Hello,

I recently bought, and have yet to recieve, my first digital piano. I have no music experience, except taking 2 month lessons about 8 years ago. I remember the C accord and thats about it.

Unfortunantly I'm a busy student and I dont have alot scheduled free time. That, and being on a tight budget makes me think I should first try it myself.

Are there other people who tried this and succeeded?
What books did you use? Are there any internet sites which helped you? What about internet videos?

I know of pianofundamentals.com and thats about.

Also, since my goal (well, one of them) is to play:

Yann Tiersen - L'apres midi

and another song with this music sheet:
[img]http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/570/musicsheet.png [/img]

How long does it take for an average person to learn this? I got no idea how difficult these pieces are.

Also, my main goal is playing movies/game music + modern classical music (phillip glass/yann tiersen). The real classics like beethoven/mozart/chopin I dont like, except a pretty small sample. Will this goal require a different teaching method?

Thanks in advance!

No, because your definition of success is bound to change.

My defintion of success is being able to play the pieces you want to play, fluently, and not getting hurt in the process of it

What you want to play will get more and more ambitious.

His main goal is " ... playing movies/game music + modern classical music (phillip glass/yann tiersen)." which would be his definition of success; one can easily do this via self-instruction. A goodly number of people here have. So, yes.

JF

Does he take sugar?

Milk -

There are three threads of people using the Alfred's All-in-One series and many, but not all, of those piano players are teaching themselves. Others here have had a limited number of lessons and have gone it on their own since.

You'll also find Yann Tierson fans, perhaps by the dozens, here in the ABF. You've definitely come to the right place

The standard answer to "how long" is "enjoy the learning process." Sounds kind of cryptic, but it means - everyone's so different, has different time available, has a different background with music, etc, etc, etc - that there's no way to tell how long. So, the learning/playing piano is so much fun that, while having a goal is a good thing for many people, you'll be hooked even if your goal is reall long-term!

What kind of digital do you have on the way? I'm beginning to think about trading in my 5-year-old Casio, so would appreciate being kept posted on your new one and how you like it.

So welcome to PW. At least one of the Alfred's study group threads, if not all three, is usually on the front page, so you might check them out. As Frank/PW says - piano playing is fun.

Cathy

p.s. - kbk, must you?!?

Thanks for the comments, I did saw the thread about Alfred's book, didnt knew the content of the book though. Gonna look into it!

Regarding my DP, I bought the yamaha P155 after heavily debating between that one, and the KORG 250sp(different price classes). Hoping it will arrive next week and I'm excited about starting.

10 years ago I initially tried this, got frustrated, then got some books on "how to play from a fake book." I made steady progress over several months and here and there throughout the years would find a popular song I like, learn the chords, and play it. I'd also play some Christmas songs and the occasional "Happy Birthday." Eventually, however, I felt all my songs sounded the same / amateurish. I kind of stalled out 5 years ago though and didn't even play much until I signed my daughter and I up for piano lessons 3 months ago. The fake technique gave me a huge head start on real lessons as the hand coordination is already there and the basic note reading (at lest in the treble clef) was there, as well as being able to improvise if I screw up or just to make things more interesting. So it's worthwhile, but eventually I think it's always good to get some in person lessons if you reach a point where you aren't progressing.

You are exactly right. Very well said.

Milk - I'll be interested in hearing the report on the Yamaha. My un-weighted take-to-non-band-jams-because-I-can-carry-it-under-my-arm keyboard is a Yamaha, and another piano player has a weighted one that I like a lot. When I bought my Privia I liked the piano tone as well as I liked the comparable Yamaha, and the Casio was cheaper - which was a significant factor at the time. Maybe there's a try-them-out trip to Guitar Center in my near future

Cathy

Hi Milk,

That's a great keyboard you are getting. Congrats!

I think that most people who start out teaching themselves eventually opt for some lessons with a teacher. But, it is possible to reach a certain level of proficiency on your own with the right tools.

You might want to take a look at my method book (link in my signature). I wrote it so that adult beginners would be able to use it without a teacher at least for a while.

Good luck!

I'd be wary of all 'hand shaped like holding a ball' methods, otherwise this looks interesting. Love the full-text preview idea.

The Alfred's Adult All-In-One series, Book/CD package is all you need for now - that and a good double X stand;-) Level One includes info on posture and introduces theory in the context of learning a song. That's good pedagogy for the self-learner.

The CD will let you hear how the song should sound when played at the correct tempo. If you can't locate the Book/CD package, you can get the CD directly from Alred's.

This piece should not be a means to an end. After you master your "ultimate goal" you will always want more and the the definiton of success will keep rising.

My situation is comparable to yours, and that song is about the only one I'm able to play until the end at the moment.

There are various self teaching methods, the one you choose depends on your own preferences.

For example there's tutorials on youtube, piano software like synthesia or note by note etc.

Rui725 is right - you'll always want more. Many at PW view learning a piece as a kind of acquisition. In a sense yes, the skill is acquired but the modus operandi is to play the piano. i.e. not whether you win or lose...

Yes, he must - too much sugar maybe...

JF

Rachel J - I like the look of your teaching method, I'm currently teaching myself using Alfred, it's a pretty good course but the choice of pieces leaves something to be desired, many are very dull! Your use of classical pieces throughout appeals! One thing bothers me though, there doesn't seem to be any CD included? This may not be much of a problem for those working with teachers but for a beginner teaching themselves it could be a problem. My reading isn't too brilliant so I like to check that I'm getting it right against a recording.

Would you consider putting audio files on your site so students can listen to the pieces?

BazC, thanks for the input! Yes, I am definitely considering adding more audio and video related to the book on my website. I think I prefer to make the stuff available online rather than on a CD. Stay tuned!

That's great, thanks for the info!

Thanks for all the advice, I found alot of resources I didnt hear. Alfred and FundamentalKeys look nice.