Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum OT, Tell us about yourself

Hello everyone. I have just spotted this thread so I though I could also say a word or two about myself

I was born in Poland a grew up in a little southern town there. My dad was sort of musician amateur and he played saxophone with friends. When I was a kid he sent me to music school to play the clarinet. I did not really enjoyed that. My choice would be probably anything else like the guitar which I tried later or the piano. Well, I was so fed up with clarinet so that I eventually abandoned music school and stopped playing anything.

Currently, I live in UK and work as a sound engineer. I am also married and this year I will turn 40 Oh dear when I realise that I feel like my life is passing so quickly!

Last year around September something occurred to me. I have no explanation on that but after listening to Stevie Wonder I realised that learning piano would be great and then later in my life it would be fantastic to spent free time and enjoy playing music My wife bought a piano for me for my 39 birthday. I was so surprised and thrilled. Three weeks later I decided to learn this instrument in a proper way with a teacher.

Now It is almost a year since I have got the piano and I never enjoyed it more even though I though my progress would be much better. Recently, I have to reconsider my progress and things I should be learning. I was simply trying to play some material / pieces too difficult too soon. I guess most people fall into that trap But as a beginner it is really difficult to became a good self-observer and sometimes people need time to understand it.

Shortly I started playing piano, I though listening to classical music would help to understand piano. Now I listen to Chopin not only for the sake of playing piano but because I fell in love with his style. It's amazing because every now and again I find something new in his music. Classical composers help me to stay motivated. It's a huge aspiration but I would eventually like to play classical pieces

I can say just one thing at the moment that it's been and still is great experience to play piano I feel up and down very often but after one year I can say that practising everyday, repetition, self criticism, self respect is the key to progress and stay motivated. I wonder where I am going to be next year :p

I just saw this thread. I started October 2013. I am a very slow learner but have a couple of very good teachers who don't mind my slow progress. I have a piano here, where I work and live, and another couple at my house in Europe. So I have no excuse for not practicing.

ZikO, Yes I fell into that trap, it was taking me a long time to learn new pieces and I was self teaching to start of with. When I decided to go to a teacher she explained that my sight reading was way behind my playing ability and I needed to play pieces that were easier and work on my sight reading so it catches up then build both in tandem - and its working.

I am 10 years ahead (in age) so don't worry about being 40! and I dont see any reason why you cant play classical pieces now - just find versions at the right level , there is plenty available online , just go for it.....

Ziko, take it from my perspective; I started lessons a year ago at age 58 and now at 59 I'm infinitely ahead of where I started.

Imagine where you will be in 18 years; just don't ever stop, keep moving ahead and enjoy each little success along the way.

Just seen this thread, and loved reading all the different stories

As for me... I took up piano in january of this year at age 28, after a couple-year period of saying i wanted to do, but never did! =p

I am currently learning with a teacher, using the micheal arron books and other supplementary material.
sometimes i feel i am not progressing enough and can get hard on myself, but when i look back at where i started i feel like I am doing quite well .

I try to practice daily for 30 min to an hr at least.

My main goals are to be able to improvise, play by ear any song I hear that may tickle my fancy, and also make my own arrangements of those songs.. which i can do now with very simple pieces(happy birthday, la bamba, a few pop songs... lol)

I would love to play in the style of jazz, but i am starting with learning some classical music. It seems almost all the Jazz greats started there so they cant be wrong lol.

whew that might have been too long haha.

My name is Justin, I joined piano world in may 2014 and everyone here has been so great and helpful.

Greetings to forum with some delay! I'm multi-violin, viola, piano, synthesizer, melodica, clarinet, alto saxophone (key instruments of them - piano and melodica, on which I fundamentally changed the playing concept), but most of the time I have been teaching jazz theory, harmony, improvisation, arrangement, method, jazz education of children. My experience includes 14 years of professional musical training , 12 years of work in symphony and chamber orchestras, participation in the leading jazz ensembles where I lived - in Soviet Union and Israel. My jazz teaching experience continues for 43 years ,   experience of performances for 46 years , during which I performed at the Newport Jazz Festival as well as in Europe jazz festivals ; played with artists: Esther Ofarim, Memphis Slim, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Buster Williams, Joe Farrell, Chico Freeman, Arnie Lawrence, Billy Hart, Dewey Redman, Walter Blanding, Delphio Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Eddie Daniels, Herb Pomeroy, Avishai Cohen, Yuval Cohen, Roman Kunsman , Peter Wertheimer, Mamelo Gaytenopulos . Among my students became known guitarists Dan Adler, Mordy Farber, Roni Ben Hur, Arnon Palti ; pianists Ruslan Sirota, Tamir Hendelman, Haim Cotton, Eli Meiri, Ofer Portugal, Greg Foldvari, Natalie Tenenbaum.
I am very active in teaching via Skype, unfortunately not in English.

