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I think it’s still considered the best idea to buy “The Piano Book” if you’re in the piano market.
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Sep 4, 2021 17:12
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Piano keys should be the same size across all types of piano. If you have the space, get a full-sized upright (vs. a spinet or console, smaller types of uprights). Here's what you're looking for: 1) Do I like the look and does it sound good 2) Is anything so hosed up that even I can see it (read a quick guide, it's stuff like a cracked soundboard, moth remnants in the felts, key assemblies missing) Is the history bad (left outside, or an unheated area, abused, etc.) If it passes 1 and 2, hire a piano tuner and have them give it a real once-over. Don't feel pressured and definitely take plenty of time to find the exact right one. We're awash in pianos, so be picky until you find a very good one. Anne Whateley fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Sep 5, 2021 |
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Sep 5, 2021 03:29
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i like nice words
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I got my deceased mothers spinet piano. Started taking lessons. Would work on the song for a week at home then go back to the piano teachers digital keyboard and couldn’t for the life of me get my fingers in the right spot. The spinets keys are tiny in comparison!!!
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Sep 5, 2021 04:52
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BonHair posted:I know I can get better sounds and feel from digital. Neither of these things is remotely better in a digital versus a semi-decent acoustic upright, unless you're in a band and want the different voices from a digital. nrook posted:I think it’s still considered the best idea to buy “The Piano Book” if you’re in the piano market. Definitely. Not only is it useful but it's interesting too. The Piano World forums are also a great resource. Anne Whateley posted:Piano keys should be the same size across all types of piano. For sure. Learning with smaller than usual keys will gently caress up your muscle memory when you move to proper sized ones. I would always advise anyone buying a 2nd hand acoustic to get a tech to check it out before pulling the trigger. Is that good etiquette when getting the instrument free? I honestly dunno, but I think I've heard of it being done and I guess it saves you saddling yourself with something potentially problematic which could ultimately desperately need expensive rebuilding work done.
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Sep 5, 2021 11:22
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BonHair posted:I know I can get better sounds and feel from digital What do you mean by this? An acoustic piano is the standard of sound and feel that digital pianos try to emulate.
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Sep 5, 2021 19:51
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All good advice, especially the bits confirming my own preference for an acoustic instrument. I have plenty of room for any type of upright piano, just not grand piano room. I also have all the time in the world to look around. So first step will be Windows shopping with my wife, then I'll probably talk to a tech about helping and then get him to come check out a few pianos with me until i find the right one. But it seems like a lot of them are just not being used, so it's not at all impossible to find a good one that's just taking up space. It seems like The Piano Book is tailored to the American market, will it still be relevant even if the brands aren't? From looking around, Hornung og Møller is the most common brand here, and it seems unlikely to be mentioned. But I guess the basics are the same. The tech is the guy who would also be tuning it when I get it home, right? Edit: I thought digital technology had advanced to the point where you could get million dollar grand piano sounds out of them and the same quality in key weight. But if that's not the case, it's even more reason for me to want an acoustic. BonHair fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Sep 5, 2021 |
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Sep 5, 2021 21:39
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BonHair posted:Edit: I thought digital technology had advanced to the point where you could get million dollar grand piano sounds out of them and the same quality in key weight. But if that's not the case, it's even more reason for me to want an acoustic. I love my digital. I sounds great, feels realistic, looks like furniture, multiple voices make it versatile, and it's convenient. But the best simulation in the world is still a simulation. It's still all coming out of speakers, even if they're nice speakers. A good acoustic eschews a ton of convenience and quality of life features, but you're also hearing real hammers on real strings on a real board. If that's what's most important to you then you're doing the right thing.
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Sep 6, 2021 00:04
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Hi - looking for some advice from fellow Goons who own / use a Roland FP-10. I'm in the market for a good digital piano to replace my aging Studiologic MIDI keyboard. I followed some of the great recommendations of this thread, and visited some local music shops and tried out some keyboards - the best quality one they had was a Roland FP-10. Unfortunately, I found the keys very "weighty" and heavy, and it did not give me a good impression - *but* it did have the best keyboard feel out of all the others. ... And here is where my conundrum comes in... We have an old (1800's) upright Steinway piano (over 12 years now) we've been playing on. It has a very "soft" feel to it compared to the FP-10 that makes it easier to add depth / expression. I am worried that I've gotten so used to playing on this old piano, that it's not quite indicative of what a "true" grand / baby grand should feel like. In other words, do the more modern / expensive / full pianos have a more "weighty" feel to the keys - similar to the FP-10? Should I get used to the heavier of this mechanical keyboard if ever would like to play on a more expensive instrument? Or, are there 'better' digital pianos out there that have a hammer action superior to the FP-10? Much appreciated, thanks!
