hello everyone, im new to this forum and i joined because i had some questions about music and teh piano. i was wanting to leanr the piano for abuot 1 year and never ha teh courage to. also dere are no piano classes in the next 10 miles. suks i know. well since lessons are out of my list, i need some books or packets that will teach me to play the piano.

do u recommend any? im goin to get a piano keyboard because i cant afford a whole piano. i want to play the music u gauys have at teh website because i am a anime freak and love music. do u guys recommend self taught lessons? i know my basic treble and bass clef. i can barely read music. i struggle like crazy

thank u for reading and helping me in advance.

already know the basic of treble and bass clef is a big step, you just need to practise more on reading.

for beginners i recommend Thompson

There's an old thread on someone who was in the same position sort of like you. I can't remember what it's called but if you look through the old threads (you'd have to drag down show from the beginning and flick through the pages), there is a bit of helpful theory info if you need any help.

Originally posted by crzydrifter@Apr 19 2005, 10:22 PM
hello everyone, im new to this forum and i joined because i had some questions about music and teh piano. i was wanting to leanr the piano for abuot 1 year and never ha teh courage to. also dere are no piano classes in the next 10 miles. suks i know. well since lessons are out of my list, i need some books or packets that will teach me to play the piano.

do u recommend any? im goin to get a piano keyboard because i cant afford a whole piano. i want to play the music u gauys have at teh website because i am a anime freak and love music. do u guys recommend self taught lessons? i know my basic treble and bass clef. i can barely read music. i struggle like crazy

thank u for reading and helping me in advance.
If you have access to a music store, ask someone working there for beginner piano music books. You will need one to learn how to read music.
Once you grasp the concept of reading music, (takes a while if this is your first musical instrument) theory is a must. Without theory, your playing will never develop.
Also, playing piano is not an instaneous skill. You have to practice at it. I've been playing for some 6 years now and I can, suprisingly, play close to professional-level music. However, I have a piano instructor (who has told me that I am one of the fastest learners he's seen on piano). Anyhow, it took me until about 3 and a half years of playing to be able to play music that sounded... good. No longer plunky keys, yes?
Good luck.

thanks for advice people. i really appreciated. i went to my friends house and borrowed his sister's piano lesson book. now all i need a keyboard. anyone recommend any? as long as its cheap aroud the 200 area, im good.

also is there such thing as a keyboard that teaches u how to play te piano? i heard that there is but im not sure. if there is can u recommend it? cost? wat brand?

thanks a bunch for helping me

i brought a keyboard around 200 canadians. It is the most basic, i guess you can use it as a beginner.

I heard about a keyboard that teaches you how to play piano, but that is quite expensive if you ask me. I don't know where you live so...can't tell you the exact price.

Also when looking for a keyboard, i think Yamaha is the brand you would want to get. (in my opinion because i don't really look for keyboards when i'm in music store, but many of my friends recommend it)

then a yamaha it is. il soon b gettin and hopefully i can learnfast. anyone wana recommened any other piano keyboard?

im in Los Angeles, CA

I also use a Yamaha, and I'm quite comfortable with it.

Don't rely on the "lessons" built into standard keyboards, because basically, it plays a song and displays the notes to play on a screen. If anything, it just teaches you a song. A book or a teacher is much more helpful. But the songs are very good practice...I recommend starting with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

no, a yamaha is top of the line keyboard so stick with it. if you have a few 100-1000 dollars laying around (dough it though, no one does) get a yamaha that is solid and the legs are built into it with 3 and only 3 foot pedals built in to it, but not wires unless you can find a way to keep in one place. a good keyboard is this one yamaha (forgot what the exact name) and it coast $8000. its spendy because its the best one out there. soild plastic, sub woffer and stereo speekers built in, over 1000 voices, beats and demos built in ( and the songs arnt dinky trbble only songs, they are REAL treble and bass songs) no key lcd thingy ( a light abouve the key tellks you what to press, and it doesnt wait for you to press the key so you HAVE to learn fast) and a very detailed lcd screen thats like 4' by 6' and a ton of pixles!!!


If you have access to a music store, ask someone working there for beginner piano music books. You will need one to learn how to read music.
Once you grasp the concept of reading music, (takes a while if this is your first musical instrument) theory is a must. Without theory, your playing will never develop.
Also, playing piano is not an instaneous skill. You have to practice at it. I've been playing for some 6 years now and I can, suprisingly, play close to professional-level music. However, I have a piano instructor (who has told me that I am one of the fastest learners he's seen on piano). Anyhow, it took me until about 3 and a half years of playing to be able to play music that sounded... good. No longer plunky keys, yes?
Good luck.

well, if you do have access to a music store, theres a good chance some one there is giving or would be willing to give piano lessons. but if you dont have a music store near you, i wouldnt recamend any books. try the internet first and look up online piano lessons or somthing on that line. its most likely free and more easy. in the begginers book all it shows are notes, an image to go along with the song, and if your lucky, and explantion on the thing they are tring to teach you on the page (like an image of pianos keys and what to do) but those books are no help, trust me, i tought my self how to play and with those books, i havent gotten any where. also, if it is one of those keyboards that show what key you press, duck tape the lcd screen so all you see is what voice or song your listening to. if you use the lcd screen to musch you will never learn to play and read music good. and if your keyboard has those pree-programed songs, listen to them so many times you learn how to play them, thats how i started. just listen untill you know the notes and press keys untill the keys sound right.

