Learning to play piano
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SoftMusk
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#1
Hello!
Well I'm 18 years old and want to start learning how to play the piano..I've looked into tutoring and getting a basic keyboard (are keyboards different to pianos/can I learn on them?)
I just want to know how hard it is to actually grasp playing the piano. Also, any other tips or suggestions would be good!!
Thanks
Well I'm 18 years old and want to start learning how to play the piano..I've looked into tutoring and getting a basic keyboard (are keyboards different to pianos/can I learn on them?)
I just want to know how hard it is to actually grasp playing the piano. Also, any other tips or suggestions would be good!!
Thanks

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Gob Bluth
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#2
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I'm looking into teaching the piano to a similar demographic, what sort of pricing do you think is viable? I was thinking £10 for 40 minutes is competitive and a good price. The more expensive the keyboard generally the better it will be. The problem is that you will have to pay a lot for something really nice. I paid £1300 for a digital piano for example. Even there it's not got the real feel of an actual piano, but it's pretty damn good and i love it. It depends really how much you are willing to put into it really.
Piano is easy enough to get the hold of imo, it's one of the easier instruments too really. It's not particularly hard to learn something that sounds decent early on. Though i guess it'll differ from person to person. Definitely do it if you have the time for it now and in the future as it's a brilliant instrument.
Piano is easy enough to get the hold of imo, it's one of the easier instruments too really. It's not particularly hard to learn something that sounds decent early on. Though i guess it'll differ from person to person. Definitely do it if you have the time for it now and in the future as it's a brilliant instrument.
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SoftMusk
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#3
(Original post by Gob Bluth)
I'm looking into teaching the piano to a similar demographic, what sort of pricing do you think is viable? I was thinking £10 for 40 minutes is competitive and a good price. The more expensive the keyboard generally the better it will be. The problem is that you will have to pay a lot for something really nice. I paid £1300 for a digital piano for example. Even there it's not got the real feel of an actual piano, but it's pretty damn good and i love it. It depends really how much you are willing to put into it really.
Piano is easy enough to get the hold of imo, it's one of the easier instruments too really. It's not particularly hard to learn something that sounds decent early on. Though i guess it'll differ from person to person. Definitely do it if you have the time for it now and in the future as it's a brilliant instrument.
I'm looking into teaching the piano to a similar demographic, what sort of pricing do you think is viable? I was thinking £10 for 40 minutes is competitive and a good price. The more expensive the keyboard generally the better it will be. The problem is that you will have to pay a lot for something really nice. I paid £1300 for a digital piano for example. Even there it's not got the real feel of an actual piano, but it's pretty damn good and i love it. It depends really how much you are willing to put into it really.
Piano is easy enough to get the hold of imo, it's one of the easier instruments too really. It's not particularly hard to learn something that sounds decent early on. Though i guess it'll differ from person to person. Definitely do it if you have the time for it now and in the future as it's a brilliant instrument.
That pricing is really good especially considering 18 year olds are mainly students.
Its always been a passion and now that I have a bit of time to myself, I was thinking of actually trying it out. I tried self teaching but it can get a bit confusing...so hopefully looking into tuition.
Thanks again for your reply.
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ThatPerson
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#4
(Original post by SoftMusk)
Hey thanks for the info!
That pricing is really good especially considering 18 year olds are mainly students.
Its always been a passion and now that I have a bit of time to myself, I was thinking of actually trying it out. I tried self teaching but it can get a bit confusing...so hopefully looking into tuition.
Thanks again for your reply.
Hey thanks for the info!
That pricing is really good especially considering 18 year olds are mainly students.
Its always been a passion and now that I have a bit of time to myself, I was thinking of actually trying it out. I tried self teaching but it can get a bit confusing...so hopefully looking into tuition.
Thanks again for your reply.
I think you should get a digital piano, but get a full 88-key one, rather than a smaller one as some people will say. This means that you don't have to upgrade and spend more money when you start playing pieces that need more octaves. I encountered this fairly quickly learning the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
You can learn on a keyboard, because not everyone(especially students!) have the money or space for a full upright piano or grand piano. Just make sure that you get a weighted 88-key piano that is touch responsive/sensitive. This means that the harder you hit a key the louder the sound will be, and this is critical when learning dynamics, etc.
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SoftMusk
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#5
(Original post by ThatPerson)
I don't recommend self-teaching. It can teach you the basics of how the treble and bass clefs work and the keys on the piano. I tried self teaching but eventually I had to get a proper teacher because it is hard to self-critique and pick up on mistakes, and you don't want to be stuck with bad technique.
I think you should get a digital piano, but get a full 88-key one, rather than a smaller one as some people will say. This means that you don't have to upgrade and spend more money when you start playing pieces that need more octaves. I encountered this fairly quickly learning the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
You can learn on a keyboard, because not everyone(especially students!) have the money or space for a full upright piano or grand piano. Just make sure that you get a weighted 88-key piano that is touch responsive/sensitive. This means that the harder you hit a key the louder the sound will be, and this is critical when learning dynamics, etc.
I don't recommend self-teaching. It can teach you the basics of how the treble and bass clefs work and the keys on the piano. I tried self teaching but eventually I had to get a proper teacher because it is hard to self-critique and pick up on mistakes, and you don't want to be stuck with bad technique.
I think you should get a digital piano, but get a full 88-key one, rather than a smaller one as some people will say. This means that you don't have to upgrade and spend more money when you start playing pieces that need more octaves. I encountered this fairly quickly learning the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
You can learn on a keyboard, because not everyone(especially students!) have the money or space for a full upright piano or grand piano. Just make sure that you get a weighted 88-key piano that is touch responsive/sensitive. This means that the harder you hit a key the louder the sound will be, and this is critical when learning dynamics, etc.
Yeah, I'm looking into tuition now..hopefully going to buy a keyboard. Thank you for the recommendations also - will look into those!
Thank you once again

