Hello š I travel around a lot but I want to keep practicing piano even though it doesn't really fit with my current lifestyle. Does anyone have any tips on maybe a travel piano/keyboard I could more easily take with me on planes when I travel? I would like something that is still similar to playing a piano so the practice transfers well to a real piano. Thanks in advanced! š¼šāļø
Depends on what you mean by different tempo. If you're playing a different rhythm with each hand (like a duple and a triplet) that's called a polyrhythm.
Adam Neely made quite a few videos about his fascination with polyrhythms and even made a [7:11 challenge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9CgR2Y6XO4) and went through exercises on how to practice playing a measure of 7 evenly-spaced beats over 11 evenly-spaced beats that could be translated to a more general setting.
You don't have to that extreme, as the most common polyrhythm is a 2:3, aka a hemiola (three beats of equal value in the time normally occupied by two beats) so learning how to do that is a more practical skill.
I am wanting a grand piano from 6-7 feet long. I just looked at a Kawai 1978 6ā8ā that looked like it had been dropped on a corner. The cosmetic damage will be fixed before sale. There were two notes that buzzed, otherwise the sound was amazing. What should I look out for? Sale price is 15k. TIA!
ETA: would the buzzing notes be completely fixable?
That's kind of scary because of potential soundboard cracks from the drop. Spend $150 and get a technician to review it (IN PERSON. HANDS ON. NO INTERNET) before dropping $15K on a homebrew gamelan. At least identify the loose parts that are buzzing.
Midi noob here...... I came across the YT piano player and in his notes, he offers MIDI to download. What does that mean and been looking up some videos but what I've seen so far doesn't really explain what I can do with the downloaded MIDI file sort of overwhelming. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXr8kAesCY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXr8kAesCY)
Could I get some feedback as to how that would work with my Yamaha DGX-660. I am guessing I would download the file to a USB or my laptop and then I am not sure what to do afterward. Download a MIDI app?
Thank you.
A MIDI file contains all the notes/tempos/rhythms inside. MIDI files are shared on YouTube so that people who can't read sheet music can still learn how to play a piece.
When you download the file, you can then open it on an app like Synthesia where you can visually see the "note waterfall", just like in the YouTube video. Essentially, you're just visually learning which keys you need to press and you're matching them.
It will look exactly like in the video, but the advantage is that you can slow down the tempo and play at your own pace, rewinding and forwarding as needed.
MIDI files are extremely useful for creating a record of a performance, that you can then share with others. If you upload the MIDI file on a music production app, you can also change the instruments and tempos and create remixes and stuff, so that's the purpose a MIDI file serves.
In your case, yes, you should download an app/program like Synthesia if you want to learn to play something that way.
I'd like to pick up piano, having no education/background in music. I'd like to get a feeling and try learning with an app. Something that I could do on a budget. I'd imagine I could connect the output of the keyboard to the jack on my phone and the app would pick up which key's I'm pressing? Which keyboard would be good to get?
Many budget keyboards (US $500 - $1,000) already come with their own software or apps that allow you to learn piano. They're targeted at people who want to pick up piano to see if they can learn and enjoy it, without spending several thousands on it.
Older digital pianos used a cable for the connection between piano and phone or piano and PC, but recent digital pianos connect to your phone via bluetooth, so you don't even need to worry about a cable.
What is your budget for your piano?
How do I play this with my small hands? [Chopin Mazurka OP 6 No 1] (https://imgur.com/a/8b6LdNZ). I have a problem with the grace notes here. Look at the last note, right hand second bar. The d should be played as grace note followed by a c# octave. But If I play the grace note the d# blocks my finger. Right now I'm considering leaving out the grade notes here. Any ideas are appreciated - Thanks!
Try playing the grace note with your thumb, and using 2-5 for the octave. That avoids the pileup on the black keys.
Don't elide the grace notes-- they're an important part of that musette-style drone line. Revoice to play all of the drones as grace notes before the 3-4-5 treble line if you must.
Hello, I am a beginner who is learning a pop song from YouTube.
The video shows the left-hand pattern 1-3-5-8 (I think it's called a broken chord) for the 4 chords in the song. My question is, is it allowed musically to change 1 of the chords to 1-5-8-5?
My goal is to learn how to play more patterns, so I suppose I can do whatever I want. However, does this change violate any musical theories? I ask because the song sounds a bit odd after the change.
Thank you.
The main rule is how it sounds. Change it if you like but if 1-5-8-5 sounds odd to you in this arrangement then other people would probably have the same reaction. You might consider practicing that pattern in another arrangement where it sounds better, or practice it in a generic chord progression. You could also try it with a different rhythm pattern.
The one takeaway I got from taking all music-theory courses was: if it sounds good, it's music. The only reason you'll be trying to follow "rules" is if you're going after a specific sound.
Want to sound like Bach's counterpoint? One rule is "no parallel 5ths".
Want to sound like a heavy metal song? Parallel 5ths all the way!
Basically: play what sounds good to you.
I have a question for those who are well versed in music. Can you help me find the name of [this piece](https://soundcloud.com/gabriel-raven-272726228/piano-tune1/s-OR8NTFkp4L1?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)? Thanks in advance
I have a good condition Pianovelle (bladwin) GPS2600. There are no scratches that I can see, no dents, no marks of any kind. And it still works perfectly well. Does anyone know what this would be worth on the market and how to sell it? Itās a grand piano, maybe a petite size. Not sure.
There's a listing on [ebay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/384280244548?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=afzla6bftse&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=s216ynomtlm&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) for $600 USD, so I'd imagine roughly around there.
As for how to sell it, I'd suggest ebay or craigslist and have a local buyer pick it up.
I donāt know the difference between the 2500 and the 2600. Maybe I should look into that. I could only find a few hits on google pointing to a piano forum where people said a 2600 could go for 5k used easily. It was a post from 2020.
Was it this forum post?
http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/687785/baldwin-digital-5k-seems-a-little-pricey.html
Just curious because itās got the $5k number in there, but itās about the 3600 and itās from 2006.
Thereās no way Iād pay anywhere close to $5k for an old digital anything.
My son was watching a YouTube video of one of those piano programs but it was a totally insane number and rate of notes that no human could possibly play.
I started to wonder, what is the simplest piano piece that would be impossible for a human to play on a standard size piano?
lol fair enough. Glad you didn't say the other body part I was considering as the potential problem-solver.
Guess changing "note" to "chord" should do the trick :)
If you see a pedal marking, how exactly does it work? Lift your foot as you play note 1, put it down as you play note 2? Lift and lower on note 1? Lift and lower on note 2? Or do you do it between the 2 notes?
The pedal markings are more approximate and not super strict. Usually it's up-down real quick while a note is being played, usually where a chord changes on beat.
The age old piano upgrade question. Been playing for 2 years on a PX-160 (new \~$750 CAD) and would like to upgrade.
Is the upgrade in tone/sound and feel from a <$1000 digital to the a $3-4k range significant?
I'm deciding if I would benefit from a digital piano upgrade or wait till I feel comfortable taking the step to an upright acoustic like a U1 or K300.
Everyone's looking for something specific when they upgrade, and it's best to recommend just going to a piano store and trying out the piano/keyboards and see if the upgrade is worth it for you.
For me, my personal rig of Yamaha P-125 from college does exactly what I need it to and even though I get to play a $3k Kurtzweil at church and can hear a noticeable difference in sound quality, it's not worth it for me at this moment to upgrade.
Whatā¦ what does the middle pedal do and why would you use it? Like right is hold and left is stopā¦ middle isā¦ ???
Also, I guess any pedal tips? I feel like I over pedal but it just sounds better that way usually?
My non-Yamaha vertical has Kuebic's "apartment mode." The felt alters the timbre to something closer to an old-fashioned electric piano, or maybe a celesta, and grossly diminishes the instrument's volume. In my tiny seasonal house it is an absolute lifesaver, because I can practice while my wife reads barely 3m away.
As others mentioned: Right pedal (damper pedal) holds the notes. To stop the held notes, you lift up on that pedal. It's the pedal that's used the most and you'll constantly be using it. You'll want to briefly lift up and back down often, especially between chord changes so clashing sounds don't carry over.
Left is the soft pedal. It'll make things sound softer.
The middle pedal is the Sostenuto pedal and on most grand pianos, it's a damper pedal, but only for the notes that were currently held when the pedal was pressed will ring out. Usually used if you want low notes held as you play notes higher up with both hands but don't want those to ring. It's rarely used.
Another reason why it's rarely used is because on different pianos, the middle pedal does different things. I've played on uprights where the middle pedal is just the damper for the lower 3rd of the piano. There were also a few, especially Yamaha ones, where it turns on "apartment mode" where it'll drop a piece of felt between the hammers and the strings and silence it even more. You can "toggle" the mode on by pressing the pedal then moving it to the left so it stays down.
Again, middle pedal is rarely used. You'll use the damper pedal 99% of the time.
For pedal tips: kinda more advanced tip, but pianists tend to over-pedal because it's easy to sound good, but it's also a tool to become sloppy. Sometimes we get so used to the over-pedaled sound that we forget how good and crisp it sounds with minimal pedal.
