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I like Alfred's WTC. It has lots of editor notes, regarding different versions etc. The editor's choice to play is printed more clearly, and his choices makes much sense. http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Well-Tempered-Masterwork/dp/0882848313/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1323330112&sr=8-18
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Dec 8, 2011 08:44
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Informal masterclass tonight. Wish me luck and dry hands. I'm playing the prelude to Bach's second English Suite, and the first movement of the last Mozart sonata. Maybe I'll record it. I can always delete it without listening to it if it goes horribly, right?
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Dec 10, 2011 15:19
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I'm learning Beethoven op.2, no.1 right now. It's my first beethoven bit. I'm just wondering: how much pedal should I use (any at all?) when playing the second subject? also anyone have advice on playing those kinds of trills?
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Dec 20, 2011 07:04
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Any ideas on what to do about loving up on recitals? Last night, when I wasn't even feeling particularly nervous, I just started making mistakes where I normally never make any. And for the difficult sections, where my normal playing is fairly fault-tolerant (I can make a mistake but just ignore it and keep playing), I stumble, stop, and then I'm just lost. I don't think I've ever known a piece better than this one (especially one I had to perform in public), and it still sucked rear end. Any tips?
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Dec 20, 2011 17:08
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It's funny how no matter how well you know a piece technically, the pressure of playing it in a recital can never be duplicated and can ruin your poo poo. You can try practicing something like it, though, if you haven't already. Recording yourself playing can be helpful; even if you never listen to the recording just the knowledge it's there can build a lot of tension to work on dealing with. You could also try playing for family/friends, or try to find a coffeeshop/bar with a piano and give it a shot there. Anything to recreate the 'feeling' of being onstage can be helpful, just so you get used to it.
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Dec 20, 2011 20:41
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Yeah sometimes my teacher has people over just to play for each other, or makes us play for the next person to show up at a lesson. I've also heard eating a banana about an hour before can help with stage fright but it didn't seem to help me much last weekend...too good to be true, I guess.
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Dec 20, 2011 20:45
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uXs posted:Any ideas on what to do about loving up on recitals? Last night, when I wasn't even feeling particularly nervous, I just started making mistakes where I normally never make any. And for the difficult sections, where my normal playing is fairly fault-tolerant (I can make a mistake but just ignore it and keep playing), I stumble, stop, and then I'm just lost. I recently listened to one of the few interviews that Krystian Zimerman gave. He's one of the best pianists of the last century, and in my mind the best. He said that during an interview with a potential student, the student told him that he wanted to study with Zimerman because he never makes a mistake in a performance and wanted to learn how to do the same. Zimerman never taught him anything about technique or performance etiquette. His important teachings that he passed on were that every single note has meaning and a performance is not about playing sections well or not making mistakes but it is about transferring an idea to the audience and continuing the line of emotion of the piece. I give you this vague answer because the problem with all of us when we perform isn't that we don't practice enough (well for some it is) or can't handle the pressure. It's more because I believe we're not in the right mindset when we're performing a piece. By sitting down for a performance with the only intention being to transfer a message of music to an audience, I think it's probably a mindset that's necessarily for a high level of performance. Otherwise, how could all of these brilliant pianists never succumb to the pressure? How could they play endless concerts without breaking down on stage at some point? I've heard stories from some of my professors of fellow performers. Some would vomit before they went out for a recital because they were so nervous. However, once on stage they were obviously brilliant. They have some way of turning nervousness off in their brain, and I believe that comes from focusing purely on the music. You're going to have to probably find some crazy zen state to truly be able to play at your best under pressure. What Bob is saying is what my teacher does as well though. The more performance experience you have, the better off you'll be until you can finally find the switch in your mind and flick it off. Good luck with that, I know I haven't found it yet myself.
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Dec 20, 2011 21:55
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PpDQ6miBg
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Dec 22, 2011 11:55
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Yep that.
