So, while I was watching Dirty Jobs, I heard one of my neighbors practicing on the piano. I thought the melody was familiar so I turned off the tv and just listened and to my surprise, he or she was playing native faith. This was so much of a shock to me, that I just kept on listening while they continued to practice. After they had finished, I looked at the family piano and made the decision to pick up the piano again. The problem is, the last time I played the piano was when I was about 6 or 7 years old, so it's been about a good decade and a half since I played the piano. I did play an instrument (clarinet) throughout my high school days, so music and the notes itself is a relatively familar concept, the problem arises in the skills required to play the piano. I'm not the most dexterous kid on the block, so I fear that using both hands to play will present the largest stumbling block to this new endevour I will be attempting. So I'm wondering, are there any resources available, such as specific books or how-to practice books(but not quite seeking getting professional help) that will help me improve my piano skills dramatically? I'm willing to put in the effort and practice, it's just that I don't want to base this new escapade on 15 year old knowledge.

Wow, I'd be shocked I heard someone playing that in my hometown, or anywhere for that matter. Not an easy piece to play too.

I've also been interested in learning piano, as I always liked to imagine that I had talent in it, but my parents never made me learn an instrument and we didn't own a piano, and I could never bother to commit myself to it.

someday, maybe...

The other night I couldn't sleep because my head was full of compositions I was improvising in my head.

I have adhd. So being depressed is kind of a plus thing to me. That, way, when I am down, my energy level goes down, so I can think calmly and straight.
When I am about to talk to a pretty girl, I try to depress myself so I don't end up making a fool of myself.
It is almost as if I like being depressed.

oops wrong thread.

>>4
Even so, you have a point. Playing the piano is like talking to a pretty girl. You must approach with a calm manor and straight thoughts.

I recommend Bartok's "Mikrokosmos." It's six volumes of 153 pieces, starting from very easy and going to very hard, designed specifically for teaching piano skills. And unlike some other teaching books, the songs are actually fun to play and listen to (IMO.)

Obligatory wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikrokosmos

Also, I should mention that I studied on my own a long time before getting a teacher. Here are some general tips I learned after getting a teacher that I never truly realized on my own:

• It's very important to practice hands, and even melodies within hands, separately. You say that you fear using both hands will be your biggest obstacle, so this is especially important to just practice one hand at a time and then slowly put them together. It will be hard at first, but with enough time and dedication you'll get used to it.

• Figure out what the melody is, and play just that. Then when you put the other notes back, in you'll be better at bringing out the melody. This gets more important when you get to harder pieces where there's more than just a melody in one hand.

• It's important to practice a few measures at a time, instead of just practicing from start to finish all the time. If you can stumble all the way through a piece, it's tempting to just practice it from start to finish, but in the end it's a lot faster to practice sets of measures until you can play each set perfectly. It's all about practicing small pieces and putting them together, like a puzzle. I still have trouble with this one but forcing myself to do it helps me a lot.

• Sit on the edge of the piano bench, back straight, wrists up, and fingers curled. Keep the piano bench far enough back so that your arms have room to move. Before I got a teacher I was sitting way too close to the piano, and once my teacher made me move back I found playing difficult passages much easier. I said "bah" to all these posture rules when I was younger, but now I realize that playing is a lot easier with good posture.

• Pay attention to all the markings in a score and look up any terms you don't know. Articulation can make a big difference even in a simple beginner's piece. I think it's better to play one simple piece really well instead of harder pieces not so well. (You don't have to get everything absolutely perfect of course, that would drive you insane. If you get truly sick of something, it's OK to move on.)

• If you find yourself dreading practicing, you might try giving yourself little rewards (e.g., you can play a video game if you practice piano for one hour). This might not be a problem for you, though, if you're already motivated enough.

• If you get really frustrated, sleep on it! You might come back the next day and find that the impossible part from yesterday is suddenly doable. Don't be daunted at how much you have ahead of you, and celebrate your accomplishments no matter how small.

You should probably also do scales or other exercises, but I'll admit that I hated those things and almost never did them, and I still got to be a decent pianist. However, scales can be quite helpful when you're first starting, to help you build up finger strength. Speed isn't as important as playing well, so practice scales to improve technique, not to see how fast you can get.

Sorry for writing so much--I love the piano, and was happy to see someone else who wants to teach themselves, as I did, so I couldn't resist.

>>6

ooh, thanks for those tips, 6. Hmmm I think I'll go purchase that book tomorrow and begin my new adventure as soon as possible! I'm so excited!

>>8

oh, forgot to add: is it better to practice 30 min with one hand, 30 min with another for one session, and then practice with both hands the next, or is it more of a "feel it as you go" kind of thing?

well, I just finished practicing the piano, and it was more unnerving than I expected it to be. Since I couldn't find mikrokosmos in any of my local music stores, I had to settle for the books I used when I was a kid. Needless to say, I was completely paralyzed with fear for the first 15 minutes into practice because I didn't want anyone to hear me practice (and mess up) on rudimentary scales. I did eventually get over it, and got to actual practicing, but that fear still remains. How can I overcome that fear? Would I just have to practice more and get used to it?

