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Hello Everyone,
Being recently retired, I have bought a Casio AP470. I’ve always wanted to play an instrument so rather late in life I opted for a digital piano. I’ve had an old Yamaha PSR37 keyboard for years that has occasionally been pulled out from under the stairs and abused. My ambition is to have a small repottoir of music that I can play. I really want to be able to play a little Jazz, Blues or Boogie Woogie. The classics really don’t interest me at all. I’m starting with learning to read music and as I’m naturally left handed, concentrating on getting a solid left hand. A challenge certainly, but it will keep the old brain cells busy. I hope to be able to gather tips, information and advice from you folks on this forum to aid me along. Thanks in advance.

Get a teacher

Welcome.

Good luck and enjoy your Casio AP-470. I just sold mine. I got plenty of enjoyment from it.

Do you have plans for learning and practising?

You might surprised when it comes to classical, there a couple of people here who had no classical inclination and got sucked in. Doesn’t mean you will but be open to the possibility.

Welcome to PW!

I am very much left dominant too, but oddly enough, in piano, my right hand is much more capable. That's because often, in piano music, the melody is in the right hand and the left hand is left bass chords and the like. After practicing and playing for the last 20 months, it just has developed this way for me. It will probably be even more so with jazz, blues, and boogie woogie, I'd think.


I see Tom97, that you are taking the discussion in the endless debate thread, to heart!

I am sorry, I had not read the thread before I replied here. I am not gonna take it back because I think it is the best advice for someone who wants to take music seriously. But I won´t do it again I swear

Welcome!!!

I started out interested in Broadway and film music and a little pop. I told my teacher that I wanted to explore other genres a bit as well, and I've found that the pieces that I find the most fun to play are jazz, blues, and ragtime! I definitely recommend at least trying a variety of music

I’m looking into a teacher, however I am away all of the summer so continuity might be an issue. I stand in awe at people that play the Classics but at 66 I don’t think I have the years of dedication available. I have of course been on u-tube and watched and listened to the genre of music I’m interested in. Even after such a short time of ownership I have had some encouraging blues sounds come out of the piano that have raised a satisfying smile.

Hi Stuart and welcome to PW!

You didn't mention how you are approaching learning to play the piano, teacher, video course, books or a combination. I have recently started down the Jazz piano path after playing just classical as a returning adult behavior. One word of advice I would provide is to pick a learning path and stick with it. There are so many on line resources for learning different aspects of Jazz and Blues piano, often just out the reach of a beginner, that it's easy to get distracted and not make any real progress.

Good luck in your endeavor.

Welcome Stuart! Like you, I am learning piano as a retirement hobby. Lot's of good info on this forum if you search on different topics. My experience has been great (14 months in so far). It's really hard and complicated to learn - that's why picking a method is important. You learn at a pace that will not drive you crazy! Good Luck

The approach at the moment is learning to read music. This is by using the keyboard, u-tube and books. The music that motivated me to get a piano was Boogie Woogie, happy music as I call it.
I understand that Boogie, Blues and Jazz have very similar foundation. So for the time being I’m tinkering with the slower Blues and practising with the left hand which is my most dexterous. Once I’m confident with the left hand I’ll introduce the right hand. I don’t find this to be chore, I enjoy the hours I’m putting in. The big things that come with retirement are time, patience and the ability to not to stress. There’s no rush or pressure, done that bit don’t need to do it anymore😀

I also wanted to play boogie woogie and this is why I picked up the piano. You may be familiar with Brendan Kavanagh (hope I got the name right). He has a lot of videos up on youtube, check him out - he is the icon of boogie woogie.
It was this year in January when I was only into boogie woogie and then, when I got exposed to more piano music, I fell in love with classical - mainly Chopin and Debussy.

One thing site you may want to take a look at is https://pianowithjonny.com/ You can get a 14 day trial and they also have a free 10 day beginners Blues challenge course. I can't remember how I signed up for it but you get emailed a link every other day to 5 video courses for a beginner learning the blues. The lessons are 45-60 minutes and some work but I find them fun and I like his teaching style. You do end up paying some "Bluesey" sounding stuff. I can't find the link to it now but if I do I will post it. So far I have liked the free stuff enough to consider trying it out for at least a month.

Welcome!! 😊

Welcome StuartM
You will find many like-minded souls here, and also many in our age group. And who doesn't like a good Boogie Woogie?

Welcome to the forum. Regarding the teacher and the summer holiday, many teachers have a cycle that revolves around the school year, as students are often young and have summer camps and vacation plans, so that might not be a problem. Even my teacher, a university professor, has such a schedule.

Good luck with your studies. There is a lot of great info out there, and on here.

Thanks all for the encouragement and advice. I’m currently enjoying finding my way round the Casio, managing a few hours a day and enjoying the learning curve. I’m starting to recognise notes now, Just need to get the fingers to respond🙄. Also enjoying the forum many thanks again.

Welcome to the piano party StuartM!

Remember that if you get sore, stop. I'm also a few hours at the piano from the get go kinda person and it's very easy to overdue it. May your fingers (and mine) learn to dance along those keys!

Welcome StuartM! There’s many beginner’s courses in books, videos, YouTube, and social media to choose from. Many are discussed and debated on this forum but you have to find what works best for you and exactly what you want to learn. Best Wishes on your new musical journey.

I started piano late when a few people in the family already had years of piano lessons. The reason I got into piano was to be able to play some of the Classical pieces I listened to in my school days. Someone once suggested older adults shouldn't be doing anything too technical and just stick to a few easy Pop tunes.

Fast forward 10 years I got myself into adult group classes once a week in the evening. Everybody play piano (keyboard) as a hobby and not even looking into passing conservatory exams. It's a fun class. The teacher got us into playing out of a book full of Jazz tunes.

In the beginning I din't have much of a road map. I had a few pieces I wanted to get into. At the time the Internet started to become popular. Students & amateur musicians started to post their performances online. In the beginning I would go to a music store and buy repertoire books & sheet music. After a few years I was able to download most of my pieces in .pdf which is a convenience.

Even if you are not sure where to go next, as long as you have some ideas what types of pieces you'd like to play whether you want to focus on Classical or do something Jazzy. You can look for pieces that interests you and start practicing.

Good luck...

What a horrid thing to say. I'm glad you didn't listen.