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Sep 6, 2021 02:41
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Seventh Arrow posted:Cool thanks! PM me your details and we can work out the rest. Let it be known, today I got paid to play piano for the first time since I started taking lessons in May! How do I get this to pay for my house payment?
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Sep 6, 2021 04:09
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Guigui posted:
I can’t speak to the acoustic piano question, but there are definitely other quality digital pianos with different/lighter feels. Of the main ones I see recommended, the Rolands seem to be pretty heavy with the Kawai ES110 recommended for a lighter action.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:30
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Guigui posted:Hi - looking for some advice from fellow Goons who own / use a Roland FP-10. Not sure if you know but you can change the response to the key action on the FP10. I play mine on the Light setting as I found I had to play too hard. You can change it with the app or with Function + some key. Check the manual online.
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Sep 6, 2021 21:52
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Guys - I travel a lot and want to be able to run up and down scales and make chords in a DAW or something in my hotel room. Recommendations? Drum pads are a nice plus if I’m being honest. Never got into them but I think I might like giving it a shot.
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Sep 7, 2021 02:39
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Akai MPK mini is great for that
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Sep 7, 2021 15:42
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I'm looking to pick the piano back up. I used to play a bit when I was young but haven't really played since I got my grade 3 back in 2000. I've been working my way through Adult Piano Adventures to ease my way back into it but I'm thinking I should probably start seeing a teacher to help me with technique/nipping bad habits in the bud etc. My question: piano lessons are expensive so how little can I get away with? A lot of teachers here offer 30min lessons; would 30mins every other week be OK or not enough? Taking into account I'm not a complete novice.
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Sep 11, 2021 16:44
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oh no computer posted:I'm looking to pick the piano back up Be careful and use your legs not your back
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Sep 11, 2021 20:21
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oh no computer posted:I'm looking to pick the piano back up. I used to play a bit when I was young but haven't really played since I got my grade 3 back in 2000. I've been working my way through Adult Piano Adventures to ease my way back into it but I'm thinking I should probably start seeing a teacher to help me with technique/nipping bad habits in the bud etc. My question: piano lessons are expensive so how little can I get away with? A lot of teachers here offer 30min lessons; would 30mins every other week be OK or not enough? Taking into account I'm not a complete novice. i do thirty minutes a week and it's more than enough, just make sure you bring a pencil and take notes (i just write on the score) every other week would be fine too imo as long as you're practicing daily.
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Sep 12, 2021 03:41
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oh no computer posted:I'm looking to pick the piano back up. I used to play a bit when I was young but haven't really played since I got my grade 3 back in 2000. I've been working my way through Adult Piano Adventures to ease my way back into it but I'm thinking I should probably start seeing a teacher to help me with technique/nipping bad habits in the bud etc. My question: piano lessons are expensive so how little can I get away with? A lot of teachers here offer 30min lessons; would 30mins every other week be OK or not enough? Taking into account I'm not a complete novice. I've been doing an hour every other week and that's been working great for me. I started with every week but with full time work, part time school etc I found that sometimes on a really busy week I was heading back for my next lesson in roughly the same shape as when I left. That being said I'm taking jazz lessons and we're basically only warmed up after 30 minutes so maybe it is a little short for every two weeks? The lesson may be a little cheaper for one hour sessions less regularly then 30min more frequently.
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Sep 15, 2021 06:23
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What are jazz lessons like? What’s the structure of your lessons? What does your practice look like outside of lessons? I’ve been very curious about taking lessons in jazz because trying to teach myself is super overwhelming. I find myself jumping around a lot trying to hit 251 practice, transcription, reading through lead sheets, improvisation, composition, etc all at once, and it feels like I’m not making any real progress. I would hope that a teacher could help me find focus! Also it could maybe connect me with other learners that I could jam with, which feels super important to jazz learning.
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Sep 15, 2021 20:01
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It's a lot of fun! I came in with extremely rudimentary music theory knowledge and no piano at all. Basically in an hour we spend like 25-30 minutes doing improv around the modes while he tries to get me to remember theory, and the second half of the lesson is working on written classical pieces. Jazz is fun too because if one of us is in a mood the improv kind of graduates to that, or one time I was all miserable and overwhelmed from work and dude was like "let's stick around for a few and jam in this key" and work it out. If you happen to be in the northern California area I could shoot you his contact info. Cool dude, been doing jazz with local musicians on his porch every Sunday since the pandemic started.
