Newbie ..

Hello newbie here,
After many yrs of wanting to learn but had never even stood near a piano, let alone understand any notes, I have finally brought my first piano and in my late 20's am going to achieve this this dream of mine.
I have yet to start with a piano teacher as I wanted to at least know some basic piano " playing" not the one finger note hitting :0). Though finding one is another matter, must be hiding in my area, or heard me try and play
So roll out the free and second hand bks ie John w schaum etc.. Type bks, I in my limited and very novice experiance think I'm slowly getting the hang of it managed to work through the above author bk a+ & a about to go on bk b, but I've noticed everyone talks about scales, in all the bks I have (15), scales seem to be pushed to the back, should I google & learn as heard it improves fingering & playing...???

Any handy tips, ideas, practices...( You get the idea:0) ) that u can offer me would be great.

Hello Apples. I find the Alfred's piano book very good. I am a beginner also and have a teacher- if you look online and type in piano teacher and then your town you should find details of teachers. In addition your local music shop should have an ads board.

The best advice you will get is to get a teacher as soon as possible if you can afford it.

The beginning is the time when a teacher can be the most valuable. That is when you are beginning to lay the groundwork for this journey you are about to embark upon.

As far as when to begin scales ... I would also leave that to a teacher.

If you are using a particular book, do what the book says to do in the order it comes and strive to do it well.

Play each exercise carefully and at a speed that you can handle without making mistakes.




Good Luck

I would highly recommend to start out with Jaak Sikk's excellent online video tutorial, first month for free and then 11 months for just 38 USD per month.

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

You definately want to learn to read sheet music, I have created a free PDF cheat sheet you can print out and place on your piano to read the notes from.

http://www.arturgajewski.com/piano/Notes.pdf

Also as other have said, you should get a piano teacher but I believe these resources should get you started fairly well.

What you're saying is equivalent to:

. . . "I'll start school after I teach myself how to read."

The earlier you find a teacher, the better your playing will be, and the faster you'll progress.

. Charles

and the less mistakes and bad habits you'll in-grain!

Well done for joining us in our passion!

Id recommend a teacher too.... depends where you want to go with this....

At the beginning, if your not taught proper legato, posture and habits to avoid such as not playing through mistakes... youll ingrain the weaknesses into your playing because you wont know any better...

Youll make quicker progress if you skirt over being thorough.. ( which is fine btw, but just be aware....)

Im years down the road and loving my current teacher going through the nuts and bolts of proper playing with me.... but if i hadnt learnt the sloppy tecnique first i wouldnt be correcting it now....

I think teachers like to start off with abject beginners better than they like dealing with the ragtag collection of bad habits they see with some of us!

Thanks all for your comments, and I will check out the websites that people have posted, thank you for that.

In regards to teachers I have looked in the only local music store, they don't know any one that's not under 30 min drive, though the Person who tuned my piano knows a few ppl And am currently awaiting for the details. Fingers crossed x.

I was only trying to make a start while looking for a teacher, I didn't know it was a big no, I will close the lid and put my hands in pocket till I start my lessons. :0).

Agreed I found my progress to jump in leaps and bounds when I got a teacher.

Although I still suck for the most part, I did not even realise I was making many of the mistakes I did.

Have a look on the piano tuners webby.

It is where I found mine.

Anyway choose your teacher carefully. I change teacher more often than I change my underpants.

Interview them carefully, tell them what you want. Detailed specific objectives. My current teacher was introduced by my old teacher who retired on health grounds.

She spoke to me for over an hour on the phone about what I wanted and where I wanted to be.

I am happy with this teacher.

As said I had a Russian teacher who was harsh and unsupportive and I swear she'd whack me over the fingers with her wooden ruler if she could. But she was really really really heavily Hanon based. Although she gets results and a number of her learners are grade 2s and 3s after a short time. Its not how I learn at all.

I don't know if I'd stop playing altogether. There's a mutually-supportive, back-and-forth between "theory" and "playing".

You can certainly be learning theory -- the staff, note durations, scale structure, chord structure. That material makes a lot more sense if you're at the piano, trying things out.

As the previous post points out, learning styles are different, person to person. You'll find out what (and who) works best.

There _are_ "teach yourself piano" methods, and some people learn from them. But teachers are really, really helpful.

. Charles

And ... don't forget SKYPE. You can now find very good personal, one-on-one instruction over the internet.

+1 on this. Ask in the piano teacher's forum and see who is doing Skype and then interview a few (over Skype).

I am disabled and currently can't afford a teacher because I am awaiting a Social Security decision, but as soon as I get it I am getting a teacher and it will likely be a Skype teachers since travel and such is a big deal for me. You can also look overseas for a Skype teacher where a dollar goes further. This helps them and you. They get more money then they could at home and you get a teacher cheaper than you could at home. I have two friends doing Skype. One with a studio in New York called onQ and the other has a teacher in Greece. Both are good according to my friends, but for instance the teacher in Greece is 1/2 the cost of an American teacher but she is not accepting new students at the moment. She is booked full.

No need to close the lid on your piano. It's not a big no-no to start without a teacher, as long as you have something to help you get started (like your Alfred's book). But it is best to have a teacher as soon as you can.

When looking for teachers, you can ask for a free "sample" lesson, and you should be very upfront about what you want from lessons. Some people want a traditional piano education with lots of theory and a focus on classical music. Others want to focus on jazz, or improvisation, or just how to pick up songs by ear ... The point is, whatever your pianistic/musical dream is, share it with potential teachers until you find one who has experience teaching what you want to learn.

Also, you will probably be best with someone who has experience teaching adult beginners, as it can be very different from teaching children.

I hope this helps -- and good luck on your musical journey!

I will def keep on at the theory, as it will help in the long term, I've not even thought about using the net for lessons, If I can't find a suitable teacher I may consider that route, but I feel having someone actually there to push me would work better for myself.

Charles Cohen you mentioned cord structure, do you mean learn all groups & how played? Major, minor, seventh, minor seventh, augmented & diminished? Sorry if I soun totally clueless but as new to music I really am :0).