Need some advice

[glooper23]

I bought a keyboard and piano learning book a while back. I can, for the most part, play through the simple exercises with good timing. However, I feel like I'm only memorizing the exercises - if I was shown a new one, I would struggle. I don't feel like this book explains much outside of the notes - for example, how do I know when to shift my whole hand when I could easily move my thumb or pinky?

Does anyone have a recommendation outside of paying for a teacher? I'm a college student without a car, so it's hard for me to walk the 45 minutes to the piano lesson place downtown. I suppose I should do that, but does anyone have a good suggestion?

The software at -https://-https://www.doremifasoft.com/ seems to be a good idea, but it's too expensive for me to try and find out it doesn't help me learn piano.

[Bob]

Doesn't sound so bad.

The books are meant to get you comfortable in certain hand positions, depending on the philosophy of the method book.

If you're memeorizing them, that's fine for now.  You've learned them solidly.


I would stick with books.  Go on to the next one in the series.  I'm assuming you're using a piano method book that is part of a series.  If not, get a book from a series -- They're put together in order of difficulty.  Eventually, all the method books start to move your hand position.

That's cheaper than a real teacher.  And cheaper than software -- I have a hard time thinking about how much work it would be to bring a computer over to the piano so you could read music off the screen, in general not a very easy thing to do yet

[glooper23]

Thanks. The book, I don't believe, is part of a series. On the contrary, I probably should have bought a different book, because it's a very big, expensive book with high res pictures and history on old pianos. What I need is a quality set of lessons.

[Bob]

I have looked for something that explains more -- like the music with an explanation of what the point of the piece is in the learning sequence, the background of the piece, etc.

glooper23 -- What is the book you're using?  I'm curious.

There is a series of books coming out from Faber & Faber that does this a little.  Piece, info, CD recording.  I want to check those out more sometime.

But I haven't found anything.  There are books, but those are usually too deep for a very beginner beginner.

Which means the next best thing is a teacher. 

Ha, ha... The kind of book I'm thinking of is so basic though.  Someone every piano teacher is already doing.  I'm sure someone will start producing these things -- music, CD recording, DVD of the teacher explaining things.  Beginner level material is where the money's at -- Someone will do this eventually.  I'm sure it will make a ton of money.

Alfred did make some piano DVD's recently, but those are more like college masterclasses and a history of piano music performance -- not beginner, more intermediate-advanced.

[glooper23]

The Piano Handbook by Carl Humphries.

https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Handbook-Complete-Guide-Mastering/dp/0879307277

[overscore]

I don't feel like this book explains much outside of the notes - for example, how do I know when to shift my whole hand when I could easily move my thumb or pinky?

To put it crudely, you look at the range of notes in the phrase you're playing. If they're clustered closely together (say between G and D) then choose a hand position that covers those notes. If there's a very high or low note outside that range, you might jump to it quickly with your thumb or pinky. The next phrase might require a different hand position which you arrive at either through a portion of a scale or an arpeggio - so you have to learn all the scales and arpeggios so you can make an intelligent choice of fingering.

[glooper23]

Interesting, thanks for that.

[vuhuonganh]

I've found it helpful. Thanks.

[ramseytheii]

If you are a college student, there must be someone in your college who plays piano and can at least give you starter's advice since you can't make it to regular teaching.  If there is a music school in your college, go there; and if not, just ask around!

Walter Ramsey