Piano is hard

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  • pintspillerpintspiller Frets: 994
    Piano is hard and so is my dad. He could beat up your dad. Easy.
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  • Benm39Benm39 Frets: 696
    An interesting thread! Like @thecolourbox I've been a long time piano student. I taught myself a little bit of guitar over the years but being so used to piano there are things I find really difficult about the guitar... not least that the same pitch note might appear in 6 places on the fretboard hehe... on a piano middle c is middle c, ain't but the one of them,  so learning to visualise scales in boxes and different positions is quite alien,  even coming from playing scales in thirds or sixths... it's just a question of what you're used to I suppose but it's also amazing just what you can get your head and hands around with some regular practice and taking time to do things slowly. Enjoy the journey as much as the destinations etc. 
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  • What I'm struggling with is the two hands thing. Not so much playing different things, but playing them at different times. There's a piece I can play with my right hand, and my left hand, and I can just about play the two lines at the same time - but only if I ignore the timing. It's designed to improve my understanding of syncopation, but I'm really struggling to time it right.

    Having said all of that, I can't help feeling that more practice time would make a huge difference... 
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • thegummythegummy Frets: 4389
    The actual physicality is just as hard to learn as when one first lessens guitar.

    But the way the notes are arranged and not repeated like they are on guitar is so natural for me. Might just be the way my particular brain works but I just find the piano keyboard to make so much sense. I always use it as a mental reference.

    Even when singing, I mentally picture piano keys to remind me what note I'm trying to sing; I remember my singing teacher finding that a really cool quirk.
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  • That is a very good technique if you can pull it off, I'm impressed.

    I actually find the separation of left and right hand actions to be so much more difficult than it was on the guitar. The rhythm is the same on the guitar - you change chords/left hand fingering in fingerstyle at the same time as you move the the right hand fingers. Whereas on the piano, the two can often be completely different, and that's what's stymying me at the moment.
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • It's just practice the same way it became instinctive on guitar. One line at s time, one hand at a time (your left will require more than your right if you're right handed). Keep going over the left hand bit and you'll do it from muscle memory and build up the strength and flexibility.

    If you watch the chap from the Doors you'll see his left hand playing is almost trance like because that's the only way he could free up both hands to do their bit. Jools Holland even does to a certain extent when playing boogie woogie. Really concentrate on the left hand part by itself until you can do it in that kind of trance like state then the right will be a lot easier over the top
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • There's no question you're right, it's almost all down to practice, the trouble is trying to find enough time (just like everything else, really :-S)
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • greejngreejn Frets: 127
    Keep it simple, play like Carole King!
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  • Well yes, but will I still love it tomorrow?
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • SpringywheelSpringywheel Frets: 941
    edited September 2020
    I’ve been playing a few months....what I’m finding difficult is internalising all scales, triads and arpeggios in every key. C, G, D, A, E and B are relatively straight forward as they more or less share the same fingering, but the keys starting on black keys are pretty inconsistent in how they’re fingered. triad inversions are a bit awkward too... roots are fine, but jumbling them up so either the third or the fifth is in the bass is a bit of a mind bender. I feel that actually learning all the 3rd and 5th intervals in every key would help here, as much of a pain in the ass that will be. 
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10356
    I’ve been playing a few months....what I’m finding difficult is internalising all scales, triads and arpeggios in every key. C, G, D, A, E and B are relatively straight forward as they more or less share the same fingering, but the keys starting on black keys are pretty inconsistent in how they’re fingered. triad inversions are a bit awkward too... roots are fine, but jumbling them up so either the third or the fifth is in the bass is a bit of a mind bender. I feel that actually learning all the 3rd and 5th intervals in every key would help here, as much of a pain in the ass that will be. 
    This is where being a guitarist actually comes in handy as so many guitar centric things are root and fifth .... so as a guitarist you know the 5th of A is E because you have played that a million times in power chords. 

    Likewise a guitarist should instantly know the 4th of anything, because it's the same fret on the next higher string (G to B string aside) 

    I think it really helps to see the notes while your playing them rather than thinking of the fingering positions like you might on a guitar. 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • HAL9000HAL9000 Frets: 9550
    rolls1392 said:
    I'm also dabbling with learning piano.
    I think doing different things with both hands is the hardest bit.
    Just gotta keep bashing away I think.
    Surely if you play guitar you’re already doing different things with both hands?
    I play guitar because I enjoy it rather than because I’m any good at it
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  • rolls1392rolls1392 Frets: 229
    HAL9000 said:
    rolls1392 said:
    I'm also dabbling with learning piano.
    I think doing different things with both hands is the hardest bit.
    Just gotta keep bashing away I think.
    Surely if you play guitar you’re already doing different things with both hands?
    Yes I thought that too, but on piano I get flustered. 
    With practice it's becoming easier.
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  • rolls1392 said:
    HAL9000 said:
    rolls1392 said:
    I'm also dabbling with learning piano.
    I think doing different things with both hands is the hardest bit.
    Just gotta keep bashing away I think.
    Surely if you play guitar you’re already doing different things with both hands?
    Yes I thought that too, but on piano I get flustered. 
    With practice it's becoming easier.
    Just as it did on guitar I'm guessing :) keep going with it, it's such a rewarding instrument once you battle through and it clicks
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • I've not even tried for months, now. It's not the piano that's the issue, it's me. I haven't even played the guitar for a few weeks. Just been constantly busy. I must do something about that tho, I've always wanted to learn to play it, and I feel like I was actually starting to get some somewhere, so I'm annoyed with myself about that. I'll need to get back to it.
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • JayceeJaycee Frets: 287
    Nyquist said:
    Same here. I make an attempt every few years to learn how to play properly and it's always painfully slow going. I am focusing on hammond organ this time around. Trying to learn Green Onions but even something as simple as Louie Louie is hard work (and it's only 3 chords).

    Can anyone recommend any good resources, Youtube teachers etc? Most sheet music and a lot of lessons I can find seem designed to play whole arrangement and vocal melody on the piano rather than what the keyboard player in a band would actually play.

    thanks

    "The Online Piano & Violin Tutor"  Alison Sparrow I found her vids on violin good, altjough I never kept up with playing,
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  • I'm going to learn to play.
    I just got my grade 2 result - distinction!  I'm well chuffed :)
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15475
    I'm going to learn to play.
    I just got my grade 2 result - distinction!  I'm well chuffed :)
    result! I've just started, literally yesterday. It was kinda on a whim, but mrs f always spoke about wanting to learn, so I thought I might give it a try. Got a yamaha keyboard and the Alison Sparrow book, so far so good, it's a lot easier than fiddle. Like, a million times easier, but I've yet to get to playing both hands at once, so that should be interesting. 

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • I'm going to learn to play.
    I just got my grade 2 result - distinction!  I'm well chuffed :)
    Wow, in just 4 months??? Well done, I'm impressed.

    But it also shows just how far behind I've allowed myself to become.
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • In my lessons, I'm playing only classical pieces, but I'd like to try a few simple (arrangements of) pop / rock songs. Does anyone have any suggestions of either songs to try, or places to get sheet music? On the latter, I signed up for a trial on Musescore. I found the quality of the scores pretty variable though.

    As for songs, here are a few I've been thinking about tackling:

    * Fall at your Feet - Crowded House
    * Nightswimming - R.E.M.
    * Ice Cream Man - Tom Waits
    * Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
    * One of these things first - Nick Drake
    * Everything in its right place - Radiohead
    * Bella Ciao - trad (from Money Heist)
    * Mad World - Gary Jules
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