The beginnings of a musical journey...

[jp26]

Hello,

I am brand spanking new to everything piano. I just purchased a Kurzweil SP88X digital piano (no room or money for a real one at the moment) to start a lifetime of learning this beautiful art. I am 27 years old and live in Southern California. The little music experience I have is on the guitar. I played in an underground metal band out of high school where I learned the songs by memory so I have no idea what key, chords, or notes I was playing. 
I would like to learn music theory and good technique. This includes sight-reading, theory, ear training, etc…I guess you can say the whole spectrum. All while having fun and playing pieces or songs I love. I plan on taking 30min. lessons once a week from an instructor a local independent music store and utilizing the vast amount of information on this here forum. I was amazed when I stumbled upon it during my research.

What are the very first books I should get as a complete beginner? I’ve seen multiple recommendations for people who have already been playing for at least a year.
How about someone like me?

Reading around, I see classical is the way to go as a foundation before branching out to other styles? I love classical music but I don’t know all the pieces by name like most here. It’s impressive. I read that the following were easy pieces to start with. Can anyone confirm?

Satie “Gymnopedies and Gnossienes”
Chopin’s Nocturnes
Beethoven “Moonlight Sonata”

I’m very excited to start this musical journey. Any recommendations or comments are much appreciated!

[terminal]

Get a teacher to start with, they will get you started on the right book.

For me I used the Faber adult series, if you make it all the way through and your still practicing over an hour each night in 18 months... well then it will probably become part of you.

Give up the TV also... it will give you the time you need to practice, for me it's after the kids bath time (7:30 pm) to ... say 10 - 10:30.

Good luck

[asyncopated]

Hi,

I started not too long ago as well (last year).  If you have no music experience whatsoever, Chopin, might still be slightly out of reach.  But some Satie and the frist movement of Beethoven moonlight and fur elise should be accessible soon.  If you are a careful about what you choose to play, you might want to hold back beethoven's sonatas for a while, until you can actually play the whole thing.

If you would like to buy scores to keep, instead of books you learn from and chuck aside after a while, I would recommend the following publishers

Baerenreiter
https://www.baerenreiter.com/cgi-bin/baer_V5_my/baerenreiter?op=newuid&ln=en&wrap_html=indexframe.htm


G. Henle Verlag
https://www.henle.de/

and

(SOME) Schirmer
https://www.schirmer.com/

In particular, look for Urtext versions, which means that the text was repreproduced from the original scores as accurately as possible.  Some Urtext editions are more difficult to use as there are no markings whatsoever.  However, there are some that suggest how you might want to play the piece, including suggestions for fingering.

If you are looking for music, I would recommend the following to start with.

Bach
Ana Magdalena notebook
Not everything in here is for piano, but a substantial amount is.  It's a beautiful collection of music to keep.

2 and 3 part invensions
I think Bernhard subscribes to learning 2 part inventions as soon as you are confortable reading notes.  I like that idea.  There are great resources on how to do this for the 1st 2-part invention in C major.  It is a great place to start and is sheer tour de force in of musical compostion.

Friedrich Burgmuller
25 Easy And Progressive Studies For Piano Op.100.  These are really fun pieces to play and should be accessible immediately, particularly the first 5 or 6.  Arabasque is fun!

Schumann
Album for the Young.  Same here it.  Soldier's march is great!

Haydn's Sonatas
If you can play bach, you might also want to consider one of the early Haydn sonatas.  They are a great introduction to sonatas, and are fantastic for learning how to produce a clear honest sound.

There are also other fantastic suggestions for the easiest possible pieces on this website.   Go ahead and explore and try out something you like!

Hope this helps

al.

[bernhard]

Make sure you read Chang’s book :

https://members.aol.com/cc88m/PianoBook.html

Also have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4140.msg38111.html#msg38111
(True repertory for total beginners)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4416.msg41105.html#msg41105
(nice slow romantic piece for beginner)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7008.msg80656.html#msg80656
(Beautiful music that is not hard to play)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2147.msg18098.html#msg18098
(Easiest piano piece ever written)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[chopintod]

Reading around, I see classical is the way to go as a foundation before branching out to other styles? I love classical music but I don’t know all the pieces by name like most here. It’s impressive. I read that the following were easy pieces to start with. Can anyone confirm?

Satie “Gymnopedies and Gnossienes”
Chopin’s Nocturnes
Beethoven “Moonlight Sonata”

First of all, glad to hear that you're starting.  Believe me, playing the piano is one of the most fun and rewarding things I do, if not THE most fun and rewarding, etc. etc. 

Second of all, let me say that, for a beginner, Chopin's nocturnes are a bit out of reach.  Chopin is my favorite composer, and his nocturnes are some of the most beautiful music out there (except, perhaps, for Chopin's etudes!  )  However, I didn't start learning them until a while into my piano journey.  While some of them may seem deceptively easy, a lot of them contain difficult, technical sections (even if most of the piece is relatively simple).  But by all means, try one!  There are books devoted to Chopin's nocturnes.  Find one in a library (or simply look online) and search for a simpler one, and try it!  But don't get depressed if you can't play it all. 

Thirdly, like Al said, try Beethoven's Fur Elise before you try the Moonlight Sonata; while the first movement of Moonlight certainly isn't too advanced, it may be a good idea to wait a bit until you can play the other movements (which are progressively more difficult).  And, Fur Elise is one of the most recognizable songs out there (c'mon, hum it with me: Dee-duh-Dee-duh-Dee dum-dee-dum-duh...).  Also, in addition to Al's suggestions, try to find a book of sonatinas; these are mini-sonatas (one movement instead of three), and many are playable shortly after starting.

Fourthly, listen to Bernhard!   

Fifthly, if you feel that your teacher is moving too slowly, ask him/her to speed up a bit...I'm currently feeling a bit disappointed that I didn't do this when I started.  I moved WAY too slow in the start....plodding through those horrific Alfred children's music books...didn't learn the A maj. scale till second year....

Sixthly (wow, this is a long post), enjoy!  If you feel yourself getting frustrated because a piece seems too difficult, take a step back!  Play something you already know before making another go at it!  And, whatever you do, don't lose the enjoyment factor. 

Good luck!

Terry

[jp26]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I have a pretty good idea where to begin now (by using your recommendations) and will continue to use this forum for guidance. I truly appreciate the members and the information they provide on this forum. It is one of the most thorough, informative forums I have ever come across. Hope everyone has a great day!

[tenn]

Don't neglect scales, arpeggios and sightreading. You'll have to start them sometime so make them a small part of your routine now.