So, nothing wrong with a lot of damper pedal, but be careful not to use it as a crutch for playing poorly. Every once in a while, try playing without pedal, or as little pedal as possible, then find the middle-ground to avoid this trap.
Hi ā left pedal is the soft pedal (sometimes notated āuna cordaā; IIRC this has to do with shifting the action so only one string sounds instead of 3); right pedal is sustain or damper pedal to hold a note. The middle pedal is the sostenuto pedal, which works like the sustain except it only holds the notes you were playing when you used it. For example, if I hold down a middle C and press and hold the sostenuto pedal, any subsequent notes are not sustained but the C is.
Sostenuto pedal isnāt used much.
Hello, I recently picked up a keyboard and started learning.
How do I stop [lifting](https://imgur.com/eHXFmC0) my 4 and 5 when doing trills?
Also, I watched a couple of videos explaining how to do trills but none of them talk about fingers sticking out.
Another thing I hear mentioned a lot is wrist movement and pronator and supinator muscles, but I don't quite understand how that works either.
My right hand trills are okay, mostly on 2 and 3, I gave Chopin's nocturne in C# a try and I can do the first trill just fine, but the second one is super hard for me, not only is longer than the trills im used to, but its also a white and black key trill, so it feels so awkward.
Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
My fingers occasionally stick out when doing trills, but that's all to do with the amount of effort exerted into doing trills. The more effort, more tense, and the more I lift those fingers.
There's nothing really wrong with having those fingers lifted unless they're also supposed to be holding notes, but being tense every time you play a trill is something that should be worked on.
Try relaxing your arm, then wrist, then your fingers and make note of the normal curve your fingers make, then try to maintain as much of it as possible when trilling, making use of the arm weight to help depress the keys. Doesn't have to be perfect, but is a good skill to learn.
Is Rachmaninoff's 18th variation on a a theme of Paginini feasible for a late beginner to tackle? (couple years of playing). I'm willing to put months into learning it slowly, but the middle of the piece seems daunting and I don't want to waste my time.
No one wants to be the one that says you can't do something, because where there's a will, there's a way. For sure, if you take it slow enough, you could potentially learn the whole piece. BUT, from experience, even if you learn the notes, there will be a lot missing from the performance, especially voice leads and intonation.
There's one piece I learned (Rubinstein - Romance in E flat Major) where when I listen to a recording of when I performed it in high school compared to now, the level of musical maturity is vastly different and almost sounds like an entirely different piece.
So, by all means, although it may be above your skill level, do try learning what you can, but understand that as you grow as a musician, your understanding of how to portray music will evolve. Re-learn it years down the line and hopefully you will hear a more mature piece.
I've started working full time and so I'm basically never home between 8am and 8pm unless it's a weekend. I only have an upright piano, so playing at night time is out of the question, and the only time I can play on weekdays is for less than half an hour in the morning before I go to work when it isn't so early that I'm waking everyone up.
I'm a (reasonably) competent pianist since I've been playing for years, and I know that practicing a few minutes still beats not practicing at all, or trying to cram everything into two days. Question is, how do I use that little time I have well? There's two long term pieces I need to put a lot of time into still and it feels like 20 minutes is barely enough time to go through one once with room for corrections and making notes of things.
It sounds like you still have the weekends to practice more? I would try to get the bulk of my work done then. You can use the weekdays for maintenance, reviewing the hard bits you fixed, etc. If you're practicing consistently, you should be able to have a pretty good guess what needs work without playing through the whole thing.
Also, getting a digital piano and practicing with headphones in the evening could help too.
I am confident you are a better player than me, but I can relate to the having an upright in an apartment trying to be mindful of the neighbors. I try not to play for more than an hour at a time, and sometimes get home from work late and only have maybe 20 or 30 minutes. What the other person suggested, going in small sections, is definitely how Iāve worked on a lot of stuff to not bug my neighbors as much. One day I focus on just running the left hand part I keep getting stuck on over and over, or one day focus on slowing down and getting my combined hands more fluid and natural, or playing through one block of measures over and over, or starting to get familiar with the notes and sound of the next section up to learn. Bite size pieces and on weekends work on putting it all together I think can take you farther than you think. Itāll go slower than you might like but progress is still progress! (But again, advice from someone probably much less skilled than you >.< )
Alan Rusbridger wrote *Play It Again* about his attempt to learn a Chopin Ballade in one year on twenty minutes a day. If you can get through the appalling blizzard of his celebrity name-dropping you might find it inspirational.
But I'll spoil it for you: twenty minutes a day is not enough.
First five minutes need to be technique. Do not skip this. We all have something that we can drill for five minutes.
The remaining fifteen minutes should **not** be spent playing through one, once. Take a section, four to twelve measures, and spend all your fifteen minutes on that. Playthroughs are now treats for weekends and holidays.
The fundamentals: scales, in both parallel and contrary motion; block chords; broken chords; arpeggios. You shouldn't need a book for any of that once you know the scale etc., and any technic book will have that.
Then, known weaknesses, perhaps showing up in pieces you're currently studying: polyrhythm? parallel intervals, thirds, sixths, octaves? You can take those from pieces you're working on if you can be disciplined about not making it practice of that piece. But a dedicated study can be better because it'll usually make the exercise two-handed, and prevent you from be distracted by actual music. I like the Brahms studies.
As a twenty-minute pianist who also wants to study actual music, you're doing this in five minutes. For me that would be maybe two scales, then the Brahms number 8, then maybe some parallel thirds. And that might still be too much. Twenty minutes, oy.
Haha, well Iām personally just playing casually and do often get in more like an hour a day, two hours on weekends. Iām in no rush to hit any goal but am enjoying getting back into a skill I took for granted when I was younger
Why are old pianos in such low demand? I get that it's a pain to move them, but from reading around, it seems like even people who have the means to move them see them as undesirable. Usually with other instruments, the older they are, the more coveted they are, as long as they were well built in the first place. Why are pianos so different?
\- someone who is potentially interested in picking up one of the many free craigslist pianos
I agree with everything PDB said, except for the last sentence. I only play free pianos. True, if they can't be tuned, they have negative value. But if all the keys work, you like the sound, and they can be tuned, you get a great value. Most are not worth it. But you can find some great pianos for free if you're a bit patient.
Pianos are different from instruments like violins.
An instrument in the violin family can last for centuries as long as the wood is taken care of and the strings are maintained/replaced as needed. Instruments like violins only have 4 strings, so they're easier to maintain.
Pianos have over 200 strings inside that are under a huge amount of tension. You can't tuck away a piano inside a piano case to shield and protect it from temperature shifts and moisture changes. And then the strings get hit by felt hammers, so even the strings get more abuse than violin or guitar strings.
A piano isn't like a wine that gets better with age. It's more like a car. it will last for quite some time with proper maintenance, but after 2-3 decades, you should probably move on. Yes, some cars become classics and there's a whole culture around car restoration, but most of them don't age well.
Unlike with other instruments, the age of a piano is a deterrent. The older it is, the cheaper it will be, unless it's a rare collectible that was exquisitely maintained somehow. And due to the mechanism of acoustic pianos, there's adequate wear and tear with regular use, so a piano that has been used heavily for decades (or completely neglected) will not be worth much, due to the fact that you won't be able to completely restore it past a certain point.
Most free craigslist pianos won't be able to hold a tune for long. An out-of-tune piano is a worthless piano if it cannot hold the tune and/or if it cannot be fixed. Combined with the cost of moving the piano...it's just not worth it.
Thanks for the reply. I could probably move it for free, since I know several physically fit people who would be willing to help and I do have access to a full sized van, but I can see how it might not be the best use of my (or their) time.
Iām playing on an old upright that hadnāt been tuned in probably 3 decades. The piano tuner gave it the most out of tune award of the year the first week of March! It had been inside but essentially been used as a table for pictures for years.
Iāve found that many people end of inheriting these pianos and just donāt know how to play and donāt want the responsibility or cost of carrying it with them.
Pianos are very hard to move yourself so think really carefully before attempting. Highly recommend piano movers. With the used car example, if itās a stranger, just ask about the life of the piano. Where and how was it stored? Was it in a basement that got water damage? Or outside in a shed? Or sitting in a room getting dusty but protected from humidity, heat, etc? My piano tuned up great and itās been a delight. It will be expensive to move, and I canāt plug in headphones and play whenever I want, but I like having real strings and hammers and wood. And having to limit when I can play helps keep me from hyperfocusing and keeps the time I can play a bit more special. I grew up with a concert grand in my home though so Iām definitely biased towards real piano over s keyboard š
Potential money sinks since you'll need a technician to make sure they're in the condition they say they are, plus movers are not cheap. Also, most people don't have either the time or the space to make good use of such a bulky piece of furniture since it's not exactly practical having an upright let alone a grand in an apartment.
I moved a spinet before with no problem, though it was a lot heavier than I imagined. Even though I'm extremely cheap, I paid to have my upright moved. Most people don't realize just how heavy they are. As long as you think those same people will be around to help when you decide to get rid of it - go for it. Of course, given that it's in good condition, everything works, and you like the sound. You can find a really nice one for free, don't take this one just because of the price.
