Most useful features of this site for adult beginner?

[betreich]

Hi everyone. I am new to this site, joined today after reading student forums, current and historical, for a couple of weeks.
I started piano lessons January this year. The 1st 8 weeks in a group adult class, then 1:1 classes since March. My teacher has developed his own sight reading piano method, so that is how I am learning. I am recently retired and 60 yo. So enough of an intro of me!
My question...what features of this site do the you older beginners here find most useful? Thanks! 

[adodd81802]

Possibly the instructive piano pieces that Pianostreet provide, as you said your piano instructor has developed his own method, you may find it interesting to see ways of how to practice a piece from other providers

https://www.pianostreet.com/search/instructive-editions.php

The audition section of the forum so you can see other 'real' pianists perform, not so much for comparison, but so you can see not everybody is Lang Lang, and can't all afford the best pianos, the best sound system and the best teaching.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?board=9.0

And the anything-but-piano section of the forum so you can make new friends on a common interest.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0

I would stay away anything offering advice or leading you into unknown territory. At this stage, as still a beginner, the worst thing you can do is start seeking advice other than your own teachers (unless you think you are not progressing)

Hope that helps!

[betreich]

Thankyou for those suggestions, which I will check out. My teacher is excellent, no problems there. My piano is a Kawai es 8 digital, but I do my lessons on an acoustic piano. I would love an acoustic....if I am still making progress in a year or 2 maybe I will find a way to make that happen.

[keypeg]

I was going to write as an answer "the people".  I've gotten some very useful ideas by seeing what folks wrestle with and explore, and how they get at things.  But that is with a HUGE caveat - there's quite a few where I see what not to do.  And also, folks who make it look like they have great expertise and espouse "what one must do" with an air of absolute certainty, often seem to be blusterers who should have a sign saying "approach with caution".  So at the end of the day, I stand with Adodd, about sticking above all with your teacher and what s/he says.

I haven't looked at the resources too much.  I did once look at one of the pieces and the step by step advice on how to approach playing it, for a piece I had done with my own teacher. There were things he would have also said to do, but there were also things that were contrary to his advice, that he would not have wanted me to do - or in a different order - or at a different state of readiness. 

[bernadette60614]

Yourself.

You can ask anything here without being concerned about appearing foolish. Just those annoying little questions that you have as you continue to learn, you can ask them here.  And, sometimes getting a variety of answers to those annoying little questions lead to a big insight which can improve your experiences as a piano student.

By and large, the people here are enormously kind and are more than willing to provide answers to any questions from the emotional aspect of learning a challenging skill in adulthood to how (and if) to practice scales.

[betreich]

Thankyou Keypeg and Bernadette for your thoughts. I am feeling a bit isolated in this musical journey I have embarked on, and I am hoping that being a participant of this site will go some way to address that.  I am also rather musically uneducated in general, so looking forward to listening to some of the music files and hopefully improve my understanding and knowledge by doing that, as well as reading the forums which I have found interesting in content and also the many different personalities here!

[bernadette60614]

I hear you.  I know there was a time when playing an instrument was part of everyday life...now it is a rarity, if not an oddity.

Here, people don't find it odd if you stay awake nights thinking about a page of music, the correct positioning of your hands, whether you'll ever be good enough, and everything and anything in between.

We are around the same age, and I would say that one of the true joys of learning piano in adulthood is that it reintroduces you to the challenges of youth..the uncertainty, the fear of failures, the sweat and work of becoming proficient, only to discover that you need to sweat and work to become proficient at something new to take you to the next level.  However, with age, comes the certainty that if you stick with it, you'll make progress. No magic, just persistence.

Take care.  Enjoy the journey!

[keypeg]

I am feeling a bit isolated in this musical journey I have embarked on, and I am hoping that being a participant of this site will go some way to address that. 

In fact, you have pinpointed a very real problem for adults starting or restarting an instrument.  I think it's fantastic that these fora exist now.