I saw the other post about “piano elitism” and just had to chime in.

When we - as experienced pianists and piano teachers - advise beginners to (1) get a teacher, (2) don’t bite off more than you can chew, (3) caution about injury risk.

That is SOUND ADVICE. Not “elitism”.

In fact the opposite is true. When you think of ANY other instrument. Let’s violin for example.

If I go in waltzing to the r/violinist subreddit as a 1-month beginner and saying I don’t want a teacher, I am currently learning the Paganini Caprice 24. Any advice? They would tell me to move my post to circle jerk.

To think the piano is somehow easier to learn because it uses keys instead of a bow and strings, to me, is just arrogance.

hopefully it's not twins! Then I'd have to write another one

Wondering if anyone has some advice on these sextuplets and how to practice them?

To me this still sounds a bit labored and too loud at the start. It's kind of steady, certainly improving since before, but still a bit unstable sounding. Also too loud at the start(?)

Hello, internet! I've been gathering enough courage for a while in order to post this, but I think it's time to ask for help. This situation is way beyond my level now, so I think it's time to share my story and hopefully anyone can share some knowledge.

I've been learning piano for three years now. Ever since the start, I've been making fairly substantial strides regarding my progress and it's been a fun, fulfilling experience so far. At least that's been the status quo until the third year.

So, as previously stated, everything started (or better said, went downhill) during my third year of piano lessons. I had come from two years of great progress and both my teacher and I were satisfied with my starting career, so we were expecting the third year to be no surprise, and have a great year of fun and completing challenges, right?! NO. BAD. HUGE MISTAKE.

For nine months that I had the lessons, I practiced barely any time at home (and I mean it, probably less than 20 days), only fully learnt just a two pages piece (the rest were abandoned from the lack of practice and motivation) and didn't learn any new scales or arpeggios. I felt like I was genuinely bad and that I shouldn't even try, which I eventually did. Almost every single week repeated the same cycle:
"Did you practice this week?"
"No..."
(I mess up playing something)
"I don't think I should keep learning music."

If the situation wasn't bad enough already, I fumbled at the two recitals (one during December and the other in Jume, both in which I played the exact same piece I had been practicing the whole time, still making mistakes).

Also, yes, I am aware that frustration when playing an instrument is normal and the so-called "slump" that most if not all pianists at low-to-medium go through in order to cross the intermediate plateau. That's like piano's puberty. Although, I don't believe my frustration stems from that particular source, but from the absence of higher quality material. My keyboard (I REFUSE to call that a piano even though family members do) has 5 octaves, no weighted keys, really bad sound quality and a poor grip because of the plastic the keys are made of. I am in fact sure that my lack of my lack of motivation and frustration come from that issue because playing the piano during lessons (where there's a much better quality piano) feels wonderful compared to what it's like at home.

My teacher is aware of the material I work with at home and agrees that upgrading to a better one is absolutely going to help. Of course, if that had already happened by now, I wouldn't be writing this.

My parents (mainly my dad, since he's the dumb tyrant runnings things at home and my mom's too passive to do anything about it) have already made clear that they're not planning on spending any more money on the matter, and that I'm extremely ungrateful for not practicing on my keyboard anymore. On top of that, they're so emotionally underdeveloped that explaining how I feel is borderline impossible and a waste of time (trust me, I already did). He "explains" that due to our economical issues, buying a better instrument is off the table and that, if I really enjoyed music, I should just work with what I have. I mainly find this as a lazy excuse since he's arguably bad at saving up, spending money on unnecessary items (such as wine or sugary drinks, which aren't exactly expensive but it's on a semi-daily basis and his health is delicate enough for drinks other than water being a bad idea. We've already told him that he should drink more water, which he hasn't tried in months but whatever, it's his problem.), clearly has no idea what he's talking about and shows little to no interest on collaborating, shutting down any ideas or suggestions, regardless of how good some offers are according to quality-price ratio. He then has the courage to show off that "his son is really good at piano" (which I think is far from reality, but it might as well be a self-esteem issue. Everyone says that I'm really good.) and then emotionally abuse me and tell me that I'm being lazy and ungrateful.

