Learning the Piano

Off-Topic
#1

Disclaimer: I’m actually just a novice-level pleb who could barely play some of Amadeus Mozart’s minuets, so I can only really help out with beginner-level stuff. I actually just want to talk about the piano at the moment, and perhaps get people into this wonderful instrument, but part of the reason why I wanted to start this thread is because I personally want to learn as well from those who can play better than me. Ahaha. I hope this thread will turn out helpful. :'D

Kurugaya.Yuiko.full.20962.jpg800×600 127 KB

Piano crash course by yours truly

So, if you’re interested in learning how to play the piano, and don’t know where or how to start, here are some first few steps into getting into the piano.~

Part 1: Looking for the right keyboard

As you look for one, chances are you’ll stumble with any of these:
• grand piano
• upright piano
• electronic keyboard
• digital piano
• electronic organ
• church organ (okay I’m just kidding a bit on this one)

Whichever instrument you choose will depend on what you want to be as a keyboardist. If you’re looking to be a band member or choir accompanist (or something like that musician who did that really cool Tori no Uta cover), perhaps the flexibility of the electronic keyboard or organ when it comes to instrumentation will suit you better. Since we’re talking specifically about piano (as in the kind of musical instrument that Frederic Chopin is known to have focused on), we’re going to focus on the keyboard suitable for piano playing.

Ideally, and if you reaaaaallllyyyy seek to be an expert, you’ll want to get either the grand, upright, or digital piano. A lot of their differences have to do with their control. This is a good discussion about their differences. (If you’re wondering about weighted action, it’s that piano keys are supposed to be quite heavy.) Overall, they’re pretty neat long-term investment.

But if you’re pretty broke or still starting out, I think an electronic keyboard is fine. The number of keys vary though, some have 88 (full set), some have 61 (5-octave), and others have it even fewer. The latter two are either synthesizers or for children. Having the full set of keys is definitely ideal. 5 octaves is actually just fine, but your repertoire will be severely limited: Romantic Period piano pieces are known to make full use of the piano’s range, and even most pop music arrangements reaches bass notes that a 5-octave keyboard doesn’t have. I know, because that’s the kind of keyboard I have. ;-; (I still love you though, this keyboard of mine)

In any case, if you’re going for an electronic keyboard, you’ll certainly want to make sure it has the following specifications at the very minimum:
• touch response
• can at least be equipped with a sustain pedal

This is because control of dynamics and use of damper pedal are extremely important skills to learn even as a beginner. Speaking of skills:

Part 2: Basic skills

You need to know how to read sheet music. At least know where the middle C is in the G clef, the F clef, and on the keyboard itself, and you’ll be fine. :'D

Moving on. There are many ways you can learn the piano. Actually, learning through video tutorials or Synthesia is just fine. Really. But if you want to gain necessary skills to be a well-rounded pianist, you’ll want to learn how to play pieces from books. For that, try looking for graded piano course books. I personally started with the Leila Fletcher books, but the Thompson books (which I’ve already seen before) seem really popular.

The benefit to these books is that they will guide you step-by-step to each skill necessary to be able to perform more difficult pieces. (These books will also teach you how to read sheets along the way.) Some of these skills include:

  • hand (particularly the curving of the fingers) and body posture
  • finger position/finger numbers/fingering (don’ttakethisoutofcontextpls)
  • basic music theories like tempo, time signature, key signatures etc.
  • arpeggios
  • arpeggiated chords
  • grace notes
  • damper pedal
  • octaves

The only disadvantage, perhaps, is that a lot of the pieces here are really meant for children and for the most part, really boring. It can potentially kill any motivation to learn more, but trying to start with learning important skills first has big payoff. I mean it’s also disheartening to try playing catchy but deceptively simple Romantic Period pieces like Grande Valse Brillante or Liebestraum only to realize that they’re difficult as hell, but by learning pieces step by step, you might be able to get there. But it’s going to take a long while. Learning piano takes quite a lot of patience~

But of course learning the piano shouldn’t always be boring. I mean it’s going to be inevitably frustrating, but you’ll probably want to learn a piece that you actually enjoy. So here are some recommended pieces that are graded!~ (Note: I can’t talk about pop music arrangements because it’s pretty hard to find easy ones that sounds good anyway. :'D)

