Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Suggestions for a beginner piano player.

Hi Guys,

I have just bought Yamaha P105B and would like to start a proper learning--I am very keen doing so

Could anybody please suggest some good online courses / videos you have come across? First of all, as I am a beginner, I would really like to make sure my hands are shaped properly and I am not getting any odd habit. I would like to know what sort of exercises I need at the beginning.

Thanks.

To "make sure", as you put it ... You had best get a teacher.

If that is not possible ....

http://www.Fundamentalkeys.com

or

http://playingpianoblog.com/learn-to-play-the-piano/

would be my suggestions.

Josh Wright (check YouTube) is my personal favorite for topical videos, including one on hand position. He's succinct and there is something to be learned from him regardless of one's level.

I'm sure others with more expertise will reply re: starting from scratch and various books.

Good luck on your journey! This group is a great resource, for both knowledge and encouragement.

Hi ZikO and welcome to piano I am sure you have made a life changing choice. As far as online courses you have to stay away from those that promise fast results. I don't use it but I do like Piano Marvel and you can try it for free.

Would always recommend to a complete beginner you take some lessons so you don't fall into bad habits.

As far as exercises the proven method is scales and arpeggios. Doing these daily for a short duration will strengthen fingers and bring evenness to your playing.

Forgot to mention as far as videos goes I think this guy (although he a bit eccentric) has put together a great series of teaching material for the beginner and beyond. His site is here

I would actually suggest that you learn a song you like first - something not too hard. Then pay for just 1 or 2 piano lessons so that a professional can give you some real feedback on your technique.

After that you will be in a position to decide if you want to continue taking lessons or just learn on your own.

+1 ... what music interests you and what are you looking to get out of it, playing for family and friends, gigging, winding down a tough day, composing?

I really like this guy, his "fingers like bridges over a river with crocos waiting for people to fall" was fantastic. I make sure I check that my fingers form a good bridge since I watched his videos

If you like somebody that teaches in 2 minutes what can be taught in 2 minutes, he might not be your kind of teacher, but if you like somebody to talk to you like a mate and repeat things till they stick to you, then I do recommend him. I live in the UK, I'm used to eccentric people!

Really nice guy, he's making a good full piano and music theory course for free... and I mean a good one.

Read his story, he really has a lot of merit for what he's doing, he puts a lot of personal time and effort to help beginners everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Lypur

Many teachers will give an initial interview/free lesson so you can try it out and see. Also, many teachers after that have a trial period of 8-10 lessons. This is a good length of time to decide if lessons are working well for you and gives you a chance to become accustomed to what piano study with that teacher is like.

I you really don't want to get bad habits, then find a good teacher. It's nice to say that, but how would you know if you're doing something that is a "bad habit"? What do you know about playing piano that gives you the expertise to spot a bad habit? Even watching videos, you get no feedback, so you may think you're doing what they say and in reality you could be doing the complete opposite, or something not quite right and thus creating a bad habit. Get it right from the start where you have interaction with a professional, otherwise, you will get bad habits. I have yet meet a student who is self-taught that doesn't have bad habits.

Hello,

I was slightly busy and could not answer earlier and more over I did not really like to give a short sentence such as "thanks guys".

I find Andrew's Furmanczyk Academy of Music a very good set of tips for start, just not to fall into bad habits. It is ok at the beginning but I decided to pay for some lectures with a tutor, 1 hr / week. I think this will give me some solid fundamentals and some ideas how to improve by exercises.

Really appreciate all help here and thanks for your comments plus good links. I hope I will give that favour to someone else in future who comes here and looks for help like me.

ZikO

I sort of think it might be good to do a course on your own such as Faber Accelerated for Adults and go to a teacher once every few months to deal with issues. You can probably make it work quite inexpensively.