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I have started taking piano lessons, and I have done fine with everything introduced up until now. My teacher said he wanted me to start playing with my hands deeper in the black keys, rather than at the front of the piano. He wants my fingers pointed out more, so I contact the keys with the pad of them, and literally inside the black keys when I am playing. Far enough up that my thumbs can brush the front of the black keys. He seems to be able to play like this just fine, and his fingers are not any smaller than mine. I have been practicing this on my keyboard at home, and it's extremely frustrating and difficult to me. I am struggling to cleanly strike the keys with any kind of force. I am also having a very hard time with my middle and ring fingers, as they are just big enough that I can't clear both black keys when hitting the whites. He said every student he has had, save for some guy who boxed a lot, has been able to play like that. This is the kind of positioning he is talking about : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqeoKrKDffc&feature=BFa&list=PL2104BD404F1F39C9&lf=mh_lolz Clearly that guy can play very well, so it's not impossible, and it's probably something I am doing wrong. Do any of you more veteran players have some tips or advice on learning to play deeper? It's honestly not even fun to practice anymore because of it. I went from being able to play simple songs really well, to sounding like a loving gorilla mashing on the keyboard.
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Jan 5, 2012 04:15
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 15:48 |
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Hawkgirl posted:Can you like...take a picture of what your hand position is like? I'm having real trouble imagining it. This is about how I have been playing: http://i40.tinypic.com/313n1xx.jpg This is how he wants me to play: http://i42.tinypic.com/28vr338.jpg Actually, he wants my hands flatter than that probably. My fingers on my right hand are slightly wider than my left, so it's harder with that hand. CoC -- You pretty much nailed my troubles with it. It sounds like I don't always have to play that deep, but it prepares me for situations when a song calls for it. It's helpful thinking of it that way. Sounds like how you play in between keys can vary a lot person to person and song to song. Thank you for the in depth post, it's helpful to me. I will play around in different positions to see if any of it helps. My middle finger on my right hand has zero clearance between the keys though. Practice practice practice I suppose 
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Jan 6, 2012 04:16
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Can anyone recommend a good music/piano theory book? I am currently starting on Faber lesson 3A and have been taking lessons for a year now with no prior music training. I would like something beginner to intermediate.
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Jan 18, 2013 02:21
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Cast_No_Shadow posted:I always find this a tough question. I'm not familiar with the Faber books beyond a quick Amazon scan. Those Piano adventure ones right? By that I'm assuming you mean the basics of theory, how to read music, understand scales, chords and similar and fit it all together sort of thing? Correct on all counts. quote:Also I think its heavily dependant on the goal you have in mind. I personally cannot stand books aimed at children that explain everything 30 different ways to make sure the point is hammered home (although do I appreciate their use). As you're getting instruction something I found helpful at your sort of point was getting a dryer more text\reference type book and scouring the internet for as many pieces of music I could find for free between Grade 1 and whatever I could play at the time. Literally hundreds of pieces (abusing work's printer) then I'd sit them in a stack, randomly pick one out, attempt to sight read it and look up anything I didn't know. Combined with regular instruction, ensuring I didn't accidentally miss anything out, I found it really helpful. It also exposes you to a hell of a lot of music and styles, and you'd be surprised just how much is on you tube in some format to compare how you ended up playing it with. I like the Faber books overall and feel like I have made good progress, but, as you said, they're a little on the childish side. I was hoping for some reading aimed towards adults. I know there's a lot on youtube, but I learn this type of thing better through reading. That and I get tired of starting at my computer screen. I also know there's tons of styles out there, but I was hoping for something somewhat general to start. I do a fair bit of songs independent of my teacher as well to mix things up. But I want something I can read before bed just to learn more and pick up some things to apply to my playing. Does that make sense? Maybe I am too new to know what I am talking about... Some google searching has given me a couple of recommended books: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idio...IN%3D1592574378 and http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Fifth...ton%27s+Harmony Does anyone have experience with either?
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Jan 21, 2013 23:55
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I am learning a beginner version of Phantom of the Opera (Faber Popular Songs level 3A/B). My teacher added some chords to spice up the ending a bit, and I can't quite tell what notes I am supposed to hit. Could someone who is better with theory/chords than me tell me what they think he meant? I don't want to practice it wrong. The chord I am referring to is the second chord in the third measure of the top staff, where I wrote 125 as the fingering. I am not sure if it's DEB or DFB? Hell maybe even EFB?? I think the chord repeats in the next measure (first measure, second staff), or is that supposed to be different? 
