Hiya,
I have been playing the piano for 2 years (2002-2004)
and I've forgotten a lot of things...
Now onto my problem, I tried to play EMOL or also known as "Eternity Memory of Lightwaves from Final Fantasy X - 2 from Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi - Arr. by Arnold Morrison" (doh~ long title) but I have got several problems...

1.) I've been practicing EMOL for around 1 week but I don't make any progress
I used to learn songs by melody but when I try to play it I jsut can't get it ... Anyone here who can help me ?
2.) Where do I have to use the pedals because when I listen to the guys on YouTube it sounds like they use a lot of pedals (maybe too much) but I don't know where...
3.) Can you give me some few tipps/hints on how to play EMOL ?
4.) Do you think that a teacher would be useful ?
What do you think of learning the piano without a teacher ?

Thanks for any useful comments....
Asaji

a teacher would be a waste of money. the teacher would be a half ass teacher if he/she is willing to teach you final fantasy music, which would mean you will probably gain nothing but maybe 30more minutes of forced practice time at that person's house. A good teacher will only teach you the necessary music for competitions and examinations. If you want to gain grades then come back to the piece once you're more skilled then by all means, find one. If you just want to find a teacher to teach you ffx-2 music then you're better off asking a friend for pointers.

Pedals are not on most arrangements. Listen to the music you play yourself and release it approriately. It is most safe to release at the beggining of each bar. You should never hold it longer than 2 bars and never shorter than 1 quarter note at 4/4 on any tempo above 90.

1 week is nothing. I've been practicing a piece for the past 6 weeks and I'm far from being able to say "I can play it." It all depends on the difficulty of the piece and your current skill level. If your level = piece then it usually would take at least 2 weeks. if the piece is more difficult than what you can play, obviously it can take alot longer.

That's the piece in G minor, right? Maybe the piece is just too hard for you... start off with something simpler, there's plenty of music to choose from if you're into Final Fantasy stufff. :\

Hm ye, maybe it's just too hard for me or I've overestimated my piano skills.
I guess I'll keep tryin' it because I really want to learn that song and there is a nice saying which says "If ya started somethin', you should finish it!"^^

Anyway, thanks for the nice comments!

Btw, you are talking about levels, but how can you determine someones level ?
Are there level requirements for Final Fantasy stuffs ?

RCM standards, be at minimum grade 3 level for the simpler music. Fighting theme, I give it grade10 for difficulty but is not impossible to master even if you were a few grades lower.

That EMOL piece, I just dled its sheet music, I give it grade 3-4. Since you've been playing for only 2 years, it might be on the difficult end.

My suggestion:

The music is in Bb major. Therefore, practice the arppegio for Bb+, D-, F+, G-. Most harmony for Final fantasy follows its arpeggio.

Find its rhythm before you attempt to play the melody.

firstly, get the rhythm and the notes right
don't worry about pedals. Pedals is AFTER you are able to play the whole piece.

secondly, if you can listen to the original piece, then look at your sheetmusic and follow it.

lastly, if you KNOW you are capable of playing this piece, then go for it, getting a teacher just to learn a piece is a waste of money and a waste of the teacher's time. Trust me.

Good luck ^^

Uhm, ye, I think Ill have to listen to the piece over and over.... ^^
Coz I learn music sheets by the rythm^^
The notes aren't the real problem, the real real problem which is really a problem is the problem with the rythm...-_-
Thanks for the encouragement, my neighbour (a professional piano player - works for an orchestra or something like that) offered me some help for a cake and an apple :D

It sounds corny, but a good way to learn a rhythm (or just get better at counting in general) is to clap or tap out the rhythm and/or say the counts out loud.

I write in the counts when I don't get the rythym straight away. It helps me to identify the beats which makes life a lot simpler.