I was just wondering if you guys would recommend anything easy for beginners in playing piano. When I mean beginner, I really haven't played anything...at least not anything that sounds like something :heh: So, this is also pretty much a how-to-learn-piano question, except that I really don't have the budget to buy books :cry: or enroll for a piano school/teacher.

I've read around the forums though, and I saw many recommending Hanon, Czerny, and others. Would it be better to start with those, or start with a song you like (as in anime pieces), or start with the classics like Fur Elise and such?

Geh...sorry for the many questions :heh:

1. Learn Canon - Pachelbel very useful fingersettings
2. Learn To Zanarkand trains your lefthand
3. Learn Eternity from FFX-2 upgrade from To Zanarkand.

I think the Classical may be a little tough if you are a beginner.
But Canon is perfekt for newbies =)

Heh...OK thanks! But I did look at the To Zanarkand sheet, and it just looks...very complicated ^^;; Oh well...I have to practice to get it! Thanks again :)

So...you don't recommend Hanon at all? I heard (or...read) that it helps in the fingers too...something about the fingers... :heh:

Well, if you know how to read music, then you could get fur elise, and just practice practice practice on it. You could even do that with the Ichigo's To Zanarkand. But to play those would to just for show, and for better playing.

Now, what I did, was I got level 1. Alfred's beginner course, and went through that. Then I said, screw that, I can already play To Zanarkand, so I am going to go and buy theory books, and to get better at my playing, I will play more advanced pieces everytime.

I tried a piano teacher, but it really didn't do much help. All my piano teacher told me was if I was playing the notes right or wrong, which was helpful grant it. But it slowed me down wayy too much, as in, getting better at piano. So I ditched my teacher, and started on theory courses, while either getting sheets off ichigos or buying one book that had a billion sheets in it. Such as This (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0449910423/qid=1124100602/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-8256262-3115900?v=glance&s=books)

If I can just ask--sorry I'm such a newbie to the piano--what is Alfred's beginner course? And what are theory books for?

By the way, the other day I found a piano-learning site, and I was just wondering if any of you would recommend it. It's called the Fundamentals of Piano Practice (http://members.aol.com/chang8828/contents.htm). Or would it be better to just learn a few pieces and go to the more advanced ones slowly?

Erm..I think theory books are a book that tells you
- How to place your fingers
- Learn the different `playing` ways
- Learn how to play with notes etc.

Fundamentals of Piano Practice: There is only a bunch of text on how to Tune a Piano :S Not really a piano-learning book.

Alfred's Piano course is basicly a piano book that teaches you to play piano. But I don't recommend any piano books that teach you to play piano, if you already know how to read music.

Music theory is basicly, rules. You know. Like Mozart didn't just start writing notes down, and all of the sudden it turned into a grand piece. The beginning of Music Theory is basicly teaching you all the keys, time signatures, ect. All the stuff that any Piano Course will teach, only, it is straight out in front of you, and not in the margin of the page.

But what we really need to help you is know how much you already know. Can you read sheet music? If so, how well? Do you know how to read what key everything is in? Do you know what all the accidentals mean?

I think the Classical may be a little tough if you are a beginner.

Going from classical to vgm/anime music is way better than the other way around.

Eh... Well I guess I did go from classical to anime... I learned Canon in D major before I went to "To Zanarkand" Then from To Zanarkand I went to Rei's Theme 1 >.>

That's... not quite what I meant. But yes, learning Canon in D for as a beginner is a good move. What I meant about the classical thing; You'll learn anime/game music by ease if you study classical music and its theory.

But what we really need to help you is know how much you already know. Can you read sheet music? If so, how well? Do you know how to read what key everything is in? Do you know what all the accidentals mean?
I'm not really sure...so I guess that means I don't know, huh? :heh: I can read sheet music, but slowly. Key...I don't know about that. The accidentals mean one note higher, right? And they are symbolized by the #'s...that's pretty much what I got from our music subject...

A key signature shows what scale the score is in. Ie, C major and A minor don't have a signature, while D-minor has "b" and C#minor has "####" in the beginning of each row. Signatures with a lot of flats and sharps (b, #) are harder to read.

Are you familiar with that?

Hmm...so it also has something to do with the accidentals?

By the way, Blombrink suggested the Eternal from FFX-2, but it's not in Ichigo's. I was just wondering where to get a 'good' version of it...one not so complicated :D

If you can't read music very well, then I suggest you don't go into any complex or more than a page pieces that make you strive for perfection. I would get a self teaching piano book that is with the ABRSM. (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)

I would hope there are free e-books for those T_T I guess I'll stick with the easy pieces and progressively (not to mention slowly) move on to harder pieces... *sniff sniff*

If you live in britian you can get the books for under 5 pounds, and in america, I guess under 5$. They are really cheap books. But I like em alot cuz they are straight to the point and all. There are no little color illustrations(sp?) looks rather dull, but you get through them lots quicker. If I were you, I would dig up five dollars and get some books. >.>

But I don't live in any of those countries...I'm not even sure (at least I haven't seen) ABRSM books...or anything relating to that organization. Visited the official site just now...I want one--any book! >_<

So then...no alternatives to buying ABRSM books? T_T

Oh there are others. Like Alfred's. um... Bastien, but Bastien is more for children... I dunno, I haven't looked into it much.

