UK Piano Page Piano Forum

Hello, i have a couple of questions.

Firstly, i would like to start to learn the Piano 'properly'.

I have such a passion for the piano, whenever i hear a piece of music which has a piano playing in the background, i always separate the voice and piano and just listen to the Piano playing along.

My problem is this:-

I am a 37 year old Male. I had two piano lessons a couple of years ago but at the time i didn't have my own piano At the time i was borrowing a friends electric piano and was told by the piano teacher that if i want to learn the piano properly i will need an Acoustic piano.

I have now managed to purchase a really nice Yamaha Upright (E116) in Black.

I would now like to start piano lessons again, but spoke to the teacher i went to last time and she no longer provides tuition due to becoming a new mum.

Does anybody know of any piano teachers that have vacancies for me in or around the Maidstone area? I phoned a couple advertised on these boards today and they are unable to fit me in.

Also, i can't read music. However, i know some people strongly disagree with novices/beginners trying to play a piece of music by the likes of Beethoven, as they respect the music and don't like hearing it being ruined, however i have such a passion for Classical, especially Beethoven, and i've managed to 'finally' (over 2 years) managed to de-code the sheet music and can play all the notes of the first movement and i'm really happy with the result

I compared with some videos on You Tube, and apart from a little refining/polishing, i am really happy with what i have occomplished

However, my sight reading doesn't seem to have improved. I can now look at the music and work out the notes by starting at the Treble Cleff or Bass Cleff and know they are G/F respectively, and then run down or up and know what the notes are that way....

I also have a bit of a strange skill for a man, i can touch type and have a typing speed of 120wpm. Do you think typing is similar to reading music? Will i be able to relate the two?

BorderCollieSam wrote:Also, i can't read music. However, i know some people strongly disagree with novices/beginners trying to play a piece of music by the likes of Beethoven, as they respect the music and don't like hearing it being ruined...

For starting off with, a good digital would have been okay although now that you have managed to get an acoustic, it will be a good investment provided you make the most out of the instrument. As for the point above, would any of those people you mention above happen to be teachers? I'd be surprised if they were. Any good educator would be more concerned with pacing your learning and not being too ambitious so as not to let you get discouraged.

Look through some of the more recent threads which deal with sight-reading but I will say that the key to getting through that barrier in sight reading is to start off with short and simple extracts (there are books that do this for you) and build up your skill slowly. I have heard of and come across excellent performers who can perform outstandingly but who also can not sight read well. This drastically slows down the rate of learning and practice because so much emphasis is being placed on memory and your ear.

Typing and sight reading are related because both rely on good eye-to-hand co-ordination - information coming from the eye through the brain to the hands. If your eye is not able to take in the information or your mind is not processing the information quickly enough, the information going to the hands will be held back and confused also. You need to make sure that you can process the information you are seeing on the page (the music) and develop the ability to quickly YET accurately scan through the music as you would if you were reading off a draft and typing onto a word processor.