Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Self-Teaching Support Thread

You're right, Bonnie. I'm being silly.

I'll sell a kidney so I can get a better piano.

So, Bonnie, can we see your method? Thanks!

Hello,

First of all I would like to thank the folks here for the support. I was surprised to see so many negative comments to people who don't have a teacher, almost to the point of being rude. Maybe it is just a shock coming from guitar, where the forums I visited were extremely positive for people looking to learn. Either way I am glad there is at least a small corner for folks learning without a teacher. I was actually already getting discouraged before I started until I found this thread.

I recently decided to pick up the piano. I bought a starter keyboard and printed out a few pieces to try and enjoyed playing Fur Elise that was simplified. It was the only thing I could really pick up that sounded ok. I also learned how to read sheet music at a basic level.

Now I am wondering what I should start learning? Should I continue to just try out easy songs for a bit or is there something else I should start learning? I friend gave me a stack of piano books(mostly song books for children), but the only one I have heard of is the Hanon(The Virtuoso Piano in 60 Exercises) book.

I would really like to play mostly non-classical piano(pop, rock, ragtime). I am not planning on playing professionally or anything, it is just something I would like to do for personal enjoyment.

Any pointers on where to start?

For Mala and BEARitone - there are three long-on-going threads here in the ABF, one for each Alfred's book. They aren't the only books available, but here you'll have people who are playing the same pieces at the same level you are who can help you out. There are also people who can recommend other pieces that will be at or slightly above your level, so that you aren't playing *only* pieces from Alfred's, and you can begin to branch out into other music. Those books will give you a foundation for the things you want to play later, whether classical, pop, or ragtime.

If you want to play Joplin and other classic ragtime composers you'll want that foundation, both in reading and technique. If you want to play pop there is also a thread here in the ABF on Pete the Bean's Pop Piano course, and Pete his very self checks in sometimes.

So there's support here to help you get further along in your piano playing. You can even post your playing in the monthly piano bar threads, and/or once every 3 months in the ABF recitals, so you cana get applause and have a record of your progress

And yes, there's a good contingent here of people learning outside of formal lessons. But we all learn from each other and from many people around us.

Cathy

Thank you so much for the kind and helpful reply.

I had seen the Alfred books mentioned before around here but I didn't know too much about them. I am going to grab level one right now.

Cheers.

Thank you Cathy - I really appreciate this - you can sense my frustration from my ramblings!

The good news here for me is that I see now it is okay to branch out and try 'other pieces' - straying away from Alfred's now and then will be helpful mostly because I enjoy classical - and also pop! So much to learn - such little time!!

I will be looking out for suggestions on material I can use - i know that i will definitely be looking for something that has a cd with it -

time to get back and hit the keys!! thank you again!

Sheet music may not come with a CD. You've progressed sufficiently to start looking for sheet music for tunes/songs that you like. If you google the name of the piece, you may find it on a CD on Amazon. CD's on that site often have brief sound clips. That'll let you hear how the piece should sound.

If you have music notation software, you could enter eight or sixteen bars and then just play them back.

thank you!! didnt know about the software - thats worth exploring i am sure
and thank you also for suggesting that i am now ready to look for sheet music and try it out - a definite 'feel good'!!

Mala, thanks for the kind words.

People on this forum have recommended free/low cost music notation software. You might want to start a new thread re that. You'll for sure get good info. Developers often offer a trial period, so you could experiment, to learn what seems to work for you.

All the best with your playing.

I was self-taught for 3 years on a digital piano but having purchased an acoustic piano towards the end of last year, I decided to take up monthly lesson at the start of this year.

My experience is that unless one is musically gifted, self-teaching can only take one pass the beginners phase to somewhere in the early intermediate stage (and stuck there for a long time). Without a qualified teacher to point out mistakes and to help with developing a good ear and sound techniques, progress can be painfully slow. As one is never sure of doing the right thing, the absence of conviction in learning/practising would inevitably translate into a lack of confidence in performance.

Prior to the lessons, I'd only play the piano in private and would never dared to do it in front of friends, let alone any strangers but now I might give it a go if the environment is conducive enough. Come to think of it, having a teacher listening critically while you play is good preparation for that.