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Dec 22, 2011 22:02
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I just started learning (by myself, no lessons yet), and while I've picked up some things pretty fast, I've run into an incredibly frustrating block. I can play my right, and I can play my left, but not at the same damned time. Anytime I try to do anything with both hands, my brain seems to shut down, and my hands just instinctively try to mimic each other. So far I've been trying to just follow a metronome with either hand while playing something simple with the other. This is met with limited success. If I play a measure with the same number of notes on both clefs, it's something close to manageable, but if I were to try to play say, quarters on left and eights on right, my left hand instinctively tries to match my right. I've never really run into this problem with anything else. My hands generally do what I want them to. Is it a common problem for beginners? I've started doing things with my left hoping to improve general ambidexterity (ie, switched mouse to left hand, write with my left, much to my company's dismay.) Is there any piano related exercises that I can do to train my hands(or brain) to behave themselves? syrairc fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Dec 23, 2011 |
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Dec 23, 2011 02:51
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Playing different things with both hands is one of the most difficult things about the piano, so yes that's normal. Some stuff that can help maybe: * start slow and with easy pieces * practice both hands separately first, and join them together afterwards * instead of playing with both hands, try just tapping different rhythms
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Dec 23, 2011 14:13
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syrairc posted:I just started learning (by myself, no lessons yet), and while I've picked up some things pretty fast, I've run into an incredibly frustrating block. I can play my right, and I can play my left, but not at the same damned time. Anytime I try to do anything with both hands, my brain seems to shut down, and my hands just instinctively try to mimic each other. Thats normal and something I'm working on right now too (I'm back from my piano break :O). What I find helps is to practice separately then when I try hands together I just concentrate on the notes that will be played at the same time with each hand and play it slowly. Concentrating on hitting those notes at the same time seems to keep my right (weaker) hand in time when I have to play the other notes that are not in time with the left.
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Dec 23, 2011 16:15
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Thanks guys. Very encouraging to know I'm not just some horrible right-handed cripple.
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Dec 23, 2011 16:46
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Frankly it would be weird if you didn't have that problem.
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Dec 23, 2011 19:14
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Who here does significant mental practice? While tackling Chopin's Ballade in F Major, I've been looking into additional forms of practice since this piece is both the most challenging piece I've ever studied and so close to my heart. I have a competition in February, and I'd like to get the Coda to a tempo which truly showcases the brilliance of the composition. It seems that based on studies it has a place for any performer, but I'd love to here some anecdotal evidence as well if any of you guys do it and if you've found various methods that work better than others.
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Dec 23, 2011 21:24
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I don't know if it "counts" but I do tend to run through things in my head a LOT. Mostly it's just that the piece is catchy and it gets stuck in my head like a pop song would, but sometimes I actually imagine playing it. Sometimes I read the music away from the piano, like you would a book. I would actually like to know more about how to do mental practice, exactly. I was reading that e-book linked up thread that mentioned how important it was but never really gave me an idea of how to go about it.
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Dec 24, 2011 13:38
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Oh also, this is probably our best online resource. It's actually a great community forum for everything piano. http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/
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Dec 24, 2011 22:58
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I wasn't sure where to ask this question, but, is there a such thing as perfect tempo, like perfect pitch?
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Dec 24, 2011 23:16
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tractor fanatic posted:I wasn't sure where to ask this question, but, is there a such thing as perfect tempo, like perfect pitch? I've never really heard about this. But I can give you 120bpm any time of the day after marching to it for 5 years.
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Dec 24, 2011 23:19
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tractor fanatic posted:I wasn't sure where to ask this question, but, is there a such thing as perfect tempo, like perfect pitch? I bet there are people who can hear a song and tell you exactly how many beats per minute each part is. I seem to recall hearing of at least one person with some sort of autism spectrum disorder that enjoyed hearing the same song at different tempos, because to him it made enough of a difference to be almost a different song.
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Dec 25, 2011 08:41
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Does anyone know what the double bass clef in this sheet music is? http://i.imgur.com/Gz1E1.jpg I've never seen that before and it is really confusing me. Is it just two different lines I'm supposed to be playing with my left hand split apart for readability, or is it for two people?
