Absolute beginner asks for some golden tips, advice, guidance etc.

[kenshin8]

Hey all!

I'm new here, and decided to sign up because this site looks very promising.

As you probably read in the subject, I'm an absolute beginner regarding playing piano. However, I've been playing guitar for many years and I think this might help me a bit in comparison to being a beginner without prior musical knowledge.

There are a few things I really want to master and your guidance /advice may help in achieving my goals must faster.

Right now I'm thinking of the following subjects:

Sight reading, I really want to be a very good sight reader. I can read notes, but not so fast yet that I'm able to play written music on the spot. Any advice, books, websites, or other tips concerning this topic are highly appreciated.

Piano technique, I really admire the technique of piano virtuoso's, and I want to be able to achieve great technique. Right now, my knowledge about piano technique is very limited. I do know the basic postures and how to hold your hand etcetera. But I'm talking about crossing hands / fingers, other special techniques that I'm not even aware of.

Other topics... ? Any ideas on what other areas I should really focus? Only sight reading and technique seems a little bit limiting to me, but at the moment I'm not really sure what else I should practice.

I'm highly motivated, so I can't wait for your replies!

Kind regards,

Kenshin

[gyzzzmo]

A rather golden tip is to get yourself a good teacher. It is quite important to get the basics right, unlearning bad habits is a pain.

[rmbarbosa]

I do agree with Gyzzzmo, a good teacher is very important. But a really good teacher, because there are teachers who teach nothing, you know? If you cant found a good teacher, I`ll suggest you download "the groundwork of the Leschetizky method", by Malwine Bree, where you may found - with photos - a lot of technique exercises for beginners. In this book, at the end, Malwine guides you how and what to continue. And you have here, in this Forum, a wonderful treasure. Have a look to Bernhard posts, for example.
Best wishes
rui

[rmbarbosa]

See also Daniloperusina posts. He is very, very, very good.
You may download "the fundamentals of piano practice" by C. Chang. Very important.

[kenshin8]

Hey guys/gals,

Thanks a lot for your replies! At first I was worried about getting a teacher, because I as a guitar player I experienced that a bad teacher can really demotivate you. I'll try my best to find a good teacher, and I will definately check out the books you guys recommended!

Btw, do you guys/gals know of any good etudes for beginners?

[nanabush]

Practice lots of scales and raw technique.


It's one of those things that seems tedious to a beginner, but is what I have valued the most from lessons when I was young.

If you've gotten some music theory out of the way with guitar, then seeing the key signatures probably won't bug you too much.  Try to memorize those as best as you can, and practice scales in different keys.  Obviously start with C major, and maybe play 2 or 3 other scales.  Don't load to much up at once, or you'll get overwhelmed; but, if you make a good base with a few scales (C+, G+, A- and E- would be good choices), then you will get that sense of 'key' and you will be more comfortable playing pieces in those keys.

You won't see a beginner piece in Eb minor, so it's a good choice to start from the absolute basic technical stuff.

After a few weeks of learning, go back a few steps to some songs/pieces that are a little easy for you.  Try playing through as many as you can at first sight.  A little while later, try sight reading a bunch from the level you were at the few weeks prior.  Don't pick something way beyond you and sit staring at it for hours and struggling; you'll get discouraged and say "I suck at sight reading"     

It's really encouraging to go back halfway through a method book or wherever, and see that those pieces are 'easy' compared to what you're doing now... just remember that however many weeks ago, those had you tearing your hair out.  Those pieces are good to just pick up and play through all the time.  Sometimes it's fun to pick something really hard and just see how far you can get in a short time... but taking an easier piece and seeing if you can process it on the spot and play it fluently will probably help a lot more with your sight reading.

[chris_goslow]

the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  begin...

[i_am_joey_jo]

Good good study day day up

[kenshin8]

Thanks everyone!

@nanabush, very valuable advice. I recognize some of the stuff you stated.