Lessons

[nerisa]

Hi guys and gals,

 

I've been on lurker mode most of the time.

Right now, I just want to share that I followed the advice most of you gave, and that is to have a tutor and not resort to self-study. I've just had my first lesson last Saturday. My tutor was classically trained, but I'm learning keyboards and not piano from her.

 

Just want to know how your keyboard lessons were when you where just beginning. Any testimonials, traumatic stories , etc?

 

Thanks.

[nerisa]

Hi. I noticed no one posted something

I may not have been very clear about my post. Sorry coz I posted it when I was really in a hurry because the musicplayer site is blocked after lunch break in our office.

Well I'm just really excited about my keyboard lessons. I was inspired by you guys that is why I went for it, and followed some of the people's advice as well. I just wanted to hear some stories about how your lessons were, if the teacher/tutor was strict. How old were you then, and other details that you might wanna share with the group.

Thanks

[DafDuc]

What "method" is she using? If you have some mathematical aptitude, the Robert Pace method is very cool.

[marino]

Nerisa, I don't want to detract from the enjoyment you're having, and you've definitely done the right thing by deciding to take lessons. Just one observation: From a purely technical/physical standpoint, studying piano technique on a real piano or a (good) weighted keyboard makes a lot of difference. If you're practicing on an unweighted keyboard, it's a one-way road; the moment you need to play real piano, you're in trouble.

So, are you practicing on a weighted (piano-like) or unweighted (synth-like) keyboard?

[marino]

Double post! Sorry.

[BluesKeys]

Good luck with the lessons, you will probably find that they move too slow. As adults we want instant gratification, but stick with it. Don't hesitate to change teachers also. I had 6 teachers in 8 years. Now I don't recommend that many, I moved twice in that time, but I did learn more from some teachers than others. Find one who teaches to your strengths, if have figured those out yet.

 

Welcome to the forum nerisa.

[Soundquest]

I learnt to play on synth keys before moving to weighted ones, but if I had a chance to do it all over again I would choose the other way round. Even if you dont have weighted keys your teacher, having a classical background, can teach you on a proper piano then you do your own practice on synth. I envy guitarists for always having the real thing.

[Jessica T]

Congrats! I am just starting out with a teacher too. He is classically trained, and mostly enjoys listening to lassical music, but seems to be open-minded about other genres. My first lesson was several weeks ago. I enjoy his liberal approach but am pleased that he shows attention to detail. He's having me work from a book designed for toddlers in order to correct my technique, yet he's also introducing other concepts such as chord progressions and scales that will help build my more complex skill level. He also likes to inform me about the history of composers or instruments or the time period which they first came to be. I too only have synth-action keys to practice on, but my teacher is strongly encouraging me to seek weighted action to practice on. I'm working on finding a nice, weighted keyboard for this reason. Good luck and hope you have as much fun as I'm having!

[nerisa]

Originally posted by marino:

Nerisa, I don't want to detract from the enjoyment you're having, and you've definitely done the right thing by deciding to take lessons. Just one observation: From a purely technical/physical standpoint, studying piano technique on a real piano or a (good) weighted keyboard makes a lot of difference. If you're practicing on an unweighted keyboard, it's a one-way road; the moment you need to play real piano, you're in trouble.

So, are you practicing on a weighted (piano-like) or unweighted (synth-like) keyboard?

Right now, what I have at home is an unweighted keyboard and a piano. I practice mostly with the keyboard since the piano is out of tune. But yes I did have difficulty since my tutor used a piano in our first lesson. I had some difficulty adjusting my fingers. So I would probably do exercises on the piano just to get the feel of weighted keys again. And I gotta find a piano tuner soon

[nerisa]

Originally posted by Jessica Tomlinson:

Congrats! I am just starting out with a teacher too. He is classically trained, and mostly enjoys listening to lassical music, but seems to be open-minded about other genres. My first lesson was several weeks ago. I enjoy his liberal approach but am pleased that he shows attention to detail. He's having me work from a book designed for toddlers in order to correct my technique, yet he's also introducing other concepts such as chord progressions and scales that will help build my more complex skill level. He also likes to inform me about the history of composers or instruments or the time period which they first came to be. I too only have synth-action keys to practice on, but my teacher is strongly encouraging me to seek weighted action to practice on. I'm working on finding a nice, weighted keyboard for this reason. Good luck and hope you have as much fun as I'm having!