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Dec 25, 2011 10:40
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Zyklon B Zombie posted:Does anyone know what the double bass clef in this sheet music is? Sometimes composers will split up music into more than two staves so it's more easily arranged. Sorabji at one point uses I think 6 staves in his solo piano work, the Opus Clavicembalisticum (because he's one evil, evil motherfucker.) Basically, if the work is a solo piano work you have to find a way to play everything in both base clefs as well as the treble clef. These things certainly could be played as duets, and also some music is intended for keyboards with multiple manuals like organs and some older harpsichords, but judging by the title of the song that doesn't seem to be the case here. edit : whoops, I called the treble clef the alto clef. corrected CowOnCrack fucked around with this message at 09:31 on Dec 26, 2011 |
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Dec 25, 2011 10:54
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Zyklon B Zombie posted:Does anyone know what the double bass clef in this sheet music is? I'm pretty sure the 'R.H.' you see there stands for 'right hand'.
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Dec 26, 2011 11:00
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uXs posted:I'm pretty sure the 'R.H.' you see there stands for 'right hand'. You're right, but it's only for three notes at a time - note the brackets near where it says "R.H." Looks like you are supposed to play it all LH except for those small brackets, and that it's split up for readability.
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Dec 26, 2011 18:44
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uXs posted:Any ideas on what to do about loving up on recitals? Speaking from experience playing guitar and singing professionally for about 5 years now. Before that I still performed, but it wasn't for pay. I am probably at over 500 solo shows as a rough estimate, at this point. My secret to success is having played that many shows. I think it's important to be a little nervous before any performance. It's a way to make sure you care about what you are about to do. Mind you, do not be so nervous that you freeze up, but just enough that your nerves and wits are about you for the purposes of performing. In short I recommend practice - not just at the piano, but playing for other people. After years of playing for rowdy bar crowds some of my toughest gigs have been polite recital-style audiences. Earlier this year I sang the National Anthem, God Bless America, and America the Beautiful at a 9/11 Memorial. I was petrified without an instrument in my hand and 300 people facing me with their hands on their hearts. My over-nervousness stemmed from not much practice doing solo classical work in front of audiences. I was comfortable playing bars. Luckily I didn't become a youtube sensation that night, but despite my extreme comfort playing bars I was still overly nervous. Put me at the piano in front of a group of people? I'll probably fall flat on my face. I don't have the experience of playing piano in front of people down yet and it will be a learning curve for me when I actually get to performance grade with this beast of an instrument. That's part of the experience of learning this instrument: being able to shred it comfortably in front of any group of people. I honestly can't wait to get a set together with the keys and beat it up for some people. Performing is lots of fun and provides a reward for all of your hard work. I hope this explains some of my thoughts on live performance and what it can do to our nerves and hours of practice. One of my mentors explained to me that his secret was "Never practice, just play out." How it applies here, I don't know, but I never underestimate the experience of playing in front of as many people as possible.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:17
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Are there any good interactive software options for piano instruction? I know lessons with a teacher would be better, but my schedule precludes any regular appointments at times when most actual humans are awake. I like the idea of what Rockband 3 does with keyboards but it's got significant downsides (not hearing what you're actually hitting on the keyboard, only using the right hand, etc). I've already got a midi keyboard (a real one, not the one that comes with rockband), so basically I'd be looking for something that will monitor what I'm playing, let me know what notes I'm missing and suggest new things for me to play to keep improving. Does such a thing exist that isn't like a thousand bucks?
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Dec 29, 2011 00:31
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I'm looking for advice on picking out a keyboard! It's going to be for both me and my girlfriend, and our use cases are pretty different so we're having trouble finding one that works for both of us. She's a piano player who wants to be able to just sit down and play the keyboard like a piano, while I want to hook it up to my computer and use it as a MIDI controller for recording or whatever. So our list of requirements is the following:
Our price range goes up to maybe $2000 or so, but cheaper is definitely better. We went to Guitar Center and nothing really met all of our requirements, even outside of our price range. It seems like the cheaper ones have built-in speakers with good piano sounds but don't have USB output or parameter controls, and the more expensive ones don't have speakers. I suppose we could get a keyboard amp if we really need to, but it'd be nice to not have the extra clutter. Having built-in synth or instrument sounds other than piano isn't very important because I mostly just want to use it as a MIDI controller. Is there anything like this out there?
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Dec 29, 2011 06:49
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Will you have a laptop sit at the keyboard? If so you could just get whatever keyboard you like and hook up some $60 speakers to your laptop and it'll be better than any built in keyboard speaker sound you could get.
