I want to learn the Piano...
 

I cant take it anymore.... I want to play beautiful music whit my piano, but i cant play :( It really pains me to listen to Beethoven, Chopin or even Glass, wanting to play those beautiful melodies for myself and just failling because i have no training.

Does anyone know a free piano learning site that works well?

Hmmm...i see nobody knows any.

How about an effective method used by teachers that i should look for?

piano is an instrument I wouldn't really advise you to take up all by yourself - invest in some classes. practicing with a teacher is the best you can do! only later, when you feel brave enough, I'd recommend venturing on your own.

dang....Il have to find time for those lessons.

if you're short on time, 45min once a week will do just fine - as long as you're self-disciplined and practice at home over and over again :)

A teacher would help alot :D

I have this portable grand piano that has a learning softare in it. It shows what keys to press for songs in it's memory. I learned the easy part of ''for elise'', but then the difficulty jumped and i was like a deer looking at headlights :(

I tried to do the hard part but i just coudnt do it... My fingers are just to slow and clumsy. I want someone to teach me finger work (haha) ...or w/e its called :P

haha

well, if you end up getting classes, there's 3 things you usually learn/practice

- dexterity (comes with practice)
- theory
- reading

so, even though dexterity and theory are better left for classes, you can start learning how to read right now - there's lots of info on the web! that's something I'd advise you to do - I didn't...so I'm learning now :/

piano is fairly easy to learn, if you know the requirements and such. But once you start, the only thing left is getting better and i suppose you'll be fine after that.

Piano
 

I know I want to learn to play the piano too..

I took classes for a while but it wasn't long enough to really get me involved..

I wish I had continued though cause i really want to learn...

You do not necessarily need lessons. Or have to read music well or at all. I tought myself a few years ago and i am good enough to jam with a drummer, another pianist, and guitarist. All you have to do is get a nice keyboard that you wont get board with, lock yourself in the room with it and play. And in time much good will come out of it.

i usually do that when learning an instrument. i wait till there is nobody home, i bring out my guitar and i play till my heart can take no more. same as piano. plug her in, play it loud and let everyone here your skillfulness in learning. :)

Find a teacher nearby-you only need 30 minutes with the teach then after that you have to keep a constant playing recored during the week when you aren't with them-start at thirty minutes and go up-I would learn piano except that I'm a devoted bassoonist playing an hour and a half a day now.
My recommendation is get a teach. Godspeed.

I have a keyboard that I can hook up to my computer and it teaches you how to play and read the notes. However I wouldn't suggest it over a teacher. Considering i've had it for years and am barely apt at the piano (of course I rarely use that program though).

Of course it can't be compared to a good teacher! Machines will never replace us! :hphones:

You never know....

haha. Ir0bot

thanks Setekh...hadn't thought about trying to learn to read music using this keyboard rather than a piano
My resolution for the new year is to learn to play the piano...I aspire to Glenn Gould but a girl must dream...she must also cut her nails boo hoo for as my piano teacher said, "if Bach had intended a percussion accompaniment he would have written it" tx

why dont you get a teacher, take some private lessons?? i play piano, and it is absolute joy to be able to play music like that, it really is....

Ok I hope I'm ot to late. You defiately do not need a piano teacher. with any instrement, all you need are the basic principles on how to play correctly. Likewise, with piano as long as you know a few things you can do what you will and become as good as any of us. When you play piano, you know how theirs little numbers above the notes? above all, you need to learn how to read finger numbers. It will help you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. Basically if you lay your right hand face down, it will go (left to right) 1 2 3 4 5. Put your fingers in those spots and your set. The only other thing is learning how to practice something. The way you do that is extremely simple. say something is straight 8th notes. You practice it as if it was swung, only to an extreme. short loong short long. then looong short, you get the idea. practice that evenly and it makes life e z p z. hope that helps T_T

You have to stick with it. Alot of people i know just quit because they didn't think they were learning anything. I've played for 8 years and i'm still taking lessons and still learning more, though, so I do suggest lessons.