sorry if its long

Originally posted by Neerolyte@Apr 20 2005, 04:17 AM
already know the basic of treble and bass clef is a big step, you just need to practise more on reading.

for beginners i recommend Thompson
I used those books ~ John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano. Something like that. The books might seem a bit boring, lacking in the usual pretty pictures for children's books, but it's pretty good, because you start doing proper repertoire-type pieces pretty early. It makes you feel like you're getting somewhere with your learning.

Originally posted by Dreams-Creation@Apr 24 2005, 01:42 AM
no, a yamaha is top of the line keyboard so stick with it. if you have a few 100-1000 dollars laying around (dough it though, no one does) get a yamaha that is solid and the legs are built into it with 3 and only 3 foot pedals built in to it, but not wires unless you can find a way to keep in one place. a good keyboard is this one yamaha (forgot what the exact name) and it coast $8000. its spendy because its the best one out there. soild plastic, sub woffer and stereo speekers built in, over 1000 voices, beats and demos built in ( and the songs arnt dinky trbble only songs, they are REAL treble and bass songs) no key lcd thingy ( a light abouve the key tellks you what to press, and it doesnt wait for you to press the key so you HAVE to learn fast) and a very detailed lcd screen thats like 4' by 6' and a ton of pixles!!!


Roland >>>>>>>>>>>> Yamaha in terms of sound quality.

He just said around the $200 area, I'm sure an $8000 dollar keyboard is a bit out of the question. XP I don't think he needs all that anyway if he's just going to try to learn.

lol, yeah, just trying to play my dream of a cool piano on some one else. just gat the best kewboard in your range. look it p on the internet first to find outy before you buy one.

I didn't feel like reading all the posts. XD

Hanon is a good technique book. Strongly recommended by me and my teacher for developing good techinques you can carry over into various pieces.

Hanon is excellent! I had stopped playing piano while I was at school, but when summer came along, I had to take my piano exam. Well, let's just say I became pretty good friends with Mr. Hanon, haha. It practically restored me back to where I was (in terms of technique/ability) before my break.

Hanon gave my old piano teacher CTS! :bleh:

That's your teacher's own fault! :bleh:

I'd also recommend Hanon, for strengthening fingers and making them more agile and presise.

You should also look at stuff by Czerny, it helps with fingering positions.

I personally hate using hanon although I guess it does help with technique. I've only done three Hanon exercises and I prefer doing scales for agility. Scales is my strongest aspect of piano playing and it helps a lot in composing. Also means my fingers are speed demons though I'm sure there are people faster than me still. I've developed my techinque through playing progressively harder pieces. You don't need stupid finger exercises to improve techinque. They are so boring and they take up lesson and practice time. A waste of money really although maybe not a waste of time for some people.

hm..i disagree with you an-kun

Playing progressively harder pieces will only get you so far. For example, you can play Czerny pieces, after that you can probably play some Mozart and easy Beethoven, without really practising Hanon, once you get past that level, all the pieces you encounter or you want to play involves certain degree of techniques.

For example Fantasie Impromptu. It is not really a hard piece if you can manage to control your fingers well. By just playing OTHER repertoise, there's no way you can have full control over your fingers. Hanons however focus ONLY on your fingers. By practicing Hanon as well as a more technical piece such as maybe Czerny, you can greatly improve your finger control and manage to go higher up and play harder pieces.

One big step is from Intermediate to Advance. To get past that step, you need fundamentals. Playing repertoise pieces, or Czerny will only improve so much of your fundamentals. You still need to play the very basic, 100% technical STUDIES in order to recieve the best fundamental practices.

Even professional pianists practice Hanon for at least 30 minutes a day. I bet if you can practice 10-15 minutes of Hanon everyday, you will improve DRASTICALLY, or improve greatly than just playing progressively harder pieces.

So i believe Hanon is an element to a great pianist.

Edit: oh god sorry for double posting...my internet went down suddenly

Originally posted by crzydrifter@Apr 20 2005, 02:22 AM
hello everyone, im new to this forum and i joined because i had some questions about music and teh piano. i was wanting to leanr the piano for abuot 1 year and never ha teh courage to. also dere are no piano classes in the next 10 miles. suks i know. well since lessons are out of my list, i need some books or packets that will teach me to play the piano.

do u recommend any? im goin to get a piano keyboard because i cant afford a whole piano. i want to play the music u gauys have at teh website because i am a anime freak and love music. do u guys recommend self taught lessons? i know my basic treble and bass clef. i can barely read music. i struggle like crazy

thank u for reading and helping me in advance.
Hmm.. I would recomended doing... Er... What was the book called?? Oh yeah. It was like.. Thompson, or something like that. Well I think if your school offers music lessons for cheap or for free, you should take them. I started playing piano at school. It is a really good idea to take basic lessons first and then as soon as you can sight read better get a book like Thompson etc.