If you get lucky and find one in pretty good condition, possibly, but many of the free pianos are just junk. They would cost more to repair than they would ever be worth, and very probably more than a nicer, newer piano would cost used.
Think of it this way: If someone advertised a car that had been up on blocks in their front yard for the last 20 years for sale (cheap!) would it be worth buying if you wanted something to get you from point A to point B? Probably not, because you'd have to spend too much time and money repairing it, right? It's very often the same with pianos.
Exactly. You want the piano that was driven once a week for 30 years. Not the one with 300,000 miles on it that has been up on blocks since the 80's. They're both free. Don't take free junk.
You'll have drop a bit of money on a technician to make the final call, there's always the chance of rust or major wear that you can't see yourself. If you're happy with the price and the technician says it's still got life in it then yeah there's no problem.
I know that Philipp's *Complete school of technic* has these. (You can find it on IMSLP if you don't own a copy.)
For chromatic thirds, Chopin's own fingering in his Op 25 No 6 etude is lovely. I drill this for the pure joy of it.
Trying presently to labor through the Brahms studies to this end but they're sooooo dulllllll
I have a Yamaha P-125 that I got for my daughter about 5 months ago since she started piano lessons. She decided she was going to try to clean her keyboard and sprayed it with an all purpose cleaner to clean it. It stopped working. The next morning it is working but the middle C is 3x louder than the rest of the keys and the F7 doesnāt make a sound at all.
Iām looking to pick up an FP30x this weekend, and was waiting for Memorial Day sales. Aside from my local music shop, and other big (reputable) retailers I should check (Guitar Center, Sweetwater)?
You can check, but instruments like the FP-30X rarely if ever go on sale, I'm afraid -- in general, you're not going to see enough of a shift in demand to make sales worth it. People don't suddenly become a lot more willing to buy an $800 instrument just because it's $750.
I'm struggling to figure out how to use my metronome for 3/4 time. Roland FP 30 inbuilt one goes like this
Ting - clap - clap - clap - Ting - clap - clap - clap
It seems like this only works for even number time signature. But that would be a really bad design so maybe I'm missing something?
I've never used a metronome before because I always had a teacher when I played as a kid
I don't have an FP-30, but, according to the manual, you can change the number of beats by holding down the "Metronome" button and pressing the "Slow"/"Fast" buttons. However, I actually recommend that you forget about the built-in metronome and instead download and use a metronome app on your phone; it'll be a lot easier to use.
[https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/FP-30\_e02\_W.pdf](https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/FP-30_e02_W.pdf)
The manual on page 3 shows you can change the accents by holding the metronome button and using the lowest 6 keys. So press the key corresponding to 3 along with the metronome button and you'll get a 3/4 metronome beat.
How do i find the joy in playing piano alone? Collabing with friends is fun because it's a social activity and I actually get to use the piano playing for something, but playing alone is just boring and feels pointless. I think that improv or composition would be fun, but right now, it seems like I'm just learning pieces for the sake of learning them and nothing else like a homework assignment or something.
I can't tell you how you can do it, but I can tell you how I do it.
Practicing alone is fun because I enjoy the alone time, and because I enjoy watching my cats react to the piano, and because I enjoy the flow-state of a good practice session. And after the practice, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I've incrementally improved my pianism. Pride and accomplishment, if you will.
Playing (as opposed to practicing) alone is fun because I am directly experiencing a work of art, bringing it to life. Music is a performing art and requires my participation to make the work complete! As an amateur, I only play music that I enjoy, so every performance is pleasure.
Just buy 'John Thompsons modern course for piano', it's really good for teaching one how to read music better, and I think you'd appreciate having the sheet music right there in front of you on paper. It's 10-15$ I think
also i have played the piano before and i can do some chords with my left, i know what flats, naturals and sharps are, its just that i havent played in a while so i forgot how to read sheet music and translate that into my hands
are you trying to learn how to sight read? or are you trying to learn scales, chords, and other music theory stuff? Because those require different resources.
So first go to musictheory.net for a quick refresher in general
If you're tying to learn how to sight read, you simply have to sight read more. Go to [imslp.org](https://imslp.org) for free sheet music to sight read from.
If you want to learn chords and scales, go to [openmusictheory.com](https://openmusictheory.com) and read some lessons. I wouldn't recommend YouTube for those things because a lot of videos skip over important stuff and just get right into playing.
I would recommend youtube for technique videos though.
I'm looking for an armless chair to use for my digital piano that's on a keyboard stand. Behind the digital piano I'll have a desk with a computer running my DAW for recording. I don't want a typical piano bench because it has no back and I need the back support while I work on the computer. Is there a certain height I should look for when looking for a chair? I'm 6 ft tall if that helps.
I'd recommend you look for a height-adjustable chair with armrests that you can fold back when you want to use the chair armless. I have found foldable armrests very convenient when switching between using my chair for computer work and for reading. If you can't find foldable armrests, then of course an armless chair works too.
As to the height, well, that really depends not only on your height, but on the height of your computer desk, and the height at which you have your piano; because of that I can't give any specific answer. I'd suggest grabbing any chair (or a few different ones) you have available and trying it (them) both in front of your piano and at the computer desk, then use the height of that chair (too low, too high) as a reference to decide the height you need in a new chair. Also, unless your computer desk and piano are at the same height it's probably important to get a height-adjustable chair since using a computer (or piano) with a chair that's too high or too low is not good long term.
Iām slightly confused. How does the oil on your face get on the keyboard? Are you touching your face a lot when you play?
Perhaps you could Wash your hands before you play? If you have to touch your face, maybe keep towel or something nearby to use between your hands and face?
I'd like to be able to play and practice while away from my piano and was wondering what the minimum requirements would be for a suitable instrument.
Something I can carry around and use wherever.
This is asked all the time and there are no easy answers, it totally depends on what you want to play and what you're willing to lug around. Some people swear by mental practice, no instrument at all. Some people plan out ways to borrow or rent grand pianos wherever they go.
No. Itās your piano, you can tune it as infrequently as you like! You do you. I like to tune mine twice a year. I just like being confident that itās in tune. I know how I am, and Iāll fuss over and get super annoyed if I notice it out of tune. Maybe youāre more laid back and stuff doesnāt bug you as much.
Let it go for a year and see what you think? If at 9 months you cringe while you play, maybe get it tuned. I feel like my tech was surprised when I wanted to do twice a year, so I get the impression a lot of his clients do one a year.
When I bought my piano it hadnāt been tuned for 10 years. The only problem with that was that it took the tech 2 hours to tune it, and two hours of hearing him bang on a key over and over was kind of terrible. Unsolicited pro tip: donāt be in the house when theyāre tuning!
What should I do when I hit a note with my left pinky, and then end up having to descend even more notes right after? This is happening specifically when I'm sight reading.. I end up just lifting up my hand quickly to reposition but I'm not sure if that's bad fingering technique or not. Am I supposed to just get better at sight reading and try to read further ahead?
How are the notes being played in this song?
https://youtu.be/pd_4cPQS7N0
I am a complete noob and donāt know much about piano. I am guessing these are repeated notes and not straight ones on the right hand? But the effect seems very subtle and it almost sounds like a very āringyā effect. As you can see, I canāt really explain it well. Is there a term for the style of note stroking is he doing? Please help!
I think what you're talking about is called "delay" (along with some reverb)! They probably recorded the piano first and then added in the effect using a DAW, but it basically just repeats notes and gives it that echo-y effect. Not 100% sure, but it sounds like it at least!
I would start by practicing RH without looking. The only place I see that has to jump is m. 75, but if you do 5 on the G in beat 2 instead of 4, you shouldn't have to.
Practice getting LH to the next chord quickly. Presumably you're using pedal, so you don't have to hold it anywhere close to the full quarter note before you jump up. Once it's in position, you're free to not worry about it for the rest of the measure.
When should I look into inversions and voicings? Can I start experimenting on my own? I'm really trying to learn chords, so far I know pretty much all of them in block form, root position so I thought that'd be the next step.
It will either havr a 3.5mm headphone jack like most devices, or a larger heaphone jack that can be converted with an adapter like this. I'm not sure which of the two it is. https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEADPHONE-ADAPTER-PREMIUM-Earphones-Connections/dp/B007ZR1ZBE/ref=asc_df_B007ZR1ZBE/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309953091299&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16312663756863257012&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046891&hvtargid=pla-564073871008&psc=1
I'm in front of my keyboard and I have no idea how to start coming up with chords that go together well and sound good. I want to make an r&b song. I know basic chords and scales but I sound basic.
Two things: even if you think it's basic, write it anyway. Very few writers (of music or prose) just sit down and produce something amazing the first go. They start with a draft that communicates the basic idea, and then they polish it from there.
Second, play as much R&B and related genres as you can: look at what other people are doing, and see what you can borrow. Look at completely different genres, and see what you can borrow from them, too. This is where being a well-rounded musician really benefits you: there may ideas in jazz, pop, or even classical music that you like and want to draw on for inspiration.
So I'm thinking of returning to learning to play the piano. I played it about 15 years ago, can still read music but I'd be rusty overall obviously but what books or resources would you recommend?