I 've learn it at my childhood and played it very well but as i grown up and busy in building career i just left it,but now i think i have to take classes avian to play it well.

Only practice makes perfect.

I believe that studying scales and music theory can go a long way. Reading music is how you learn to emulate someone else - and if you feel western/modern scales are too artistically constricting, try chromatics.

I would much prefer to be able to play a piece by memory than play it by paper.

I suggest you try out the site "readsheetmusic.info" (I'm not allowed to post links yet) -- you can learn to read music for free there, and that's an important first step. There is a free newsletter you can sign up for too, which is pretty decent.

I'm self taught, but I mostly just play original peices.

Your desire to play is understandable, and your goals are admirable. I bet that I have had at least 500 people in my life say to me, "I just want to be able to sit down and play." But I do not know ANYONE who can just "sit down and play." Like anything in life, playing piano is a SKILL that is LEARNED. It is learned by repetition, and usually with instruction.

When you SEE someone playing piano music, it is only natural to want to be able to do the same thing. The desire to "sit down and play" is a lot like the desire I have when I watch kids play basketball, and I wish I were good at that. But I only improve my basketball abilities when I grab a ball and practice my dribbling and lay-up skills.

When an adult asks me for piano lessons, I tell them very honestly that the hardest thing about learning as an adult is having the self-discipline to practice regularly (as close to "daily" as possible). When you have work responsibilities and family responsibilites, it can be hard to sit down at a piano on a daily basis to practice for 30 minutes or more.

But, I have three adult students right now who ARE learning.

If you want to learn, find a good teacher. Be committed to practice at least 30 minutes per day. Then, GO FOR IT.

The skill comes partly from your desire to play. But it comes much more from instruction, and daily practice.

I would recommend buying a beginning piano book, one for adults and a theory book... I would definitely always be working through theory as well as a practice book. A teacher is helpful, because in just 30 minutes they can point out so much that will improve your playing. And since your eager to set down and play (as many are :) ) a teacher will help point out things instantly that you may not pick up until much later on your own. I have a piano teacher that I saw for a couple of months and now just go to see every now and then when difficulties arise.

Plus, an experienced teacher always has extra information, they can answer all your questions and then some!

Yeah, pretty much practice, practice, practice. Teaching yourself is an option, but having a teacher is always the best option. I have friends who have taught themselves to play the piano, and I can say they have developed some skill, but then again I can't really say too much on their behalf cuz all they're interested in is learning how to play songs from video games and movies. Besides, there are many fundamentals that you can miss out on by not having a teacher.

learning piano
 

yeah your right,..keep on practicing because practice makes perfect. i love piano too, all you have to do is memorize one song with its key and go over and over again. for sure you will learn in less than a month.

If you don't have time for lessons (1/2 hour once or twice a week) then you don't have time to practice. That = no improvement. There are three mandatory aspects to learn an instrument: motivation, discipline and love for music.

It has been my experience that most people who are self-taught do not play well. They almost always play with very poor quality.

The hardest thing about learning as an adult is disciplining yourself to daily practice. When you have a JOB and/or FAMILY, it is harder to commit yourself to sit down 30 minutes per day (or more) to practice ... to build the skills that are required to play the piano.

My jobs keep me from practicing as I should. I am glad that I learned what I did as a child and as a teenager.

If you want to learn as an adult, get a good teacher. Take a lesson once a week. And practice at least 30 minutes per day between lessons.

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice

Honestly, try as you may on your own, only the musically inclined can. If you want to get really good, I would highly recomment a teacher for at least a few years. I took 5 years of piano before going out on my own, and that opened doors for me to guitar and bass, which I was then able to learn on my own because I could read sheet music and I was classically trained. It also gives you a sort of discipline.

I am planing to learn piano next few months too.however a piano is much expensive for me.I confused....

Im proficient enough on a piano to jam with a band spanning most rock genres and to play synthesisers in an electro band.
and i am self taught.
But I did have the advantage of knowing a lot of theory from years of guitar lessons and music classes.
And i do get your frustration...when i listen to rachmaninov it makes me want to cry, i really want professional lessons.

