Good beginner piano pieces

[guitarwolf]

Does anyone here have any suggestions on which pieces to go for first that help using both hands scales etc?

[Aurelio]

Songs or pieces?

Songs: I have no idea of what are we talking about.

Pieces:
- Anna Magdalena Bach's Notebook
- Bartok Microcosmos
- Easy Haydn Sonates
- The easiest Chopin Preludes
- There is a very very easy piece by Cesar Franck and it is wonderful: "The doll's lament" ("Les Plaintes d'une Poupee")
- Perhaps some Bach Invention
- What about some Burgmuller Etudes?

Good luck

[guitarwolf]

Ok sorry about the songs thing, just started playing piano and am used to guitar only. I guess I will start out with some chopin. Any way you can give me the names of some of the popular preludes so I can search for em?

[Aurelio]

The two easiest ones are:

• op. 28. No. 4 in E minor
  
• op. 28. No. 7. in A
  

I think No. 4 is the perfect one, an easy but very beautiful and enjoyable piece.

with your guitar experience and a good aptitude I think it's possible that piece won't be difficult despite your unexperience playing the piano.

[Aurelio]

But you can study more than one piece at one time.

I strongly reccommend you "the doll's lament" by Cesar Franck.

[Aurelio]

I have just read your post "using the thumb properly".

if you are already playing the Chopin Nocturne in C# minor, then forget all my previous posts!

In that case, you can play much more difficult pieces than those ones.

Tell me what are the pieces you are practicing and how confortable you feel with them, and I'll tell you other pieces you can play.

By the way, have you seen "the pianist"?...

[guitarwolf]

Actually yes I have seen the pianist, thats what got me started. I have been playing guitar for about 5-6 yrs and always wanted to play piano but thought it was too hard, but finally got started about 6 days ago after seeing the pianist and have been playing about 4-6 hrs a day but hurt my pinky finger from the chopin piece and couldnt play today its an odd tingling feeling:(. I am going to be practicing in intervels for sure now, dont wanna damage anything for good. Check out the RSI post for my details on it, its got me quite nervous. I still am trying to get the 15th measure down while playing the rhythm with my left, quite hard . Other than that I just started learning fur elise so I can practice with both hands with an easier piece like that but the pinky injury has stopped me. I also cant find the dolls lament but it sounds familiar. I heard Adrian Brody learned those few pieces in like 2 months so it really motivated me to play. Also one question, what is the technique called in the 5th measure of nocturne in C# minor. In guitar its just hammering, I am trying to get good at this but use the fingers like in the movie since I cant take lessons right now, the middle and thumb. So far so good but dont wanna pick up bad habits. Well if you have any suggestions for songs that will improve my L&R hand coordination that would be great too, along with those 100 other questions .

[amee]

guitarwolf,

That technique is called a trill.  In this particular piece I'd use the index and the third finger to do the trill.

[guitarwolf]

so trills are played with all different fingering then not just a set 2? Also whats a good way to practice em?

[amee]

Trills can be played with any fingers, and not just two.  Some people trill with 3 fingers to make it sound more lively.  To practice them, just do them slowly then gradually build up speed.  Don't try to count the number of notes in the trill as your fingers will remember them by themselves.  

[Aurelio]

I play that trill 3-2-3-2-3-2-...-1-2-3, like amee.

The kind of trill amee has refered, I think it's the Thalberg's trill. (it was "invented" by a great pianist of the Chopin and Liszt time named Thalberg).

An example could be playing the above trill with the following fingering:

3-2-3-1-3-2-3-1-3-2-3-1-3-2-...1-2-3

But it is not appropiate for that delicate trill in Chopin Nocturne.

I think the important thing is practicing trills keeping the tip of your fingers touching the surface of the keys all the time (without separate fingers from keys)

An useful exercice for you can be practicing trills in a lot of ways:

1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1
2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2
3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3
4-5-4-5-4-5-4-5-4-5-4-5-4
1-3-1-3-1-3-1-3-1-3-1-3-1
2-4-2-4-2-4-2-4-2-4-2-4-2
3-5-3-5-3-5-3-5-3-5-3-5-3
...etc.

You must always practice hands separate and when you start feeling any fatigue change to the other hand.

(this advice is useful for adquiring technique in all exercices you do)

Do you want to improve coordination playing hands together? The best advice is playing hands together once you master the passage hans separate.

and then work on very small sections so "your brain" can be 100% focus on the entire short section.
when you master several of these small sections you can practice 2 small-sections together... and so on.

If you practice with concentration you will get realize that it's impossible to practice more than an hour without a rest.

dont't use your pinky until it is ok. you have got 9 other fingers...

[guitarwolf]

Some very nice advice guys, my trills are getting alot better too. I thank you both. I find its alot more helpful to practice with breaks in regular intervals when my hands get tired. I find myself improving faster that way instead of 6 hour marathons. The pinky is feeling better but am going to let it rest some more, the tingling went away but it still feels oddly tired. I have been just practicing doing scales with all different fingering but when I learn the piece I just let my hands do the thinking Other than that I was wondering if either of you have any suggestions for practice exercises for warming up to prevent injury and exercises to increase speed and such. I am assuming the speed thing just comes with learning more difficult pieces.

[amee]

Definitely don't use your pinky until it is fully healed - if you try to play, you will just strain it even more.

Scales and arpeggios are some good exercises, same with Hanon and Czerny.  You can also try Chopin's excersise. Put your left hand #5 on the E below middle C, 4 on f#, 3 on G#, 2 on A#, 1 on C, do the same for the right hand. Stare at your fingers and lift #1 in both hands five times making sure your fingers are in the right "curved" position. Then try #2, 3, 4, 5. But, make sure the other four fingers are pressing down. This is really hard, especially with finger #4. Then you can try this excersize alternating fingers: 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2, 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3, 3-4, etc. Also, make sure that the other fingers are pressing down. This exercise is really good for the strength in the fingers, and making sure that the first joint is strong.  Thank you to amp for telling me about this exercise!

Do you mean "increase speed" as in increase the speed you play pieces?  If so, that only comes with practice.  Practice slowly with the metronome then gradually build up.  Don't try to play to quickly at first.

[guitarwolf]

So just asking but what your saying is its wrong to release your fingers from the keys while trilling?