Ive always wanted to play the piano but havent had the money...
Im pretty poor so cant afford keyboard/piano or lessons lol...
so recently ive borrowed a friend's keyboard who gave up on piano after 6 years of practice...and I was able to learn online as well as from books...what I need to know is it at all possible for me to have a steady progression at this rate?
Also Ive been told that most people learn piano when they are young and im 20 years old....so im too old to start learning??

so far i think im okay...ive learned middle c, finger placements, how to read the music sheets, and some other basics... :lol:

i heard some fanatical musicians say that your fingers aren't flexible enough after you're 18, but i'd give it a try. you'd best find a teacher instead of learning on your own, though.

Do what you can now. It would have been better to start when you're young, but it's a little too late for that. Once you have the money, you should get a teacher. I know an 50 year old who's taking piano lessons and she's doing just fine too.

On a keyboard, if you keep practising with it, your strength will get weaker, and probably soon you can't even press down on a piano. So practise now, and if you are REALLY interested then try and get a harpsichord or a cheap piano. Even a cheap piano is better than a keyboard. Trust me

Originally posted by Neerolyte@Dec 4 2004, 08:36 PM
On a keyboard, if you keep practising with it, your strength will get weaker, and probably soon you can't even press down on a piano. So practise now, and if you are REALLY interested then try and get a harpsichord or a cheap piano. Even a cheap piano is better than a keyboard. Trust me
is there a huge difference between the strength used in keyboard and piano?

im good at mechanics...if necessary I could increase resistance need to push the keys down on a keyboard if required but how great is the difference?

Definitely a huge difference in strength . . even the weighted keyboards are nothing compared to the piano. They don't have that vibration you can sense.

Hmm, not such a bad idea, increasing resistance . . it should work, and I believe that the difference will be noticeable (although I'm not sure of the extent of effectiveness) . . but just be careful you don't screw it up badly =P

The difference is HUGE!
on a keyboard a little tap you can produce a sound, and on a piano you have to actually press it down hard enough, and if it's too light, no sound will come out.

I'm not sure about adjusting the resistance on a keyboard...you can try

there's also another difference between keyboard and piano. Keyboard's dynamic is fixed, but piano is not. oh well but that's for maybe further on, but practising on a keyboard too much will probably result in playing piano too plainly, without dynamics, and especially playing a classical piece, you'll lose sense of music

Originally posted by Neerolyte@Dec 5 2004, 04:43 AM
The difference is HUGE!
on a keyboard a little tap you can produce a sound, and on a piano you have to actually press it down hard enough, and if it's too light, no sound will come out.

I'm not sure about adjusting the resistance on a keyboard...you can try

there's also another difference between keyboard and piano. Keyboard's dynamic is fixed, but piano is not. oh well but that's for maybe further on, but practising on a keyboard too much will probably result in playing piano too plainly, without dynamics, and especially playing a classical piece, you'll lose sense of music
ditto yup the piano in my opinion is alot better than a keyboard cuz u can change the volume of the sound just by pressing lightly or heavily. i love to play and i am a big fan on inuyasha! :neko:

True as a whole I feel, but some can be really good substitutes for a piano, so if you use one you do want a good one. Make sure it has the following features:-
-Touch sensitivity. Make sure it's one whose touch you like, and whose volume depends on your strength of pressing the keys.
-With sustain pedal.
-Proper sound that you like.

Other than that, the only other thing tha can gt you through is passion and determination. Good luck!!!

BTW: This is a bit off topic but does anyone know any good keyboard models?

Hmm, I'm taking up the piano, too, but due to certain restriction I have to make do with a keyboard. What do you guys think of a Yamaha DGX 505? I've read reviews and such out there, but most of them seem to be poorly-disguised advertisements. = =;;

hm.....
This one? (http://www.soundslive.co.uk/moreinfo.asp?ID=3371)

Yeah ~ I wonder how many hours do I need per week to be able to play something acceptable in five years' time? :think: Gotta hire someone, too. What's the average cost per one hour piano lesson like?

EDIT : I'm in London, so . . . = =;; . . .

depending on the grade of the student your teaching
I charge 10 canadian...because the student is my mom's friend's daughter, usually it's around 20-30 canadian..euro...no idea

I don't really like that keyboard...so expensive, with that price you can probably buy a better piano-keyboard kinda thing. It's like a piano, but it's way smaller and lighter. Keys and everything is piano, but needs to be plugged in.

Would you have a link to a sample of such an instrument? I'm an absolute beginner, so . . . = =;; . . . I don't know if she'll be willing to put up with such a n00b. XD Perhaps I should pay her 10 British punds per hour? XD;; I have no idea ~ @_@

something like this one, called a Digital Piano

Digital Piano (http://www.tomleemusic.ca/main/homekeyboards.cfm?details=1&id=130&inv=84719)

There's not enough room in my room ( . . . ) for that . . . T_T . . .

hm...there are many different kinds of it

i found this one

Here (http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/digipiano2003.html)

as big as a keyboard

Thank you very much, Neerolyte! I'll get back to you ASAP on this - it might be a few days, though. = =;; (is going to Hongkong for awhile)