Part 3.1: Classical Music

I kept mentioning about Romantic Period, so I’ll explain first. Classical Music loosely refers to European music created from the following periods (ranked from earliest to latest, along with some known figures of that time):

  • Baroque - emphasized complex melodies
    ** Johann Sebastian Bach (Brandenburg Concertos, Toccata and Fugue)
    ** Antonio Vivaldi (The Four Seasons Concertos~)
    ** George Frideric Handel (Water Music)
  • Classical - focused on simplicity and entertainment
    ** Joseph Haydn (Surprise!)
    ** Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Rondo Alla Turca)
    ** Ludwig Van Beethoven (Fur Elise, Ode to Joy)
  • Romantic - incorporated expression and emotion to music
    ** Pyotr Tchaikovsky (ballet suites e.g. Swan Lake, The Nutcracker)
    ** Frederic Chopin (Nocturne Op. 9-2, Grande Valse Brillante)
    ** Franz Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsodies, Liebestraums)

Well anyway, I found a really neat collection of classical pieces that is also completely free: https://archive.org/details/Altoonsanthclasspian

It’s easy to find sheet music of classical pieces, anyway, but the good thing is that these are graded, so it’s easy to know where to start. In May is especially accessible even to complete beginners. There are a few caveats in this collection though:
(1) There are no finger numbers - numbers ranging from 1-5, where the thumb is 1 and the pinky is 5, that is assigned to notes in the score to indicate which fingers to use. They’re very helpful especially when you’re still starting out. If you feel the need to, you can look for other sheet music of the pieces here that have finger numbers.
(2) Minute Waltz iS NOT A NOVICE-LEVEL PIECE. ESPECIALLY WHEN FUR ELISE IS PUT UNDER INTERMEDIATE LEVEL. Like I know Minute Waltz is one of the easier Chopin pieces and I think it’s even easier than his Nocturne Op 9-2, but NO DON’T; CHOPIN IS NEVER EASY LIKE MINUTE WALTZ SHOULD BE INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL BY THIS BOOK’S STANDARDS. That’s all.

Part 3.2: Key OSTs

(as a Key Fan ofc)

I’ve tried a few Key OSTs before, and so far I think the most accessible piece for beginners would be the original piano section of Shionari? I’ll try sharing the arrangement I’ve been playing for it, with finger numbers for those who want to try. :slight_smile: I heard Sora ni Hikaru is pretty accessible as well.

Ushio is surprisingly simple despite its difficult key signature. Nirinsou is quite simple as well, but not as accessible to beginners because of its arpeggiated chords and octaves.

Part 4: Notes :musical_note:

  • The guide I made here is for those who want to start with self-studying, because trying to find reliable resources for self-study isn’t quite easy. But if you’re dead serious about becoming a pianist, specifically a stage performer, in the future, you’ll definitely want to invest in piano lessons (and college education).
  • I forgot about learning scales, which I think is extremely important! Playing the C major scale is the first thing I formally learned and is always the first thing I teach to those who approach me for a brief lesson. I often play it for warm-ups and refreshers. (I also like using scales to brief myself to the key signature of pieces I’m going to play). Playing the scale with both hands with proper fingering is a good beginner training for left-right hand independence. :'D This is a nice video guide for the scale playing.
  • A lot of instructors recommend a lot of keyboard exercise every start of practice. I can’t say too much about that, but I did hear from somewhere that Hanon exercises aren’t particularly productive use of practice time. Maybe someone else have insights on this?
  • As much as possible, make it a habit to practice regularly (unless you’re like me who rarely have access to piano, and for that I feel you ;u; ). It doesn’t have to be daily; one hour a day, three times a week is fine.

Okay end of this stupidly long post. Haha. I’d love to hear suggestions on whatever stuff I wrote here, or anything more about learning this beautiful instrument. ^^

10 Likes
#2

Every pianist I’ve ever met had a strict mother that beat them into learning… So I’d recommend getting such a person in your life.

5 Likes
#3

Nice guide to piano introduction. If anything, I’d like to add a couple of things to what you mentioned.

