Introduction

[j_menz]

I guess I never posted in this thread (or have I? I forget).

How much time can you afford to set aside for piano, when pursuing that major? I'm going after a similar major, and am slightly bothered by the possibility that my learning rate for piano will drop dramatically, because I plan to not neglect my academic studies at all.

(Nice to meet you too)

Ah... senility.... 

 

[abab3958]

Hi,

Thought I'd introduce, I'm an adult beginner and I'm hoping to learn a lot more, so you may see me pop up quite often with some questions!!

[compline]

Hi,

Thought I'd introduce, I'm an adult beginner and I'm hoping to learn a lot more, so you may see me pop up quite often with some questions!!

HI, I'm a adult beginner on piano too. So maybe we can share stuff .   

[8_octaves]

Hi to all of you!

Some words about myself - i don't think they are very important, so I try to keep them short!

I can say about myself that I...

- ...(successfully studied, degree: Diploma) information sciences, including special training for scientific libraries and other institutions with music-content.

- ...can do very hard recherches (but providing that they are of interest for me, too), which is due to special techniques and resources I had to become acquainted with.

- And that Music had to be 1/3 part of my university-studies, the others being (traditional) book-lore and computer science (informatics).

- ...play piano: Over 3 decades now. I'm an amateur, but have some (very few, but all of them are friends of mine) people who call me their "teacher". But I don't think that's important here, since I don't - and won't - call myself so. 

- ...like furry, fluffy animals and pets and things very much, and I like fast food, but also other hearty dishes!

- ...can remember things which are of interest to me (e.g.: text-content, forms, shapes) over many many years. On the other hand, my short-term memory is no good,  so things must a ) really impress me, then they go into the long-term memory "at once", or b ) will have to be refreshed often, to enter it.

But I'll hardly forget things which once have found their way into the long-term memory.

____________

Maybe I can be of help in some questions and threads here, and now I'll end my introduction with...
many greetings, and cordially,

8_octaves!

[marijn210999]

Hi everyone.

I already posted a few things on the forum, but I didn't know this kind of section did exist so I'll introduce myself right now. I've read a little bit around the forum and I figured I'm gonna have to do   a LOT of writing to give people my opinion about a LOT of thing, since my way of practicing the piano and my general approach to the piano is quite different then most pianists have. Anyway, I'm sure I'm gonna have a lot of fun on the forum.

BW,
Marijn

[sabredancer]

Hi. I am an Aussie. I studied piano for a few years as a child but only reached grade 5 and stopped when I left school. When I lived overseas in Russia teaching English I needed something to do in my spare time and I found an old piano in a shop in Moscow. I bought it and taught myself to play modern songs, playing chords and octaves with my left hand. I became quite good at improvising and was able to play in bands and for church services. I returned to Australia and three years ago decided to study for exams. I started at grade 4, even though I was probably more advanced than that in order to gain confidence playing in recitals and for exams. I am now up to grade 6 and currently studying for that. My repertoire I am studying is:

Adagio Cantabile from Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata
Adagio in G by Giazotto
Sabre Dance by Khachaturian (hence my username)
My Heart Will Go On by James Horner
Pachelbel's Canon
Yesterday by John Lennon and Paul McCartney(arranged by Steve Hill)

I 45 now and not sure how much further I will be able to advance but I am giving it a go. I would love to reach a grade 8 standard. But at least I have my improvisation to fall back on if all else fails. Looking forward to the discussions on this forum. Hopefully it will keep me motivated to practice!

[douja]

Hi!
Almost same story here! I describe myself as an eternal beginner in Piano! I was interested in Piano back in primary school and then in middle school. But I only took about one year class and it was a group class.
Then college, then master, then work... Somehow I always knew that I would go back to learning piano again. I've started again two years ago with a small keyboard to learn on my own. Then I finally got a teacher to guide me.
I don't practice as much as I should and make very slow progress. I come to this forum to learn from other people with similar background and share with them my  journey with the piano. So @perprocrastinate, i'd be happy to share my progress with you 

[outin]

I don't practice as much as I should and make very slow progress.

