Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Hello! I would like to introduce myself to the Piano World

It has been my lifelong dream to one day play the piano. I was told once that it is useless to try to learn piano as an adult, that it requires far too much tacit memory to accomplish without starting as a child. I say no better time than the present to prove 'em wrong!

As a child, 40 years ago, I had my first encounter with a piano, my grandmother's upright. On visits I would tap the keys randomly until I could make a simple melody, wanting to understanding everything about the instrument. My only other real experience with a piano was when I was a college student studying to become a graphic designer, I sat down with one for about an hour until I could play 12-bar blues in what almost sounded like real chords, lol. Unfortunately, until now, that was the extent of my experience with piano.

However, I have admired the piano greatly. I gravitate to piano-composed music from Chopin to John Barry; from Bacharach to Elton John; Chris Ledoux ... Coldplay ... Billy Powell ... Miles Davis ... Springstein, etc... At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I have even dreamed I was playing the piano, composing, with enough clarity to remember complex chord progressions when I would awaken. (Alas, with no formal musical training I had no real way of recording those ideas.) I think I may have been born to play the piano, so to speak.

So it's with great joy I can announce I've finally taken the plunge and ordered my piano. I'm wondering what took so long! I'm anxiously awaiting my Yamaha CP5. In the meantime I've been enjoying the Piano For All tutorials, which are right down my alley. I can't wait! I feel like a kid at Christmas!

Wish me luck!

Welcome! and yes, GOOD LUCK!

I'm fairly new to the forum -and to the piano -myself. I'm still enjoying the "kid at Christmas" feeling too.

You'll "meet" a lot of really kind and helpful folks here - all of whom are keen to share the adventure!

Buon viaggio!

Awesome! Thanks.

Good luck, R.I.P., and welcome to the forum!! And I have to say (as a person with more than a few doom and gloom inclinations of her own) that I absolutely love your login name.

Thanks Monica! And, by the way, I checked out your YouTube channel. Bookmarked. You play beautifully.

Golden Fly One, by Alessandra Celletti is not completely unlike Philip Glass for obvious reasons is she? Philip Glass really, really does it for me. I hadn't been exposed to Alessandra Celletti yet, so I looked around and found this, which also suits me very much: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LvqlCkU5U&feature=related

Also enjoyed your rendition of Winter Twilight, by David Nevue. I'm going to enjoy returning to hear your playing.

Welcome R.I.P. I hate when people are so negative about learning as adults. If we couldn't learn those of us who were adults when computers arrived on the scene we wouldn't have been able to cope.

That is one long run-on sentence I hope it made sense.

Lol! Well put, KBS.

Also, beyond cognitive abilities, I doubt I have significantly less dexterity, or hand-eye coordination for that matter, than when I was a kid. But the proof will be in the pudding. I'm intensely curious what the pace of my development will be. Either way, it will be a rest-of-my-life-long pursuit, no doubt.

Usually I have great patience, but the anticipation for my piano, which is on delayed delivery, is killer. It's been years since I've been this interested in anything.

welcome. I took up the piano aged 40 as well and am currently studying grade 6 after 5 years of playing.
Are you intending taking proper piano lessons at any stage RIP ?

Congratulations!
I hope you are in a location where there are a good number of teachers to try. The piano teachers forum (and those good folk who will post here) will likely have some good advice on the process of connecting with a teacher whose approach fits you well. Please be aware that it's OK to study with someone for a few months and then change if the personality fit isn't right. As an adult you have a big advantage here, in terms of knowing how to get information and support from a mentor/teacher, and knowing when it's working for you.

Welcome on board......

Join the club....playing piano or just noodling at the keys....it's so nice.......

We'll read your posts and we expect your recordings....

Best regards,
JohanB

Thanks, R.I.P., yes I do like a lot of the minimalist composers, especially minimalism with a blend of melody, like Celletti or Tiersen or even Einaudi.

Keep playing and start recording or writing down those compositions of yours. If you look over our latest recital, you'll see that at least a couple of us (not me!) offer their own compositions as recital submissions.

Congratulations, R.I.P., on taking on the challenge of living out your dreams. I know you'll enjoy it. I bet you'll be ready for our next recital, and it's always exciting to hear someone's very first recorded piece!

Nancy

Yes, I am PianoUI. In the meantime I thought I'd get my feet wet with a self-tutorial as I seem to learn best that way in general despite the obvious pitfalls. I also had a negative experience with guitar lessons as a kid which completely turned me off to guitar, so I realize I need to be careful how I go about selecting a teacher. Not sure how I'll go about that, especially since I live in a smaller city in Nebraska (pop. 10,000). May need to commute to Lincoln for lessons.

Thanks elecmuse3! You definitely touched on my concerns.

I love a good challenge NancyM333, thanks!