Hi Jessica. It's cool you're taking lessons too. It's quite odd actually coz I feel like a beginner again. I had piano lessons when I was 9 then I stopped when I was 11 or 12. Now, my teacher is teaching mostly kids and she's probably adjusting to an adult student. So the way she says "Good" makes me feel I'm a kid hehe.

Hope you're enjoying too. Thanks for sharing.

 

Soundquest, thanks for sharing your insights too

[Jazzwee]

Hi Nerisa, what genre of music are you planning on playing? That kind of affects the advise that people will say.

 

One thing I have learned is that the teacher must have (a) knowledge of the genre in question, (b) must have experience in preparing a lesson plan. My first teacher was sort of a "show me" kind of guy. He was showing me what I asked him to show me. I had a laundry list of issues and we hit it one at a time. Then I went home and copied it. It wasn't "teaching" in the true sense. The problem with this style is that I was driving the lesson.

 

I have learned since to go to people who actually know how to teach. Being a good musician is not enough of a credential to be a good teacher.

 

In my genre, which is currently jazz, it is complex enough as it is, and the absence of direction was frustrating.

 

So I eventually got a different teacher. One who was actually well known. It cost a lot more but it was worth it. At the early stage this is not as critical but be prepared to make a jump when the times arrives in your development.

 

And I echo the comment about Weighted keyboards. When learning, stick to weighted or you will not develop control, dynamics, and good tone. This will limit your genre choices later on.

[Wylie2112]

As with anything, finding the right teacher is paramount. I was going down the self-taught route about 4 years ago and not getting very far. So, I looked for a teacher. Found a an older, experienced guy's card at a local store and went to see him. I told him I was specifically interested in learning blues and improvisation, had no interest in classical. He asked what I had done so far, did a bit of an audition to see what I knew, then proclaimed that he only knew how to teach me the "proper" way which meant starting out at Level 1 with a children's classical book, doing loads of scales and exercises, progressing up to Level 5 (which I might reach in 5 years if I worked hard), then, and only then, would he teach me how to play blues and improvise. Needless to say I left his place and never looked back. It did set me back a few years, though, because I then lost the drive to find another teacher and got on to other things.

 

New teacher I just got is about 25 and is into a vast array of modern music. Much more importantly, he's incredibly enthusiastic and infectious. While he doesn't have much blues experience, he's enjoying learning it to teach me as much as I'm enjoying learning it to play it. This means we're both having a great time and discovering things all the time. And we haven't used a book or a single piece of sheet music yet - he's teaching me to play by ear and to literally play around with rhythms, tempos, basslines, expression, melodies, etc. It's not very structured, but for what I want to learn it's working out really well. I'm much more inclined to have a play and discover things now than I might have been with a more formal teaching method. With figuring out melodies and basslines, I'm learning what doesn't work as much as what does and the learning process has been great.

 

So, a bit of a long story to say "well done" for finding a good teacher and to say "stick with it" and if it isn't right, find someone else.

 

On the keyboard-vs-piano front, I've not got that much experience but what I can say is this: I'm really keen on the piano sound and have found the visceral experience of playing on a real piano blows my keyboard away. That's made an enormous difference to my desire to play. My lessons are held at a piano shop so I can choose from about 2 dozen to play. I found a Gors and Kallman that I really like and I spend all week thinking about my lesson and being able to play that piano again. Also, my desire is to be able to just sit at a piano I find anywhere and play. I'm not sure I'd be able to do that if I'd only ever learned keyboard technique on an unweighted keyboard.

 

On the weighted-key issues, I just bought a Casio Privia PX-310 just for it's weighted keys. I'm having a blast with it and enjoy it so much more than my unweighted keyboard. It's also good because I can play it with headphones for the benefit of my neighbors!

