Piano has overtaken guitar .....

axisus

Seems weird, but for the first time since my teens piano has overtaken guitar as my main interest. I'm picking up a guitar only once or twice a week at the moment, but I'm on the piano several times every evening or all over the weekend. 

Two inspirations - my eldest daughter took it up a few years ago and has been getting on exceptionally well. She bypassed all the boring learning stuff and just dived in to learning complicated songs with youtube as help. Also I bought an old clavinova a month or so ago and it is lovely to play.

I'm some way off my motor skills of 30 years ago, but other things I can do better now. It just feels like ....fun!

Freebird

I wish I hadn't bypassed all the boring learning stuff when I was a young lad   

thecolourbox

Piano is an amazing instrument and much more interesting to me musically. Guitar is just better for gadgets, toys, and shiny things, and it's easier to look cool playing a guitar than a piano

ICBM

I thought you were going to say that piano has overtaken guitar as the most commonly used instrument in popular music…

And it wouldn't surprise me if it has.

Ravenous

I have to confess the music I listen to these days is mostly old classical piano stuff. (Bach & Beethoven mainly.)  Astonishing depth in the music...

I probably play my (cheap digi) piano more than guitars at the moment too.

Funkfingers

Piano playing requires dexterity and application - two reasons why I have never been much good at it. (The Brian Eno expression, "non-musician", springs to mind.) Using semi-weighted plastic keys to trigger synthesizers and samplers is my limit.

ThePrettyDamned

I used to play, but it required such investment of time for me - I found it very difficult. 

My greatest achievement was learning arabesque no 1 by Debussy. I love it as a piece of music, but it was bastard hard to play - lots of triplets in the right hand and doublets in the left. 

It remains, for me, the finest instrument ever conceived for solo music. A great player performing great music can get some amazing expression and emotion from it. 

Good luck! 

VimFuego

piano is great, taking one to a jam or session is a pain. Though I guess drummers have similar issues.

ThePrettyDamned

VimFuego said:

piano is great, taking one to a jam or session is a pain. Though I guess drummers have similar issues.

Technically, a piano is classified as 'percussion' so perhaps it's time to tell the drummer it's his responsibility to bring the baby grand along?

OilCityPickups

I started off with piano lessons as a kid ... and can still hammer out some boogie ... just. I love the harmonic complexity of the instrument ... I hate it's static nature and lack of 'sex' :-)

octatonic

<insert keytar picture>

Nomad

TheGuitarWeasel said:

... and lack of 'sex' :-)

octatonic said:

<insert keytar picture>

Aye, case in point.

I got into piano when I woke up one day and realised I had stopped playing guitar. Found it harder than I expected, so it waned a bit and I eventually got back into guitar (although a Hammond appeared in middle of that). I still like messing about on keys, though.

thecolourbox

ThePrettyDamned said:

My greatest achievement was learning arabesque no 1 by Debussy. I love it as a piece of music, but it was bastard hard to play - lots of triplets in the right hand and doublets in the left. 

Nice cup of tea, nice cup of tea

That's the rhythm I always used for the three over two thing.

I always used to enjoy a good hemiola as well

frank1985

I'd love to be able to play the piano properly - my current skills are limited to sequencing simple melodies while I run them through a gazillion fx pedals.

thomasw88

I started playing piano again last year.   just sat my grade 3 exam.  I find piano far more rewarding to play solo.  Guitar never really interests me unless i'm playing in a band situation.

axisus

thomasw88 said:

I started playing piano again last year.   just sat my grade 3 exam.  I find piano far more rewarding to play solo.  Guitar never really interests me unless i'm playing in a band situation.

Yes, I'd agree with that. Acoustic guitar is not so bad, but electric feels like it needs something else going on most of the time.