# Thinking of starting piano



## Schwimmwagen (Dec 14, 2013)

Hello people

I used to play guitar in the early half of my teens. I was getting moderately decent at it before I stopped caring.

So I'd like to try piano. There's an old baby grand here that I could play just sitting there, so yay why not. I think I'd really enjoy it actually! I'd love to have a creative pursuit that isn't drawing. That shit I have big hopes for, but it frustrates me so much I can't even be bothered. So yeah, piano. It'd be nice to play some mellow little songs.

But the problem is I am completely damned stumped.

_Where do I begin_?

Like, gee, I dunno. My sister is a piano ace (she first plinked on a piano before she could walk, daw) but I don't really trust her to be able to teach me, just as my dad normally couldn't with guitar. Learning solo doesn't sound impossible at all, but I really don't know what to look for to help me out.

Imaginary kissies and blowies for those who have any advice they could give!


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## ThisisGabe (Dec 15, 2013)

Youtube lessons. If you want to read sheet music then google "music theory" and learn the lessons from that website.


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## Akina (Dec 15, 2013)

Hi Gibby, just a lurker here who prefers lurking the Palette Town rather than posting, but has been playing the piano for the majority of their life. Not a pro by any means since its a very casual thing for me, but I've had a fairly even mix of self teaching and having piano teachers so I think I might have some useful advice at the very least. Since you've already played the guitar before, I'm not entirely sure how well your music reading skills are, so I'm just gonna assume you can and focus more on the piano+techniques themselves.

The very first thing you should know (and I apologize if you know this already) is the name of each of the keys on a piano. http://henry-william.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/4/8/16483188/5259976_orig.gif All piano keys that are a 'C' will all look the same, as with the rest, so you just need to memorize what each one looks like. Sharps (#) will be the black key up and the Flats (b) will be the black key down (with the piano, going up is going right along the piano, going down is the opposite). 

When actually playing the piano, you want to have each of your fingers on the keys next to each other usually. For example if starting on C, on your right hand have your thumb on C, your index finger on D, your middle on E, your ring on F and your pinky on G. The same with your left hand but starting with your pinky on the C key. There are exceptions and you will at times change your positions on the keyboard, but you don't usually get them with beginner level pieces. 

Something I notice a lot of beginners do when new to the piano is that they tend to lift their fingers off the keys constantly while playing. You'll want to have you fingers resting/touching the keys at all times except when changing positions. Also you'll want to keep the back of your hand horizontal, a trick that a lot of people use is to place a coin on the back of their hand while playing and making sure it doesn't fall off. If you're having difficulties at first don't worry, it'll very quickly become second nature and come automatically to you. Also when playing the piano, you'll want to keep your feet flat on the floor and you back straight (I am reallyyyy bad at this lol), it might seem pointless but on pieces where you need to change positions on the keyboard a lot and quickly, it makes shifting around a lot easier so it'd probably be worth getting into the habit early on which I didn't.

There are 2 basic ways to play the piano you should also know about, which are legato and staccato. Legato means to play smoothly, its where you play notes together with no gaps in between, but at the same time not playing 2 notes together simultaneously. A way to practice this (I still do this on veryyy fast pieces) is to play very slowly, and -conciously- lift a pressed finger up at the same time you press the next key down. It might seem complicated at first but it'll become automatic soon I think. Staccato refers to short detached notes with noticable gaps in between. For this you'll basically just want to tap the key and make the note as short as you can, but you'll want to make sure you pressed the note all the way down to the base. This is true for anytime you play, always press the key to the bottom, even if you're playing very softly. Being able to press a key all the way down and still make it very soft is something you'll also need to practice too.

If you've played guitar before I assume you've heard about scales. Its a little difficult to explain in words for the piano so I'd recommend just watching a video on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKt9lhBI_fI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2alE9d2xfeA The left hand video is in contrary motion for some reason, just do the same thing but start from the left going right then back down left. Scales are a little boring, but they're great for a beginner to practice their hand positions and legato/staccato so I'd recommend trying to play the same scale in a couple of different ways, then playing the scale with both hands at the same time.

As for learning actual pieces, I'd suggest doing any of 3 things (don't have to do all of them), if you have some money you can buy a beginners book on piano and giving most of the pieces a go to practice your motor skills. You can also buy a preliminary exam book for piano, now I'm not telling you to take an exam but I've noticed that the pieces in an exam book tend to be pretty varied in playstyles between the pieces (besides the canons), so it'd be really great practice. You can also look up sheet music for songs you like and try to play those, this I really like if you can find sheets that are easy enough for you because you -know- what the song sounds like, and its a lot more fun overall I think. There isn't any specific order you have to follow (I'd just not recommend trying to play pieces way beyond what you are able to), the important thing is to keep playing and getting used to having your hands on the piano, and the best way to do that is by having fun and playing what you want to play.

On a last note, learning the play the piano by yourself is kind of tricky, because just playing the right keys isn't all there is, if you really want a piece to be really amazing you've also gotta play musically, usually done through the use of dynamics (loud, softs, slow downs/speed ups etc). Its a little difficult to help you there as even I find it hard to see what I can improve on in that area without someone else pointing it out. But the best advice I can give to you is to -exaggerate- and imagine the song and what you want it to sound like as you play. Remember, what sounds like a big difference to you between your loud and softs will probably be barely noticable to the person sitting next to you, let alone halfway across the room etc. I get this a lot from my teachers, on places where the piece becomes louder, to me it sounds like I made it really loud, but to my teacher they don't hear very much difference (same for my softs) so its always good to exaggerate more than you think it should. Also if you ever find a teacher (like one you pay for), you can tell if they're a good teacher if they not only teach you how to play the right notes, but how to play a piece musically. I've had a looot of teachers who don't teach the latter, and I know a lot of people who play mechanically. For an absolute beginner they probably won't bother but just something to keep in mind for later on if ever. 