This is the book that I got. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0882846167/104-8256262-3115900?v=glance) That first book alone brings you all the way into pedals, accidentals, and so forth, while it takes two of the Bastien books to get into what one of the Alfred's does. It matters how fast you want to learn, and how much money you want to spend. And then, if you really don't want to spend very much money at all, you can get them used for 5$ and under, ship anywhere.

Before you tried the books, were you already playing some real (and recognizable) pieces in the piano? Because...I feel so hopeless (seriously) about learning the piano. I just tried jamming on the keyboard a while ago, filled with lots of patience and determination, but it seems like I can't get anything to sound right =S

Any suggestions on how to speed up one's skills in reading music? I have to count each note...especially when it gets too high above the staff... T_T By the way, what does the line connecting two notes mean? (I hope you got what I mean...)

Before you tried the books, were you already playing some real (and recognizable) pieces in the piano? Because...I feel so hopeless (seriously) about learning the piano. I just tried jamming on the keyboard a while ago, filled with lots of patience and determination, but it seems like I can't get anything to sound right =S



I totally get what you are saying. So i'll start from your top.

You see, before I got the books, I had a small, not even full sized, didn't even have weighted keys, keyboard. But it had a bunch of songs on it. And you could play them, and on the little screen it showed what notes the computer was playing. And it just so happened to have canon in D major on the song list. And so, I learned half the song by just looking at what keys the thing was playing on the screen. (I'm sure you have seen something like this at a music store or something, if not oh well.)

Ummm, when I started lessons, I didn't even know how to read music, and basicly my teacher told me what the notes were what, and then I learned the rest from books



Any suggestions on how to speed up one's skills in reading music? I have to count each note...especially when it gets too high above the staff... T_T By the way, what does the line connecting two notes mean? (I hope you got what I mean...)

I've been playing piano for almost a year now, and I still have to count the notes that are above the staff, or below. Atleast, three or four lines above the staff >.> But basicly It just takes practice practice practice.

What helped me the most, was I memorized where the key notes were. Like, in the treble clef. F is the top line, E is the bottom. Or in the Bass, A is the top line, G is the bottom one. And then, once I memorized that, I figured out where C was, where another G was, and where F was.

To me, those are the most Key notes in the staff, so that when you look for lets say B, since you memorized where C is, you know it is right Below it. Same with E, or A, or what ever.

Go buy a theory book. I think half this board doesn't even know theory -_-

It really helps you and you won't have any problems in the future with wondering what to do at some parts. If you learn theory the only thing you'll have to learn is how to move your fingers at the right time =)

Anyways learning theory is very good especially if you ever want to get to the stage of transcribing music or simply listening to music and playing it by ear.

See, you can't know exactly what notes are playing at what time all the time. You'll need to be able to recognize what key it's in major or minor and such.

Also if your ever interested in writing your own music you'll have to knwo how music is made technicly and that is where theory comes in.

Btw if your wanting to have things to play I recommend going and buy alfred series books and such.

They aren't very expensive like 10 canadian or something =).

Now remember what you need to do to learn to play music is to play the harder hand first.

For example in To Zanarkand play the right hand first, continue playing that until you've got JUST that hand up to speed. Then play the left hand until you can do it pretty well also. Then cut the tempo is half and put your hands together. This way both your hands already knwo where to go individually and all your working at is just syncing them. Finally then you just have to get your tempo back and you'll have the piece down. After all that work on dynamics and personal touches for the piece. By the time you've done all this you'll have memorized it anyway =)

Well at least thats how I do it, thats also how I teach my students to play =)

So there's a quick lesson for ya free of charge ;)

ahh. the thing is there are two versions of To Zanarkand. The one I played seemed to be the shorter version o_o... I dont know if the other version is much more difficult.

Any suggestions on how to speed up one's skills in reading music? I have to count each note...especially when it gets too high above the staff... T_T By the way, what does the line connecting two notes mean? (I hope you got what I mean...)

oh don't worry about that. That's how i taught my students. I think that's the fastest way of learning notes, which is to count. But there is an important thing. You gotta memorize the important notes. Such as where all the Cs are, where all the Gs are. When you count notes, you gotta be familier with the notes everytime you count them. After many practices, you'll see the notes then you'll reconize it because you spent so much time counting it. You get it? So just practice and memorize. But that's the fastest way of doing it, in my opinion

@ Kana
Here is the Eternity I was talking about: Eternity (http://s43.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0H92BBFUE2I6M1KOY0SB4I0UEF )

If you need any help, just PM me =)

Um, those triplets will be a bit difficult for him...

Infact from the sound of it, it sounds like it has some difficult chords.

I don't really know the improvement rate of him but anyone i've taught it's slow.

Maybe thats because I teach small children =)

(what do you want for being 15 with 10th grade conservatory . . . )

I really didn't have a problem with triplets are anything when I started. My biggest problem was, and still is, keeping two different tempos. Like having your bass clef 4/4 and your treble clef 6/8. >.>