Beginner's Advice

[Pittencrieff_Par]

We are about to purchase a digital Piano for my daughter as we want her to take formal piano lessons later in the year (when she gets to the top of the waiting list with our local piano teacher!!!).

This message doesn't concern her however.... In my teens I took lessons to play the organ (when I lived in Australia) I hated it but my dad forced me to do it (being a guitarist himself). The music I was made to learn was boring old fogey stuff and the weather in Oz was too nice to be sitting inside playing a musical instrument!! So I gave it up, my heart wasn't in it.

As we are about to spend a few bob on one of these pianos I thought that I would take it up myself, but without the formal lessons. So are there any good books / DVD's that anyone could recommend? Also any tips on what the main differences between organ and piano playing would be? The left hand playing chords and being in time with the left foot pedal is an obvious difference. I just want to play for my own satisfaction as I have always regretted not learining to play an instrument when I was younger. At 37 hopefully not too late to learn???

My main concern without taking formal lessons is that I would develop some bad habits. Are these books / DVDs good at keeping your playing style correct?

Any tips / comments appreciated!

[Gill the Piano]

There's no substitute for a teacher - or for a REAL piano!!! Don't forget that a plastic piano will last ten years if you're lucky, whilst a real piano can last 30 yrs+ before anything other than tuning need be done!
A DVD won't say 'Hang on, that's a sharp there' or tell you to sit forward/back, lift/drop your wrists and so on. You don't have to have a lesson every week; most teachers are amenable to fortnightly or even monthly lessons. By all means use the DVD as an aid, but they're only as good as the person who made them, and unfortunately there's no qualification requirement or simple test of capability before you're allowed to issue a teaching aide.
The touch on a piano is very different to that of the organ, and the note decays, even if you keep your finger on it. (The touch/sound of a digital is nothing like a real piano unless you spend a fortune. I have recently had a traumatic experience where I turned up at a church to play for a service, only to find it was a poxy clavi***a. Disgusting...took me several drinks to get over it! ) That will be the principal difference you'll find from the organ lessons of your youth. Teaching material is not dry and dusty now, and if you choose your teacher carefully (make it clear that the lessons are for you, an adult, and that you're learning for fun) you should actually find it an enjoyable experience, I hope!
Good luck - report back & let us know how you get on!

[Samick]

Gill the Piano is right - there is no substitute for a Teacher - even if you are only learning for fun! It is so easy to get into really bad habits at the start that will prevent you from progressing to the kind of music you eventually would like to be able to play.

As a Teacher I have had several self taught adults come to me after failing to progress beyond a certain point themselves, so they believe that a few lessons will put them on the right road. Wrong!! The bad habits are usually well and truly established, and breaking them becomes a real issue. Result - very slow progress - frustration - disappointment, and the self taught ones invariably call it a day! That's such a shame as all that enthusiam at the start is wasted when it could have been put to good use and another fine musician could have been in the making!!

So book some lessons - they needn't be every week. If you find a teacher (like me) who is happy to teach adults who just want to play for pleasure (with no pressure for exams etc), then you will get off to a good start, and develop a good technique from the start. You'll also be able to learn alongside your daughter, and help each other. (She will probably want to be better than you, so it will also drive her to practice more!)

As regards a Digital Piano - of course a real piano is still the best. However, I would rather my pupils play a reasonable quality digital piano (such as a Clavinova) than some bargain secondhand piano that will not keep it's pitch, and keys and pedals not working properly. Just make sure that you buy one with "weighted Keys". Of course, if you or your daughter progress to an advanced level, then you would need to consider a real Piano as trying to play advanced level music would not be very satisfying on a digital piano.
Good Luck!!

[Pittencrieff_Par]

many thanks for the advice, yes I did fear that "teach yourself" would have pitfalls and cause you to learn bad habits. I think by taking lessons I would feel a bit more committed as my teacher would expect to see improvements each week as well. As I'd be doing it for pleasure perhaps fortnightly lessons would suffice. There is a teacher in the street adjacent to ours and we already have my daughter and son's names on her waiting list. Maybe I should add mine???

Cheers.

[markymark]

If you’re planning on going every other week, this teacher may be slightly indifferent towards your request if she is putting people on a waiting list. Personally, I don’t believe in waiting lists because it really only leaves people handing until someone drops out, which could be some time. In my experience, I’ve been hounded until I have to tell people I’m full up and then they usually go and find someone else anyway. On the other hand, if your children are going to attend her lessons, that may give you more favour. At the end of the day, finding a teacher that is willing to work with you and give you the support and encouragement you need is the most important thing. There are too many teachers around that treat their pupils like tins of beans on a conveyor belt. They come along, go through the system of exam pieces and come out the other end with a label slapped on them, usually a Grade with a number and then people wonder why Grade 8 candidates can't sight-read 'Happy Birthday"! If this lady is “the one”, then, by all means, see if you can talk to her and check if she’s open to lessons every other week. It would just be a shame to hang around on a waiting list to be turned down later, that’s all.

[Gill the Piano]

If you can go to a teacher in the daytime rather than after school, the teacher might be more receptive to the fortnightly idea. Most teachers are so busy in the evenings teaching sprogs that they're grateful to see a human during the daytime. See if there's a tracher near where you work if you're a 9 - 5 person, and you could go in a lunch hour.