How much should you practice? If you have another profession and other obligations in life, you practice as much as you have time and energy to do and that is quite enough. Feelings of quilt are counterproductive. If you practice well when you do, your progress is not slow, it's what's expected in your situation

Welcome to the forum!

[douja]

Thank you for welcoming me @Outin! I already enjoy this forum!

[medtnaculus]

Hello!

I've lurked here for a while without an account but I decided I should probably create one eventually, so here I am!

Started piano lessons at the age of nine but seldom practiced. Took an acute interest in it much later and realised the mistake I had made in not practicing enough. Now I've started first year of uni at the age of 18, and plan on improving piano (and brass) on the side with help from a scholarship of two. Hopefully this following year I can get my own piano from home in my flat so I can practice more often. For now I'm stuck to sneaking into lecture halls late at night and using the chapliancy. Feel like I've advanced far more with brass due to being in many bands and doing competitions and such. So much of my practice has been useless, however. I've spent countless hours playing Debussy or Chopin pieces through just for love of the music (not to say that's a crime), without taking the proper time to refine technique or properly learn anything else.

I've taken a collossal interest in classical music lately -- moreso than I ever had before. I usually latch onto a genre and explore it until I feel I've exhausted all I can find from it. Doubt that will ever happen with classical music; there's just too much to listen to!

At the moment these are the kind of pieces I'm playing:

Debussy - Arabesque No. 1
Ravel - Sonatine, No. 2, Mouvement de Menuet
Chopin - Nocturne Op.9 No. 1
Schubert - Impromptu Op. 90 No.4
Haydn - Sonata in F major - Allegro moderato
Bach - Invention No. 8 in F Major

My biggest regret is not practicing enough. Even when I visit home I don't practice enough. I hate to think of all the pieces I could have played by now. I feel the level I play at keeps me incredibly limited in my choice of music. I listen to so many pieces I know I won't play for many years at least.

I aim to just officially do grade 8 ABRSM piano this year or next year. My old teacher really helped me become almost self sufficient, though always having an outside opinion really helps spot mistakes.


Anyways, I hope to post here now that I have an account. I love discovering new music and learning about composers.

[kirito1]

Hello fellow pianists!

I'm new to the pianostreet forums, and I randomly stumbled upon this forum by random browsing. I registered for an account on this forum hoping that I could get advice from some other pianists of a higher level than me!

A bit about myself:
I am a Malaysian piano student who has studied piano for 8 years. I have had a history of changing music teachers due to one reason or the other, and this style of following recommendations brought me to a piano teacher who is famous in our country for being aurally -impaired. Due to this, he inspired me to 'listen carefully to every note', because if he could do it, surely a person with normal hearing should be able to do this effortlessly! Wink It is not until very recently that I really started to step up my game and put more effort into practicing.


Two of my inspirations are the Youtube pianists Animenz and Theishter. The (crazy!) transcriptions of Animenz inspire me to boost my technique to be able to play them, while Theishter inspires me because his skill level was attributed to self study.


What am I playing now?
Currently, I am finishing off Beethoven's 32 Variations in C minor. I feel that it is quite a fun piece, and the fact that each variation is a tiny etude makes it a good warm-up too. That's why I put my status as a 'beginner to intermediate piano student'.

Challenges?
Well, my hands are tiny, and they are only JUST enough to be able to do 1-5 to 1-4 octave passages. But I feel that I have done a decent job in attempting to overcome my physical challenges, and now I need to break my mental barriers.




So, that's kind of it about me. I hope that I can make some ties with other pianists across the world!