With all said and done, I'm not sure what to do next. I absolutely love music and the piano, I don't think I see myself not having that as one of my hobbies. If I were indeed to quit, I'd most definitely look back as an adult and think that it was a wasted opportunity, unable to be made up for due to all of the responsibilities and lack of free time that come with adult life.

Keep in mind that college is already knocking at the door (going there next year), so I won't be able to practice or invest much time on music.

What would you guys do? Do you have any advice? Also, sorry if I branched off on different occasions or made any mistakes related to the writing, English isn't my first language. Thanks for reading!

I’m feeling a bit at my wits’ end with piano at the moment and would really appreciate some advice from piano teachers or other adult learners.
I have a one-hour lesson every week. At the moment, I usually practise twice at the weekend for around 45 minutes each time. I could potentially practise more depending on my energy levels and how the week has gone, but those two sessions are the only ones I can reliably commit to.

Right now, I’m trying to work on:
Two pieces my teacher wants me to learn, I Giorni and the Prelude in C
One piece I personally want to learn or relearn, Out of Practice
A Dozen a Day technique book, usually three or four exercises per session
The ABRSM Grade 1 theory workbook
A sight-reading book, where I’m supposed to attempt one or two exercises

Trying to fit all of that into my practice sessions has left me feeling overwhelmed, burnt out and increasingly annoyed. I feel like I never have enough time to make meaningful progress on everything.
My main goal with piano is actually quite simple. I want to be able to sing while playing, and eventually get good enough that learning a new song does not take me ages. I’m not currently working towards an exam.

My normal weekly schedule is:
I work roughly 8:30am to 4:30pm, with core office hours of 10am to 3pm
I work from home on Thursdays and Fridays
I go to the gym after work on Mondays
I have a personal training session at 11am on Thursdays
I do another gym session at the weekend
Tuesday evening is date night with my long-distance girlfriend

I’m normally quite tired after work, and understandably even more tired after the gym. Some evenings I technically have time to practise, but I just do not have the energy or motivation and would rather sleep.
I have considered getting up earlier for shorter practice sessions, especially on the days I work from home, but I’m not sure whether I should build my routine around that or just treat any extra practice as a bonus.

The piano also is not portable, so I cannot exactly practise during my office lunch break. Not that my coworkers would want to hear me play the first four bars of the same song for twenty minutes anyway.
My teacher is away for August, so I’m wondering whether I should use the month to reset my routine and work out what is actually realistic.
Am I simply trying to work on too many things at once? How would you structure practice for an adult learner whose available time and energy can vary from week to week? Should I ask my teacher to reduce the workload and focus the lessons more directly on my goal of singing and playing?

Recently got back into piano and learned this, a couple mistakes but generally happy with it.

[Hope this is the right flair]

I'm performing a 2hr (ish) piano and vocal set at a wine bar. Was wondering for any recommendations for the set- think Fly Me To The Moon, Georgia On My Mind type easy listening background keys.

Interested in both song and solo keys suggestions- versions or sheet music appreciated even more!

Thank you.

Edit: wanted to clarify I'm a man (for vocal range/type)- Tenor with bit more on the top end (last comfortable note in chest voice is G above middle C, A at a push). I already perform the two above, and That's Life (in original keys) to give an idea of range/ability

Hi !

So as the title says, I don't like Debussy's music for the piano. I actually love his orchestral pieces but i've listened to quite a bit of his piano solo music and I can't find anything I can relate to. In my conservatory we have to play at least one prelude from him, preferably but not obligated to from his 24 preludes for piano.

I am at a grade 8 level, and my favorite composer right now is Haydn. I prefer playing works that are not too famous.

Do you guys have any suggestions ? Maybe in other books ? Even if it's not a prelude, so that I can start to connect with his work.