Wow, a veritable cascade of new folks - it'll be a shot in the arm to the liveliness of PW! Welcome.

Cathy

Hi Guys

I'm from Newfoundland, and will have my first "piano-versary" next January ( starting at 40 years old ). Even with all the frustrations that come with starting off having no musical background, this is the most fun and satisfying experience I've ever had, and I'm really looking forward to being able to play with more fluidity and expression hopefully over time...as an added bonus, I'm getting to discover all this wonderful music that I had never really listened to before! Bach and Grieg are favorites.
I have two great children, and work with kids that have exceptionalities, I love hiking around my beautiful province, painting, and as of late, the art of keeping life simple...

Also, since I've taken up piano, my kitchen floor is very dirty


Great forum!

Christy

Hi there. I'm from germany and startet playing hitting the keys on my MP7 some weeks ago. I'm using Alfred's adult course #1 as one of my main lessonbooks. Also playing some guitar (since 2 yrs). PW is a good source of information, inspiration and communication. So I decided to hit the registry button and join the party.

Regards
Markus

Welcome Exo, you may also be interested in the Alfred book 1 thread if you have not found it already

This is my first post here. I have been playing piano poorly for about 40 years. Very VERY poorly. I hope to maybe take it seriously if i can find the time. i am more of a guitar player. And hello everybody.

Hello john thomas, where there is a will there is a way or so they say.

Missing pictures from the start in this thread makes me sad
I am 41, my name is Vladimir, and I live in Moscow, Russia. Not piano skills until 40. My first instrument was Casio CDP200. So-so, keys is very heavy, not very touchable. Now I have Yamaha P155, much better. I use Alfred course, Hamphries book, and Will Barrow course. Also, Im impressing many good books about piano, like The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures, Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey.
Cheers.

Not sure if I've ever truly introduced myself either and this appears to be the proper thread to do so!

I'm Kevin, 45 years old, from Arizona. I've been playing piano on and off for about 5 years now; guitar for about 30 years or so. Fan of jazz, blues, gospel, rock, metal, classical, techno and enjoy learning!!! Currently playing guitar and keys in a classic rock band here in the Phoenix area.

Ooo, classic rock And playing in a band is a fun thing, too.

Hello to all of you who are new to the forum. Hope you participate in many of our great threads!

Cathy

John Thomas,

Welcome at pianoworldforums. I was churchorganist from 1966-1988. Left church and stopped playing organ. Active music was low-profile........I restarted active pianoplaying at the age of 53......

So.......Never too old to restart music.....and before all.......enjoy music!

Good luck,

Johan B

hello, folks. Guess I've not introduced myself here (at least in Adult Beginners)

Ricardo here, 40 years, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I have a long passion for piano and classical music, but being a shy guy prevented me from following the concert or recital path: I took piano lessons in my youth for about 3 years and then turned away. Only in recent years I got myself enough free time to pursue piano playing again. I play for myself for the love of it, a true amateur.

It's great to participate in an online community of other piano lovers...

Wow, so many "new members"!!!

Kawai Player - Welcome to Piano World! Very nice to read and understand your approach to music, ad piano. It's quite similar to mine: no rush and no 'level' traget to achieve. I know what you mean .
Looking forward to listen your piece in the next Recital. Oh, and what a great idea to do some duets with your wife! Great!

ZikO - Welcome to Piano World! Looking forward to read about your progress. Have a nice journey!

J.T.1986 - Welcome to Piano World! Don't forget to share your stories and achievements with us!

Nahum - Wow, so much experience! I don't think you're a "beginner" anymore, but I'm sure you can help this community... Welcome to PW!

ChristyM - Hi Chris! Don't worry about not having any musical background. Just enjoy your journey, keep practicing, and don't forget to have lots of fun. Welcome!

Exo - Welcome Markus! I'm sure you'll "hit" the right keys, in the right moment Enjoy your journey!

john thomas - Nice to know that you didn't quit playing piano. 40 years? Wow, I'm sure you've lots of stories to share!

Hitry Plan - Welcome to Piano World! Good collection of books, right?

Arizona Sage - Nice to know you have a band! Welcome to PW!

Doritos Flavoured - Olá e bem-vindo ao PianoWorld! Hello and welcome to PW! You're in great company here, Ricardo. Have a nice journey.

obrigado, amigão. Acho que eu tinha um cadastro aqui antes de 2009, mas esqueci a senha: pianoid

Boa! É sempre bom ler português neste site.
Good! It's always nice to read some portuguese around here.