[breakup]

I suppose I should have started here first, but here it is, I'm back at the piano after about 40 years.   It all started about 3.5 years ago when we offered to store a Sohmer model 57 for our church, we had it set up in our living room and I started to play again.   A few weeks later I decided that the room would never look right again without a grand piano in it, so I started looking.   On EBay I found a Baldwin model R and placed a bid after determining that a dealer I know would go and get it for me.   I placed the bid and won, and that Saturday he went to get it with the instructions that if it was not as shown on the listing, he would say "no thanks" and come home.   I got a phone call and he said "you're going to love it" so I said to bring it home, and for about 2 years I had 2 grands in my living room, with lots of room to spare.  The Baldwin was built in 1911 and the dealer said it would need a lot of upkeep, so I should get the tools and keep after it myself, which I have done.   I prefer classical music and I am slowly getting back into playing the pieces I had played before, plus several new ones. 

[Bob]

[laus1]

Hi all!

Well, I'm new here and I'd like to introduce myself. I am from The Netherlands. I played the piano and studied classic music since I was 4 years old. And now I am 40 ehehehe. Lately I started to study Jazz, Blues, Pop, Rock and Latin (Bossa Nova and Samba) for the piano. I noticed I lost a little touch with the classic so, here I am to search again for my old favourite composers like Mussorgsky, Bartok, Chopin, Beethoven, Bach, etc..

I stumbled on this site because I was looking for digital sheet music for myself and for some of my students.

There is a lot here to download, but I stumbled into a shocking thingy and that is that I can't download some pieces from Bela Bartok, because of some stupid copyright law between the USA and Europe. Grrrrr.

Music should be shared all over the world in my opinion and be free to travel where ever it is needed. Well...for this one, I will have to look in my own country if there are some downloads available for the digital world. (I found one site, but they don't sell digital sheet music yet).

Anyway, its a pleasure to meet you all I think.

(p.s.: I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but is it possible to put the 'Children Songs' from Bela Bartok on this site?)

[glennross]

Hello everybody,

I just wanted to introduce myself here on the forum before I started looking around and help people (and get helped).

My name is Glenn Ross, I'm 16 years old and from Canada, however, my last name comes from my Scottish ancestors. I currently live 3 miles away from Toronto. I played the piano since I was 4 and graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music a few months ago, achieving the ARCT in Piano Performance.

I'm currently working on Richard Straus' Burleske in D minor and it's a real gem.

Anyway, I'm excited to help people out of their troubles if I can.

BW,
Glenn

[ed palamar]

Don't get fresh with me like some of the lame brains here and you'll get to enjoy the most important day of your life.

International coverage via 6 Action News :

https://risen-from-the-dead.forumotion.com/t126-concert-pianists

That's right - international coverage of the Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).

[kevonthegreatpianist]

 hi I'm kevonthegreat pianist, i just turned 13, and I'm the most blessed here. always

[startat36]

Dear all,

I am 36 years old from Singapore. I just started learning Piano. I hope I can learn from all of you. Take care for now  

[yewtree]

Hi Guys,  I have been reading the site with interest and finally logged in , mainly so that I can remember my screen name.  As I originally forgot it.           Yewtree.
I am a  piano student of older years.  I just want to see what I can still achieve before I shuffle off this mortal coil.  Or before WWIII   starts, which is looking a bit imminent between  the NWO man Obama and  his arch enemy  Putin. 

 

[plumblossom]

Hi, everyone!  I would like to introduce myself.  I am new to this site, was googling etudes for piano and found new site.  Good find!  I am an adult student, started about three months ago, and I am also a violin student of 5 years.  I am self-taught right now, since I don't have the money to get a tutor, and that's why you people might be able to help me when I come across a question or two.  I am doing fine.  I am learning from the Suzuki Piano books.  It's not a popular piano method, but it's a popular violin method, and it seemed to work for me, so I would continue with the Suzuki books.  I am looking forward to reading ll the posts.  Thanks for reading!

[flyingfingers45]

Hi all!  New here but excited to get to know everyone.  I'm a 14 year old who loves piano (especially fun, virtuosic pieces!)  I'm currently working on a solo recital which I will give this Saturday.  So, nerve-wracking but awesome!  I'm playing Barber's Ballade, a set of Scarlatti Sonatas, the Tarantella from John Corigliano's Gazebo Dances duets, Rachmaninoff's Elegie in e flat minor, Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso, Beethoven's Sonata Op. 79, and Saint Saens' Concerto No. 2 3rd movement.  I'm going to be starting Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata after my recital is over.  I can't wait to see where music takes me and what I can learn from all of you here!