It's easier to afford monthly lessons but you will need to be flexible with lesson time as most qualified teacher are engaged on a weekly basis and can only 'fit you in' at irregular hours.

I think most of us agree that regular lessons with a good teacher is optimum. However, I also think that the results of self-learning, just as with learning with a teacher, will vary according to the student.

Late-Starter: To be honest it has been discussed to death. I only see posts like this as discouragement for the people who want to visit this thread.


I am loving the recommended Alfred books, I bought them on my Kindle right after they were recommended because I couldn't wait. Cheers for the advice Cathy.

I agree - this is not a thread to discuss whether or not self teaching is a good idea, it is a "self-teaching support thread". We are already self teaching, and need a thread where we can discuss our progress - or lack of it LOL - without constantly being told that we need to get a teacher.

Tedious is the word I might use I've never been discouraged in my own musical journey because of them. I just keep having fun.

I was way keyed last Wednesday at jam because suddenly (she says - a little like "overnight sensation" applies to someone who's been trying to break in to the music business for 10 years) I was very loose and relaxed and the piano just "popped" in its sound - quite lively and quick. Great fun.

Cathy

well, i've been silently supporting this thread by not jumping in and giving advice. I really admire those who have the confidence to pursue any endeavor.

i taught myself for years.. 3+ decades really. i interviewed teachers occasionally but never wanted to engage one.

good luck everyone.

For me, it's very mood-dependent whether I let the various "You can't progress without a teacher" posts make me feel oppressed by my entire life situation, or whether they roll off without dampening my spirits too much. Mostly I try to view it as a matter of making lemonade from life's lemons -- a matter of appreciating the freedoms that self-teaching allow me.

But there is also something much larger and deeper, the question of how one motivates tasks which are not supported by any external structure in one's life -- tasks with no accountability beyond being true to one's musical self.

I think I posted before my thought was quite ripe.

I think that what I was trying to say, is that working without external structure or reward is an interesting spiritual challenge in its own right. There's nothing visibly lost to the world by my failing to persist, just the abstract positive motivator of maintaining integrity in relation to my process of musical growth.

When life gives you lemons, just throw them at the next person who says you can't progress without a teacher.

Lovin this thread tangleweeds.

IMO, teachers are important for kids and students looking to major in music, or perform, but for the average adult there are diminishing returns. The older one becomes, the more this should be a side hobby then something that is taken too seriously.

It is safe to assume that the older one gets, the more unlikely they will be playing in competitions in front of a panel of judges. Friends and families are usually the ones who hear us play, and mostly they are just happy to hear us playing whether it be classical or pop.

Self teaching is sufficient for an adult because this is not our priority and you can actually get a lot out of reading books, listening to recordings, etc... And I have lesson when I was younger from the ages of 7-18 and for all those years my teacher mostly corrected my posture and hands, taught me a little theory, and she would play pieces while I imitated her... then again, I had the "little old lady" piano teacher who just taught kids whose parents just wanted their kids to have fun.

I am self taught after 6 weeks of lessons a decade ago. I will say that high school band helped solidify the theory of music in my mind, those 6 weeks of lessons helped me learn posture and fingerings, etc.

My main method of practicing and learning is to just sit down with some new sheet music, try my hand at sight reading it, then slowly work my way through from start to finish.
By the end, I usually end up with the song memorized anyway so i can play it wherever I go (and there's a piano).

I think there is nothing wrong with self teaching, especially if it makes you happy...anyway, thats what this is about right? I get a lot of enjoyment from sitting in front of a piano a fiddling around making up chords and melodies even though I don't do it perfectly. Piano makes me happy and I don't need to be a professional to appreciate that!

P.S. I'm excited to be a part of this forum! I am amazed to see some folks with tens of thousands of posts!

-Brad

I thought myself to read music and play the piano. I play pretty hard pieces after 1 year. But now I take lessons once a month to get some advise on my finger positions and some techniques.

It helps a lot and I decide myself when I go to the teacher.