Home
Piano Music
Piano Music Library
Top composers »
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Debussy
Grieg
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Mozart
Liszt
Prokofiev
Rachmaninoff
Ravel
Schubert
Schumann
Scriabin
All composers »
All composers
All pieces
Search pieces
Recommended Pieces
Audiovisual Study Tool
Instructive Editions
Recordings
PS Editions
Recent additions
Free piano sheet music
News & Articles
PS Magazine
News flash
New albums
Livestreams
Article index
Piano Forum
Resources
Music dictionary
E-books
Manuscripts
Links
Mobile
About
About PS
Help & FAQ
Contact
Forum rules
Pricing
Log in
Sign up
Piano Forum
Hot topics:
Bucket list of works??
Who is your favourite composer?
What do you play for pure enjoyment?
Home
Help
Search
Piano Forum
»
Piano Board
»
Student's Corner
»
Basic Questions for a "Beginner"
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
Topic: Basic Questions for a "Beginner"
(Read 1989 times)
aboocher
PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 3
Basic Questions for a "Beginner"
on: February 03, 2005, 01:35:56 AM
Hello everyone,
I've put "Beginner" in quotes because I'm not truly a beginner. I played the Violin since grade school and taught myself basic piano. I can read music and have taught myself simple pieces such as Fur Elise, and Moonlight Sonata. The only problem is that I don't have a piano. I learned all those songs on my keyboard. Needless to say a piano is very different. I took a few lessons a few summer ago, but felt that i was wasting my money because i never practiced on a real piano because one wasn't available.
This year I'm at college and I decided to take music lessons from the music dept. They are 30 minutes a week. I went in and told my teacher I'd love to play the Fantasie Impromptu before I graduated (I'm a freshman now) and she said "oh no, you'll play it this year. bring it next time." She has me started on just the left hand, and I'm very skeptical that it will all pan out, but i'm learning to read music better and I think it is making my playing smoother. So all in all, we'll see how it goes.
But anyway, my question for you is this. Since I was never formally taught how to play a piano, I don't think my technique is very good. I have trouble playing softly, and when I do, I "miss" the notes, by which I mean I hit the keys but they make no sound. My teacher just told me to practice with equal finger weights, but I don't really know how to do that. A friend of mine told me to put my whole weight onto my hands. Does anyone have any advice so my left hand (which is the problem hand) can become even and smooth.
I'm using Hanon to try and correct these things on my own, but i may be engraining them into my playing style. I'll ask my teacher on Monday, but our time is so limited, I thought if you could help me it might make my next lesson more productive.
Thanks for your help.
Adam
Logged
xvimbi
PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 2439
Re: Basic Questions for a "Beginner"
Reply #1 on: February 03, 2005, 12:46:01 PM
Kudos to you for being able to formulate your goals. However, I doubt you'll get the most out of it if your teacher says you can play FI within a year, but doesn't show any technique. Chances are you'll accumulate a lot of bad habits if not even injuries. The same with Hanon; if these exercises are not properly demonstrated you'll run the risk of injuring yourself, particularly if you follow Hanon's instructions. There is really no way to learn proper technique other than from a qualified and knowledgeable teacher. Get the one you have to start from the basics, and I mean the very basics, like how to sit and how to stand, how muscles and joints work, etc. Now is the time to get a solid foundation in technique. That's much more important than being able to play an impressive piece within a few months. Good luck!
Logged
Sign-up to post reply
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up