[ybanana]

K! Here's mine

I am a pianist, finishing middle school (13 years old now)  this year. Planning to start a YouTube channel around January. Playing:
Debussy Arabesque 1
Gershwin Prelude 1
Chopin etude op 10 no 8, and a bunch of his preludes also
Schubert op 90 no 2 and 4
And a few more...

I also compose what is considered modern and/or contemporary music.

[oabr19]

Hey,

I'm a high school student aspiring to get to the level of playing any Rachmaninoff, Chopin & Liszt whenever I 'feel' like it. (Also Piano is hella fun). I'm the only musician in my family of 38 (yeah, a lot). I enjoy baroque and romantic most. My current program consists of Liszt Consolations 1-6, Debussy's works and some Kinderszenen I hope on perfecting all of Chopins Ballades by 2017. I also aspire to be admitted into the Columbia-Julliard(Sound familiar?) program, so most of my time is spent practicing and studying . I have 3 students as of now. I was self taught but was recently taken on by a piano professor at a top university. I started piano 2 years ago and practice during most of my free time. I am from New York City. Nice to meet you all.

Best,
Oscar

[siveron]

Hi!

I've recently started to learn how to play this beautiful instrument. It's alot of fun!
I've been playing the violin all my life, so I have some experience when it comes to instruments and music in general.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to talking to all of you.

Cheerio

[pianosonata5]

(I came from Portugal, thus my english is the poorest on earth)

Hi,
I study the piano for 7 years and i'm passing ABRSM grade 8 this year. I also like to compose, but rarely complete a piece (i think im a perfectionist, a bit like Ravel ).

Current repertoire:
-Bach prelude and fugue in g sharp minor from wtc book II
-Bach prelude and fugue in c minor fromWTC book I
-Beethoven piano sonata no 27 op 90 in e minor
-Grieg piano sonata in e minor op 7
-Mendelssohn rondo capriccioso
-Chopin etude op 25 no 12
-Chopin etude op 10 no 9 in  f minor
-Liszt eglogue from Années de pelerinage (i dont know if im spelling right, but yeah )
-António Fragoso (a portuguese composer) Nocturne in d flat major

My repertoire seams a bit unbalanced, i know, but thats what happens when you work with two teachers at the same time...

If anybody cares (which is very unprobable ), i want to be a conductor.

[j_tour]

Right, so introduction, I guess.  I forgot how I found this board -- but it was recently.  I put "professional pianist" under where "it" asks "erm, what do you do, sir?" like an awkward guest at a cocktail party.  It fits better than the others, and while I'm currently going back to school in my late-thirties to rediscover one of my academic loves, modal logic and the sub-discipline of AI called "knowledge representation," and don't have time to play out in bars for beer money, it's my last known occupation.

My reason for being here and bothering to register is that I had the bright idea a few weeks ago that, before I turn forty in a few months, I should polish off a few choice pieces of legit music from when I was a kid, just to have something in my active repertoire that isn't completely improvised.

So I'm working on getting back the Op. 126 bagatelles of Beethoven, the e-minor partita of Bach, the 2- and 3-part inventions of Bach, which I never learned as a group.  A few other things here and there, but I'm tired of not really remembering any one given piece all the way through, just a few bits and pieces.

In fact, the most exciting thing for me has been trying a different approach with the inventions, namely actually HEARING the polyphony, and proceeding with much more care about the details and love for simplicity than when I was a kid.  It would be nice to at least have a few of these a part of my mental furniture that I can just play them in whatever key I feel like.  Probably could do that with the C major 2-part, in twelve keys, but I don't want to make it some pedantic goal, just something that amuses me.

[nealburg]

Hi i am 14 and i am an i M an intermediate piano student.
I play well the impromptu op90 no4 and the rondo k485(1 schubert , 2 mozart)
I wonder if i can play the grand valse brilliante of chopin?
Any reccomendations?