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tdawe
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#6
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A keyboard is totally different to a good digital piano. For an absolute beginner it might suffice but not for very long. My advice would be to avoid them totally. Good digital pianos have an action and tone not at all dissimilar to a real piano. I have a Yamaha Clavinova CVP-300 and I find it very good - I'm at university so noise and space constraints are a big issue, but I find the action and tone of the Clavinova very satisfactory, often superior to lesser acoustic pianos.
In terms of actually learning to play, definitely get a teacher, at least at first, to make sure you learn proper technique which can frequently be counter intuitive. Playing the piano is not an easy task at all, be prepared to stick at it for a very, very long time. Virtuosity is also so widespread it can be very demoralising - people make it seem so easy it can be hard to look past that to the countless hours of practice they have undoubtedly put in. I think a lot of this also stems from the vast majority of the piano repertoire being advanced - very large amounts exceed ABRSM Grade 8 (in fact, with Grade 8 you are barely getting started). Natural ability is also a very big factor in playing the piano, but that isn't so important as long as you are satisfied with what you are doing. That said, it is hugely rewarding... few things compare to how much I love the piano, just be prepared to work for it.
edit: A small postscript with regards to difficulty levels: I am speaking regarding 'classical' piano - if you want to play pop stuff I think it'll be quite a bit easier
In terms of actually learning to play, definitely get a teacher, at least at first, to make sure you learn proper technique which can frequently be counter intuitive. Playing the piano is not an easy task at all, be prepared to stick at it for a very, very long time. Virtuosity is also so widespread it can be very demoralising - people make it seem so easy it can be hard to look past that to the countless hours of practice they have undoubtedly put in. I think a lot of this also stems from the vast majority of the piano repertoire being advanced - very large amounts exceed ABRSM Grade 8 (in fact, with Grade 8 you are barely getting started). Natural ability is also a very big factor in playing the piano, but that isn't so important as long as you are satisfied with what you are doing. That said, it is hugely rewarding... few things compare to how much I love the piano, just be prepared to work for it.

edit: A small postscript with regards to difficulty levels: I am speaking regarding 'classical' piano - if you want to play pop stuff I think it'll be quite a bit easier
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Kvothe the Arcane
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#7
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#7
(Original post by SoftMusk)
Hello!
Well I'm 18 years old and want to start learning how to play the piano..I've looked into tutoring and getting a basic keyboard (are keyboards different to pianos/can I learn on them?)
I just want to know how hard it is to actually grasp playing the piano. Also, any other tips or suggestions would be good!!
Thanks
Hello!
Well I'm 18 years old and want to start learning how to play the piano..I've looked into tutoring and getting a basic keyboard (are keyboards different to pianos/can I learn on them?)
I just want to know how hard it is to actually grasp playing the piano. Also, any other tips or suggestions would be good!!
Thanks

Additionally, don't be put off learning classical stuff because of pre-disposed prejudices you may have.
Lastly, good luck!

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