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Sep 16, 2021 06:21
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The amount of piano lessons you attend depends on how much you're going to practice each week. If you practice a ton, you need more lessons because you don't want to have 14+ hours of bad technique or wrong fingerings or wrong notes engrained in your head. That said, if you are VERY studious and willing to do the grunt work required (aka scales, practicing hard parts that are boring, etc.) you can get away with as little as once a month once you've had maybe 8 weeks of consecutive lessons. This is my recommendation as a B.Mus in Piano and long time piano teacher. More is always better, but considering that individuals can develop great technique just from watching the appropriate youtube videos, just having a teacher to point you in the right direction every once in a while after getting off track would be helpful. You just need to find a teacher that is understanding enough to differentiate your lesson structure to maximize the 30 minutes you spend with them (instead of doing their usual routine). Also, the better you get the less you need lessons, unless you're trying to become a concert pianist.
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Sep 19, 2021 16:45
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what are the cheapest “real” pianos that are good? something still digital, but with more realistic action, and all three pedals, instead of just sustain. or should i just wait for an old lady to die in my area, and look at estate sales for old uprights
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Sep 24, 2021 00:55
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landgrabber posted:what are the cheapest “real” pianos that are good? something still digital, but with more realistic action, and all three pedals, instead of just sustain. i am not looking to do this right now but i figure it’ll be an expensive thing to save up for, and maybe in two or three years, it would be worth investing in one that’s more real. i’m practicing every day and really enjoying it, though i’m in the basic parts. trying to take lessons but the lady’s really busy.
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Sep 24, 2021 00:57
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landgrabber posted:what are the cheapest “real” pianos that are good? something still digital, but with more realistic action, and all three pedals, instead of just sustain.
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Sep 24, 2021 01:15
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When I did this search two years ago I thought Merriam Music had the best comparisons talking about the differences between the actions and how each feel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kdFxACdkpI Most companies will have just a few different piano actions that they reuse across their line of portable and less portable more expensive pianos, so if you can figure out which action they are using that's usually the most important info. For example the Roland FP-90 I settled on has the PHA-50 action which is used in their much more expensive digital pianos compared to the PHA-4 in the FP-60 and FP-30. Take a look at some reviews and make sure the action simulates "escapement" which is the next step to realism after simple weighted keys.
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Sep 24, 2021 01:39
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landgrabber posted:or should i just wait for an old lady to die in my area, and look at estate sales for old uprights
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Sep 24, 2021 02:03
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Cannot recommend hiring movers to pick up your craigslist upright enough. The family who took mine when I shifted to digital hired them, they made short easy work of it using really wide straps. Pros.
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Sep 24, 2021 02:24
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TheScott2K posted:Cannot recommend hiring movers to pick up your craigslist upright enough. The family who took mine when I shifted to digital hired them, they made short easy work of it using really wide straps. Pros. yeah i basically think of it as “not free” because i’d want to hire movers and a tech to check it out and tune it and that’s expensive (which is fine, no issues paying for specialized labor, but it does cost money.) i think of mattresses in a similar way where they’re basically free but they might have a stain and it’s going to be a big pain to move
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Sep 24, 2021 03:13
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also why are there so many pianos just floating around in the world, they’re so expensive. my assumption is that old church goin’ ladies used to buy them back when people had more money, and we’re just giving each other a handful of Aunt Cloris’s Piano’s for the cost of “free but I can’t help you move it you gotta do that poo poo yourself dude”
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Sep 24, 2021 03:16
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It’s very common to have children take piano lessons. I think it used to be even more common in the past than it is now, especially since digital pianos exist today (which means a family with a house is still probably only going to bother buying an acoustic if their kid sticks with the instrument for several years).
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Sep 24, 2021 03:21
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anyway the old upright thing was mostly a joke anyway, because a) i literally have no space for one, and b) in a few years this will probably be brought with me (or maybe even bought after) i move out on my own which will be an apartment and not a suburb house, so something digital or with headphone out is basically a must. my main concern with this is that the current keyboard is decent. it’s basically the “this is the cheapest piano that you can learn on and not be encumbered by” of a few years ago — yamaha p105. 88 keys, and they’re weighted. but I want something that feels more like an acoustic piano, with real action, so i could actually play one one day, and more easily translate what i know to the real thing, if necessary. plus i want all three pedals and a good stand, instead of just sustain on a poopy x stand.
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Sep 24, 2021 03:22
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I'm starting Mozart Sonata 16 2nd mvt, and this fingering for measure 7 seems bizarre: I really wish I had an instructor for this kind of thing, I mostly just look for youtube videos to see how they do it.
