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| Do I need a piano in order to take lessons? | | Absolutely. An electronic keyboard like a Casio or Yamaha is OK for a beginner to learn the layout of the keys, but it won’t push back when you play. You need a real wooden weighted piano action with some resistance to begin developing a pianist’s touch. This is vital for young children, as they need to start building their reflexive responses right away. |
| What is a good age to start lessons? | | Through my experience, I would recommend starting at ages 6-9, depending on the child’s ability to think the musical alphabet sequence forward and backwards, their ability to hear music and identify what they hear, and their ability to sit at a piano for half hour segments with full attention. Older students are welcome to begin as well. It never seems to come as easy to adult beginners, but you can learn to play. You need regular practice like everyone else, and you need to stick with it for at least a couple of years to achieve a level of basic ability |
| How long until I can play Fur Elise? | | Or, as a student once asked me, Furry Leaves. I cannot give a standard answer to this question, as everyone is different. Some people are born with innate musical ability and it comes easily to them. Some have to work harder to get to the same level. One of my FAQ’s to you is: How much are you playing every day? Those who put in the hours at the piano will progress the quickest. Do you attend your lesson every week? Are you playing carefully and correctly? Are you doing many repetitions? Are you relentless? Can you imagine yourself eventually playing the piece your working on? Are you patient? It’s hard to see yourself grow on the piano. It takes time. Progress is usually measured in months and years, not by days and weeks. Oh, and as for Fur Elise, ya know, there are actually other compositions out there…… |
| Will I have to learn how to read music? | | Oh yeah, you bet. It will be one of the best things you’ll ever learn. Finding and naming notes on the staff is not difficult at all, learning and counting rhythms is more challenging, but you tend to see most of the same rhythm patterns throughout all the music you play, so you become familiar with them. |
| Can I just learn rock or jazz? Why do I have to play Mozart and Chopin? | | I know…you ask this question because you think that popular music is easier to play than classical. Have you tried playing anything by Alicia Keys lately? How about Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen? This music is some of the most rhythmically complicated stuff I’ve ever tried. Syncopation occurring in both hands at different times, large left hand arpeggios with intervals of sevenths and octaves, right hand chords including the melodic line on top of the chords…. it’s great music, but requires experience and a certain level of ability. Jazz, you ask? Great! I love it. How ‘bout a little Monk, or Brubeck? How well do you know your F7#9 chords, or your A13, or your Gmin7b5, with lots of syncopation? Again, it takes study of music theory, knowledge of your scales and keys and experience. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin are just a few of the great masters from which all music has evolved. They are the basis for modern piano playing. Learn the correct skills and techniques from these geniuses. It won’t be me teaching you, it will be Chopin. And, chances are you will grow to love their music in a way you never imagined. We can always supplement your lessons with some beginning jazz pieces, I’ve got lots of charts, and I can teach you chords and jazz voicing, but I want my students to play all styles, from all eras, especially the classics. Eventually you will go your own direction in whatever you enjoy playing most. But…(sigh)…be patient. |
| Can I skip this beginner stuff and try something harder? | | No, you cannot. Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there’s no shortcuts in piano. If you try to skip over basic techniques in order to shorten the learning curve, you will develop serious flaws in your playing, the kind that get trapped in your muscle memory that can never be removed. Your earliest playing habits will be with you the rest of your life. They need to be continually reinforced for about a year. After 30 years of teaching the piano, I have learned to be a very strong believer in quality over quantity. I want a high level of excellence on a lesser amount of music. Play 16 measures perfectly, rather than 32 measures haphazardly. |
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