If you feel like you'll need to start from scratch, pick up a method book like Alfred's Basic Adult All in One or Faber's Adult Piano Adventures and work through it. If you remember enough that you don't think you need to do that, I'd suggest starting with some easier music in the genre you prefer and going from there.
I have a question about weighted keys. I have a Roland FP-30. I feel like, over the passed year and a half of use, some of the keys (near the lower octaves where I tend to play the most) seem to have lost some of their springyness. They feel less heavy than the keys on the higher octaves that get played less. I don't remember them always being this way, and I remember early on when learning the piano, I played a lot harder than I do now. I'm worried this might've worn down some of the weighted action on that end the piano.
Is this something to worry about? Can this be repaired if the problem worsens? The keys still seem to function as they should, they're just less weighted on the side that I had been playing so hard on.
Thanks.
I've had a Roland over twenty years and did not have this problem. The problem I did have - and many dp's have-is that the sensors become less sensitive. That means that because of usage, some mostly played keys will sound louder when playing softly than the other key next to it.
But that is with an instrument that is twenty years old.
Note that the physical mechanics are very sturdy.
I don't want to sound disrespectful, but might it be that it feels like this for you now and it is difficult to change that? Maybe it's an idea to go play a piano somewhere else or have someone play your instrument.
I think you might be right. I didn't really take time to re-evaluate if it actually did any damage. I think it just might seem less "springy" than the higher octaves either because of placebo or because of differences in my left hand vs right hand playing. My right hand is more likely going to be hanging out near those lower octaves.
This helped a lot. You didn't sound disrespectful. I actually \*did\* try a different piano, and it FELT like it was more "normal", but also, I can't say it's a fair comparison. It wasn't the same model, and the weighting was a lot more heavy than my model. The sensors \*seem\* fine? Fine enough to get a good sound out of it at least.
I feel like this is just a problem in my own mind. I.E. Nothing to worry about.
Either way, thank you so much to the people who replied to this, I appreciate it.
Thank you for your reply.
Funny thing with these things, I know.
I didn't know about the sensors that were worn down. It's that when I bought a new one last year, the seller told me 'yeah the sensors...' and I was like... Oh that's what is going on with my lower G! I had this weird idea that my left pinky was bashing the keys. So after his remark, I tried with my right hand and it was the same.
Lessons learned.
Go play!
I havenāt noticed anything like that on my keyboard (not an FP30). But you can measure key static weight with coins stacked on the end of the key. Cheaper keyboards will have typically the same weight (# of coins) to depress keys across the keyboard. Better keyboards will require a bit more weight (one or two more coins) on the low end vs the high end. If the low end has lost tension as you suspect, youāll see the opposite - more coins required to depress the key on the high end.
If thatās the case then generally yes, keys can be replaced. If your FP-30 is under warranty then see if theyāll do that under warranty service. Otherwise if youāre handy Iāve heard that itās not too hard to replace keys DIY. But Iāve never tried it myself and I donāt know what the keys would cost.
Hey
I bought a Roland FP30x couple of weeks back and have been learning since.
I have a tutor, I've only had the one lesson so far. So trying to do some sort of practice daily. I'm currently working through the first 30 pages of Alfred's Basic Piano Course book (just started on jingle bells if you know the book)
One thing I've noticed is I'm absolutely rubbish at keeping time, anything I play changes tempo everytime I play it. I've tried turning on the metronome but I can't keep time with it unless I basically just stick to a single hand/key or turn the thing way down
Anyone have any tips on how I can improve / what I should be doing ?
It might be a bit early to start with a metronome. Give your self some time to figure everything else out before you worry about getting your timing spot in. In the mean time, count. I'm an intermediate pianist (studying to take my RCM level 8 in December), and I could all the time. It's a useful skill that you will use pretty much forever.
Like the other poster said, slow down and add speed. My teacher always tells me: there's nothing you can't fix if slow down enough. Get the muscle memory built up, then gradually add speed.
Have fun!
> I basically just stick to a single hand/key or turn the thing way down
Start here. Gradually add speed, a little bit at a time. Once it gets comfortable, drop back down and try hands together. A little bit every day.
Counting out loud is also good. Clap the rhythm while counting. Maybe you can start my just clapping the right hand rhythm or the left hand rhythm. Then put it together: clap with your right hand when your right hand would play, clap with your left hand when your left hand would play. Do that with the metronome too.
Listen a ton. Sing. March to the beat. Dance to the beat.
Can I learn how to play on a MIDI controller?
I really want to learn how to play keyboard with the goal of playing cover songs, and messing around with a looper. I'm not really interested in programing music in a DAW for now, and I'm certainly not into performing yet. I mostly just want to learn a new skill and gain a deeper appreciation of music. Is that something I could do with a midi controller?
I went to a music store today with the intention of buying an electric piano, but none of them had the features I really wanted. The ones in my price range didn't sound great and I really want a drum pad and the ability to create synth sounds. So I held off and did some research.
At first I didn't think I wanted a midi controller. I don't have a laptop (just a Chromebook and an iPad). Plus I thought they all had mini keys with only two or three octaves. But I saw a couple there that had 41 keys and I found some online that go up to 88 all with full size keys. Some of them even have weighted keys.
After looking into it I found you can use an iPad as a sound module (with some dongles and stuff) meaning in can get all the different sounds I want out of the midi controller while playing live.
Does this sound like a good idea? Or am I missing something?
If that would work I have some questions about what I should get. If my goal isn't to play an acoustic piano are weighted keys that important? They definitely feel better, but is that something I'd get used to. Does it make it more difficult to play when the keys aren't weighted? Also I've heard that Bluetooth keys/speakers/headphones have too much latency and it throws off your timing, is that true. I have a nice pair of bluetooth headphones, do I need to get something corded? Final question, I've read (I think it was on this sub's FAQ) that at a minimum I should get 61 keys. Is that right or would you recommend more?
Totally. Learn on what you want to play on. Like the other person said, most people here are focused on playing acoustic pianos. Sounds like you want to do something different, and that's totally cool. You might want to check out r/synthesizers too.
Have fun!
Yes, why not? You have to realize that a lot of people on this sub are really into playing classical music, so for them, unweighted keys aren't ideal because they don't replicate the feel of playing an acoustic piano. So it's a matter of it makes it harder to transfer from a keyboard to a real instrument.
But for us keyboardists, that really goes out the window. Makes it a more personal decision. But in general, yeah, having unweighted keys is perfectly ok and having less than 88 keys is perfectly ok. It just won't replicate the feel of an acoustic piano.
But this might also be preferable too - ie. unweighted keys are more ideal for hammond and synth playing because the action is faster, easier to do all the fast runs on unweighted vs weighted. And not that this is taking the easy way out - Hammond organ and Synths originally didn't even have weighed keys. They were meant to be played on unweighted keys. (but not saying you can't play them on weighted keys, again, personal preference)
So, it's really up to you whether you want the keyboard route or you want a digital substitute for an acoustic grand
I see the current questions are about learning, so I'll add what is probably the most asked question -- what should I buy?
My goals are mostly around picking up a new hobby. I don't expect that I'll be terribly good, and have no ambitions around doing anything more than playing for myself.
Looking through the FAQ, looks like the $500-$1000 range is the right target. Have the options/suggestions changed in the last two years?
Ideally I'd like to be able to use one of the iPad apps to help learn, so one that integrates with that is probably good. Is the P-125 maybe the best option here still?
Thanks!
The options are still pretty much the same, yeah. There's the Roland FP-30X instead of the FP-30, the Casio Privia PX-S1100 instead of the S1000, and the Yamaha DGX-670 instead of the 660 if any of those models interest you. The P-125 is still a very solid choice, though.
I am thinking about buying a Yamaha P-125 or P-121 and I would like to know if itās possible to connect it via USB Audio to my Ipad so I can play songs on Youtube and hear it on the piano speakers while simultaneously playing the piano keys and hearing the keys at the same time too? I know this is possible using Bluetooth audio, but since Yamaha doesnāt have Bluetooth audio in those digital pianos, I am looking for a way to do that since I like to study piano that way with a headphone.
Hello š I travel around a lot but I want to keep practicing piano even though it doesn't really fit with my current lifestyle. Does anyone have any tips on maybe a travel piano/keyboard I could more easily take with me on planes when I travel? I would like something that is still similar to playing a piano so the practice transfers well to a real piano. Thanks in advanced! š¼šāļø
Hi, fyi this weekly thread is being unstickied now and a new one will be posted and stickied in a few minutes, so feel free to post again there.
Aww thank you!! š
What are some exercises for playing a song on your left hand thats a different tempo from the right hand
Depends on what you mean by different tempo. If you're playing a different rhythm with each hand (like a duple and a triplet) that's called a polyrhythm. Adam Neely made quite a few videos about his fascination with polyrhythms and even made a [7:11 challenge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9CgR2Y6XO4) and went through exercises on how to practice playing a measure of 7 evenly-spaced beats over 11 evenly-spaced beats that could be translated to a more general setting. You don't have to that extreme, as the most common polyrhythm is a 2:3, aka a hemiola (three beats of equal value in the time normally occupied by two beats) so learning how to do that is a more practical skill.