  • Synthesia is fun and seems easy, but is horrible for learning to play the instrument. It makes you learn songs by ear and practicing non-stop, but without the learning process that properly learning by ear has (identifying pitches, chords, chord progressions…). You don’t learn any of the rhythmic figures and other music notations that actually tells you how to play a piece (because most Synthesia tracks are plain MIDIs without expression notation). And without all this knowledge you’ll be unable to play more advanced stuff. You can still use it to learn a piece from time to time, just remember to not make it a habit.

  • About KEY music, CLANNAD has most of the easier stuff as stated before. I’d like to add to the list simplified versions of Dango Daikazoku. Tomoyo After has amazing pieces of a slightly more advanced level. Love Song is still a pretty easy one.

And the ones who didn’t have one, wish that they had.

Anyway, I’d like this topic to become a place for people to ask for particular advice and minor stuff that they face when learning pieces, so I’ll start off with a very popular question to which I still don’t have an answer:

When using the sustain pedal, lifting it, and reengaging it, when should you lift the foot? When you’re no longer playing the previous note but you still haven’t pressed the next note, when you already started pressing the next note, or while the previous note is still pressed?

So far I’ve been doing this by ear, but I really need a manual answer to this…

2 Likes
#4

Interesting, I’ve recently bought an electronic keyboard ( Yamaha, 61 full size keys, touch responsive, optional sustain pedal which I don’t have yet) although I have had very little time to get to grips with it yet. I am a very poor player with lousy technique bu I do at least have a basic+ knowledge of musical theory and quite a “good ear” for pitch and rhythm.

Synthesia as mentioned is a lot of fun and help to get going, and you can at least get some lessons on it to practice some essentials such as scales. However so much depends on what you want to achieve, and you don’t want to get into the habit of poor technique. Anyone serious about being able to learn and play anything and from sheet music - or compose - really has to take lessons, there’s no way around having someone to be strict about technique to push you when you are struggling and encourage you when doing well.

That said most people I think may just want to be able to play a few easy tunes to entertain themselves and perhaps others so learning by rote will suffice (there are surely many very capable players and songwriters in the world of rock who can’t read music at all).

And Dango Daikazoku isn’t really as easy as it sounds - take it from a poor player with small hands!

#5

After Ode to Joy and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, it was the first song I learnt. I took Kyle Landry’s arrangement and played it until the left hand got serious. With that you can do a TV version. My hands can stretch maximum a 9th if I really try, so they aren’t that big.

#6

Every time I can think of, I lift the sustain pedal in between playing notes; that helps keep the notes from getting muddled, and in my experience you want to make sure to lift and put your foot down right before you play the next note, so the pedal effect lingers but stays clear. (This is all in my head, I can check tomorrow by playing something if you want).

#7

My span is barely an octave, #DonaldTrumpHands ! Dango Daikazoku may sound it could have been composed by a child but just to give some credit to the composer it’s a neat tune to appreciate how the left hand / bass note(s) augments the right hand melody part. Anyone looking to start composing can learn a good deal from analysing songs even that “simple”.

Clannad has a few songs that are not too complex but very satisfying to play e.g. “Shining in the Sky” (so beautiful - I want it at my funeral!), but “Country Lane” demands some serious skills! If you have a keyboard with a selection of sounds then working out a simple but atmospheric song like “Town, Flow of Time, People” for yourself is rewarding.

As for pop/rock then a song like Coldplay “The Scientist” is a good well known tune for practising a chord progression and even trying to transpose the key, “Clocks” rather more uptempo.

My enjoyment of keyboards goes well back to the days of classically trained prog rock stars like Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Keith Emerson and elctroninc music such as Tangerine Dream - yes I’m that old!

#8

I just want to thank you for taking the time to write this. I found some really good information from this as someone who just bought a digital piano and was looking at some places to start. (the Key song recommendations also helped as I was wanting to learn a lot of the Key songs as a reason for buying the piano in the first place).

1 Like
#9

Updated the original post a bit. The only major change here is the addition of Part 4. ^^

@truevoltage I’m glad you found this guide helpful. Key OSTs can be fun to play, more so if you’re already emotionally invested to these tracks. :flustered:

Nice choice of electronic keyboard there.~ I personally think Yamaha is a nice and reliable brand for keyboards. My keyboard is also Yamaha, specifically PSR-E213. It’s equipped with a nice sound bank, but it’s not touch-responsive. ._. When I try playing on upright pianos or even touch-responsive keyboards, it can get pretty screwy haha.

