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Exactly

Correct.

I taught myself guitar in high school mostly by sharing the learning, tips and tricks with other budding guitar players. Very common among guitar players. I'm applying the same method now to piano.

I don't feel "poorer" by not having a teacher. Quite the opposite. Compared to when I learnt guitar there are vast resources available to me through the internet.

There are many roads to Rome.

OOOH! That was naughty LOL. I live in Liverpool and am from Merseyside and that teacher wouldn't have gone down well here!
My piano teacher showed me how to play a bit of Imagine on the piano last lesson. I asked him if he liked the Beatles. He said, "Well I am in Liverpool..."
He isn't from up here so knows it doesn't go down well saying you aren't keen on them ha ha.
I said it was ok if he wasn't! I don't mind them- do rate George Harrison's solo stuff- got two of his orginal LPS. I used to be mad on them when I was younger.They were good as pop music goes but not in the league of Beethoven. And Beethoven is definetly NOT rolling over!!!

Oddly enough, I can speak directly to this. I learned to play the trumpet before the piano as well, and I can tell you it helps. When I was around 8 or so, I taught myself piano by learning the names of the keys, and then "counting down" from treble to bass clef until I figured out what the note names were. I taught myself two songs before starting with a teacher: Fur Elise and The Spinning Song. So, yes, it is absolutely possible.

Trombone Al brings up a good point however, that there is a significant disadvantage, because you may have to unlearn any bad habits you pick up on your own depending on what your purpose is for studying piano. If it's for personal enjoyment, then I suppose you'd only have to worry about bad habits that could cause injury. If it's for public performance, there are other bad habits to worry about.


I think if you can do this at all, it will be to your advantage. Even if it's just to get the basics down, it will help.


I did not copy your entire post because it would take up too much room. I am sorry for the troubles you are going through. It is clear that you are completely unfamiliar with me or my posts by the tone of your post. But I think, more importantly, you either didn't read or didn't understand what I posted, so I'd briefly like to clear that up without side-tracking the thread.

There are many reasons people don't want to work with a teacher. Beginners have a wide variety of reasons, some of which are misconceptions. I've seen people assume they can't get a teacher based on a false presumption, and once that issue is cleared up, they can actually get one. I prefer not to assume anything by reading the original post, and when I am confused, to inquire further so that I can offer the best possible advice to the person who is making the query. I feel that is only fair to them.

I am sorry you feel the way you feel, but please do not make a judgment before you understand what I posted or why I posted it.

Oh, I sure am sorry Joe to hear how difficult things are for you, but many of the reasons you outlined, but not all of course, are some of the reasons I knew a teacher may not be right for me. I just didn't really want to go into it, so I sort of blew it off as, "money will be tight", which of course it will be but that is't the main issue.

I do think I will strike out on my own, but maybe try to take a few lessons here or there as I need help. I know I will never be a concert performer, but I just want to be able to sit down and play music like I love to hear.

Thank you for sticking your neck out for me and explaining to people how people like use who have disabilities, or just don't do well in a structured environment, have difficulties which can be overcome.

BillTheSlink

Andrew Lypur's website is best place I know to go on line for classical training.

http://www.howtoplaypiano.ca/

To quote your original post, you said



To me, that reads like your almost trying to catch him out, implying that if he had lessons for the trumpet, then he can have lessons for the piano.

He learnt the trumpet 20 years ago, health changes greatly over 20 years.

I'm judging you on what you typed, I apologise if I'm miss reading it but I stand by what I said that if someone says they cant have a teacher, no one has the right to question that.

Your whole response I just quoted is basically telling him you want a full explanation of why he cant have a teacher (or you don't really believe he cant have a teacher) and if that was me, the response I would have to give would be my long post above.

Most people do not want to have to keep explaining themselves, if your ill etc it can get really really draining and tiresome.

And people are entitled to their privacy and shouldn't have to explain themselves anyway hence the OP posted



I appreciate you might not have meant it how I read it and I apologise if that's so, that doesn't get round the fact time and time again I see on this forum (and the responses to my post show that to be true) people stating they cant have a teacher, and others choosing not to believe them and either questioning them or responding that they should get a teacher and there's simply no need for it and again it needs to stop.

Thank you for the reply. I'm glad we were able to clear at least a few things up.

I understand it can get tiring to explain a disability over and over again, and the energy required may not be worth the effort. However, I would hope that you can also understand it from the opposite position, where those of us on the other end have nothing to use except the poster's words in order to answer their questions. There honestly was no malicious intent in my post, merely an attempt to either get at the root of the problem to see if it was a true statement or an individual bias. That is why I never said, "You can't learn without a teacher," but rather, "Why so averse?"

At first, I thought maybe there was an injury related to the instrument, in which case there are teachers who specialize in overcoming those particular disabilities. I would argue the large portion of beginners asking questions would have no idea who these teachers are. But if that were the case, I could very easily recommend some wonderful people.

