Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum what are the steps to play like this?

this is quite amazing, what will it take for a beginner like to me play like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUAFKMIZnXk&list=FLh8oQOD1201KZrIOb_b5qLw

A tourist goes to NYC and decides to take in a show, so he orders tickets online. But, as he's wandering around, he gets a little lost. He stops by a street musician and asks, "Hey man, pardon me, but can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" The musician replies, without missing a beat, "Practice, man, practice."

A good teacher would also help...

Adak, two things:

1. Without knowing anything about you, (your age, how long have you been playing the piano, do you have a teacher, do you play any other instruments, any other musical training, how much time do you have to practice, etc) your question is basically impossible to answer. Its like asking "How long is a piece of string?".

2. The video you posted is of Billy Taylor. I looked him up on Wiki, and here is an excerpt from the page about him:



Nevertheless, there is an answer to your question: Follow in Billy Taylor's footsteps and get a teacher, (if you don't have one already), and be prepared for much work.

But the work is worth it! Best wishes!

ps...note that Billy Taylor took Classical piano lessons to play Jazz, as did Duke Ellington.

He did not take a Pop music style course. A good Classical teacher can lay a very strong foundation necessary to play intense music. I am forever grateful that I had a very strong Classical piano teacher when I was young..

Really, there's no short cut, no magic formula. It takes years, and how many years really depends on who you are. Anyone who feels they've "arrived" and reached their goal probably isn't looking to be professional. Nothing wrong with that, but the pros keep on learning and perfecting their craft, because there's always the next hurdle to overcome.

Getting a teacher - a good one - is a great start.

Thanks for weighing in Morodiene.
I always like it when the teachers come over here.
(so I don't feel so bad about barging in over there).

To the good thoughts above I will add ...

Try not to get impatient.

It may take you much longer than you anticipate.

All you can do is do the things that will eventualy get you there and enjoy the music you are playing as you learn.

Anything to ease your conscience. :P



+1. Enjoy the process along the way. It's great to have aspirations and goals, but understand that piano is a VERY difficult instrument to play. It looks simple, you just hit a key - anyone can do it. And yes, while anyone *can* do it, not everyone does usually because they get in their own way.

Setting unreasonable goals or time limits on yourself is a recipe for failure in this endeavor. I'm not saying don't aim high (like I want to play at the level of this guy), what I am saying is be smart about it. Know that this will take years. There will be only so many hours in a day you will actually be productive, even if you sit at the piano for 8 hours. At some point, you need to sleep to reinforce what was learned that day, so we are all limited by this.

If you think about it, how many years did it take for Billy Taylor to get to the point he was at in the video? How many years of lessons with various teachers, how much time studying the craft, how much time performing to perfect what was learned in the studio? I'm not saying this to put you down or discourage you, but I hope that you will keep the goal of wanting to play like that tempered with being able to enjoy where you are now while taking the steps necessarily to get there.