do you want to learn?" and not forcing you to play a piece you don't want to learn.
Like Thaniri said, I wouldn't go with the Suzuki method, that's mainly for younger children. Their books, however, are good benchmarks for progress, as well as Alfred's Basic Piano Course Recital Books. Keyboards shouldn't be too hard to find, you can buy an electronic anywhere, and you can even find some pretty cheap woods (there are always spare pianos lying around sadly).
As far as general tips go, music is something that will give back how much you put into it, so don't give up. Never lose your motivation for playing, or forgetting why you love music (personally, it gave me peace and an outlet to express my feelings that I could never be able to explain otherwise). Practice and hard work always produce good results.
On May 02 2013 14:32 Entirety wrote: Can you get an inexpensive keyboard? That's what I use since I don't have my piano anymore.
They aren't exactly the same. Some keyboards don't come with pedals. Also, the keys of a keyboard are softer, so you don't need as much force to press the keys. Finally, I feel that the piano is more... honest, more expressive, while the keyboard is easier to play. If you practice on the keyboard and are suddenly confronted with a piano, you probably won't play it perfectly on the piano. You need to practice on the piano to play the piano, but in most cases, a keyboard is a very decent substitute. Much more convenient.
Don't forget you can play around with the settings of a keyboard!
Yeah, most keyboards don't have weighted keys unless you're spending thousands of dollars. One of the biggest differences I notice when playing my friends crappy keyboards.
you can find some weighted keyboards or at least semi-weighted around the $500-1000 mark nowadays I believe; do a google search. But even a cheap store-bought keyboard is fine to start out, its not like you require a grand piano right away. I'd recommend at least 72 keys though, to get enough range for most songs
I don't think I want to pay for a keyboard. I don't have that disposable income on top of paying for lessons! I have to go to the doctor today, but I'll post again when I'm back.
there's a great youtube series by uhh lypurr that teaches music theory for the piano really well
I'd really recommend just learning on your own, you learn music stuff so much better that way (well learning good technique from a book or a person is okay but beyond that meh)
The teacher is 1. so I get out and interact and actually dedicate myself to something beyond this digital playground and 2. Because paying and setting up appointments with people, rather than myself, is socially more difficult for me to deny or ignore/procrastinate. Learning on my own might prove more efficient if I had that kind of willpower to follow-through and avoid disappointing myself constantly.
The desire to play the piano is me wanting to earn more self-respect.
There, I said it.
edit But I am going to check out that youtube series for music theory, definitely will save time doing that!
One recommendation I have, is if you do end up getting a keyboard (if you haven't already), make sure it is WEIGHTED. There is absolutely nothing worse than a non-weighted keyboard.
I started playing the piano by myself in grade 10/11 with 10 minutes here and there because a guy I knew got mono, stayed home, and learned how to play. When he came back, everyone was giving him so much attention and I was super jealous. So that's how/why I started, and I've stayed with it ever since (finished university, going into med school, it's still something I do because I love it). In fact, I know so many people who started playing when they were 3, got really good, and were so frustrated with the brain-dead approach some teachers have, that it stopped being fun. I started with a song I wanted to learn (Fur Elise) and kept going at it until I slowly getting it. The important thing is to pick songs of the right difficulty, while still being a good enough goal that it will motivate you to keep going.
I spent a bit of time at the beginning to make sure I didn't pick up bad habits like slouching, but aside from that, you can get pretty far just doing it on your own. I recently tried to pick up violin on my own and that just felt like a terrible idea, there is no way you can do it without a teacher because so many things can go wrong early on. Not so much with the piano. Sit straight, keep your hands on the level of or above the keys, and that's pretty much it. And you can get quite good learning on your own too. I'm by no means anything special, but here are some songs I learned over the years:
you absolutely need access to a piano if you want to practice; bottom-tier weighted keyboards are ~$300 but you probably want something better than that.
as for learning pieces/setting benchmarks, that's something you should work out with your teacher. focus on expression and technique; theory is only useful insofar as it informs your interpretation of a piece. since you're an adult student you should be able to communicate your goals clearly so make sure to find someone who can help you accomplish those goals while teaching you something about piano - you aren't looking to be a concert pianist, so why go with a practice regimen that's designed for them?
I think this book is pretty useful for self-study; other pianists may want to chime in if they have experience with it: http://www.pianopractice.org/
the synesthesia for one summer's day doesn't look too hard from my perspective - maybe you could do it in a year?
On May 03 2013 12:21 Torte de Lini wrote: The teacher is 1. so I get out and interact and actually dedicate myself to something beyond this digital playground and 2. Because paying and setting up appointments with people, rather than myself, is socially more difficult for me to deny or ignore/procrastinate. Learning on my own might prove more efficient if I had that kind of willpower to follow-through and avoid disappointing myself constantly.
The desire to play the piano is me wanting to earn more self-respect.
There, I said it.
edit But I am going to check out that youtube series for music theory, definitely will save time doing that!
If you don't want to play just for the sake of playing and enjoying it for what it is you probably shouldnt bother..
EPT