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Sep 24, 2021 07:35
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Booyah- posted:I'm starting Mozart Sonata 16 2nd mvt, and this fingering for measure 7 seems bizarre: i played through it and it felt ok for me, which part is bothering you? if it's using the thumb on the last C at the end of the first bar i think that's just to provide consistent hand movement for when you're playing the run at speed. the only nitpick i would make is with the left hand fingering in the 2nd bar, i'd use the ring finger on the D and index finger on the F#, i don't see the reason for shifting the pinky up to the D, but that is a pretty minor nitpick.
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Sep 24, 2021 08:11
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landgrabber posted:also why are there so many pianos just floating around in the world, they’re so expensive. A piano was sort of an expected item of furniture in upper middle class households for a big part of the 20th century so way more people used to buy pianos (and maybe even get their children some piano lessons). So now there are millions of these pianos and not quite as many people who play the piano. And since moving them isn't trivial, people can't just buy them willy nilly if they're not sure they want one.
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Sep 24, 2021 08:12
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Stringent posted:i played through it and it felt ok for me, which part is bothering you? if it's using the thumb on the last C at the end of the first bar i think that's just to provide consistent hand movement for when you're playing the run at speed. It's definitely the first few notes, going 4 3 2, and then 1 being a step higher, and then 4 a step lower. Feels like I'm twisting my hand around in a weird way. The scale fingerings in my lesson books are usually crossovers on the descending parts of the scale.
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Sep 24, 2021 08:18
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Booyah- posted:It's definitely the first few notes, going 4 3 2, and then 1 being a step higher, and then 4 a step lower. Feels like I'm twisting my hand around in a weird way. The scale fingerings in my lesson books are usually crossovers on the descending parts of the scale. ok, i'm not a piano teacher and this is absolutely the kind of stuff you want a teacher for. just sitting down and playing it for the first time i felt the same hitch you're talking about. the way i'd practice that is to play each turn and then focus on relaxing so your hand can find a natural position. this is an exaggerated way of how i would start working out those transitions: https://i.imgur.com/fpxTty8.mp4 when that started to feel natural i'd slow it down and start working on it in time, as much as i can do without tension. hopefully it burns or some other real pianists can offer additional information or correction.
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Sep 24, 2021 08:30
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Booyah- posted:I'm starting Mozart Sonata 16 2nd mvt, and this fingering for measure 7 seems bizarre: This is normal fingering. The purpose of this vs. 4323,4323,4323 is to not have you lift your fingers off the keys creating an absence (although short) of sound and a "bump" in the phrasing. In piano we have to get used to contorting our fingers in all sorts of ways that (when we're still learning the instrument) feel somewhat uncomfortable. My suggestion to you would be to experiment with moving your hands higher up on the keys to get in between the black keys more. That should help you with the fingering by creating less distance that your fingers need to stretch! Also upon second look you don't have to use 1 on the last group of 4 sixteenth notes, you can use 2 since it's already there. The editor probably picked 1 to keep the pattern the same for repetition. Alizee fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Sep 24, 2021 |
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Sep 24, 2021 19:56
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It can be interesting to take a look at a few scores over at https://imslp.org to see what different editors have thought about the fingering over the years, and maybe give you alternatives if you prefer. 4325,4324,3213 and 4323,2134,3213 are there too, for example. Albinator fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Sep 24, 2021 |
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Sep 24, 2021 20:43
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Thanks for the advice everyone. At my level its so hard to intuit different fingerings with only a few hints so to speak. I guess working through the grades will help as I practice more scales and stuff
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Sep 25, 2021 16:25
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So... I took piano lessons a long time ago and decided to start up again. Today was my first lesson back. My instructor started off with intervals (one half step at a time). He told me that they are as follows: Root 1 - Minor 2nd 2 - Major 2nd 3 - Minor 3rd 4 - Major 3rd 5 - Perfect 4th 6 - Augmented 4th 7 - Perfect 5th 8 - Minor 6th/Augmented 5th 9 - Major 6th 10 - Minor 7th 11 - Major 7th 12 - Octave I thought I would study with the Interval Identification exercise on https://www.musictheory.net/exercises/interval What are the A2 -> A8? Are they augmented? What about all the "d" options and all the other choices not listed above? Are there sometimes more than one correct answer? Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Sep 26, 2021 02:33
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Yes. A is augmented and d is diminished. You can rarely get augmented and diminished intervals outside of the expected ones by spelling notes differently. That is, C to Eb is a minor third. But C to D# is an augmented second. Even though they are the same interval, the “spelling” requires us to describe it differently. Diminished example: C to A is a major 6th. But C to Bbb (B double flat) is a diminished 7th. Are you going to see that very often? Nah. Is it still an interval you could potentially describe? Yeah.
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Sep 26, 2021 03:13
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