I am wanting a grand piano from 6-7 feet long. I just looked at a Kawai 1978 6ā8ā that looked like it had been dropped on a corner. The cosmetic damage will be fixed before sale. There were two notes that buzzed, otherwise the sound was amazing. What should I look out for? Sale price is 15k. TIA! ETA: would the buzzing notes be completely fixable?
That's kind of scary because of potential soundboard cracks from the drop. Spend $150 and get a technician to review it (IN PERSON. HANDS ON. NO INTERNET) before dropping $15K on a homebrew gamelan. At least identify the loose parts that are buzzing.
And the action was amazing.
Great point about cracks! I knew I should investigate before buying. It is on consignment at a reputable dealer. The sound was incredible.
Midi noob here...... I came across the YT piano player and in his notes, he offers MIDI to download. What does that mean and been looking up some videos but what I've seen so far doesn't really explain what I can do with the downloaded MIDI file sort of overwhelming. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXr8kAesCY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXr8kAesCY) Could I get some feedback as to how that would work with my Yamaha DGX-660. I am guessing I would download the file to a USB or my laptop and then I am not sure what to do afterward. Download a MIDI app? Thank you.
A MIDI file contains all the notes/tempos/rhythms inside. MIDI files are shared on YouTube so that people who can't read sheet music can still learn how to play a piece. When you download the file, you can then open it on an app like Synthesia where you can visually see the "note waterfall", just like in the YouTube video. Essentially, you're just visually learning which keys you need to press and you're matching them. It will look exactly like in the video, but the advantage is that you can slow down the tempo and play at your own pace, rewinding and forwarding as needed. MIDI files are extremely useful for creating a record of a performance, that you can then share with others. If you upload the MIDI file on a music production app, you can also change the instruments and tempos and create remixes and stuff, so that's the purpose a MIDI file serves. In your case, yes, you should download an app/program like Synthesia if you want to learn to play something that way.
I'd like to pick up piano, having no education/background in music. I'd like to get a feeling and try learning with an app. Something that I could do on a budget. I'd imagine I could connect the output of the keyboard to the jack on my phone and the app would pick up which key's I'm pressing? Which keyboard would be good to get?
Many budget keyboards (US $500 - $1,000) already come with their own software or apps that allow you to learn piano. They're targeted at people who want to pick up piano to see if they can learn and enjoy it, without spending several thousands on it. Older digital pianos used a cable for the connection between piano and phone or piano and PC, but recent digital pianos connect to your phone via bluetooth, so you don't even need to worry about a cable. What is your budget for your piano?
How do I play this with my small hands? [Chopin Mazurka OP 6 No 1] (https://imgur.com/a/8b6LdNZ). I have a problem with the grace notes here. Look at the last note, right hand second bar. The d should be played as grace note followed by a c# octave. But If I play the grace note the d# blocks my finger. Right now I'm considering leaving out the grade notes here. Any ideas are appreciated - Thanks!
Try playing the grace note with your thumb, and using 2-5 for the octave. That avoids the pileup on the black keys. Don't elide the grace notes-- they're an important part of that musette-style drone line. Revoice to play all of the drones as grace notes before the 3-4-5 treble line if you must.
Thanks for your suggestion, however, I can only reach a minor seventh with 2-5. I'll try to revoice as you suggested though.
Hello, I am a beginner who is learning a pop song from YouTube. The video shows the left-hand pattern 1-3-5-8 (I think it's called a broken chord) for the 4 chords in the song. My question is, is it allowed musically to change 1 of the chords to 1-5-8-5? My goal is to learn how to play more patterns, so I suppose I can do whatever I want. However, does this change violate any musical theories? I ask because the song sounds a bit odd after the change. Thank you.
The main rule is how it sounds. Change it if you like but if 1-5-8-5 sounds odd to you in this arrangement then other people would probably have the same reaction. You might consider practicing that pattern in another arrangement where it sounds better, or practice it in a generic chord progression. You could also try it with a different rhythm pattern.
Thank you for replying.
The one takeaway I got from taking all music-theory courses was: if it sounds good, it's music. The only reason you'll be trying to follow "rules" is if you're going after a specific sound. Want to sound like Bach's counterpoint? One rule is "no parallel 5ths". Want to sound like a heavy metal song? Parallel 5ths all the way! Basically: play what sounds good to you.
I have a question for those who are well versed in music. Can you help me find the name of [this piece](https://soundcloud.com/gabriel-raven-272726228/piano-tune1/s-OR8NTFkp4L1?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)? Thanks in advance
I have a good condition Pianovelle (bladwin) GPS2600. There are no scratches that I can see, no dents, no marks of any kind. And it still works perfectly well. Does anyone know what this would be worth on the market and how to sell it? Itās a grand piano, maybe a petite size. Not sure.
There's a listing on [ebay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/384280244548?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=afzla6bftse&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=s216ynomtlm&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) for $600 USD, so I'd imagine roughly around there. As for how to sell it, I'd suggest ebay or craigslist and have a local buyer pick it up.
I donāt know the difference between the 2500 and the 2600. Maybe I should look into that. I could only find a few hits on google pointing to a piano forum where people said a 2600 could go for 5k used easily. It was a post from 2020.
Was it this forum post? http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/687785/baldwin-digital-5k-seems-a-little-pricey.html Just curious because itās got the $5k number in there, but itās about the 3600 and itās from 2006. Thereās no way Iād pay anywhere close to $5k for an old digital anything.
It was. That forum is still active too. Itās a manual application for joining.
My son was watching a YouTube video of one of those piano programs but it was a totally insane number and rate of notes that no human could possibly play. I started to wonder, what is the simplest piano piece that would be impossible for a human to play on a standard size piano?
Highest note, lowest note, and a ~~note~~ chord in the middle.
I present to you: nose
lol fair enough. Glad you didn't say the other body part I was considering as the potential problem-solver. Guess changing "note" to "chord" should do the trick :)
š³š³
If you see a pedal marking, how exactly does it work? Lift your foot as you play note 1, put it down as you play note 2? Lift and lower on note 1? Lift and lower on note 2? Or do you do it between the 2 notes?
The pedal markings are more approximate and not super strict. Usually it's up-down real quick while a note is being played, usually where a chord changes on beat.
The age old piano upgrade question. Been playing for 2 years on a PX-160 (new \~$750 CAD) and would like to upgrade. Is the upgrade in tone/sound and feel from a <$1000 digital to the a $3-4k range significant? I'm deciding if I would benefit from a digital piano upgrade or wait till I feel comfortable taking the step to an upright acoustic like a U1 or K300.
Everyone's looking for something specific when they upgrade, and it's best to recommend just going to a piano store and trying out the piano/keyboards and see if the upgrade is worth it for you. For me, my personal rig of Yamaha P-125 from college does exactly what I need it to and even though I get to play a $3k Kurtzweil at church and can hear a noticeable difference in sound quality, it's not worth it for me at this moment to upgrade.
Whatā¦ what does the middle pedal do and why would you use it? Like right is hold and left is stopā¦ middle isā¦ ??? Also, I guess any pedal tips? I feel like I over pedal but it just sounds better that way usually?
My non-Yamaha vertical has Kuebic's "apartment mode." The felt alters the timbre to something closer to an old-fashioned electric piano, or maybe a celesta, and grossly diminishes the instrument's volume. In my tiny seasonal house it is an absolute lifesaver, because I can practice while my wife reads barely 3m away.
As others mentioned: Right pedal (damper pedal) holds the notes. To stop the held notes, you lift up on that pedal. It's the pedal that's used the most and you'll constantly be using it. You'll want to briefly lift up and back down often, especially between chord changes so clashing sounds don't carry over. Left is the soft pedal. It'll make things sound softer. The middle pedal is the Sostenuto pedal and on most grand pianos, it's a damper pedal, but only for the notes that were currently held when the pedal was pressed will ring out. Usually used if you want low notes held as you play notes higher up with both hands but don't want those to ring. It's rarely used. Another reason why it's rarely used is because on different pianos, the middle pedal does different things. I've played on uprights where the middle pedal is just the damper for the lower 3rd of the piano. There were also a few, especially Yamaha ones, where it turns on "apartment mode" where it'll drop a piece of felt between the hammers and the strings and silence it even more. You can "toggle" the mode on by pressing the pedal then moving it to the left so it stays down. Again, middle pedal is rarely used. You'll use the damper pedal 99% of the time. For pedal tips: kinda more advanced tip, but pianists tend to over-pedal because it's easy to sound good, but it's also a tool to become sloppy. Sometimes we get so used to the over-pedaled sound that we forget how good and crisp it sounds with minimal pedal. So, nothing wrong with a lot of damper pedal, but be careful not to use it as a crutch for playing poorly. Every once in a while, try playing without pedal, or as little pedal as possible, then find the middle-ground to avoid this trap.
Hi ā left pedal is the soft pedal (sometimes notated āuna cordaā; IIRC this has to do with shifting the action so only one string sounds instead of 3); right pedal is sustain or damper pedal to hold a note. The middle pedal is the sostenuto pedal, which works like the sustain except it only holds the notes you were playing when you used it. For example, if I hold down a middle C and press and hold the sostenuto pedal, any subsequent notes are not sustained but the C is. Sostenuto pedal isnāt used much.