On a different topic, thanks for the insights @mogaoscar! :flustered:

I’m personally into Classical music; they’re fun and there’s a lot to learn from pieces in this period. I really want to be able to someday properly play some piece by my favorite composer, Frederic Chopin, but that’s going to take me a good while to get there (and I’ll certainly need to invest on an 88-key keyboard for that haha).

As for Key piano pieces, I love Nirinsou a lot. A really beautiful piece that never gets boring for me.

#10

Since I just play piano for hobby, I didn’t invest much time reading sheets. For Piano I only use synthesia and .mid files for reference. Tabs and Guitar Pro helps immensely playing the guitar.

I’m just going to state something I noticed while learning some songs by myself . While I like many European composers, I used to think they had 3 or 4 hands to play those pieces. Hahaha.
However, there were amazing anime pieces that were soooo simple and beautiful, that I decided to look further at them.

If you are a beginner, I’d recommend some japanese animes and games, like from Rurouni Kenshin and Final Fantasy series from Nobuo Uematsu. Key songs are also really good to start (especially Clannad!).

Oh, and thanks for creating a topic like this! Cheers!

1 Like
#11

Nice! Would you be willing to share some piano arrangements/MIDIs of these that you have found? :happy:

And I’m glad you like the idea of the topic~

#12

Well as you like classical piano, I hope that you’ve also listened to Debussy, Ravel, Satie and Robert Schumann (esp. Kinderszenen). I also like in addition to the works you mentioned Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2.

I quite like jazz piano too, just getting into Lafayette Gilchrist.

#13

I… don’t know much about good popular songs that are easy enough to learn as a beginner, but I guess Gentle Jena is pretty easy and, well… it’s good. As for the periods, did you omit impressionism for some reason? Or… does it not count as a legit “period”?

Oh, and if you actually want to take piano seriously, if you ask me… I don’t really recommend using electronic keyboards at all; digital piano/clavinova is much better. Electronic keyboards almost feel like a very different instrument. Really, it doesn’t feel like playing piano at all. For very beginner pieces, it would still do, but if you want to move up the ladder, you’d want to use at least a digital piano. I have never tried playing the electronic organ so I can’t comment on that. Basically, I’m on the same page with @BlackHayate02 for keyboards, but I’m like one step further in that I don’t recommend electronic keyboards at all

1 Like
#14

I do agree with what you feel about electronic keyboards, as someone who wants to play the piano despite only having a Yamaha PSR. Electronic keyboards are useful for those seeking to be a band keyboardist or choir accompanist. But yeah, they’re not the instrument for serious piano performing.

As for an electronic organ, I was a church choir accompanist at some point, so I have actually played an electronic organ. The one our town church have is a Yamaha Electone. They’re meant for totally different purposes compared to a piano. I can’t really compare them to an actual organ though.

I often hear just the three periods when it comes to discussions of Classical music, but I think Impressionism can reasonably be included. “Classical” is already a pretty loose term from the get go, and I’ve seen some people include Jazz music under that period (despite how wildly they differ in social contexts).

That or it’s just me being a pleb when it comes to Western music history. :yahaha:

(Oh holy crap Satie is an Impressionist composer omigad)

@BotanRugbyBall man there’s quite a lot of Classical musicians it’s kinda hard to keep up, so chances that I only know some mainstream stuff ;u; But thank you so much for the recommendations :))

Man I have a soft spot for Jazz music as well. I don’t think I know any easy Jazz pieces, though, unfortunately. :((

#15

I have to agree with you there, every electronic keyboard I’ve used had no touch (pressing down on the keys doesn’t change the volume/sound of the note; the keys also have almost no weight to them which for me just feels strange) and that can make a huge difference when playing. It’s still good for beginning piano and if you want to practice while traveling though, plus I believe they’re the least expensive cost-wise. Personally I used a digital clavinova for the first five or six years I was learning, and only moved on to an upright when I got into advanced playing.

