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Piano Playing Skill Level

Piano Playing Level

  • Piano Roll Only

    Votes: 13 11.4%
  • Intermediate

    Votes: 66 57.9%
  • Confident Pro

    Votes: 30 26.3%
  • Pianist - Concert Level

    Votes: 5 4.4%

  • Total voters
    114
Although I did a few piano lessons when I was a kid, I would have called myself piano roll only until a few weeks ago when I decided to find something online and came across a course / books that teaches piano a bit like guitar - basically instead of learning scales and using notation, you learn chords first, then slowly add in some bottom hand.

It's been a revelation - I can now vamp my way through a bunch of songs like Hit the Road Jack, Wild Rover, Amazing Grace and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. Still early days, but I no longer look at the keyboard like a crossword without any clues.
 
I've decided to take my piano playing more seriously. I would consider myself a life long beginner. I have no interest in learning the works of other composers on the Piano besides maybe 3 or 4 pieces that I dearly love. What I wanted was to get more of my ideas out on the keyboard before I actually start composing and producing them.

What I did was to get a book by Dohnanyi on finger independence and oh boy after a few weeks of that my piano playing is improving to the point that I actually look and sound like I know how to play. I think after a year I might even be able to take some basic gigs playing keyboards. I'm amazed on how much of piano playing just comes down to finger independence, strength and muscle memory.

This sounds exactly like me. Thanks for suggesting that book. Going to get it ASAP. (I also subscribe to Melodics).
 
Although I did a few piano lessons when I was a kid, I would have called myself piano roll only until a few weeks ago when I decided to find something online and came across a course / books that teaches piano a bit like guitar - basically instead of learning scales and using notation, you learn chords first, then slowly add in some bottom hand.

It's been a revelation - I can now vamp my way through a bunch of songs like Hit the Road Jack, Wild Rover, Amazing Grace and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. Still early days, but I no longer look at the keyboard like a crossword without any clues.
Cool what course?

This sounds exactly like me. Thanks for suggesting that book. Going to get it ASAP. (I also subscribe to Melodics).
I'll check out melodics. On my bucket list one day is to go to a Manhattan restaurant and play a few standards lounge style. I thought it would be on the Clarinet but it might be on the piano or both.
 
I just started (yesterday) the Pianote course

Coming from the guitar, I thought I would have an easier time learning but, as the first lesson taught me, left hand on the piano is nothing like left hand on the guitar

Wish me luck lol
 
I've asked for this in several places, but I haven't tried here - since there seem to be quite a few guitar players here.... if anyone wants to trade guitar lessons for piano / keyboard lessons via Zoom or Skype, please hit me up. I've been trying to teach myself guitar during the pandemic, and could use some help.
 
I took a couple of piano lessons years ago and followed a method book. For some years I played piano every day, but that was 10+ years ago. I now only fiddle with it when writing music, but I don't do any exercises anymore (scale, arpeggios, Hanon, etc).

I don't have any interest into investing time and effort into learning piano properly (eg: playing while reading) but I would like to be able to improve my dexterity and improvisation skills. Can anyone recommend a good book / method / course for that?
 
I've decided to take my piano playing more seriously. I would consider myself a life long beginner. I have no interest in learning the works of other composers on the Piano besides maybe 3 or 4 pieces that I dearly love. What I wanted was to get more of my ideas out on the keyboard before I actually start composing and producing them.

What I did was to get a book by Dohnanyi on finger independence and oh boy after a few weeks of that my piano playing is improving to the point that I actually look and sound like I know how to play. I think after a year I might even be able to take some basic gigs playing keyboards. I'm amazed on how much of piano playing just comes down to finger independence, strength and muscle memory.
Is this the one you're following?

1612388407179.png
 
I took a couple of piano lessons years ago and followed a method book. For some years I played piano every day, but that was 10+ years ago. I now only fiddle with it when writing music, but I don't do any exercises anymore (scale, arpeggios, Hanon, etc).

I don't have any interest into investing time and effort into learning piano properly (eg: playing while reading) but I would like to be able to improve my dexterity and improvisation skills. Can anyone recommend a good book / method / course for that?
Melodic Structures by Jerry Bergonzi
Jazz Keyboard Harmony by Phil DeGreg
The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine
 
An interesting tangent to the original poll would be to know people's playing level on *some* instrument, piano or otherwise.

I think 80% of the advantage of learning piano is just in learning to play an instrument, any instrument, especially in live performance. I think the last 20% is due to the "piano" part.

There's a lot to learning about music that is not particular to piano. I think it's like learning to code: there are different languages but you still need to learn the basic concepts.

Having said that, though, I do think the piano is the best instrument to learn if you're going to be a composer because it is the best embodiment of music theory (well, Western music theory) and you tend to learn more theory with piano than with other instruments. But you can do very well learning some other instrument as long as you fill in the theory parts you tend not to get when learning, say, oboe.

rgames
 
Is this the one you're following?

1612388407179.png
I just got this book because of this thread and... wow.

I'm amazed there are self-proclaimed beginners in this thread who are working on this book. It's probably the last book I would ever recommend to beginners. But everyone learns differently I guess. This is a very painful book.
 
I just got this book because of this thread and... wow.

I'm amazed there are self-proclaimed beginners in this thread who are working on this book. It's probably the last book I would ever recommend to beginners. But everyone learns differently I guess. This is a very painful book.
I did one of the first exercises by following this video and it's freaking hard.

 
I go back and forth weekly, whether I should just put to task learning piano. I've put so many years into guitar, oh I dont know.

Its those damn black keys and not having stings on a fretboard. Really puts me out of my element.

:emoji_thinking:
Im trying to imagine a scenario where I strap myself under a baby grand, right arm protruding out from under the keys. Feet popping out down by C8. And using some sort of yet unknown implement to pick and strum the ivory.
 
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