Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum An OLD BEGINNER wants to learn to play music !

Hi all, my first post and by probably the oldest member here (73)!!

Have a very old electronic organ that I have never played (Yamaha PSR-300) and would like to be able to do so.

Tonight I went to a website http://seasidelee.com/dream/ where a gentleman has provided a download for some music entitled ”I dreamed A Dream” which he has done superbly. How I would like to play like that..! So I went up and paid for the download and got a receipt number from PayPal.

However unfortunately (and I have written to the gentleman called Lee) the download did not appear, so I am hoping somehow when he gets my email and posting on his website I will get a link to the download.

Thanks to his website I found this forum where I have a feeling I will be for a few years yet - if I live that long!!

I would like to take an online course and have been examining a company at http://www.pianomagic.com which looks very very interesting and I like the guy's approach there.

Perhaps a number of you will give me advice on whether or not I am on the right track for my studies (albeit not a piano..) forgive me please but I only have this old electronic organ.

Oh, is it possible too that Lee from the Seasidelee.com comes here fairly often and might be able to help with this download problem I have with the tuition information?

Many thanks for all your kind assistance, and I look forward to learning much from this Forum.

Dave

Welcome Dave. You're not the oldest here by much anyway. I had by 73rd birthday the 10th of this month.

Studying music will add years to your life. Live long and have fun.

Hi, Dave -

Seaside checks in occasionally here, as do some other piano magic folks. I'd suggest a pm to Seaside and one to Rosanna (who's in pianomagic,and checks in here more often than Seaside) asking her to contact Seaside if she could, and see if one or the other will check their pm's in the next week or so.

Here on PW it's Seaside_Lee if you're looking for him thru the user list.

I'm sure he'll be happy to help - he helped a couple of other folks from here when his paypal first went live. But it might be a little while if he finds your pm here rather than on his site, but he's a good guy so if he's around he'll get back to you.

Hm. As for the oldest - we'll see who else checks in. At one time we had a "geezers" thread here

Cathy

I'm 72 and took up piano 7 months ago. Very pleased that I have memorized the 1st Movement of Moonlight Sonata and play it quite well for my ears, with only an occasional mistake. I'm making good progress on Clair De Lune. Never dreamed I'd be at this point so soon, but underestimated the advantage of being retired. Spend a minimum of 2 hours a day, and as much as 8 hours actually practicing (not in one sitting).

Between the piano and golf I have little time for less important things like painting the house.

Welcome and good luck. Hope you get the same pleasure from this challenge that I've been getting.

Hi eastcoast dave,

I received an email requesting assistance for you, so here I am. I read your post, and I assure you Seaside_Lee WILL respond and take care of you appropriately! He's a good guy that I've had the honor to personally meet face-to-face in London! His greatest joy is the same as mine...playing the music we LOVE!

Just so you know, my first instrument was ORGAN, and I learned to play it in about 5 hours. POWERFUL organs are still my favorite instrument, but the 'hey-day' for home electronic organs passed in the mid 1970's. Even so, I love the sound of BASS PEDALS, and have added them to my public performances on piano (Midi Bass Pedals by Roland).

There are many excellent online courses for playing piano (or organ), and PianoMagic is only one of them. Yet, I'm biased...the method I teach is the same method I use to play professionally, and performing as a musician has paid my bills for 42+ years! I learned to play in a day, got my first gig two weeks later, and I've been pushing keys ever since.

As the majority of folks in PianoWorld already know, there's an extreme JOY that one experiences from playing music; doesn't matter if they read, compose or play by ear...playing the music we LOVE is a WONDERFUL 'life experience', and it's far too GOOD to miss!

If you have any questions about PianoMagic, I would be more than happy to try and provide an appropriate response, but I would encourage you to check out my website first. Most questions have been asked many times, and I've been doing my best to respond to those questions within the public pages of my website. Still, I'm sure there are more questions to answer, and you are welcome to offer a few more!