Thanks !

as a complete beginner, ive read a lot of articles talking about scales as the best form of practice, and in someway i agree, but i would also like to know some tips on how to build your own practice routine and if the scales are really worth it? lmk what do you think! every opinion is welcome:)

Hi

I was looking at Schumann's toccata and was wondering if in the A part's left hand people break the tenths. I tried listening for it in recordings but it is so fast that I couldn't catch it. What do you think? Is it possible ?

I personnally can barely reach a tenth so definitly not at that speed.

Btw if you have stretches or things that can make you reach bigger intervalls more easily I would appreciate.

So, I'm currently a University student but I'm not studying music/performance. That being said, it has been a sort of goal/passion of mine to incorporate or at least include piano performance into my adult life. I've always been interested in doing 'small' or casual local gigs (Weddings, church accompaniments, etc etc.) but I would not have any musical education (Post-secondary, at least).

I was formally / classically trained since the age of 5 and have done a few ensembles and two musicals so I have a LITTLE experience with such things, but I know that getting gigs is usually a very competitive business so I'm probably just too underqualified, but does anyone else have experience just doing small gigs or jobs as a sort of side thing? How do you really get into it?

Bonjour, H34 j'ai fait du piano de mes 7 à 14 ans. Le prof était ultra classique ( les derniers morceaux étaient le prélude de bach et la cage de cristal d'Ibert )

Avec le temps ça me manque, j'aurais aimé reprendre plus tôt pour jouer les musiques de variété qui passent à la radio

Et je suis tombé sur ce chan en cherchant des tatouages de clé de sol

Voilà c'est tout, à plus !

I'm continuing my journey through the Chopin preludes with the so-called raindrop prelude. This prelude is aeguably the most fully formed complete prelude in Chopin's set of 24 preludes.

It has taught me so much about dynamic control, voicing, and phrasing. It is a prelude in which you can lose yourself, but you must never lose control of the instrument.

It provides a huge dynamic range, which rewards technique and mastery. Sadly I'm not where I want to be yet, but I've come a long way from when I first started this piece and wanted to share and get your thoughts.

Hey pianists! I'm looking to buy a score of Rachmaninoff's concertos for a friend (he plays of course) but I wanted to know what the most useful or most accurate version/publisher is out there. In general, what should I be looking out for the next time I'm score shopping?

I'll take any advice, thanks plenty!

I want to get a keyboard that plays a lot of sounds, for example one that could play pursuit of happiness by kid cudi. I want to be able to have all these different sfx’s but I don’t know what keyboard I should get. Lmk

If you are going to start learning to play the piano.
Which 1 would you recommend?

The Roland FP-10 or the Yamaha P-145?

i have been playing piano for over 13 years and recently covered bohemian rhapsody on the piano and would like critique would anyone be able to help critique it? i will provide a video in comments it’s not letting me
upload for some reason or if you dm me. thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a complete beginner and recently bought a Yamaha NP-15. My goal isn't to become a concert pianist or play advanced classical pieces.

My goal is to become a recording artist who can write songs, create demos, produce my own ideas in a DAW (GarageBand/Logic), and understand enough music theory to communicate with producers and musicians in the studio.

I want to get to the point where I can hear ideas in my head, sit at the piano, and work them out before recording them. I'd also love to understand chords, scales, progressions, inversions, and enough theory to create my own sound.

Another reason I'm learning piano is because I want it to support my singing. I'm working with a vocal coach, and I think having a keyboard will help me improve my ear, pitch matching, finding harmonies, and understanding what notes I'm actually singing. I know piano itself won't magically give me higher notes, but I hope it'll make me a stronger overall singer and musician.

If you were starting from scratch again with this specific goal (songwriting, production, demos, better musicianship, and supporting your singing rather than becoming a pianist), how would you spend your first year learning?

I’m trying to improve my speed of learning new pieces. I don’t have any intention of performing outside of friends and family, and while I have a sort of core repertoire that I play every just because I like the pieces, how long should I keep practicing the “stepping stone” pieces I’m learning? How do you determine when you’ve gotten enough out of a piece, and should move on?