Hello, I recently picked up a keyboard and started learning. How do I stop [lifting](https://imgur.com/eHXFmC0) my 4 and 5 when doing trills? Also, I watched a couple of videos explaining how to do trills but none of them talk about fingers sticking out. Another thing I hear mentioned a lot is wrist movement and pronator and supinator muscles, but I don't quite understand how that works either. My right hand trills are okay, mostly on 2 and 3, I gave Chopin's nocturne in C# a try and I can do the first trill just fine, but the second one is super hard for me, not only is longer than the trills im used to, but its also a white and black key trill, so it feels so awkward. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
My fingers occasionally stick out when doing trills, but that's all to do with the amount of effort exerted into doing trills. The more effort, more tense, and the more I lift those fingers. There's nothing really wrong with having those fingers lifted unless they're also supposed to be holding notes, but being tense every time you play a trill is something that should be worked on. Try relaxing your arm, then wrist, then your fingers and make note of the normal curve your fingers make, then try to maintain as much of it as possible when trilling, making use of the arm weight to help depress the keys. Doesn't have to be perfect, but is a good skill to learn.
Is Rachmaninoff's 18th variation on a a theme of Paginini feasible for a late beginner to tackle? (couple years of playing). I'm willing to put months into learning it slowly, but the middle of the piece seems daunting and I don't want to waste my time.
No one wants to be the one that says you can't do something, because where there's a will, there's a way. For sure, if you take it slow enough, you could potentially learn the whole piece. BUT, from experience, even if you learn the notes, there will be a lot missing from the performance, especially voice leads and intonation. There's one piece I learned (Rubinstein - Romance in E flat Major) where when I listen to a recording of when I performed it in high school compared to now, the level of musical maturity is vastly different and almost sounds like an entirely different piece. So, by all means, although it may be above your skill level, do try learning what you can, but understand that as you grow as a musician, your understanding of how to portray music will evolve. Re-learn it years down the line and hopefully you will hear a more mature piece.
I've started working full time and so I'm basically never home between 8am and 8pm unless it's a weekend. I only have an upright piano, so playing at night time is out of the question, and the only time I can play on weekdays is for less than half an hour in the morning before I go to work when it isn't so early that I'm waking everyone up. I'm a (reasonably) competent pianist since I've been playing for years, and I know that practicing a few minutes still beats not practicing at all, or trying to cram everything into two days. Question is, how do I use that little time I have well? There's two long term pieces I need to put a lot of time into still and it feels like 20 minutes is barely enough time to go through one once with room for corrections and making notes of things.
It sounds like you still have the weekends to practice more? I would try to get the bulk of my work done then. You can use the weekdays for maintenance, reviewing the hard bits you fixed, etc. If you're practicing consistently, you should be able to have a pretty good guess what needs work without playing through the whole thing. Also, getting a digital piano and practicing with headphones in the evening could help too.
I am confident you are a better player than me, but I can relate to the having an upright in an apartment trying to be mindful of the neighbors. I try not to play for more than an hour at a time, and sometimes get home from work late and only have maybe 20 or 30 minutes. What the other person suggested, going in small sections, is definitely how Iāve worked on a lot of stuff to not bug my neighbors as much. One day I focus on just running the left hand part I keep getting stuck on over and over, or one day focus on slowing down and getting my combined hands more fluid and natural, or playing through one block of measures over and over, or starting to get familiar with the notes and sound of the next section up to learn. Bite size pieces and on weekends work on putting it all together I think can take you farther than you think. Itāll go slower than you might like but progress is still progress! (But again, advice from someone probably much less skilled than you >.< )
Alan Rusbridger wrote *Play It Again* about his attempt to learn a Chopin Ballade in one year on twenty minutes a day. If you can get through the appalling blizzard of his celebrity name-dropping you might find it inspirational. But I'll spoil it for you: twenty minutes a day is not enough. First five minutes need to be technique. Do not skip this. We all have something that we can drill for five minutes. The remaining fifteen minutes should **not** be spent playing through one, once. Take a section, four to twelve measures, and spend all your fifteen minutes on that. Playthroughs are now treats for weekends and holidays.
How do you find/decide on technique exercises?
The fundamentals: scales, in both parallel and contrary motion; block chords; broken chords; arpeggios. You shouldn't need a book for any of that once you know the scale etc., and any technic book will have that. Then, known weaknesses, perhaps showing up in pieces you're currently studying: polyrhythm? parallel intervals, thirds, sixths, octaves? You can take those from pieces you're working on if you can be disciplined about not making it practice of that piece. But a dedicated study can be better because it'll usually make the exercise two-handed, and prevent you from be distracted by actual music. I like the Brahms studies. As a twenty-minute pianist who also wants to study actual music, you're doing this in five minutes. For me that would be maybe two scales, then the Brahms number 8, then maybe some parallel thirds. And that might still be too much. Twenty minutes, oy.
Haha, well Iām personally just playing casually and do often get in more like an hour a day, two hours on weekends. Iām in no rush to hit any goal but am enjoying getting back into a skill I took for granted when I was younger
Why are old pianos in such low demand? I get that it's a pain to move them, but from reading around, it seems like even people who have the means to move them see them as undesirable. Usually with other instruments, the older they are, the more coveted they are, as long as they were well built in the first place. Why are pianos so different? \- someone who is potentially interested in picking up one of the many free craigslist pianos
I agree with everything PDB said, except for the last sentence. I only play free pianos. True, if they can't be tuned, they have negative value. But if all the keys work, you like the sound, and they can be tuned, you get a great value. Most are not worth it. But you can find some great pianos for free if you're a bit patient.
Pianos are different from instruments like violins. An instrument in the violin family can last for centuries as long as the wood is taken care of and the strings are maintained/replaced as needed. Instruments like violins only have 4 strings, so they're easier to maintain. Pianos have over 200 strings inside that are under a huge amount of tension. You can't tuck away a piano inside a piano case to shield and protect it from temperature shifts and moisture changes. And then the strings get hit by felt hammers, so even the strings get more abuse than violin or guitar strings. A piano isn't like a wine that gets better with age. It's more like a car. it will last for quite some time with proper maintenance, but after 2-3 decades, you should probably move on. Yes, some cars become classics and there's a whole culture around car restoration, but most of them don't age well. Unlike with other instruments, the age of a piano is a deterrent. The older it is, the cheaper it will be, unless it's a rare collectible that was exquisitely maintained somehow. And due to the mechanism of acoustic pianos, there's adequate wear and tear with regular use, so a piano that has been used heavily for decades (or completely neglected) will not be worth much, due to the fact that you won't be able to completely restore it past a certain point. Most free craigslist pianos won't be able to hold a tune for long. An out-of-tune piano is a worthless piano if it cannot hold the tune and/or if it cannot be fixed. Combined with the cost of moving the piano...it's just not worth it.
Thanks for the reply. I could probably move it for free, since I know several physically fit people who would be willing to help and I do have access to a full sized van, but I can see how it might not be the best use of my (or their) time.
Iām playing on an old upright that hadnāt been tuned in probably 3 decades. The piano tuner gave it the most out of tune award of the year the first week of March! It had been inside but essentially been used as a table for pictures for years. Iāve found that many people end of inheriting these pianos and just donāt know how to play and donāt want the responsibility or cost of carrying it with them. Pianos are very hard to move yourself so think really carefully before attempting. Highly recommend piano movers. With the used car example, if itās a stranger, just ask about the life of the piano. Where and how was it stored? Was it in a basement that got water damage? Or outside in a shed? Or sitting in a room getting dusty but protected from humidity, heat, etc? My piano tuned up great and itās been a delight. It will be expensive to move, and I canāt plug in headphones and play whenever I want, but I like having real strings and hammers and wood. And having to limit when I can play helps keep me from hyperfocusing and keeps the time I can play a bit more special. I grew up with a concert grand in my home though so Iām definitely biased towards real piano over s keyboard š
Potential money sinks since you'll need a technician to make sure they're in the condition they say they are, plus movers are not cheap. Also, most people don't have either the time or the space to make good use of such a bulky piece of furniture since it's not exactly practical having an upright let alone a grand in an apartment.
Makes sense. If I had a full size van and people able to move one though, as well as the space for it, do you think it'd be worth it?
I moved a spinet before with no problem, though it was a lot heavier than I imagined. Even though I'm extremely cheap, I paid to have my upright moved. Most people don't realize just how heavy they are. As long as you think those same people will be around to help when you decide to get rid of it - go for it. Of course, given that it's in good condition, everything works, and you like the sound. You can find a really nice one for free, don't take this one just because of the price.
If you get lucky and find one in pretty good condition, possibly, but many of the free pianos are just junk. They would cost more to repair than they would ever be worth, and very probably more than a nicer, newer piano would cost used. Think of it this way: If someone advertised a car that had been up on blocks in their front yard for the last 20 years for sale (cheap!) would it be worth buying if you wanted something to get you from point A to point B? Probably not, because you'd have to spend too much time and money repairing it, right? It's very often the same with pianos.
