So you thought you'd play piano, eh? (Pianos, Keyboards & Synths in general)

Member Name: imagin8or

Product:	Pianos, Keyboards & Synths in general
Date:	06/07/01 (481 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So expressive!, learn about music, improve yourself

Disadvantages: It doesn't come easily, all those notes

I'm a pianist. But not in public. Only to those whom I can trust not to laugh, or at least not obviously, when I play. I've got to Grade 7 ABRSM, which is pretty good. I also play the violin to Grade 7 ABRSM so I have something to compare against.

I began playing the piano whe I was about 10, which makes it 8 years I've been playing. The first 4 or 5 were long, slow, boring and annoying. You look at the music, play the notes one at a time and think 'I'm never gonna get to the end'. But you do. All it takes is practise. Mmmm. A nice cliché. But it is true. Many people give up before they've really got going. One of the best and worst things about the piano is that every one of your fingers can be playing a different note, and coordinating 10 things at a time isn't easy. It does take a long time to learn, but you get there. Don't be scared, most pieces are only a few notes at a time, but all of them need both hands.

Learning the piano goes through stages, like the violin. On both instruments you begin with your hand(s) in a fixed position, and everything comes from this position. On the violin this lasts longer, as you can do almost all the notes like this. On a piano, though, all you can manage is 10 notes. So once you've gained control of most of your fingers, you'll learn to move position. This changing of the position begins in the right hand, and progresses to both hands, and more frequently. Eventually, when you're really good, you can discard positions altogether. That's where it becomes difficult. When the hands are in a fixed position, all you have to do is work out what finger(s) you're pressing down next. When you have no positions, you have to know which fingers are being used next, their volume, the style and what note you have to play.

All that sounds very academic, and its called technique. When you learn, your knowledge of music grows with your prowess. Some people find
it easier than others to play from music, and it takes a while to understand what's going on, but the extra bits are explained as you work out how to play them. People tend to fall into two groups for music, and this applies to violin as well. Most people are either good at composing and ad libbing and not good at sight reading (playing music on first sight of it, no practise), or they are good at sight reading and not at the more creative stuff. More often than not the professionals are those who can sight read better, as that's what counts in a performance.

The piano will take a long time to learn. But if you get a good teacher, it can be great fun. All the time the music will seem too hard, and difficult to grasp or play. But that's because you always play something just too difficult initially, and as you manage it you feel more satisfaction and joy as you progress.

A note on grades/certificates. The accepted board of examiners is ABRSM - Associated Board of the Royal School of Music. They are the most established, and usually the choice for anyone who might be thinking of doing something official with the instrument, like becoming a professional player or teacher or something. The main scale is grades 1-8, with Grade 8 meaning you're about good enough to play almost anything (with practise, of course :) ). There are other boards that are often the better choice if you're not going professional, as they concentrate less on annoying things like scales and arpeggios, etc, and more on the pieces. I did ABRSM, but as it turned out I could have done something else, like Trinity instead without losing out.

I would heartily recommend learning to play the piano, if only for your own personal development. If you don't play an instrument, you'll find yourself a better person. Sounds odd, but playing music allows you to express yourself. I personally play several times a day, just chords and melodies as I feel them. I
t doesn't feel like it at first, but it'll come. As you get better, so will your compositions, as you learn about music itself.

Be enlightened... or something. Go on, enjoy yourself. Plus people (including potential partners) love it.

Enjoy.

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