[jeffok]

Hello everyone.
I'm a very new member of this forum. I'm 59 years old and live in a very small town in British Columbia, Canada. I've been playing classical piano since I was about 6 years old. Unfortunately I didn't get serious about the piano until I was about 18 and had (and still have) a woefully underdeveloped technique. I can get through some pretty tough repertoire (Liszt etudes, Chopin Ballades, etc.) but only with a very high "wrong note quotient". Nevertheless, I've never given it up and - at least in small ways - have managed to get better as I have gotten older. I came to the forum seeking advice on how to practice Balakirev's Islamey. I stand 0% chance of ever playing this piece well, or even at a decent tempo, but I felt I had to give it a try. (I've only been at it for a week now but am thoroughly enjoying it.) I look forward to exploring the forum and I'm always happy to discuss piano recordings!

jeff ok

[trollout]

Hi my name is trollout glad to be here 

[gabriel99]

New guy here. I am 24 years old, I think I feel more old than I should. I started to practice piano exactly three days ago. I have some background in classical music (violin) and since I am teacherless at the moment I've been checking out some books I've found here and there (right now going through The Complete Piano Player Bk.2)

[paxxx17]

Hello everybody,

I'm Pavle (Paul) from Serbia, 20 years old. I was lurking on the forums for a few years, finally decided to start posting. Went to music high school (theoretical section, but played piano as well). Now I'm studying chemistry and piano is just my hobby. I have no teachers and stuff anymore so I don't know how good I've been in the last two years, but I think that I'm not that bad.

I love Chopin but I always tackle pieces too difficult for me (when I learn them they don't sound that bad, but I'd be ashamed to play them in front of a pro pianist, for example). Some of the pieces I played through the last years are: Scherzi no's 1 and 2, Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante.
The freshest and the only ones I still remember to play currently are Polonaise Op. 44, Barcarolle Op. 60 and Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61. I'm quite proud of the last three pieces and I may record some of them to hear an opinion from you guys.
Looking forward to hanging out on these forums

[afarmboysforte]

Hi y'all,

I've already posted a couple of times, but I figured I had better introduce myself properly, so here goes:

I've been playing the piano since I was 5, but didn't take it seriously it till I was about 12. I'm a high school 10th grader now, and I'm concentrating on piano just to see how far I can go with my somewhat late start. You can see what I'm working on now in my signature (I know, my teacher is really ambitious... That must be why we get along so well )

I maintain a very busy life outside of piano, with some of my hobbies including teaching karate, outdoors activities, and taking care of my cattle, goats, chickens, turkeys, duck, and guineas on my hobby farm (hence my username). Anyways, thanks, and I look forward to hearing what y'all have to say!

~The Farmboy

[arxhgos]

Hello everyone,
I am 22 years old and I am playing the piano for almost 14 years.I am going for diploma in 2 months and my repertoire is:

Scarlatti sonata in F sharp minor
Bach toccata in D minor BWV 913
Beethoven appassionata
Chopin scherzo 2
Debussy prelude no 4 book 1 in A major
Astrinidis prelude 2
Beethoven  concerto 3

[chongjasmine]

Hi, I am chongjasmine from Singapore.
I am self-teaching myself how to play keyboard.

[superpax]

Dear all, I'm a newbie here, adult beginner/intermediate player, but want to share my passion with you all!
Thanks for the forum!
 

[stream]

Hello!

I have decided to finally join Piano Street after lurking on it without an account for almost a year. 

I'm a recently-turned-14-year-old who is, compared to most persons my age, probably severely under-skilled (hey, it's my parent's fault; they did't make me practice when I was little and it took a while for my appreciation of music to, er, manifest).

This is probably the part where I'm supposed to modestly show off my virtuosic skill by listing the pieces I have mastered, but I will refrain from doing so for fear of public embarrassment and a full reveal of my incompetence.

Cheers.