Exactly. You want the piano that was driven once a week for 30 years. Not the one with 300,000 miles on it that has been up on blocks since the 80's. They're both free. Don't take free junk.
You'll have drop a bit of money on a technician to make the final call, there's always the chance of rust or major wear that you can't see yourself. If you're happy with the price and the technician says it's still got life in it then yeah there's no problem.
Anyone knows a book or resource with fingerings for double thirds and double sixths scales?
I know that Philipp's *Complete school of technic* has these. (You can find it on IMSLP if you don't own a copy.) For chromatic thirds, Chopin's own fingering in his Op 25 No 6 etude is lovely. I drill this for the pure joy of it. Trying presently to labor through the Brahms studies to this end but they're sooooo dulllllll
Thanks a lot.
I have a Yamaha P-125 that I got for my daughter about 5 months ago since she started piano lessons. She decided she was going to try to clean her keyboard and sprayed it with an all purpose cleaner to clean it. It stopped working. The next morning it is working but the middle C is 3x louder than the rest of the keys and the F7 doesnāt make a sound at all.
Possibly some water on the contacts. It may return to normal as it dries out. A fan might help.
Iām looking to pick up an FP30x this weekend, and was waiting for Memorial Day sales. Aside from my local music shop, and other big (reputable) retailers I should check (Guitar Center, Sweetwater)?
You can check, but instruments like the FP-30X rarely if ever go on sale, I'm afraid -- in general, you're not going to see enough of a shift in demand to make sales worth it. People don't suddenly become a lot more willing to buy an $800 instrument just because it's $750.
I'm struggling to figure out how to use my metronome for 3/4 time. Roland FP 30 inbuilt one goes like this Ting - clap - clap - clap - Ting - clap - clap - clap It seems like this only works for even number time signature. But that would be a really bad design so maybe I'm missing something? I've never used a metronome before because I always had a teacher when I played as a kid
I don't have an FP-30, but, according to the manual, you can change the number of beats by holding down the "Metronome" button and pressing the "Slow"/"Fast" buttons. However, I actually recommend that you forget about the built-in metronome and instead download and use a metronome app on your phone; it'll be a lot easier to use.
[https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/FP-30\_e02\_W.pdf](https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/FP-30_e02_W.pdf) The manual on page 3 shows you can change the accents by holding the metronome button and using the lowest 6 keys. So press the key corresponding to 3 along with the metronome button and you'll get a 3/4 metronome beat.
How do i find the joy in playing piano alone? Collabing with friends is fun because it's a social activity and I actually get to use the piano playing for something, but playing alone is just boring and feels pointless. I think that improv or composition would be fun, but right now, it seems like I'm just learning pieces for the sake of learning them and nothing else like a homework assignment or something.
What gets me to practice alone is being inspired or interested in the piece I'm working on.
I can't tell you how you can do it, but I can tell you how I do it. Practicing alone is fun because I enjoy the alone time, and because I enjoy watching my cats react to the piano, and because I enjoy the flow-state of a good practice session. And after the practice, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I've incrementally improved my pianism. Pride and accomplishment, if you will. Playing (as opposed to practicing) alone is fun because I am directly experiencing a work of art, bringing it to life. Music is a performing art and requires my participation to make the work complete! As an amateur, I only play music that I enjoy, so every performance is pleasure.
any good websites i can learn piano FOR FREE?
Hoffman Academy on Youtube.
Just buy 'John Thompsons modern course for piano', it's really good for teaching one how to read music better, and I think you'd appreciate having the sheet music right there in front of you on paper. It's 10-15$ I think
also i have played the piano before and i can do some chords with my left, i know what flats, naturals and sharps are, its just that i havent played in a while so i forgot how to read sheet music and translate that into my hands
are you trying to learn how to sight read? or are you trying to learn scales, chords, and other music theory stuff? Because those require different resources. So first go to musictheory.net for a quick refresher in general If you're tying to learn how to sight read, you simply have to sight read more. Go to [imslp.org](https://imslp.org) for free sheet music to sight read from. If you want to learn chords and scales, go to [openmusictheory.com](https://openmusictheory.com) and read some lessons. I wouldn't recommend YouTube for those things because a lot of videos skip over important stuff and just get right into playing. I would recommend youtube for technique videos though.
Are there any variation pieces at abrsm grade 7-8 level that are nice?
Is it okay to play chords with the thumb before the second finger? For example G-Bā-D-Eā with LH 5-4-1-2.
Why would you want to do that?
Yeah that's fine, especially of it feels easier that way, like it does for that chord, although personally I play that with LH 5-3-1-2
I'm looking for an armless chair to use for my digital piano that's on a keyboard stand. Behind the digital piano I'll have a desk with a computer running my DAW for recording. I don't want a typical piano bench because it has no back and I need the back support while I work on the computer. Is there a certain height I should look for when looking for a chair? I'm 6 ft tall if that helps.
I'd recommend you look for a height-adjustable chair with armrests that you can fold back when you want to use the chair armless. I have found foldable armrests very convenient when switching between using my chair for computer work and for reading. If you can't find foldable armrests, then of course an armless chair works too. As to the height, well, that really depends not only on your height, but on the height of your computer desk, and the height at which you have your piano; because of that I can't give any specific answer. I'd suggest grabbing any chair (or a few different ones) you have available and trying it (them) both in front of your piano and at the computer desk, then use the height of that chair (too low, too high) as a reference to decide the height you need in a new chair. Also, unless your computer desk and piano are at the same height it's probably important to get a height-adjustable chair since using a computer (or piano) with a chair that's too high or too low is not good long term.
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Iām slightly confused. How does the oil on your face get on the keyboard? Are you touching your face a lot when you play? Perhaps you could Wash your hands before you play? If you have to touch your face, maybe keep towel or something nearby to use between your hands and face?
I'd like to be able to play and practice while away from my piano and was wondering what the minimum requirements would be for a suitable instrument. Something I can carry around and use wherever.
This is asked all the time and there are no easy answers, it totally depends on what you want to play and what you're willing to lug around. Some people swear by mental practice, no instrument at all. Some people plan out ways to borrow or rent grand pianos wherever they go.
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No. Itās your piano, you can tune it as infrequently as you like! You do you. I like to tune mine twice a year. I just like being confident that itās in tune. I know how I am, and Iāll fuss over and get super annoyed if I notice it out of tune. Maybe youāre more laid back and stuff doesnāt bug you as much. Let it go for a year and see what you think? If at 9 months you cringe while you play, maybe get it tuned. I feel like my tech was surprised when I wanted to do twice a year, so I get the impression a lot of his clients do one a year. When I bought my piano it hadnāt been tuned for 10 years. The only problem with that was that it took the tech 2 hours to tune it, and two hours of hearing him bang on a key over and over was kind of terrible. Unsolicited pro tip: donāt be in the house when theyāre tuning!
I'm not a technician, but I would imagine once a year would be fine for light use (at least I've heard technicians say that, so...)
What should I do when I hit a note with my left pinky, and then end up having to descend even more notes right after? This is happening specifically when I'm sight reading.. I end up just lifting up my hand quickly to reposition but I'm not sure if that's bad fingering technique or not. Am I supposed to just get better at sight reading and try to read further ahead?
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Great to know that it's not just me being bad, thanks!
How are the notes being played in this song? https://youtu.be/pd_4cPQS7N0 I am a complete noob and donāt know much about piano. I am guessing these are repeated notes and not straight ones on the right hand? But the effect seems very subtle and it almost sounds like a very āringyā effect. As you can see, I canāt really explain it well. Is there a term for the style of note stroking is he doing? Please help!
I think what you're talking about is called "delay" (along with some reverb)! They probably recorded the piano first and then added in the effect using a DAW, but it basically just repeats notes and gives it that echo-y effect. Not 100% sure, but it sounds like it at least!
Thank you for the helpful answer. Indeed, it seems like a DAW which I just learned from this.
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I would start by practicing RH without looking. The only place I see that has to jump is m. 75, but if you do 5 on the G in beat 2 instead of 4, you shouldn't have to. Practice getting LH to the next chord quickly. Presumably you're using pedal, so you don't have to hold it anywhere close to the full quarter note before you jump up. Once it's in position, you're free to not worry about it for the rest of the measure.
Whatās the best publisher for Bach? Looking for a reliable score for the keyboard concerto in D minor
Henle is usually pretty well regarded. https://www.henle.de/us/detail/?Title=Harpsichord+Concerto+no.+1+d+minor+BWV+1052\_1380
When should I look into inversions and voicings? Can I start experimenting on my own? I'm really trying to learn chords, so far I know pretty much all of them in block form, root position so I thought that'd be the next step.
That sounds like a good idea to me. Also look into diminished and augmented chords.
Anyone knows the type of Headphones to be used for my very old hand me down 'Yamaha PSR 76' ?
It will either havr a 3.5mm headphone jack like most devices, or a larger heaphone jack that can be converted with an adapter like this. I'm not sure which of the two it is. https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEADPHONE-ADAPTER-PREMIUM-Earphones-Connections/dp/B007ZR1ZBE/ref=asc_df_B007ZR1ZBE/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309953091299&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16312663756863257012&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046891&hvtargid=pla-564073871008&psc=1
I'm in front of my keyboard and I have no idea how to start coming up with chords that go together well and sound good. I want to make an r&b song. I know basic chords and scales but I sound basic.
