Keyboards How to Learn piano

[MandyH]

So... the digital piano has been purchased and delivered. Currently looking lovely in the dining room.

I plan to let my daughter have lessons, but thought maybe I could just teach myself for a while, then maybe have lessons, or she can teach me!

Anyway, can anyone recommend a good book for teaching adults to play piano?

I have only ever played treble clef instruments, so I am going to need to learn to read the bass clef too.

 

[kevgermany]

So what did you get? I'm all curious.

I'll see if my wife has a suggestion for a book.

 

[MandyH]

So what did you get? I'm all curious.

We went for a Yamaha CLP440 in the end. We'd planned to get a 430, but they had a 440 in the shop on an ex-demo / end of line type offer so for the extra £100 we upgraded!

I view it as a life-long investment, so we went for the best we could manage.

 

[teebones]

Go Goooooooooooo for it MandyH :welldone :welldone :welldone

 

[kevgermany]

Sounds good Mandy.

Couple of suggestions:

The European Piano Method - Fritz Emonts (used by most of the teachers here for kids and adults, it's in English as well as German & a third language).

It's never too late to learn Piano - Pam Wedgwood. My wife hasn't seen this, but she's seen many recommendations and good reviews for it.

 

[llamedos]

However you choose to learn, you will find a whole new source of enjoyment (and occasional frustrations), together with a whole new raft of heroes/heroines. Congratulations on your new pride and joy and very good luck with your endeavours- you are starting with a distinct advantage in your present musical ability and experience and I can only re-iterate what a teacher of mine used to say quite often - "Never mind, sunshine, the first ten years are the worst".

Dave

 

[jrintaha]

Mandy, congratulations. Don't worry about the bass clef, won't take long to get used to it since you already know how to read music. You'll probably speed through beginner-oriented materials in no time.

Kev, how beginner-oriented are the two books? I've only ever had one piano method book, but I already exhausted it a bit before I quit piano lessons at 11 years of age or so. I wonder if your wife has some suggestions for someone who's not quite a beginner but not very advanced either.

 

[Jobylou]

Hi Mandy
I tried to teach myself piano but I'm just not very good at doing different things with each hand!
The books I used were the Alfred's Adult Piano course, and I found them really good.
hopefully here is a link to book 1: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alfreds-Bas...6167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362861156&sr=8-1
Good luck, enjoy your new instrument 🙂
Jo

 

[TomMapfumo]

Both the ABRSM Jazz and Rock School have really good learning systems which start from beginner level. A teacher would be really useful for some technical and other issues, as I found several years ago - I had a piano teacher who had done both classical and jazz grades prior to doing her music degree and taught a lot of the practical stuff that many books do not cover. Pam Wedgewood is alsoexcellent (her husband looks after my brass instruments!).

 

[old git]

Must back up Kev's suggestion of the European Piano Method.

Whatever happens do not use the Antipodean Piano Method, the blood rushes to the head.

 

[kevgermany]

Jori, not sure. Both beginners are for absolute beginners. There's a book 2 by Pam wedgwood (on the link below), may suit better. But there are other few Pam Wedgwood books out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=pam+wedgwood

My wife has the after hours book, lovely stuff in there. Probably suit you.

European piano method is a 3 book series, so you could probably start with the second, but beware of important things covered in the first that you don't know.

 

[aldevis]

Must back up Kev's suggestion of the European Piano Method.

Whatever happens do not use the Antipodean Piano Method, the blood rushes to the head.

Actually, the main difference is about the use of the sustain pedal: you use your 0.3048m instead of your foot, like in the Imperial Method.

P.S. There are rumours that UK is in Europe too, but I guess it is just propaganda from Brussels.

 

[kevgermany]

P.S. There are rumours that UK is in Europe too, but I guess it is just propaganda from Brussels.

I guess that means you emigrated from Europe, not just Italy.

 

[aldevis]

I guess that means you emigrated from Europe, not just Italy.

I technically emigrated from Mitteleuropa...

"Fog in the Channel: Europe cut off"

 

[MandyH]

Actually, the main difference is about the use of the sustain pedal: you use your 0.3048m instead of your foot, like in the Imperial Method.

On which note....
I went to buy a new tablecloth (because the arrival of the piano in the dining room required us to take the extender panel out of the dining table) and had measured my table in cm. when I got to the shop I was horrified to discover the tablecloths were sold in inch measurements.

I must be one of the few Brits of my vintage that would prefer not to deal in inches (it's not that I can't, it's just that I'd prefer not to)

 

[MandyH]

So...I got a copy of the Alberts Adult beginners course, and was doing reasonably well.
I realised that at first I didn't even know which notes were which on the keyboard, but that is now pretty much resolved, then I am getting more acquainted with the bass clef, and associating where my fingers need to be for the notes and chords.

This is all a struggle and there is a definite pause between each chord as I rearrange my fingers.

But today, i reached the hurdle of all hurdles so far- different rhythms on each hand! So far the hardest it's been is that one hand plays (say) a minim followed by a minim while the other plays 4 crotchets.
Today one hand played a dotted crotchet, quaver, crotchet, while the other hand played crotchet, crotchet, crotchet....

I'd never realised that such brain hand eye coordination was so difficult

 

[sushidushi]

:thumbup: Excellent! I can only imagine how difficult it can be to play different rhythms with the left and right hands.

I sometimes think I play the saxophone with different rhythms in my mouth, fingers and mind, but that's less of an accomplishment.

 

[kevgermany]

I struggle with simple rhythms, let alone chords. But with rhythm, the piano's generally far easier than drums where you have 4 limbs all going at different speeds/beat patterns simultaneously. I've been contemplating learning the basics to help with my saxes, but got really put off when I realised what was invovled.

Keep at it!

 

[ArtyLady]

I'm sure you can teach yourself as you already read music but it might be worth investing in a couple of lessons to just get your posture, arm, hand and finger technique correct

 

[sushidushi]

Reading single notes is rather different from whole clusters on two different clefs, though. It would scare me senseless.