So there are a lot of ways these words can be interpreted. I don't like saying, "I can't do something." I never say it. If I want to do it hard enough, I find a way to make it work, even if I have to modify the method. So, before I discounted the possibility of anyone being able to work with a teacher and reaping the benefits, I wanted to make sure there was no way to make it happen. Sometimes I do this to a fault, and without initially explaining myself. I guess that's one of my flaws, trying to see and reach the best possible outcome for everyone. I assure you, if this person lived closer to me, I would meet them, at random, for fifteen minutes a day whenever I could. It might not be every week, but maybe sometimes it could be twice a week. Whenever it fit both our schedules, I would make it work. And I am sure there are other people out there who would do the same.

So, I guess in closing, I would ask that, before you jump on someone with a scathing reply, please check the source. I've been posting in this forum since 2005 or so (with an extended absence in the middle), and all I've ever tried to do is help people the best that I can. Sometimes that requires asking unpopular questions, but if it means I can give them better help knowing the answer, then I feel it is only fair to the poster that I ask anyway.

Time to "advertize" for my favorite free web based resource: http://www.youtube.com/user/pianoologist/videos?flow=grid&view=1 (I would start with: Piano-ology: Piano Technique Fundamentals Video Series)
You can also check his (also free) website: http://piano-ology.com/

Thank you. I am currently looking at all the online resources mentioned here including Andrew Lypur's web site including his music theory class which I can take while I save for my piano. Thank you guy and gals and I am also going to look at Alfred's book, CD, and DVD combo. I found this fellow on YouTube who has been playing for 20+ years on piano and about five other instruments including hornpipe and, while I understand you have to have natural born talent to accomplish something like that, is as good a player as anyone I have ever heard and he says he is entirely self taught. That makes me feel a whole lot better.

Ok fair enough, having read through you're reply I see where you were coming from and apologise for my harsh response.

I have been worn down by a few posters telling those that stated they don't want teachers, to go get a teacher. It could have been anyone saying that, I wasn't meaning to single you out.

I do understand where your coming from but it's a bit of a catch 22 situation.

Someone writes a short post, mentions they don't want a teacher, someone else like yourself, with a genuine reason, fully just wanting to help, responds also with a short post questioning them about not having a teacher.

The poster hasn't given the replier enough info as to why he or she can't have a teacher, and the replier hasn't given enough info in their reply as to their reasons for questioning this.

Again I apologise, I fully understand your reasoning.

At the same time a few posters congratulated me as they too have been finding being told to get a teacher when they have stated they cant, tiresome. Which shows its not just me that finds that sort of reply annoying.

And reading your follow up explanation I do get why you posted it, but this is why it's a catch 22 situation.

Had I been the op and posted my medical history as to why I can't have a teacher, you and most others (there will always be one) would have understood and wouldn't have questioned that.

But most people naturally don't want to give out all that personal info, hence are far more likely just to state that a teacher is an impossibility.

If someone responded to that post, with their reasons for questioning why the OP cant get a teacher, in as well thought out and concise way as you did to me, most people (again there's always one) wouldn't be offended (although, most still wouldn't want to share their personal health info). But it's very very very impracticable to respond to everyone who says they can't have a teacher in the way you did in your follow up posts.

Hence catch 22

I do sincerely apologise to you for misunderstanding, I know you wouldn't have gone out of your way to explain yourself if you weren't a kind and caring person and I'm sorry yours was the post that made me post my response that I've been debating whether or not to post for a few weeks now in response to numerous different posters.

I'm not sure there's an easy solution really, sorry if I'm repeating myself, just trying to fully explain my feelings.

Best

Joe

Check out Josh Wright on YouTube as well. I like Andrew, but more often than not he takes 20 minutes to cover 2 minutes of material.

Josh doesn't have a course per se, but his topical videos are absolutely *packed* with helpful pointers.

Thanks for posting about Josh Wright piano videos. I already adjusted the piano bench because of him because I was sitting too close.

I know what you're saying about Andrew. The young man certainly has talent, but I wouldn't want him for a real life piano teacher. There would just be a personality clash between us. I am not putting him down mind you, but some people are to each other what icebergs are to the Titanic. I am afraid if I had to really pack up my stuff, drive in traffic and end up in not such a good mood before I even landed on his door, we would never even make it through a class without exchanging UNpleasentries. He just rubs me the wrong way, as I am quite sure I do other people, as a matter of fact I have lived it. They were nice people who I wanted to get to know, but I could tell they just didn't like me for some reason. Such is life.

On the upside I have settled on a piano, a new Casio PX-350 which I found out I can lease from a store in my state and apply the entire first years rent toward the purchase price, which is the same as everywhere else sells them for, and I am talking to some Skype instructors to decide which one to pick when the time comes. Let me tell you a U.S. dollar goes a long ways in Greece and the former Eastern Comm Block countries and also China. You can hire university professors and concert performers for less than half the cost of a lesson in the U.S. and most speak better English than I do.

I have the same "too close" problem, but there is no space behind the bench to be had. I've yet to convince my wife to ditch the coffee table that sits between the dog cage and the sofa that take up all the space between me and the far wall.

I'm also making little headway in the "plants don't belong on the piano, even if it is just a $100 spinet" war.

Josh is a very nice guy and generous with his time. I emailed him with a suggestion for a future video and a couple questions and he gave me a very thoughtful and fairly lengthy reply.

I will have to check him out!

+1 to Josh Wright's videos