How to start learning

[peteh]

Hi. I am an adult learner 54. I am teaching myself (2 Months). So far I have been practicing the Major Sales, Arpeggios, Changing from the 1 chord to the 4 then the 5. Chord inversions of C, G, F, and D. Up and down the Piano. I am also learning theory as much as I can.
I seem to be doing an awful lot of technical stuff without actually playing much. Is there a way of putting this together to start getting some rewards for all my hard work. I can do the Arpeggios and Chord changes with both hands without even looking now. I would like to start playing things and learn to read music later as I get to know more. Any advice would be grateful. Pete 

[hfmadopter]

You can start playing things and learn to read at the same time. Then later you will know how to read already and be able to advance instead of learning to read. Does that make sense to you ?

I suggest getting started with an adult first grade book. There are several out there, one I use is from the John Thompson series, Book One for Adults, for instance. It's not that you have to stick with the entire book but it gives decent instruction as to keyboard layout associated with chord layout, hand position and sitting position. Some chord work and simple pieces of music to begin with. By the time you get half way into the book you will be able to read music on the staff and associate with your keyboard. From there you can download easy versions of sheet music that you like and assuming all went well, you will learn to play them.

The biggest factor by far with adult students, self taught or not is impatience. You must be patient, the rest will come to you if you work at it. You haven't entered a road race here, music is a life long experience, piano is the instrument you chose to communicate music with.

[peteh]

Many Thanks for you response. I can read a small amount of music. I know note values and notes in the main staffs. timings and the like but it takes me ages to get to grips with things as there seems to be so much to think about. I just thought if I could play some stuff by ear at first then get to grips with reading later. I guess if I stick to real basic notation My reading will speed up. Also the music for beginners seems very robotic or is it just me. Pete

[hfmadopter]

Many Thanks for you response. I can read a small amount of music. I know note values and notes in the main staffs. timings and the like but it takes me ages to get to grips with things as there seems to be so much to think about. I just thought if I could play some stuff by ear at first then get to grips with reading later. I guess if I stick to real basic notation My reading will speed up. Also the music for beginners seems very robotic or is it just me. Pete

Well you need some robotics starting out ! That's how you build two handed coordination on the keyboard early on. Musicality will enter the scene along the way, believe me.

[bernadette60614]

When I began to learn, our teacher used Alfred's Beginner Piano Books One and Two.  They are very basic, but I think you'll find they'll give you a nice start.

[mahlermaniac]

I second Alfred. I have the Adult beginner all-in-one course book, volume 1.  It is super basic, but something you can actually progress through fairly quickly if you've the ability to. It does a good job pulls technique together with actual fragments of songs so you feel like you're doing something meaningful.

Also, a lot of Christmas music or pop music has "easy" piano versions. you might want to look online for some and get started on that.

[peteh]

Many thanks for all the advice. I think I may have put the wrong title though as what I was really asking was what I can do with what I have already learned. I am trying to approach the piano in two ways one with basic music reading and the other playing by ear. Pete

[mahlermaniac]

Musicnotes.com has sheet music available to buy, as do other sites. If you want an individual song, you can look it up by name. Maybe select "easy piano" to start with and go from there? That'll give you the satisfaction of playing actual songs

[bernadette60614]

For me, I just went to the local Barnes and Noble and looked through the piano section and chose the "Easy" versions of whatever I most liked to hear.  So, "easy" versions of classics.  I assigned myself the goal of learning one a month, so after doing my Alfred's assignment I'd work on learning one of the "easy" version of a classic piece. 

Technical exercises are wonderful but I think what makes a practice session a treat is actually learning a piece of music you like to listen to.