 

Anyway, another $.02 worth.

 

Cheers and happy playing!

Wylie

[Jessica T]

Jazzwee, what if you're not quite sure what style you want to play? I am currently in the situation where I sort of want to "take on the world", meaning that I want to play a bit of blues, jazz, rock 'n roll, country, latin, and yet a bit of classical too. I'd like to be able to play a few classical pieces, but I mainly want to focus on the wide world of other genres. I want to have good, solid technique though. I'm just stumped as to which particular genre I'd like to specialize in. My teacher seems to come in with some pretty good lesson plans that are guided, but not quite as formulaic as some others can be. I too have a laundry list of issues I'd like to resolve, and I sometimes ask him about them. So we kind of meet in the middle when it comes to that area.

 

Nerisa, I'd be interested to hear what your musical interests would be as you study. I definitely agree, you should find a good tuner ASAP, ha ha. I really don't mind learning as though I am a child sometimes. After all, it's good to be a kid at heart.

[Jazzwee]

Hi Jessica,

 

If you like a lot of genres then it sounds like a generalist kind of teacher that you describe is working for you. By lesson plan, I don't mean formulaic for sure. Certainly my lessons never were. In fact they were always adapted for my skills. But what I mean is that the teacher knew exactly what to teach and how to teach it.

 

Examples of things that have to be taught are basics: technique (control, dynamics, tone), basic chords and scales,

 

advanced: music theory (modes, voicings ), styles (solo piano, group playing), time/rhythm, arrangement, recording, improvisation, composition.

 

Basics can be taught by any good teacher in any genre, i.e. a generalist. But it may be boring if exercises are in a particular genre. Usually you want to do exercises in the genre that interests you. When you get to the advanced level, you will need a specialist.

 

I had a specialist for both basic and advanced. Actually, my basics teacher taught both classical and jazz and he was a pro jazz musician. But he did not know how to teach jazz. Because he himself started off with classical music, he tried to teach me the traditional way. Scales. More Scales. Hanon. The rest he did by showing me. It ended up like a private jazz show. It wasn't teaching.

 

I'm no big fan of fruitless scale playing, or spending hours and hours on hanon. I tried to focus my learning time on actual jazz tunes. I would only spend time on scales when I needed to develop a skill, like at the beginning. Or now when I'm trying to build speed. But never just for the sake of doing it. I did one hanon exercise and will probably never do it again. But I will play a complex written jazz solo over and over because it applies to me.

 

Because I been careful to pick and choose what I do, I have learned to play piano at an extraordinary pace. I am not young so I don't have the luxury of taking 20 years to learn this. Also, I played guitar before so I was already a musician but I didn't know music theory or how to read music. I was an ear player. So I was really starting from scratch.

 

My next teacher truly knew how to teach. He worked me with a whip. Music is hard hard work. He was very focused on fixing identified deficiencies. It didn't hurt that he was a virtuouso jazz pianist himself.

 

Hope this little story helps.

[musicalaccents]

Hi Nerisa. First off, congrats on taking that first step. I would hope that your teacher will incorporate the subtlties of theory & musicianship into your lessons along with learning the basic technique and reading music. What I mean by that is...if you are studying a piece of music, not only learn what the notes are, but what the relationship those notes are to the actual theory behind the music. Yes, you probably will learn this theory in Alfred's Piano Books or something comperable, but learning the 'behind the scenes' of pieces you are working on will help you more than just homework. Also, hopefully, he or she will have you start writing simple songs...depending on their method...it could be writing something similar to pieces you are playing. I know this may be a little far off, but once you become accustomed to playing your major & minor scales in all keys, I would also suggest investing in "Daily Technique Studies" by Carl Beringer.

[nerisa]

Hi. Thanks for all your insights.

I just had one session with my teacher, and I'll be able to know if her technique is right after a few months perhaps.

 

Jessica, as for the musical interests I'd like to explore, I'm kinda like you. I want to try different things. But perhaps, mostly I want to play ballads, some pop, classical and a bit of jazz.