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Learning the keyboard

Started by Garthy73, March 13, 2009, 10:37:19 PM

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Garthy73

Hi everyone,

                I have decided to learn to play the keyboard and was wondering
          if you can suggest a good way to start?
                   
               I have been been playing guitar for 20+ yrs now, mainly
      rock with some jazz, blues, funk & country thrown in for good measure!

                      Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Jem

I'll probably get nailed to a tree by the learned here, but I'd say pick a simple song you really like and learn how to play it. Then once you've got that down, learn another song and keep going until the chord shapes and what not start to appear to you when you play. Don't worry about note names or anything yet, just have a play about. Then you'll start to see how and why different chords on the keyboard relate to each other and from there you'll be able to improvise with chord sequences and from there scales will follow and from there the world is your oyster.  :D

It's what I did basically. Your 20 years on the guitar won't hurt either.  8-)

Pajter

I agree with Jem. Best way to making music, is by doing it. Forget books (for now). Music isn't just theory. It's feeling.

L33VEY

Not having played anything since the cello at primary school, I needed piano lessons to get started and keep me practicing.

Then got a cheapish Yamaha on Ebay that I could record on.
Currently playing in The Frost*mobile:  Frost* Day and Age

rogerg

as one of the learned here, you of course, must find a wizened old lady to be your teacher.  she must be firm and hit you repeatedly with a ruler whenever you make a mistake, and sometimes when you don't.  she will make sure you practice only boring dull exercises, and songs that only use five notes.  but don't worry, that will only last three years.  then you will move onto exercise books with more notes.  and song books with song titles such as "The Pretty Daisy".  not that daisies aren't pretty, but.  at some point in the distant future you will start to learn "literature" and "repertoire".














just play the damn thing, silly.

Jem

:lol:  :lol:

I remember in the 9 months I actually did have lessons, my piano teacher actually put 10 pence pieces on my hands and said that if they fell off while I played, I wasn't doing it right.

Weirdly, I still try that every now and then. When I'm playing prog, they mostly fall off.  :lol:

eviani

Quote from: "Jem":lol:  :lol:

I remember in the 9 months I actually did have lessons, my piano teacher actually put 10 pence pieces on my hands and said that if they fell off while I played, I wasn't doing it right.

Weirdly, I still try that every now and then. When I'm playing prog, they mostly fall off.  :lol:

I had a teacher who did that once to make sure that my wrists weren't flying up and down while I was playing.  It was dumb but on some level it helps with classical playing at least.  We all move our wrists but it's helpful to remember that you shouldn't be moving them so much.

I do agree with Jem though.  Find songs you like and learn them.  The more songs you learn and know, the better a musician you will be.  I come from a heavy classical background and I appreciate what I was brought up with but I wish I had been taught how to use my ear when it came to learning songs and improvising.  As a result, I'm playing catch up and although I'm not doing too badly it would have been nice to have that skill when I was learning an instrument.

Geetar

In my long, long, long career as a godforsaken bassist, before becoming the guitar-playing Avatar of the god Krishna that I am now....


                                                                                            [ OK, I'm exaggerating a bit here.

But I do turn a lovely shade of blue now and then; especially while I forget to breathe during fast passages]

...I used to play in a fine semblance of classical position while I studied with that martinet of the contrabass, Joe Hubbard. I kept it up for years, and as a result, developed the worst case of carpal tunnel syndrome known to man or beast these many ages past.

Now I play guitar in a position that most closely resembles the resting posture of a Barbary ape, and my hands are fine.



Technique is vastly overrated.
This space for sale.

DannySoisSage

The best thing about learning songs as opposed to techniques is that you should automatically find the style you're most comfortable with. If you suffer any discomfort you're probably doing something wrong and try and think of what it is; it will only come back to haunt you (I had to change the whole way I picked the guitar and I'm so much more comfortable with it now).

I am the same as Geetar as a guitarist; I see everyone playing in the classical position and although it helps me reach expensive chords its not at all comfortable to me.

Devin Townsend said it best; technique is all about getting your ideas from your head to your fingers, nothing else.

tomskerous

Yeah, I'd go with 'just start'.

If you do decide to get lessons though, be picky about teachers. I'm glad I passed on the first old lady, because I found a guy pretty much my age and outlook who could explain everything in the classical pieces we worked on in terms of records that we both bought in our teenage years.

"You're playing this melody like go west, and it needs to feel more like 'Red Rain'. So stop twatting the keys when you play them with your thumbs."
I was a victim of goose-flirting the other day.
This bleeding great goose came up to me and wanted a light.
I said no.
Goose, there\'ll be no flirting today.

THUNDERFROG!!!!!!!!

Geetar

Quote from: "tomskerous""You're playing this melody like go west"


Ah, if only I could play like the great Murphy..... :(


but I know what you mean :D
This space for sale.

tomskerous

Chopin played in the style of pino palladino and the brass-stabby keyboard player* - you could see his point.


(* no, not John Beck this time)
I was a victim of goose-flirting the other day.
This bleeding great goose came up to me and wanted a light.
I said no.
Goose, there\'ll be no flirting today.

THUNDERFROG!!!!!!!!

Garthy73

Many thanks for all the advice,

    I'm now armed with a Yamaha PS-275 and somewhere to start!

               Thanks again

TBE

all I know is the white notes are for unloading and loading...

Mouse