Piano lessons come into play heavily more so for technique. The guy who wrote those beautiful melodies did so on the back of eons of piano theory evolution. I took lessons for 5 years when I got to college. If you can read music and know correct finger placement you'll be set.

another word of advice, those three are not the palce to start. Maybe Ode to Joy but you can't be Mozart overnight for a reason.

With regard to Chopin, his spreads are sometimes 12 keys wide and he plays (or can play) very soft, so you're going to need a ton of practice and training.

theres nothing wrong with learning some folk piano, its good if only to get your reading skills up. I'd also recommend staying away from things like the Blues and Jazz, the former is hell on earth because you can't bend, and neither adhere to the sheet music...ever.

if you really want to play music and youre able, you will.
and keyboard is actually the easiest and funnest instrument to venture out on your own with.

i record

To be honest I don't think you could learn to play piano well by a fee website or teaching yourself. I had classical piano lessons for about 5 years before I decided to stop the lessons and start teaching myself - now I've been playing for 10 years and I've still got billions more to learn!

So, if you're passionate about learning the piano, find a good teacher who teaches classical - that way you will learn theory, practice, and history. Where I live there are piano teachers everywhere. If you're looking for a cheap alternative, there are heaps of young people and students who teach piano part-time. That's how I learnt.

If you can't take any class I would say invest in a 20 dollar piano book, or even go to a library and get one and keep practicing. When you learn a song pretty fluently, put your own twist on it, changing the progression and what not.

I am with most of the people here who initially posted on this topic and say that it does take a lot of practice in order to achieve a level that's satisfactory to play the music you desire. I am by no means a great pianist, but I was lucky enough to have an older brother who was born with a musical gift. I did take lessons when I was a child alongside him, but I didn't have the interest to pursue it. I stopped lessons at 11 in lieu of playing field hockey and being on the chess team. I know, it's kinda dorky, but I believe that it really helped me with other facets of life such as diligence and memory retention. Needless to say, after college my brother moved into my apartment because he was ashamed to tell our parents that he couldn't afford to live on his own w/o help from a roommate or the girlfriend that dumped, then immediately kicked him out of their apartment in Missouri while I lived in Virginia. Taking in my refuge brother, I told him that I'll give him all the time he needs to get back on his feet in return for piano lessons. Let me tell you, 6 months straight of learning scales. That is all I did. I didn't play a single tune: Not even Mary Had a Little Lamb. At the time I was frustrated because I thought he was just messing with me, but when he thought I was ready, he put a piece of music that he said someone with 2 years of experience would be able to play. I looked at him with that "I've only been playing for 6 months" kinda look. The piece was Rhapsody in Blue which was a Dan Coates Arrangement (not nearly as hard as the original, but within a month, I was playing all 3 Preludes! When he left to move back to our hometown, I literally cried. I didn't want him to go, but there was a job in his field waiting for him 10 minutes from our childhood home at the local high school. How could he say no to taking over for his mentor as the Orchestra teacher? Long story (yes, it's a long story I know!) short, there are numerous ways to learn, but the 2 main ways are by sight (reading music) or by ear. I highly suggest learning by sight. Once you master that way of learning, according to my brother you can grab any piece of music within your level of playing and be able to perform it without too much trouble. It's literally another language, but nothing that sounded so beautiful, huh?

Yup. Most people have said this already. Practice! Practice practice practicepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepr acticepractice...

Just don't give up too soon. It'll seem really hard at the beginning. You'll feel like you aren't improving at all, but keep going! It will get more and more enjoyable. If you're willing to work hard and play for, say, an hour at least each day, you can get to playing some really neat pieces. Being able to jam with a band isn't really going to help you play classical, but if you want to jam with a band and you don't want to play classical, that's perfectly fine. Playing classical wouldn't really help you in a band, either.

Also, remember, when you get a little better at playing, if you're playing classical, there has to be more than just notes. You have to add dynamics (volume changes), articulation (how long a note is held), and all sorts of other things. That's where a piano teacher comes in handy.

Just keep working! ;)