For starters, you're abviously going to need a book. Try to get one that's easy, unless you've progressed. When someone says that something on the piano is hard, it probably is. Sightreading is too hard on the piano. :sweatdrop: I'm using Hanon now, it's quite useful. Zuzu's right. XD

Originally posted by Neerolyte@Apr 20 2005, 03:17 AM
already know the basic of treble and bass clef is a big step, you just need to practise more on reading.

for beginners i recommend Thompson
Squee. I remember Thompson! I started out on that when I was small... I never got good at it, though. Too hard. I remember Hanon too... again, I just didn't want to put that kind of effort into being a professional caliber piano player. Or even a good piano player. I'm ok... but hardly special.

I might recommend flash cards, if you don't have a teacher. I have some that my mom used to flash, and then I would have to name the note, or pick it out on the piano. It helps if you have a friend or somebody that can read music, so they know what they're doing. That may not be crucial though, as it usually says the answer on the back.
Anyway, they helped me learn to read music ok... the other thing that I love about piano is that every key that looks a certain way is only one note. What I mean is... say that you have this:

http://www.markjonesmusic.com/piano-keys-blank.gif

the bottom white key is C. The next white key is D. The top white key is B. I know this without even knowing where this picture is on the piano, whether the picture was taken at the left, the middle or the right end of the piano... or somewhere in between.

Because every single key that looks like the second white key from the bottom is a D. You know which note is a D because it has two black keys around it. The second white key from the top, however, is A. It also has two black keys around it. But it looks different, if you see.

I'm probably not making any sense at all... sorry about that, it's hard for me to explain because I took piano many years ago, when I was small; it's kind of instinctive to know which key is which. (Although I can't perform piano music worth a darn) Anyway, if it doesn't make sense but you think it might help, I'll try labeling this picture in paint or something, creating some sort of tutorial. Again, only if you think it might actually help.

Roland >>>>>>>>>>>> Yamaha in terms of sound quality.

I myself am buying a digital piano, for I have been taking lessons on a really sucky, half sized keyboard. and just playing pianos at my local music store, yamaha sound quality is horrible compared to roland. I have made an oath not to buy yamaha. I mean, I was playing a roland at the music store for atleast an hour, then I move to a yamah, and I was just blown away by how bad the sound was. Yamah may have all those SE but to me, sound is everything.

Squee. I remember Thompson! I started out on that when I was small... I never got good at it, though. Too hard. I remember Hanon too... again, I just didn't want to put that kind of effort into being a professional caliber piano player. Or even a good piano player. I'm ok... but hardly special.

I might recommend flash cards, if you don't have a teacher. I have some that my mom used to flash, and then I would have to name the note, or pick it out on the piano. It helps if you have a friend or somebody that can read music, so they know what they're doing. That may not be crucial though, as it usually says the answer on the back.
Anyway, they helped me learn to read music ok... the other thing that I love about piano is that every key that looks a certain way is only one note. What I mean is... say that you have this:

http://www.markjonesmusic.com/piano-keys-blank.gif

the bottom white key is C. The next white key is D. The top white key is B. I know this without even knowing where this picture is on the piano, whether the picture was taken at the left, the middle or the right end of the piano... or somewhere in between.

Because every single key that looks like the second white key from the bottom is a D. You know which note is a D because it has two black keys around it. The second white key from the top, however, is A. It also has two black keys around it. But it looks different, if you see.

I'm probably not making any sense at all... sorry about that, it's hard for me to explain because I took piano many years ago, when I was small; it's kind of instinctive to know which key is which. (Although I can't perform piano music worth a darn) Anyway, if it doesn't make sense but you think it might help, I'll try labeling this picture in paint or something, creating some sort of tutorial. Again, only if you think it might actually help.

That makes perfect sense to me. I have been tinkering around on the Piano for about 4 years, without a real piano teacher. My dad said I had to learn the Piano first before I learn any other instrument. (cause we already have the piano) So what he did is he took a bunch of little strips of paper, cut them so they would fit at the top base of the keys and on the paper he but 5 lines and a little circle for which note it was. So, I just got a hold of my brothers piano learning books and started exactly like that. Like I said, its been 4 years now, and now I can play Fur Elise ALL the way through, with BOTH hands, really FAST. But before I even learned Fur Elise, I decided I wanted to play some Anime music. I printed out "Starless" from Rurouni Kenshin and started playing that. Its pretty simple and I think that it taught me most of what I know about patterns in piano music. Then my brother decided he wanted to learn it, all the sudden hes using both hands now! XD I dont know if its learning the song, or the song itself, but I would recommend learning it after you have basics down. I had learned 2 or 3 songs by memory before that one and after that everything else seems a little easier. Plus its REALLY fun.

Heh, sorry for boring you with my personal expieriences. :heh: suddenly I have the urge to go play Starless and Fur Elise... ^_^