I'm sorry if this is really long or I made it sound confusing, but hopefully it helps you. If you need advice on reading music too can go ahead and ask also. Piano is really fun, and very little can compare to the feeling of mastering a difficult piece and letting your fingers glide along the keys as you play, so I wish you the best with your pursuit.

-Oh also I forgot, when learning pieces that require 2 hands, learn it hands seperately first, then put it together slowly once you've really mastered it seperately. Any sooner and you'll be hurting your progress in the end. If you're having difficulties with a specific part, don't practice by playing the whole song, focus on that one bar and do it over and over again, slowly at first and picking up speed. Playing from the start each time hoping it will fix itself is the longest possible way to do it, and there are times it -never- fixes even after a hundred attempts.


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## Jabberwocky (Dec 16, 2013)

piano is great to learn ^-^


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## Schwimmwagen (Dec 16, 2013)

Akina said:


> *post*



Whoa dang, I wasn't expecting a post with this great amount of info! Talk about first impressions.

Thanks a bunch! : D I'm going to start very soon and refer to your post as I do so. :>


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## Kalmor (Dec 16, 2013)

Gibby said:


> Whoa dang, I wasn't expecting a post with this great amount of info! Talk about first impressions.
> 
> Thanks a bunch! : D I'm going to start very soon and refer to your post as I do so. :>


Not that it matters, but what's the make/model of it?

You also might want to see if it's actually tuned properly or not, depends on how long it has been since it was last played.


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## Schwimmwagen (Dec 16, 2013)

Raptros said:


> Not that it matters, but what's the make/model of it?
> 
> You also might want to see if it's actually tuned properly or not, depends on how long it has been since it was last played.



I don't see any mark anywhere telling me what make it is.

And I don't know about it being tuned/how to tune it. My sis plays it almost every day but I don't think I've ever seen her tune a piano.


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## Kalmor (Dec 16, 2013)

Gibby said:


> And I don't know about it being tuned/how to tune it. My sis plays it almost every day but I don't think I've ever seen her tune a piano.


That's because it has to be tuned by a professional. XD If she's playing it everyday (and not complaining) then the chances are it's still fine with tuning.


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## Littlerock (Dec 16, 2013)

Just twiddle with the strings and tune it by ear, mate :y

:y


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## Sarcastic Coffeecup (Dec 16, 2013)

Do it mango. I don't know anything about proper chords or note sheets n' stuff, but there is a nifty program called Synthesia that is pretty much like Guitar hero for piano. Was my main source for learning a few songs.
You can find a slew of stuff on it on youtube. Project Zomboid's main theme for example.
Or you could DL it and it will make these from any MIDI file.


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## Schwimmwagen (Dec 16, 2013)

Raptros said:


> That's because it has to be tuned by a professional. XD If she's playing it everyday (and not complaining) then the chances are it's still fine with tuning.



Oh!

Well I think it might be wise to invest in my own little electric boogiepiano to keep in my room anyway.



Littlerock said:


> Just twiddle with the strings and tune it by ear, mate :y
> 
> :y



/LE BEETHOVEN FACE >:[



Sarcastic Coffeecup said:


> Do it mango. I don't know anything about proper chords or note sheets n' stuff, but there is a nifty program called Synthesia that is pretty much like Guitar hero for piano. Was my main source for learning a few songs.
> You can find a slew of stuff on it on youtube. Project Zomboid's main theme for example.
> Or you could DL it and it will make these from any MIDI file.



I'll have to check it out! Can't you plug some keyboards in via USB to work with this program?


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## Kalmor (Dec 16, 2013)

Gibby said:


> I'll have to check it out! Can't you plug some keyboards in via USB to work with this program?


Yes. I have my keyboard connected to my PC via midi to USB cable.

Edit: Look here http://www.synthesiagame.com/wiki/Midi_and_Keyboard_Setup


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## Jabberwocky (Dec 16, 2013)

another tip to consider with learning piano: experiment, experiment, experiment. try to create your own chords, challenge your fingers, even if it sounds like a circus train crashing onto a car in the highway, it's OK, it will help your fingers and music memory.


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## Icky (Dec 16, 2013)

I don't really know jack shit about piano, but marimba and vibraphone and such are the same essential concept, just with mallets instead of fingers. That said, learning scales and chords will be your best friend. It's more essential for composing anything (and freestyling for fun), but it also makes learning actual music 1000x easier. 

If you're curious, all 12 major scales have the same structure behind them. Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half (where a half step is two adjacent keys, and a whole step is two of those put together). So a B Flat scale looks like dis. Chords and intervals come easily once you know the layout of the scale.


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## JerryFoxcoon (Dec 23, 2013)

Definitely worth it, even as a self-learner. My interest for piano started sort of abruptly. In fact I wanted to learn piano upon listening the song "Until The End" by Avenged Sevenfold, one of the rare songs I absolutely loved at the first listening. The piano sounded so wonderful to my ears I wanted to play it. Luckily I had a Casio keyboard lying around so trying it out to see if I'd like it didn't cost me a penny. Then I started learning various I like with piano in them, or at least parts of songs. I also started to learn the theory, and I remembered more of it from elementary school than I thought!

Likely not the best way to learn (or at least not the fastest), but I feel I'm improving, and that's the most important thing for me.

And I absolutely agree about learning scales and chords, definitely a must! It helped me figuring out parts by ear a lot. It also helps improvising!


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