too late for someone like me to learn the 3rd movement of moonlight sonata?

[son wolsi]

Before you make a post: Yes, I know Moonlight sonata in general is overplayed, and it probably has an infamous reputation amongst pro level pianist, this means nothing to me, I may not be able to play piano very well, but I know enough to know that Moonlight sonata 1st and 3rd movements are probably going to remain somewhere near the top of my favorites list no matter what, another piece which I discovered trough listening that I like alot is Scriabin's (Did I spell that right?) Etude in D# Minor Op.12, I know it's an etude, but I've never heard music like this before, same goes for all his music, he owns. period.

To the point, I have listened to ms1 and ms3, as well as ms2 (really just think no.2 throws of the ambiance of 1 and 3, and I have realized, that ms1 alone, is a large feat, the finger technique required is no big deal, it's the parts where I have to make the pinky sound like a 3rd voice, and the tone alone is insane to control. (my maximum "comfortable" Stretch is an 8th. , though, I can reach a 9th without to much problems, and if I spread like hell I can reach a 10th, but the rest of my hand is hanging from the fallboard.) then I personally looked at the 3rd movement, I just don't know if I can ever do something like that...

I'm 18 years old now. I have been playing for 2 months, I'm struggling to put money together for a mere 800$ digital piano, I have been doing this for years. The only thing I can do as of right now, is use my casio keyboard (No velocity touch ) to memorize the fingerings of scales and arpeggios, (and chords, which I have no knowledge of how to practice those) and even then, I can't even practice these scales and chords, and arpeggios simply because of my keyboard, which dosn't even have weighted keys.

As you can see, I'm in a terrible situation, I have absolutely no knowledge of how to get an acoustic piano that will work, and playing on the finest digital pianos is still conter productive, Keep in mind, my age, and the fact that I desire how to learn these 2 pieces, and master them, I want to be able to play moonlight, this song has been one of my favorites since I was about 4-5 years old, and it has a special place in my heart. the 3rd movement to me seems to represent some crazy reclusive scientist frustrated. I love it's energy.

I have played several pieces already, making sure I don't actually learn anything that much, simply finger positions, etc, and to get a simple general idea of what I'll be up against, I know it will be hard work, and I don't doubt myself, but I know, that I, as a human being, have limitations set on me, expecially in this particular age range, and I want to know from you guys, because I know you know, you are in musical enviroments all the time, you around legendarie pianist all the time, you must know if someone this old can pull it off, I have pretty high hopes, because these two pieces really aren't so difficult in comparison to some other pieces, so yeah.

Can you guys also just help me get started on general ideas I should try to do?

I'm more than willing to get lessons, but I really don't want to do that unless I have a acoustic piano, and even then, I want the teacher to know what I want to do. All help is greatly appreciated, sorry I posted such a long post. I'm on the verge of insanity.

[faulty_damper]

There are two types of pianists:

One type goes to the School of the Gifted and early one morning day he arrives late.  In a hurry he pushes on the door but it won't open.  He pushes harder and harder and yet the door still won't open.  He knocks but all the other students are already in their classrooms.  Knocking turns to banging and the he tries again to push. He's exacerbated.  This is the first type.

The second type goes to the same school but he arrives even later and sees his fellow classmate slumped in front of the door.  "What's wrong?" he asked.

"The door's stuck.  I keep pushing and pushing but it just won't open" he said in despair.

Seeing his tired and frustrated face, he helps him up to his feet, goes to the door, puts his hand on the knob, turns it, and pulls.

[anna_crusis]

You can learn scales and arpeggios on a non weighted keyboard. When you come to playing a real piano you'll find it easier, not harder.

Besides, MS is made up to a large extent of arpegios and scales. If you've mastered them first you'll have a lot less trouble learning it.

[ryanyee]

u know what they say. nvr too early,nvr too late to learn.

[feddera]

I see no reason why you wouldn't. I don't think the 3rd movement of the moonlight is considered to be that hard either. But don't take my word for it, I can't play it. 

[giannalinda]

Hi my name is Gianna and I am 11 years old. I love playing moonlight every day and it is quite easy for me. I can reach a 10th with my hand . I taught myself moonlight sonata. I hope you can enjoy it as much as i have.

      Gianna

[healdie]

you say that you have been playing piano for 2 months? then i think (Correct me if wrong) that moonlight sonata 3rd movement may be out of you range at the minute

but you are not too late Wagner didn't start to study music until he was 16 and Berlioz was 22 before he started studying you are 18 years old you are hardly knocking on deaths door

I am 17 years old and only been playing 2 years ( and i still don't feel up to playing this) but many of these people who start at very young ages are forced to practice but you practice because you love your music and this will come through in your playing

I would Ignore the last post it is not an easy piece i would start with somthing easier and there is no shame in this if you love you Beethoven then try Sonatinas or the Bagatelles or possibly Sonatas No. 19 and 20

so don't be disheartened (easier said than done) and keep persivering you will get it
music is not like been an ballet dancer or an athelete you don't get to an age where you are too old

to end with a quote
"Endeavour to play easy pieces well and beautifully; that is better than to play difficult pieces indifferently well. When you play, never mind who listens to you. Play always as if in the presence of a master."
-- R Schumann

[scottmcc]

most churches will have a piano which you can play during off hours if you ask nicely.  in general they are woefully out of tune, but you can use this to get the feel of an acoustic.  if you are looking for value, save up about $2000 and get a roland electric--it'll sound better than most $10k acoustics, never need tuning, and has weighted keys.

the first movement has several key challenges...excellent control of dynamics, keeping the triplets even, and allowing the melody to sing through.  the toughest for me though is memorizing the harmonic progressions--since there is essentially no rhythmic variation it's easy for me to get lost in the middle somewhere (am I in the middle of the second page?  who knows!).

don't give short shrift to the second movement.  there's a lot of really nice little bits in there, and it is a warm and welcome contrast to the darkness of the 1st and 3rd movements.  sometimes you have to see light in order to realize how dark the night is.  it also has its share of deceptive musical challenges, in terms of contrasting articulations and keeping the voices distinct in the trio.

the challenge of the third movement is speed.  I'm a beginner too, and I find this movement to be too fast for my current abilities.  but as others have suggested, practice lots of scales and arpeggios and you'll get there.  don't be surprised if it takes a few years. 

also...try listening to a recording of a pro play while reading the score.  this is a great way for me to progress more rapidly in learning a piece, and for pieces that are beyond my abilities it gives me an appreciation for how good the masters truly are.