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Dec 29, 2011 07:10
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Yeah I wouldn't mind doing that, but I think my girlfriend would rather just be able to sit down and play rather than mess around with having to hook it up to the computer and play it through that. We're not going to be recording directly from the keyboard speakers so I'm not too concerned about it being great quality. Though now that you mention it, I wonder if I could just hook up some dedicated speakers directly to the keyboard. That would be a pretty good compromise I guess. edit: To answer your question, there will usually be a laptop near the keyboard but not all the time, actually. So we wouldn't be able to have the keyboard always hooked up to it.
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Dec 29, 2011 07:21
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Just buy a couple of speakers with onboard amps. You'll need a fairly broad range. You're looking for monitor speakers or keyboard speakers. Just search for 'active monitors' or something similar. You want to make sure that you have something with a fairly flat response though. Don't go using home theatre or computer speakers that boost the bass on you or just don't have an even response across the frequencies that are being played. On the lower price end you'll generally get better quality sound out of this kind of speaker compared to a similarly priced keyboard amp but a keyboard amp will have greater volume. Alternatively, a good pair of headphones can be nice. It never quite feels the same to me though.
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Dec 29, 2011 07:56
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I have just bought myself a digital piano. Been wanting to learn for ages and finally thought gently caress it. Would have gotten an upright but for space and volume issues. I forget exactly which one I went for, mid\high end casio, I just liked it better in the store than anything else in my budget, its in one of those nice wooden stands, has all the key features (nicely weighted keys etc) and have the 3 pedal grand piano setup thing. I am very pleased with it. Anyway, I want to learn to play classical music, going to be sorting out lessons, I'll also be pissing about doing the whole pop songs and just jamming with friends but I can figure that stuff out myself, especially once I get some decent technique sorted. However, it's going to be a few weeks till I can get lessons sorted, what can I do in the meantime? I've found a page with proper fingerings for scales so I'll do those with a metronome. Any babies first steps video lessons or websites that are decent out there? Especially for chord fingerings. I have a decent grounding in theory so I can probably work stuff out just don't want to get bad habits if I can help it. [TLDR - Got new piano, want to do things now before I start lessons, what should I be doing?]
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Dec 29, 2011 18:28
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Gordon Cole posted:edit: To answer your question, there will usually be a laptop near the keyboard but not all the time, actually. So we wouldn't be able to have the keyboard always hooked up to it. If it's helpful for your decision, I used to only have a keyboard that was just a midi controller (M-Audio Keystation 88), and even though it was always hooked up to my computer, it was still annoying enough to get going with it that I didn't play as often as I do now that I have an actual piano and can just sit down whenever. So, definitely get one with built in sounds, external speakers or not.
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Dec 29, 2011 20:55
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Cast_No_Shadow posted:[TLDR - Got new piano, want to do things now before I start lessons, what should I be doing?] I'd say just familiarizing yourself with hitting keys to make sounds would be helpful. Scales are always useful, once they start getting fluid try playing them louder and softer, and with different articulation, like legato and staccato. I wouldn't worry about chord fingering, you probably won't have to deal with anything difficult enough to warrant it for some time, and by then it shouldn't be too hard. Scale/arpeggio fingering will be more important for longer. Also as has been mentioned, getting both hands to work together is one of the biggest hurdles for beginning students. Do a scale with one hand until it's comfortable, then try bringing the other hand in. If you're doing a C scale with your left, have your right hit a C and hold it at the beginning, or hit it every three/four/whatever notes.
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Dec 30, 2011 01:04
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Hey guys so I have a keyboard related question of my own: I have an older Korg Triton Extreme. My main function for the keyboard is recording and live performances (pop,rock,alt). The actual onboard sounds, although numerous, are pretty terrible mixed in a live setting. I really love some of the sounds you can create on a lot of synth keyboards. The ones with all the nobs to edit like oscillating effects and all that kind of stuff. In addition, I like some of the built in sounds on some Rolands etc. What is the most cost effective way for me to get the sounds I want live in the most intuitive way possible (for example I can't edit sounds for poo poo on my Korg. It's very complicated to be able to do anything but play it.). I'm totally down to use my laptop. I have a macbook pro with Logic. However Logic doesn't support VST's. I don't know much about software but it seems that maybe Ableton Live could be helpful or something? Being able to split up my keyboard and provide beats would be helpful too. Thanks!
