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Hi All,

I am not a teacher but opening a thread in this forum because I need help from piano teachers, forgive me if am interrupting :rolleyes:

I am an adult returnee, in my twenties. I got lessons when I was a child, and while I was a teenager but not in a continuous manner, and I tried to self train myself a couple of years ago. The reason for such training was that I moved around a lot and I never had a piano of my own. I played here and there, I got music theory lessons as optional classes in college etc.

Finally I got myself a piano (unfortunately a digital), and I am in grad school, if you add everything up you can see that I cannot afford piano lessons on top of everything. So self-training again.

I have many things in mind and I wanted to ask you what options would be helpful for me so that I can progress properly.

1.

I may be able to afford 1 lesson for every two months (at least until next September). Would such a thing be useful to me, or would any self-respecting piano teacher agree for such lessons. The reason I am considering this is that I can have some guidance in a general manner. And I can be interrupted and corrected every once in a while if I am learning something wrong and getting used to it. (injuring wrists, horrible technique, etc..)

2.

I remember being taught from the Beyer, Hanon, Czerny triplet. I am considering to practice Hanon. Some people are advocating against Hanon as it being useless and harmful, but I remember learning finger independence, and strength from Hanon. Czerny was horrible, I did not enjoy playing things in the Czerny book if it is a magic book which teaching you something while playing those horrible pieces I will reconsider but otherwise I do not intend to. Beyer on the other hand had some nice simple but melodic pieces. Should I go through Beyer even if I have another introductory adult pianobook.

3.

I am considering to buy The Piano Handbook. Review's are excellent, what do you think about that book. It also includes a CD which will make me not to make mistakes while practicing something, because I can understand what is wrong while I am listening to the CD. I also considered this because people are telling that the exercises in this book are "melodic" and "beautiful" in a sense.

I hate working hard on pieces which I do not enjoy at all. One of my friends had an awesome teacher with a huge repertoire and she would always offer him 5-10 different pieces for a certain study, and occasionally you like at least one of them.

4.

I now "some" music theory. But I do not excel at it. How much music theory would I need. Should I get a book on music theory.

5.

I am also seeing books with the common name "scales, arpeggios, cadances etc.." What are they good for. Are they advanced books, or would it be nice for me to also use a book like that. (I know what a scale is or what an arpeggio is, the problem is are these book advanced technique books regarding scales, and arpeggios or could you still use it without some preliminary advancement)

6.

I also have this weird problem at my pinky finger. I can only move it in "discrete steps" not in a continuous manner. I do not know if you ever encountered a problem such as this with your students. It is hard to describe bu imagine your hand in the usual position on the keyboard and slowly lifting your pinky up high and all the way down. I encounter 2 discrete jumps (which has to do with my joints there) through this process which has to be continuous all the way up and down. What should I do about this.

As you see I am confused. This time I want to do it properly, but please do not suggest me to get lessons every week or so, that is out of the question for right now, maybe next year.

Thanks in advance.

I think if this is all you could afford, that would be better than no guidance at all, given that the teacher you get lessons from is qualified.

If you enjoy doing this sort of thing then it will be good for you to get Hanon. If not, however, then don't bother.

I am not familiar with this book to give an opinion either way.

A teacher would help you choose repertoire that would make sense in your progress as well as something you would enjoy. If you find a teacher that can at least get you started in the right direction you should do alright with infrequent lessons.

Music theory is not something that is separate from studying music, though often it is seen as something outside of being able to play. It will aid you in your playing. I recommend the Keith Snell theory books, as they give plenty of practice in each concept to make sure you understand it.


You don't necessarily need the books unless you don't have a grasp of proper fingering for scales and arpeggios. Again, your teacher would suggest the right book for you. You do need to practice scales and arpeggios at any rate. You should be able to play them in all keys, and 4 octaves at the advanced level.
Technique is so hard to address without seeing you play, but you shouldn't be lifting your finger up to play. All is needed is to press the keys down, and not necessarily hit them from above. This is probably where a teacher would help you the most, but you would most likely need more regular lessons to address the issue.

Guguma, I'm not a teacher but I've encountered the "discrete steps". Your future teacher can help you with that. It will have to do with some thing in what you are doing or how. It may be natural and will probably resolve itself as your teacher works with you. Sometimes when you work with a good teacher some problem that you haven't thought about anymore will simply disappear and later you'll wonder when that happened.

Guguma, I am also a 20 something returnee. I understand that money is tight but if you really want to make the most of your piano playing maybe you can have 1/2 lessons every 2 weeks. I think it is important to see your instructor at least twice a month. This should cost maybe $40/month which if you really wanted to you can afford. I have lessons twice a month for 1.5 hours and it is well worth the money to have his professional instruction and guidance in learning new pieces and reconstructing my playing.

The HP-201 you just got is more than
adequate for any kind of playing.
My digital piano is less expensive than yours,
and I use it to play the most difficult
classical repertoire with no problem.

You cannot injure yourself or pick up
bad habits when self-teaching, because
when you teach yourself, you will naturally
learn in the way that is most suited
to your individual physiology and
psychology.

As for your pinky, consider that there
are blind concert pianists. These
players have to struggle with things
that we take for granted, like reading
sht. music. And there are people
who play after losing an arm.

I doubt if you could find a teacher
who would give you one lesson every
two months. Teachers typically charge
for one month in advance.

One should give consideration to the
psychological aspect of playing. If
you force yourself to play things that you
loathe, then the piano will come to
be associated with something unpleasant,
and you'll eventually quit as a result.
Therefore, I see no point in forcing
yourself to play Hanon, Czerny, and
Beyer if you don't like them. Play
what you like to play, whatever that
might be.

Then anyone without any instruction would just naturally play correctly. I would say that only the very talented do not need technical help, and even those who are the very talented ones need direction in some areas. The OP obviously has a problem here, from being self-taught, which is why he is posting about it. It causes him concern, so he knows his technique is flawed. This in itself disproves your statement.

guguma,

You can't concentrate on so many questions at one time - you need to choose a short list of things to think about and work on things related to getting you started again.

First of all find the time on your daily schedule during which you will play, explore music, and practice your piano.

Make a decision to not let people and things interrupt your time committed to piano study.

Find some good books about composers biographies and read and look at pictures throughout music history for the development of music in all countries, all instruments. Libraries and bargain book sales and used book stores have these at better prices.

Listen to recordings and videos of real talent on youtubes. Look for teaching videos from master piano teachers.

Start your collection now.

Follow a determined path and go as far back into early study as you need to go to do the elements of music well. (Research: Elements of Music, for instance.)

I know you can give these things your full attention and do pretty well at it. The big hurdle is in getting started and using your time wisely.

To be able to recommend more, a teacher would have to be in your presence to work with you and advise you.

In the meantime, you also have the PWF search which can lead you to any subject you have on your mind - the archives are huge here.

Good luck to you!

Betty

Gyro...what did I tell you about using smiley faces, so people know that you are being silly...

Are you a piano teacher Gyro? If not, then I don't think you should be giving advice, because your advice is just silly...

H1

I have a student with this same problem in the same finger. She seems to manage OK.

I highly suggest you try to get as much instruction as you can afford.

I'm not a teacher, but I do have some suggestions.

Have you reached out to the music department? It might be that there are some piano majors who would be willing to work with you at a more reasonable rate.

Humphries books may be useful to you, as you say you are an adult returner. However, his books are not method books. They present topics too quickly and too many at a time for a beginner with no experience. What he does offer is a discussion of topics of importance to a beginning to intermediate pianist in an adult manner.

Rich