I understand your fear. I used to not be able to practice with anybody in the room, and even today I'm still shy. I've met a lot of musicians that fear other people will hear them practice and mess up.

However, most people won't pay any attention to it, or they will think, "good for him, he's practicing." At the very worst they will think it's annoying or that you're a bad musician, but that's their problem. Nobody's perfect at first, and you have to start somewhere!

Of course, even knowing this it might still be hard to overcome fear. Fear is dangerous because it makes you make more mistakes, which in turn make you even more nervous, creating a vicious cycle. Confidence is a skill that takes practice just like any other piano skill--I still get very nervous even when I play a piece I know well for my piano teacher.

I'm not sure exactly what level you were at, but you might not be ready for Mikrokosmos yet. I haven't played Mikrokosmos volume 1, since I skipped ahead to volume II, so I'm not sure exactly how easy the first pieces are. If you find Mikrokosmos, make sure you take a look at the pieces first to make sure you can do it. You don't want to put yourself off by trying something that's too hard.

That said, it's good to challenge yourself, even if it seems impossible at first. That's something else my teacher taught me--she gave me a piece that looked way too hard when I first started. I struggled through it and after a week (a whole week!) of practicing I could still only stumble my way through the first two measures. But she encouraged me to keep at it, and congratulated me even though I had only done two measures, and so I kept working at it. Thanks to the challenge my playing improved rapidly, and before I knew it I could play the whole piece smoothly.

Regarding hands, just do whatever you're comfortable with. I usually focus on the hand I have the most trouble with, switching to the other hand now and then. You'll learn what works best for you with time.

Don't give up, OP! It's a daunting task, but I believe in you. This is going to sound really corny, but if you believe in yourself, I know you can get over your fear of practicing and move forward.

I almost forgot--if you're in Canada or another country where copyright rules aren't as strict, you might be able to download Mikrokosmos as a PDF to print out:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Mikrokosmos_for_Piano,_Sz.107_(Bart%C3%B3k,_B%C3%A9la)

Unfortunately, I'm in the US and so it blocks me.

Triple post time! I found Mikrokosmos volume 1 here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5595688/Bela-Bartok-Mikrokosmos-Volume-1
The pieces look like they are probably good for your level though I can't be sure. That call is up to you. And don't forget that downloading Mikrokosmos is illegal if you're in the US ;)

thanks a bunch 13, I practiced with that for about an hour today. I'm not sure if I'm improving yet(probably too early to tell) but I'll keep on practicing. Oh, I do have a question though. I'll try to word it as best as possible. When you're playing a piece, are you supposed to align your hand to the key the piece is in (for example, if the piece is in G, are you supposed to rest your hand on the G key) or are you supposed to keep your hands on C and just move your hands in order to hit the key?

First of all, take a look at the fingerings in the music. You may already know this, but 1 = thumb, 2 = index finger, etc. So if there's a 4 above a note, you should hit it with your ring finger. Generally, you will align your hands to whatever key you're in, as you said, unless the fingering in the music tells you otherwise. In simple pieces you probably won't have to move your hand from this position at all.

In more advanced pieces, you won't be able to keep your hands in the same place all the time, of course. Fortunately, there will usually be fingerings in the score that show you what fingers to use when your hand has to move. However, there might not always be fingerings in the score. Fingering is another skill that you have to learn over time (no innuendo intended) and my teacher made me start to write in my own fingerings. Here are some general rules which may help you:

• If you're going up in the right hand, cross your thumb under.
• If you're going down in the right hand, cross your middle finger or ring finger over.
• If you're going up in the left hand, cross your middle finger or ring finger over.
• If you're going down in the left hand, cross your thumb under.

Hope this helps! You might want to look for Youtube tutorials or something if you're still confused about things like hand position and fingering, because it's not easy to explain with just text. And of course I'm not a qualified teacher, just another piano student.

oooo, is that how it works? Thank for all your help, 13. That movement technique and the clarification about finger placement gives new vigor towards tomorrow's piano practice!

I just found out my piano is out of tune...

I guess after years of neglect all the keys became flat- and it's not like it's a little flat, the tuner sometimes mistook a note for another because it's gotten that bad. How do I go about remedying this situation?

hire a piano tuner to come tune it :)

then wait a month and do it again.

>>18

how much would that end up costing?

>>18
My piano's tuned just once a year and it's fine.

>>19
Where I live it's about $60 CDN.

>>20

60$ DOLLARS

I've been doing some shopping and some tunings would cost up to 200$ USD. How in the world can it be that cheap?

Tuners are usually expensive, and unfortunately there's just no good way around it. If you know anybody else that plays piano in your area, ask them to recommend a good tuner. This will save you from hiring a tuner that does a bad job, which will just make you have to hire another tuner soon afterward. (I speak from experience here.)

The only alternatives are ignoring it, or buying a tuning kit and tuning it yourself. The latter is no easy task, and I can't really recommend it--it's time consuming, tiring, and you could even damage your piano...

Also, >>20 is right, it's possible for you to push yourself too hard, then burn out and lose motivation, especially when you're your own teacher/motivator. Don't be afraid of challenging yourself either; it's important to find a good balance, where you are steadily improving but not wearing yourself out.