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Mar 23, 2013 17:22
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CowOnCrack posted:What are people working on right now? La Bamba and He's a Pirate -- Faber Popular Repertoire levels 3A-3B. 
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May 16, 2013 22:02
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I have enjoyed the Faber Piano Adventures series. It's been easy to follow and learn from, and each step in the series has supplemental books you can buy with fun songs in them. They take you up through level 5, which I think is considered early advanced for their series. For your reference: I am an adult learner, started 1.5yrs ago at the age of 26 with no prior experience on any instrument and I am currently working through 3B and the popular repertoire book for 3A/B. If you have a good teacher, they can spice up some of the supplemental songs for you and they quickly become really cool to play and listen to. Adding a chord or octave here and there makes a big difference.
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Jun 23, 2013 16:12
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internet inc posted:My dad has been playing the piano for a few years now and I want to buy him something related to that for Christmas. I figure this is the best place to ask since I know almost nothing about pianos. He has a MIDI keyboard he uses to practice late at night (and that he's taken to a small work gig before) and an upright piano for daytime sessions. He can do simple songs and has learned all he knows from a book. Rocket Piano? Does he have a nice bench? I had a POS bench and replaced it with this one: http://www.amazon.com/Ebony-Adjustable-Artist-Piano-Bench/dp/B005DBEAM0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1385776506&sr=8-7&keywords=piano+bench It's much more pleasant to play on.
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Nov 30, 2013 02:56
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Do you guys have any advice on practicing more efficiently / effectively? I see lots of posts over scale and arpeggio practice. I've only done a little of that up to this point. Maybe this is stupid, but how do you decide which scales, arpeggios or chords to practice each session? It seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff when you look at it. I have about 30-45 minutes a day to practice. I currently sit down and practice 3-4 songs at a time until I get them down, then move on to the next in the book. I am getting to the point where it seems like it's taking me way too long to read through the pieces though. I don't want to trudge through songs like this, it's not fun. Also, what do you mean when you say let your ear guide your technique? Do you mean the way it sounds, i.e. does it sound like poo poo or not? FYI, I have zero musical experience outside of the last two years playing piano. Since I started I have been working my way through the Faber lesson books. I am currently on level 4, and the popular / classic repertoire books are getting time consuming and difficult for me to read through. I take lessons once every two weeks, which is about as much as my schedule allows.
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Feb 23, 2014 04:56
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CowOnCrack posted:Scales and arpeggios, and their variations (scales in thirds/sixths, contrary motion, practicing dynamics and articulations with them, etc.) are your bread and butter technique exercises. They will get you better at a wide variety of piano skills all at once. That's why it's great to do these at least 15 minutes or so a day. Do you add any kind of melodies to them, or do you just play them straight? Should I not worry about stuff like that at this stage and just focus on playing them well? I have a tendency to over think things like this... I have The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences: Includes All the Major, Minor (Natural, Harmonic, Melodic) & Chromatic Scales. I have gone through it a little, but never done anything serious with it. Should I just start from page one and play through a page a day, starting over when I get to the end? Each page covers basic scales, chords and arpeggios in a different key. It gets more advanced as the book progresses. Thanks for taking the time to write up such helpful posts. Newbies like me appreciate it.
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Feb 23, 2014 14:31
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 15:48 |
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baw posted:So almost a year after my first lesson I've finally managed to play my first full modern song. I'm gonna do another recording of it that I will send off to my piano tutor in the next couple of days, but I'll run this one by you guys for any tips. It goes without saying that the acoustics aren't great. Well this makes me feel like poo poo. You've only been playing a year? Any prior musical experience? It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good. I'll leave the criticism to posters who are good at the piano (i.e. not me). Kudos for playing it at that speed with such few mistakes. My one comment would be to work on your hand positioning. I got an adjustable bench so I could get my hands up higher, it feels much better. I've been at it for two years now and I couldn't play that with so few mistakes, even with practice. Playing "flawlessly" is a huge struggle for me. I have zero musical experience prior to the lessons, and it makes it tough. Good job in such a short period of time, I am slightly jealous.
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Mar 24, 2014 00:20
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