I've been playing for 1 and a half years now and the best song I can play would be "To Zanarkand" (By Nobuo Uematsu from FFX). I haven't had any lessons before and very little encouragement. As for my questions:

Should I get lessons?
Roughly, what's my level?
and most of all...
Am I any good?

BTW, I 15, started when I was 14. And I only play a 5 octave electric keyboard.

I really don't think anyone can tell you those things based on the information you've given. I say get lessons if you want to get good. You can't do better than that.

I really don't think anyone can tell you those things based on the information you've given. I say get lessons if you want to get good. You can't do better than that.

ummm i wouldn't know your level but 1 thing I would suggest is practice alot lot harder. I learned how to play to zanarkand about 2-3 months after teaching myself how to play piano and it was the 1st song i learnt. by your time I was able to play one winged angel and via purifico. Just keep practicing.

I would VERY VERY roughly guess about... either 2 -3 (maybe 4 ...)

could you upload a portion of the song? so we could hear or SEE (even better) the piece of music?

PS: peple usually lvl up about once every 9 - 15 months...

i lvl alot faster than some...

average 2 lvls a year..

I suggest you take lessons if you are serious about playing piano, and if you are serious, playing on a 5 octave keyboard don't help. There are cheap semi piano/keyboard type piano. It's for serious piano players, or if you are rich lol

to be able to play To Zanarken...your level will be around 1-2

Off-Topic.

@Neero - Omg, it's been forever since you've posted. :\

I would VERY VERY roughly guess about... either 2 -3 (maybe 4 ...)

could you upload a portion of the song? so we could hear or SEE (even better) the piece of music?

PS: peple usually lvl up about once every 9 - 15 months...

i lvl alot faster than some...

average 2 lvls a year..

er i don't think so since you thought playing houki boshi at the speed set was hard. If you leveled up that fast you'd be a prodigy which means you'd probably be a professional musician by now. People actually usually level up slower than a 15 month period though I reckon quite a few people here level up once every 12 months. Stop talking bull-shit.

@ stu_pidd_cow, you're probably at about grade 1 or 2 level. To zanarkland is a basic piece although you haven't given us much to judge from. If you can play it easily with lots of dynamics you're probably at grade 2 level. It's hard to tell though with the info you've given us. You should get lessons because it'll help you improve faster. It doesn't matter how good you are, as long as you enjoy what you're doing. Just keep practising stuff and you'll improve.

I'm going by royal associated board standards by the way. I think the australian 10th level = 8th grade in England.

er i don't think so since you thought playing houki boshi at the speed set was hard. If you leveled up that fast you'd be a prodigy which means you'd probably be a professional musician by now. People actually usually level up slower than a 15 month period though I reckon quite a few people here level up once every 12 months. Stop talking bull-shit.

Damn. I was gonna say that. :lol: Oh well. XD

We should get some people together to just rate the basic difficulty of some of the sheet music you can find here on Ichigo's. I realize that this wouldn't give people an absolutely accurate standard for what they're at, but it might give people a basic idea.

To Zanarkand is still kicking my butt. I tend to interpret the music I'm playing by attributing a mood to it, and letting that feeling flow through me while I play. Turns out that it was making me play To Zanarkand at about 2/3 the speed I should have been. *sigh* I've got all the notes and fingering down, though, so speeding it up should just be a matter of time.

Good luck to all of us newb-ish To Zanarkand players! ^^

You could always upload a recording of your performance for us to listen to.

er i don't think so since you thought playing houki boshi at the speed set was hard. If you leveled up that fast you'd be a prodigy which means you'd probably be a professional musician by now. People actually usually level up slower than a 15 month period though I reckon quite a few people here level up once every 12 months. Stop talking bull-shit.

Really? Over here, from grade1 piano to grade 5 piano is suppose to take 6months per grade. Grade 6-8 is a year, Grade 9-10 is 2 years. (This is ONLY for piano and does not include the history/harmony one must take to actually get the certificates of grade 5+)

I don't think the 9-15month is BS for low grades. I rushed to finish my last year of piano and I used 1year instead of two but I still managed an honors (just barely:sweat:) Who knows, maybe its just his region.

The board I take is slightly harder overall in terms of harsher examiners than the australian standard. We also have to take a theory test (grade 5 theory) to take things over grade 5 here which slows down a lot of people as well. People take longer to ensure that they pass first time, that's why.

[QUOTE=Uchiha_Kuronue]To Zanarkand is still kicking my butt. I tend to interpret the music I'm playing by attributing a mood to it, and letting that feeling flow through me while I play. Turns out that it was making me play To Zanarkand at about 2/3 the speed I should have been. *sigh* I've got all the notes and fingering down, though, so speeding it up should just be a matter of time.QUOTE]

I loath that song! So many ppl played it here and I grow tired of hearing it. I don't play that song because I don't like it. The other worst part of so many ppl playing it is the fact that they can never finish the song. They always leave out the 4th page. Pisses me off.

To be able to play To Zanarkand all the way (Completion of the 4th page which has triplets in 8th notes), the skills are B or 85% above beginner. If you don't finish it, then I'd give you a D+. LOL, why so low? Mainly because if you start something and got that far, might as well finish it.

I've been playing for 1 and a half years now and the best song I can play would be "To Zanarkand" (By Nobuo Uematsu from FFX). I haven't had any lessons before and very little encouragement. As for my questions:

Should I get lessons?
Roughly, what's my level?
and most of all...
Am I any good?

BTW, I 15, started when I was 14. And I only play a 5 octave electric keyboard.

I can't determine you skill level or if you're any good because everyone has their own perspective. You're still at an age where piano is still beneficial. Piano is best taught at younger age. I'd recommend anyone who wants their kids to learn, have them taught before the age of 10. The type of keyboard you use does not hold any weight to anyone.

I went through a 5 month course in beginners piano. It really depends on whether you want lessons or not. I do, however, recommend lessons because you're only limited to what you, yourself can do. Without lessons, you won't be able to discover new techniques and witness how things are done at a different way.

Encouragements come from within. That's how I see playing piano. I always play for myself and continue impressing myself. I never played for anyone and never will use piano to pick up on people. That, I use myself and no tool.

BTW, This is what I can do almost 1 year since I started piano. If you don't know, I started piano August 2005 and only had that 4 month course. I still consider myself a beginner at it. There are other movies but I guess you'll have to do the clicking. I'm lazy. HAHAHA!:heh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_h17B1o_Y

To Zanarkand is still kicking my butt. I tend to interpret the music I'm playing by attributing a mood to it, and letting that feeling flow through me while I play. Turns out that it was making me play To Zanarkand at about 2/3 the speed I should have been. *sigh* I've got all the notes and fingering down, though, so speeding it up should just be a matter of time.

I loath that song! So many ppl played it here and I grow tired of hearing it. I don't play that song because I don't like it. The other worst part of so many ppl playing it is the fact that they can never finish the song. They always leave out the 4th page. Pisses me off.

To be able to play To Zanarkand all the way (Completion of the 4th page which has triplets in 8th notes), the skills are B or 85% above beginner. If you don't finish it, then I'd give you a D+. LOL, why so low? Mainly because if you start something and got that far, might as well finish it.

Oh yeah I forgot about the triplets. I guess it's a harder song than grade 2 standard then. It's not as bad as Fur Elise which everyone plays!