--Streamy

[perfect_pitch]

This is probably the part where I'm supposed to modestly show off my virtuosic skill by listing the pieces I have mastered, but I will refrain from doing so for fear of public embarrassment and a full reveal of my incompetence.

We're all here to learn. No one is a master of piano, no matter how good they are - that quest to continually fine-tune our skills is what makes piano so intriguing and why we spend most of our lives doing it.

[volcanoadam]

Hi everyone,

I just joined the forum, so I thought best to first introduce myself.
What brought me here is love for piano and music.
I started learning piano some two and a half years ago, at the age of 41. However, it seems to me struggle with pretty much every aspect of piano learning I enjoy every moment of it. Certainly, I'm not going to give it up. The opposite I would say, every day I discover something new about music, not only in what I play, but also in everything I listen. My perception of music has been changing since I started my journey with piano. It's like the whole new world of music is opening to me.
Prior to learning piano I attempted to learn guitar, but without any guidance it was a total disaster, so I gave it up. I learned my lesson and I study piano with a teacher, who's also an active PianoStreet member.
I'll try soon to present my progress here.

Adam from Birmingham, UK

[chopins_piano]

Hello music-inclined souls!
I am 14 and I live in California. I have been playing piano for ten years since I was 4. My favorite piano brand is a Bosendorfer because I played on one during my performance at Brahms Hall in Vienna and the sound was so good! I have also been playing violin for 5 years and have seen a Stradivarius before! I aspire to maybe participate in the Chopin International Piano Competition someday. I just finished learning Ballade no. 1 in G minor by Chopin and plan to learn all four. I look forward to posting more on the piano forums! 

[keystosuccess]

Hi guys,

My name is Hannah and I live in Germany. I have played the piano on and off for about 3 or 4 years now. I am mostly self-taught, only some relatives take some time to change smth now and then.
I am mostly playing my trusted Clavinova but I am looking into getting an upright piano. I love to play modern pieces by Yiruma, reinvented pop songs and the like, but I also have a soft spot for Mozart pieces.

Looking forward to meet you all in the forum!

[klindouch]

Hello guys , i'm new here from spain , hope will learn basics about piano in this site , thanks

[kittenyarn]

Hii everybody!

I'm an amateur piano player who decided joining this forum looked like fun! I like mostly Classical and I hope to talk to you all about piano and learn lots of things!

See you all in the forum!

[j_tour]

Hii everybody!

I'm an amateur piano player who decided joining this forum looked like fun! I like mostly Classical and I hope to talk to you all about piano and learn lots of things!

See you all in the forum!

Welcome!  I think you picked a good forum, which is, for the most part, serious in intent (with the exception of a few joke/OT threads that are carefully segregated in "Anything But Piano"). 

Lots of people can knock the stuffing out of the piano here, as far as radiating the eighty-eights, well beyond my abilities, but plenty of serious students and players of all ages and abilities.

It's a decent group, generally, with a minimum of cliqueishness.

[kittenyarn]

That's so good to hear, thanks for the welcome!

[wert718]

Can't believe I still remember my password to this site...brings back a lot of memories. And no, I'm not old (yet), I just made this account when I was 10 LOL

[anacrusis]

Well, welcome back then! Are you planning on staying around? 

[determined2learn]

Hi everyone.  I did a Google search of piano forums and found this one. I'm a newbie.  I've been learning about 2 years.  When I started I didn't read music.  I'm retired and play lots of golf (I'm not very good at it either but I try.) Lately I'm wondering why have I picked two very difficult hobbies?  Patience and perserverance.

Looking forward to participating. 

[lelle]

Welcome! This is a cozy place and there are many people here who are good at answering questions

[determined2learn]

I was just reading the About section where it states this site is for advanced players. I didn't read that before I made my account.  Maybe I'm too green to be here. 

[quantum]

I was just reading the About section where it states this site is for advanced players. I didn't read that before I made my account.  Maybe I'm too green to be here.

No such thing as being too green.  All levels of players are welcome here. 

Just start reading posts and getting involved in discussions, there are plenty of knowledgeable people here to help you on your piano journey.