If I can assist, please let me know. Meanwhile, I have emailed Seaside_Lee, and I'm certain he will assist you shortly!

Take care,


Mike

Hi all

What can I say! Day one and the help and advice I have been given already I find incredible. This is such a friendly and supportive Forum and immediately I feel right at home. Now to each of you who have responded so far.

Studio Joe – I am older by 6 days then, my birthday on 4th November! Thanks for your good wishes which I will try to follow.

Jotur – Thank you Cathy. Did as you suggested and sent a PM to Seaside_Lee. Love the “geezers” thread expression. Great...! I didn't send a PM to Rosanna because I had the privilege of Mike at Pianomagic responding to me directly. Appreciate your guidance.

Liber_Ouchy – You have done well and put in a lot of practice. I will have to adjust in the evenings I think to practice, because my wife and I have a hobby of cultivating 2 allotments where we live on the East Coast at Grimsby in UK. We are up there digging and planting during most of the growing season from about 10.00 until about 15.00 for 5 days a week. Fit in shopping somehow!! So it is basically only in the evenings that I will have to make up the time and the occasional day at the weekend.

Really like your name “Liber_Ouchy” well thought out!!

Pianomagic - Well how do I start to reply to you. The fact you took the trouble to answer a raw old beginner's first post on this Forum when you are obviously a busy person – speaks volumes about the person you are. And confirms my original post when I felt you are a guy who I can work with well. Much appreciated Mike. Also THANKS to whoever sent you the email in the first place.

As you point out, there are many excellent online courses available, but one has to begin somewhere and I feel that in a week or two, my choosing to come along with Pianomagic is probably the right path for me.

Also I feel absolutely sure as you mentioned, that Seaside_Lee will give me a link to the download as soon as he picks up on my messages to him outlining my problem. Oh, and thank you again for sending an email to him on my behalf. Your help in the future will be very gratefully received by me, but for the time being I will check out your website first and go from there.

Finally - “Thanks to all” and I am very happy to think that I came across the website of Seaside_Lee by accident which in turn led me to this Piano Forum and then on to Pianomagic.

Will come back and let you know as soon as Seaside_Lee gets in touch.

Bye for now.
Dave

Hi Dave

You have mail

Thanks to Mike and you guys for the heads up


It should redirect you automatically Dave but I don't for the life of me know why it doesn't. You should have the link now

Enjoy



Lee

Hi Lee

They all said here you would sort things out immediately you got to hear of my problem, and you lived up to exactly their expectations.

Just received a link on both my email address and on PM about 30 minutes ago, giving me the link to the download.

Downloading file as I write....

Look forward to future correspondence with you in months to come.

Again thanks for everything today and for producing the video.
Dave

Welcome to the forum, Dave. Please let us know how your piano learning adventures go.

Hi there Monica

Thanks for the welcome. Yes sure I will let you know how my learning adventures go. Because they will be adventures..!!

I have just downloaded ”I dreamed A Dream” from Seaside_Lee and just wish one day to be able to play it a LITTLE like him.

But I will have to admit to being a little jealous of what I call his "piano fingers". I have always imagined for piano players to be a "must" was to have longish fingers.

Me I am small in stature and my fingers follow the stature!!

Nevertheless in all my future adventures I am going to give it my best shot, firstly with Seaside_Lee's video and then on to Pianomagic.

Will keep in touch.
Kind regards.
Dave

Welcome, Dave!
I am sure you will enjoy your piano adventures (as well as being here). I have short fingers too, but that doesn't stop me from playing, and I really love it!

CA

ChopinAddict

Thanks. I am sure I will enjoy being here for definite.

The short fingers comments. I will have to learn I suppose to "jump about" a bit! You obviously are well happy playing.

UPDATE:

I have just spent a couple of days on the Pianomagic website going through the free lessons and listening to some of the recitals of students that are progressing with Michael Anderson. Must say I personally was very impressed with it all.