[db05]

I have played several pieces already, making sure I don't actually learn anything that much, simply finger positions, etc, and to get a simple general idea of what I'll be up against, I know it will be hard work, and I don't doubt myself, but I know, that I, as a human being, have limitations set on me, expecially in this particular age range, and I want to know from you guys, because I know you know, you are in musical enviroments all the time, you around legendarie pianist all the time, you must know if someone this old can pull it off, I have pretty high hopes, because these two pieces really aren't so difficult in comparison to some other pieces, so yeah.

Why hold back? Why limit yourself like that? I'm in the same situation as you, started at 18, now I'm 19 turning 20 and I've just realized that I love piano. So now I'm taking it seriously, and I find that planning is most of the work, not practicing. I have high hopes, too, and no, am not around legendary pianists unfortunately. What matters is that you can set smaller goals that will help you to your larger goal. To give you an idea of what I mean by goal-setting, see my other thread.

As you can see, I'm in a terrible situation, I have absolutely no knowledge of how to get an acoustic piano that will work, and playing on the finest digital pianos is still conter productive,

Not really. A good weighted digital is still better than you current keyboard (I started off with that one, too, ugh), and a baaaaaaaad second-hand acoustic (like the one I got now). If you can afford a good digital like scottmcc said, consider buying it.

Can you guys also just help me get started on general ideas I should try to do?

I'm more than willing to get lessons, but I really don't want to do that unless I have a acoustic piano, and even then, I want the teacher to know what I want to do. All help is greatly appreciated, sorry I posted such a long post. I'm on the verge of insanity.

Yes. Find a teacher, then report back here. A bad teacher might make things worse, yes, but a good one can and will help you in this situation. Maybe you can find a studio where you can get lessons and also practice. I can go to school and practice on available pianos as much as I want.

[csharp_minor]

The only thing I can do as of right now, is use my casio keyboard (No velocity touch ) to memorize the fingerings of scales and arpeggios, (and chords, which I have no knowledge of how to practice those) and even then, I can't even practice these scales and chords, and arpeggios simply because of my keyboard, which dosn't even have weighted keys.

As you can see, I'm in a terrible situation, I have absolutely no knowledge of how to get an acoustic piano that will work, and playing on the finest digital pianos is still conter productive, Keep in mind, my age, and the fact that I desire how to learn these 2 pieces, and master them, I want to be able to play moonlight, this song has been one of my favorites since I was about 4-5 years old, and it has a special place in my heart. the 3rd movement to me seems to represent some crazy reclusive scientist frustrated. I love it's energy.

I have played several pieces already, making sure I don't actually learn anything that much, simply finger positions, etc

HI son wolsi !

I'm new on this forum, ( Hi guys! ). I know exactly what you are going through. I started teaching myself when I was 17 on a Casio keyboard and I tried to learn the 1st movement of Moonlight after a few months of playing on the keyboard, but then gave up. I then went to college and university and so completely forgot about wanting to learn the piano.

I'm now 23, I restared to learn the piano 8 months ago. First on my Caiso keyboard, then I bought a Yamaha Clavinova 370. I can now play almost all the first movement of it, and I have had only one lesson, my 1st one lastweek.

I'm just showing you that I was in a simliar situation to you, and you WILL get there! My advice would be keep learning your beginner pieces and scales and arpeggios even if you only have a keyboard, you will still build up some awareness of the distance of the invervals on the keyboard. learn your pieces properly not half-heartedly, maybe work through a beginner's piano book. John Thomson's adult prep book is good.

I would for now, maybe give learning the Moonlight sonata a rest, as you will not be able to get the sound right, as you don't have a sustain pedal and don't have touch sensitivity so it will be very difficult to control the tone.

When your circumstances change and you can afford either a digital or a real piano, then you can give it another go. If I were you though, and you do have the room for one, then get a nice acoustic piano, digitals are nice but believe me the mid - range and touch of a digital is NOT the same as a real one, no matter what the brochures say.

I Hope I have made you feel a little better!  The Moonlight sonata is my one of my favorite piano sonatas too! no mater how ' over played ' people might say it is, I can't play the 2nd movment yet and will wait several years to play the 3rd mvnt. 

[alpacinator1]

Hi my name is Gianna and I am 11 years old. I love playing moonlight every day and it is quite easy for me. I can reach a 10th with my hand . I taught myself moonlight sonata. I hope you can enjoy it as much as i have.

      Gianna

I must say, reaching a 10th at your age is quite impressive. I'm 14 and can barely reach a 10th,and people have told me I have huge hands for my age.

[giannalinda]

Hi my name is Gianna. I am 11 yrs. old. You might have seen my comment in Clair De Lune. I play this piece every night after dinner. This piece is kind of hard for me because I do have big hands, but not big ENOUGH! This piece reminds me of the night where I walked on the beach in the night with my mom when the moon was bright, and glowing and the waters were calm, with the ducks walking and flying over the beach. Anyway, anybody can learn Moonlight if they try. Just have patience! Thanks
Gianna