#16

My Yamaha (EZ220) as mentioned is touch responsive but the keys aren’t weighted so it does feel a bit off. I did consider getting a digital piano but I like the flexibility of having other sounds ( as a long time ago Roland Juno synthesizer owner) even though most of them are not that great to listen to.

I did love the old analogue synths…the Juno 60 I had in the 90s had no memory so you had to make notes of the settings and program the sound each time which meant you could always find a good new surprise sound by accident. But I digress…and I shall be dreaming about ARP Odyssey, Oberheim and minimoogs all night

2 Likes
#17

Sure!

These are some songs that I had little difficult in learning.

*Rurouni Kenshin - Overture in Past
(really beautiful and easy song. Someone that never played piano before can get this with little practice)

*Mass Effect 3 - An End Once and for all
(Simple and beautiful song. Great for starters.)

*Rurouni Kenshin - Departure
(easy song, great to train motor coordenation)

*Clannad - Dango Daikazoku
(it’s a quite easy and fast song to learn. It sounds good even if you are not using chords.)
(Ushio is a nice option too)

*Chrono Trigger - At the Bottom of Night
(I really love this song. It sounds so good in a grand piano. Don’t worry if this looks hard at first look. You really don’t need ‘skills’ to play this. A bit of practice is probably enough.)

*Final Fantasy IX - Rose of May/Loss of Me
(It’s simple to understand its pattern, but it is much faster than previous songs. Easier alternatives are “Song of Memories” and “To Zanarkand”)

Now, if you prefer classical songs, then I would suggest simpler piano versions of “Fur Elise” and “Air on G String”. Even if you are playing these songs with one finger it would definitely sound good! =D

I put a few .mid files in a zip, in case anyone is interested to use them in Synthesia.

Have fun in playing!

2 Likes
#18

I was really interested in learning piano but I seems really difficult I had practiced some instruments that I considered easy in comparison. But yeah I’m not that good so it’s not my thing I guess. Nice guide though

#19

Whoa you have an analog synth? I actually have been longing for one, but… pricey :frowning:

#20

56
Captura de pantalla 2017-10-25 a las 9.34.56.jpg2876×1230 264 KB

How about we don’t use the right hand to play a Rajmáninov interval. That D sharp should be played with the left hand, and I recommend putting it an octave down to make it easier. After all, we’re looking at songs for beginners.

I’ll definitely try learning Rose of May/Loss of Me. I like the harmony plus it’s a nice practice song for left hand chords and left hand runs.

There’s a lot of controversy about this. The most widespread system to practice is: scales --> drills --> sheet music you’re working on (playing slowly and upping the tempo as you get better) --> free time to play whatever you want at the pace you want.

However, many people claim that it’s a bad practice method since it’ll take you only to intermediate level. I don’t know, I’m not an expert. The alternative method is a book with over 200 pages that details how to train. You don’t have to read it completely; just reading the chapters that grab you eye the most will probably improve the way you practice. Anyway, its way of learning is wihtout exercises, but rather through technique-oriented music pieces. For instance, if you want to practice I-IV-vi-V-I chord progressions, almost any pop song will do the job since they rely quite a lot on that structure. If you want to practice sight-reading notes that are off-scale, romanticism-period pieces will probably be best, etc.

Anyway, the link to the book is here.

On the topic of electronic keyboard, digital piano, synthesizer, etc. It’ll ultimately come down to what you want to play. The only real advantage about synths and keyboards over digital pianos is that you can modify it’s sound to a lot of different instrumental voices. Modern digital pianos also offer this, although they are more limited.

In any case, if you wish to learn how to play the piano, a digital piano is the way to go. I got probably the shittiest of them, a Yamaha p45, but I can’t see myself going to an electronic keyboard. The Keys on the P45 are said to be weighted as in an acoustic piano. Well, that’s not true, they feel like butter when compared to a Yamaha upright. Even then, I have access to a sustain pedal and the touch-responsiveness is pretty good.

For 400$ it’s probably the best bet for someone who wants an 88-key digital piano to start practicing, I can’t recommend it enough.

It has around 10 or 15 instrumental voices (organ, grand pianos, electronic pianos, strings, harpsichords, and vibraphones, but if you have a music editing software on your computer, you can connect it via USB and pretty much play any instrument you want thanks to the virtual synthesizers of the software.

3 Likes