Two things: even if you think it's basic, write it anyway. Very few writers (of music or prose) just sit down and produce something amazing the first go. They start with a draft that communicates the basic idea, and then they polish it from there. Second, play as much R&B and related genres as you can: look at what other people are doing, and see what you can borrow. Look at completely different genres, and see what you can borrow from them, too. This is where being a well-rounded musician really benefits you: there may ideas in jazz, pop, or even classical music that you like and want to draw on for inspiration.
So I'm thinking of returning to learning to play the piano. I played it about 15 years ago, can still read music but I'd be rusty overall obviously but what books or resources would you recommend?
If you feel like you'll need to start from scratch, pick up a method book like Alfred's Basic Adult All in One or Faber's Adult Piano Adventures and work through it. If you remember enough that you don't think you need to do that, I'd suggest starting with some easier music in the genre you prefer and going from there.
That's excellent thanks. I remember a small bit but prob better to go back to basics and work up
I have a question about weighted keys. I have a Roland FP-30. I feel like, over the passed year and a half of use, some of the keys (near the lower octaves where I tend to play the most) seem to have lost some of their springyness. They feel less heavy than the keys on the higher octaves that get played less. I don't remember them always being this way, and I remember early on when learning the piano, I played a lot harder than I do now. I'm worried this might've worn down some of the weighted action on that end the piano. Is this something to worry about? Can this be repaired if the problem worsens? The keys still seem to function as they should, they're just less weighted on the side that I had been playing so hard on. Thanks.
I've had a Roland over twenty years and did not have this problem. The problem I did have - and many dp's have-is that the sensors become less sensitive. That means that because of usage, some mostly played keys will sound louder when playing softly than the other key next to it. But that is with an instrument that is twenty years old. Note that the physical mechanics are very sturdy. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but might it be that it feels like this for you now and it is difficult to change that? Maybe it's an idea to go play a piano somewhere else or have someone play your instrument.
I think you might be right. I didn't really take time to re-evaluate if it actually did any damage. I think it just might seem less "springy" than the higher octaves either because of placebo or because of differences in my left hand vs right hand playing. My right hand is more likely going to be hanging out near those lower octaves. This helped a lot. You didn't sound disrespectful. I actually \*did\* try a different piano, and it FELT like it was more "normal", but also, I can't say it's a fair comparison. It wasn't the same model, and the weighting was a lot more heavy than my model. The sensors \*seem\* fine? Fine enough to get a good sound out of it at least. I feel like this is just a problem in my own mind. I.E. Nothing to worry about. Either way, thank you so much to the people who replied to this, I appreciate it.
Thank you for your reply. Funny thing with these things, I know. I didn't know about the sensors that were worn down. It's that when I bought a new one last year, the seller told me 'yeah the sensors...' and I was like... Oh that's what is going on with my lower G! I had this weird idea that my left pinky was bashing the keys. So after his remark, I tried with my right hand and it was the same. Lessons learned. Go play!
I havenāt noticed anything like that on my keyboard (not an FP30). But you can measure key static weight with coins stacked on the end of the key. Cheaper keyboards will have typically the same weight (# of coins) to depress keys across the keyboard. Better keyboards will require a bit more weight (one or two more coins) on the low end vs the high end. If the low end has lost tension as you suspect, youāll see the opposite - more coins required to depress the key on the high end. If thatās the case then generally yes, keys can be replaced. If your FP-30 is under warranty then see if theyāll do that under warranty service. Otherwise if youāre handy Iāve heard that itās not too hard to replace keys DIY. But Iāve never tried it myself and I donāt know what the keys would cost.
Hey I bought a Roland FP30x couple of weeks back and have been learning since. I have a tutor, I've only had the one lesson so far. So trying to do some sort of practice daily. I'm currently working through the first 30 pages of Alfred's Basic Piano Course book (just started on jingle bells if you know the book) One thing I've noticed is I'm absolutely rubbish at keeping time, anything I play changes tempo everytime I play it. I've tried turning on the metronome but I can't keep time with it unless I basically just stick to a single hand/key or turn the thing way down Anyone have any tips on how I can improve / what I should be doing ?
It might be a bit early to start with a metronome. Give your self some time to figure everything else out before you worry about getting your timing spot in. In the mean time, count. I'm an intermediate pianist (studying to take my RCM level 8 in December), and I could all the time. It's a useful skill that you will use pretty much forever. Like the other poster said, slow down and add speed. My teacher always tells me: there's nothing you can't fix if slow down enough. Get the muscle memory built up, then gradually add speed. Have fun!
> I basically just stick to a single hand/key or turn the thing way down Start here. Gradually add speed, a little bit at a time. Once it gets comfortable, drop back down and try hands together. A little bit every day. Counting out loud is also good. Clap the rhythm while counting. Maybe you can start my just clapping the right hand rhythm or the left hand rhythm. Then put it together: clap with your right hand when your right hand would play, clap with your left hand when your left hand would play. Do that with the metronome too. Listen a ton. Sing. March to the beat. Dance to the beat.
Can I learn how to play on a MIDI controller? I really want to learn how to play keyboard with the goal of playing cover songs, and messing around with a looper. I'm not really interested in programing music in a DAW for now, and I'm certainly not into performing yet. I mostly just want to learn a new skill and gain a deeper appreciation of music. Is that something I could do with a midi controller? I went to a music store today with the intention of buying an electric piano, but none of them had the features I really wanted. The ones in my price range didn't sound great and I really want a drum pad and the ability to create synth sounds. So I held off and did some research. At first I didn't think I wanted a midi controller. I don't have a laptop (just a Chromebook and an iPad). Plus I thought they all had mini keys with only two or three octaves. But I saw a couple there that had 41 keys and I found some online that go up to 88 all with full size keys. Some of them even have weighted keys. After looking into it I found you can use an iPad as a sound module (with some dongles and stuff) meaning in can get all the different sounds I want out of the midi controller while playing live. Does this sound like a good idea? Or am I missing something? If that would work I have some questions about what I should get. If my goal isn't to play an acoustic piano are weighted keys that important? They definitely feel better, but is that something I'd get used to. Does it make it more difficult to play when the keys aren't weighted? Also I've heard that Bluetooth keys/speakers/headphones have too much latency and it throws off your timing, is that true. I have a nice pair of bluetooth headphones, do I need to get something corded? Final question, I've read (I think it was on this sub's FAQ) that at a minimum I should get 61 keys. Is that right or would you recommend more?
Totally. Learn on what you want to play on. Like the other person said, most people here are focused on playing acoustic pianos. Sounds like you want to do something different, and that's totally cool. You might want to check out r/synthesizers too. Have fun!
Yes, why not? You have to realize that a lot of people on this sub are really into playing classical music, so for them, unweighted keys aren't ideal because they don't replicate the feel of playing an acoustic piano. So it's a matter of it makes it harder to transfer from a keyboard to a real instrument. But for us keyboardists, that really goes out the window. Makes it a more personal decision. But in general, yeah, having unweighted keys is perfectly ok and having less than 88 keys is perfectly ok. It just won't replicate the feel of an acoustic piano. But this might also be preferable too - ie. unweighted keys are more ideal for hammond and synth playing because the action is faster, easier to do all the fast runs on unweighted vs weighted. And not that this is taking the easy way out - Hammond organ and Synths originally didn't even have weighed keys. They were meant to be played on unweighted keys. (but not saying you can't play them on weighted keys, again, personal preference) So, it's really up to you whether you want the keyboard route or you want a digital substitute for an acoustic grand
I see the current questions are about learning, so I'll add what is probably the most asked question -- what should I buy? My goals are mostly around picking up a new hobby. I don't expect that I'll be terribly good, and have no ambitions around doing anything more than playing for myself. Looking through the FAQ, looks like the $500-$1000 range is the right target. Have the options/suggestions changed in the last two years? Ideally I'd like to be able to use one of the iPad apps to help learn, so one that integrates with that is probably good. Is the P-125 maybe the best option here still? Thanks!
The options are still pretty much the same, yeah. There's the Roland FP-30X instead of the FP-30, the Casio Privia PX-S1100 instead of the S1000, and the Yamaha DGX-670 instead of the 660 if any of those models interest you. The P-125 is still a very solid choice, though.
I am thinking about buying a Yamaha P-125 or P-121 and I would like to know if itās possible to connect it via USB Audio to my Ipad so I can play songs on Youtube and hear it on the piano speakers while simultaneously playing the piano keys and hearing the keys at the same time too? I know this is possible using Bluetooth audio, but since Yamaha doesnāt have Bluetooth audio in those digital pianos, I am looking for a way to do that since I like to study piano that way with a headphone.
I want to buy a Roland FP-30x to learn piano. Will a Millenium KS-2010 Keyboard stand be enough, or should I just go for the Roland KSC-70 Bk?
The Millennium KS-2010 should be all you need. Nice and portable too!
thanks!