I have a new piano!

[oceansoul]

Greetings!

This past Friday I received, at last, my new piano. For 5 months I've played in a 4 octaves' toy keyboard... And now this.

I've bought the Yamaha CLP-240, and I like it so much...
I noticed a great difference between the CLP-230 and CLP-240. The difference was, especially, on the lower notes. The CLP-230 sounded so round... it didn't sound real enough. The CLP-240 did. I got it for 1720€ with the bench. There are 2 grand pianos' sounds. Both are great. It really sounds like a grand piano. I've compared the first voice with the sound of a Yamaha C2, and it was really almost the same.
The Harpsichord is fantastic, you can even listen to the key coming up when you leave the key. I also love the Church Organ.
Well... This was a really good business, I think. I'm so happy.  ;_;
And also with phones (cheap ones that I've bought with an adapter) it is fantastic and I disturb no one.

It has 50 great pieces in preset. The only thing that I disliked here, was that the Sheet Music Book didn't come. They must have taken it to sell it separately. I'll reclaim it as my own this Monday.

I've already started practicing scales and the only complete piece I know (Minuet in G by Bach). My left hand is not very good comparatively to the right one.

I want to practice good exercises, I want to evolve. I'm not yet able to go to piano classes.

What do you suggest?

Thanks in advance,
      OceanSoul.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Great that you have an instrument to practice on! Definately practicing on a digital piano is way more benefitial than practicing on a keyboard, especially that which has only 4 octaves.

Concerning exercises, be very wary of them as they have potential of injuring you. They are best suited to be played under teacher supervision, however, if you are cautious, you may receive benefit. The main culptit of damage from exercises, and a major one too, is that they tend to tense the hands. I do a ton of exercises, and my teacher always always stresses to me the importance of relaxation and staying relaxed whilst doing them. Not only the hands, but the face, legs, and arms. Every part of the body must remain calm and free.

Concerning specific exercises, I must recommend five finger exercises, scales, arpeggios, and Czerny. I am not a big advocate of Hanon, because I think that his exercises contain the same material that practicing other exercises, namely the five finger ones have. Crucial point again, is to never tense up. Look at some Czerny etudes. I don't remember the exact opus, but they are the short ones(about 8 measures in length), and stress a certain technique, such as scales for right hand, scales for left hand, trills, arpeggios, etc. Practice them thoroughly and carefully. Don't rush, never tense up. The aim is control and clearness of sound, not speed. Increase the tempo after gaining thorough control. I repeat a Czerny etudes many times and practice them in exercises, before playing the etudes in tempo. Tempo shouldn't be the number one goal. Control, freedom, and clarity should be thought of before tempo can be increased.

[oceansoul]

Thank you so much for your reply.

I've thought about Czerny too. I'll give it a try.
I'm very tense, sometimes. Thanks for your advice, I'll try to never be stressed again and play freely and with clarity.
I'm now trying Prelude no. 4 (E minor) by Chopin. I love this piece, and it's not too hard. I'm just having some problems with the left hand on which fingers I should use. When I leave the keyboard my hand and my shoulders are hurting a lot. I'll try not to stress up.
I'm on scales already. I'm trying to get my left hand to do a complete C Major scale. My right hand does it pretty well, although not very fast.
I'm feeling the effect of the key's weight on my shoulders, my fingers (they become red, as if I were playing guitar for a long time with both hands) and the muscles of my hand and arms.
I have the video of Mastering Piano Technique, I could start to exercise those.

Once again, thank you very much, debussy symbolism.

Any suggestions from anyone?

Thanks in advance,
      OceanSoul.