Teaching yourself

[ardi1230]

I've been curious how other people teach themselves new pieces. I no longer have a teacher, so I teach myself new pieces I want to learn. I only learn one piece at a time, while still practicing my other pieces. I don't have much structure, and I just sit down and learn when I feel like it, which is quite often. My Dad is decent at the piano, so he can help me with harder passages and if I'm not sure about something. I only learn one piece at a time, because I think that more than that will overwhelm me. I understand that many people do that, but I think that is with a teacher to guide them

What about you? How would/do you go about teaching yourself? Would you learn multiple pieces at once? How would you analyze a piece to help learn it better? Any tips that anyone can give me will be a great help

[gsmile]

You should do whatever that you have the most fun with. There are sites like Artiden and Piano Nanny that offer tips and lessons for free, too.

[jimbo320]

I use the Internet....

[ardi1230]

To be honest, I only learn pieces that I want to, but I'm more interested in improving on my own without a teacher. Not being cocky or anything, I'm already a good pianist, and not the type that is still learning to play. While they are things that I might not know, they don't seem relevant. For reference, I just finished teaching myself the 3rd movement of Sonata No.8 Pathetique by Beethoven and am teaching myself the 2nd movement. As you can see, I'm more interested in improving my piano skills, which is why I'm looking for suggestions on how to do that.

[pianoman53]

It kind of depends on how well you play, and what you are good at.

My thing is lyrical pieces. So when my teachers tells me to play them (like Chopin op 25 no 7, or 10 no 3), I kind of learn them by myself, with just some minor input from my teachers.

Though, if they give me something that's more or less purely technical (liszt's paganini etudes, for example) I'm lost. I can probably make most of the technical parts by myself, but it sounds like crap anyways.


Anyhow, if I were you, I would get some sort of recording equipment, and record myself as much as I can. Listen to yourself, and be very critical about your playing. If there is something you don't like, make a note of it, and try to fix it.

[jimbo320]

I agree Pianoman,
Recording yourself really does help in finding errors...

[ardi1230]

Thanks Pianoman, that's great advice.

[pianoplayjl]

You should start teaching yourself with easier pieces before progressing.