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Dec 30, 2011 04:07
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Alizee posted:I don't know much about software but it seems that maybe Ableton Live could be helpful or something? Being able to split up my keyboard and provide beats would be helpful too. Yes, Ableton Live is designed for this kind of thing.
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Dec 31, 2011 19:02
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So had my first lesson today, double checked I had the C major scale fingerings correct, went over various ways to play and arpeggios for it. Also went through ode to joy. Good lesson, been practising for an hour when I got home. Can play it through ok at a decent speed, the key change in the bass still gets me now and then. I do have two questions though. 1) Reading the music as I play is remarkably un-phasing, I had a brief familiarity with it before (I could tell you what the things on it mean) but had never read any before. I kind of just follow it, up a note, down a note, up two notes, 5th C chord, ohh this ones got three dots so that's a full c major, three fingers. I mean is this how I'm supposed to do it, it feels so easy (yeah I know its a basic piece) I feel I must be doing it wrong and cheating somehow. 2) My thumb hurts. On the outside, in the same sort of area you would use to barre a chord on the guitar (although obviously on the finger for guitar) like right on the bend. Is this me doing something wrong with my thumb? Or is this tough it out build up callouses?
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Jan 4, 2012 00:14
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Cast_No_Shadow posted:1) Reading the music as I play is remarkably un-phasing, I had a brief familiarity with it before (I could tell you what the things on it mean) but had never read any before. I kind of just follow it, up a note, down a note, up two notes, 5th C chord, ohh this ones got three dots so that's a full c major, three fingers. I mean is this how I'm supposed to do it, it feels so easy (yeah I know its a basic piece) I feel I must be doing it wrong and cheating somehow. 1) When you learn how to read letters, you don't start with big words, you start small and sound out each letter. As you get better, you can read bigger words and do it faster. Right now you're a kindergartener sounding out words in a picture book, eventually you'll be able to read more complicated pieces. 2). Are you saying that it hurts on the side of the knuckle? if that's the case, it means you aren't holding your hands right, your knuckles shouldn't be touching the keys. Try holding your hand above the keys so that the tip of your thumb is what hits the keyboard.
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Jan 4, 2012 00:44
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TheBeardedCrazy posted:1) When you learn how to read letters, you don't start with big words, you start small and sound out each letter. As you get better, you can read bigger words and do it faster. Right now you're a kindergartener sounding out words in a picture book, eventually you'll be able to read more complicated pieces. 1) Yeah I get that, didn't think Ode to Joy was the musical version of war and peace. Baby steps but is that how people start too look at music or should I be focusing on learning, this dot here is a D, this dot here is an A and so on? Or is it ok to work on the basis of that one was a C, this one is 2 steps up, so I just play there on the piano, don't register its an E. 2) Lower than the knuckle, about half way between the knuckle and the end of the finger, where the top of the nail starts on the outside of the thumb, I think its where the edge of the keys dig into it. Knuckles are not on piano.
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Jan 4, 2012 00:49
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Cast_No_Shadow posted:1) Yeah I get that, didn't think Ode to Joy was the musical version of war and peace. Baby steps but is that how people start too look at music or should I be focusing on learning, this dot here is a D, this dot here is an A and so on? Or is it ok to work on the basis of that one was a C, this one is 2 steps up, so I just play there on the piano, don't register its an E. 1) I think sightreading by note proximity is really good. I sightread constantly, and I think mentally I'm doing that a lot more than going 'ok a d e d a' or whatever. I mean, I could think about it that way, but it'd slow me down. This doesn't apply so well with big jumps though, especially with really high or low notes. That's something that comes with a lot of experience, I think, so don't worry if you're having trouble sightreading stuff like that, probably easier to just memorize it at first. 2) The edge of the keys shouldn't be digging into your thumbs, I think you might be holding your hands too low. With proper technique, your thumbs shouldn't touch the edges constantly, much less press on them with enough weight to cause pain. 
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Jan 4, 2012 01:14
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| # ? May 20, 2024 16:29 |
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Blog Free or Die posted:1) I think sightreading by note proximity is really good. I sightread constantly, and I think mentally I'm doing that a lot more than going 'ok a d e d a' or whatever. I mean, I could think about it that way, but it'd slow me down.
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Jan 4, 2012 10:26
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