For me I think that would be a very good place to start so I have written to Mike to let him know that before very long I will be joining the rest of his students. Just hope I can make the grade somehow - I can but try.

Regards and all the best for your continued playing.
Dave

Dave, when you can let us hear some of your playing after you've tried pianomagic for awhile. I like the varitey of styles that posters here have developed from that course. It seems like, at least for some, it's a great way to learn.

Cathy

Hi Cathy

Of course I will when/if I achieve the ability to do so!

Because I will be learning right from the beginning or as some of the lessons indicated on Pianomagic from MIDDLE "C" !

What I would like to know though, is how I go about (a) recording my playing and then (b) submitting it to you so that you can hear it.

Sorry I am clueless on this, but I am certain that people here will help me in the future. No rush - just a little guidance will be much appreciated.

I would rather be honest in all this and say it as it is, and that is "I know nothing". As opposed to struggling on pretending to myself and others that I can sort it all out in the future when I can't.

Kind regards and thanks for your interest in my progress, and any help you can give along the way.

Dave

Welcome and enjoy your piano time.

Boy, have we all been there Since you have an old organ I'd guess it doesn't have an output hole that you could plug a cable into, so you'll need a way to record that *does* have one. Some people use their cell phones! But many people here use a Zoom H2, or a Zoom H4, or the new Zoom Q3, which has video, too! At any rate, they'll have to help with that operation. But then, what I do is to use a free program called Audacity which you can find here:

Audacity

(you'll also need the Lame file, which it will direct you to, in order to actually make an .mp3, the sound file you'll use to share your music).

When you've plugged in your zoom or your phone to your computer, you can open Audacity and import the music, and then export it as an .mp3.

Then you go to boxnet, here:

boxnet

and get yourself a free account, and follow the instructions to upload your .mp3 to your account. Then you can press on the SHARE button and get the internet address for your recording, and copy and paste it to here.

It sounds like a lot, but if you take it one step at a time, some of the ABF folks will help at every step, and pretty soon it will make sense. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it

Or get your grand kid or the neighbor kid to help out

Cathy

A great site to go to for recording - piano, digital piano, keyboard, or organ - is www.pianoclues.com .

Rich

mcasl - "Thanks"

jotur - Audacity, Boxnet, Zoom H4 etc.. great advice and appreciated. Some work to do for me. Sorry on this one, probably embarrasing but what do the initials ABF stand for. Such a lot to learn!!

DragonPianoPlayer - Thanks for the link to www.pianoclues.com and I went there quickly a few minutes ago and can see what you mean. Information everywhere - many thanks Rich.

UPDATE.

Be writing a post before long following a very helpful and friendly reply received today from Michael Anderson at Pianomagic after I had sent him a quite detailed note for his comments. He gave me good advice prior to my joining them which means I will have to investigate with him and yourselves further in particular about the electronic KEYBOARD I have. Did not realise until it was pointed out - I do not actually have an electronic organ.

I must say that since following the free lessons on Pianomagic and reading and grasping what people here and Pianomagic are saying - I am beginning to "think" more correctly about the whole subject. Building slowly with a solid base and friends around me I feel sure is going to help me win through in the end.

But that posting I am going to make will be in a day or two..
Take care in the meantime.

Dave

ABF = Adult Beginners Forum!

And congratulations on starting piano! It is very rewarding, but it does take patience and perseverance, two things that many adults seem short on (myself included). Be sure to enjoy the journey and not just the goal!

Morodiene

ABF!! well now - (I will just write "red-face....") bet I won't ask that one again. However, thanks for letting me know.

"...enjoy the journey.." you wrote. Will try hard to follow your advice.

There are some words in the back of my mind that go something like this.."it is better to travel hopefully...etc etc." and now as I forget the rest, I start to nod forward over the computer keyboard and resemble "Doormouse" at the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" written by Lewis Carroll !!! then waking up quoting "Middle C, yes it is all about Middle C..!

Thanks again Morodiene. All the best.

Dave