Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum OT, Tell us about yourself

Let's see here.....

I'm 40, married with a beautiful 2 year-old (my avatar pic), with another child coming this September. My Mom taught piano when I was a kid--I took lessons briefly, but of course rebelled and quit before I really knew anything. I ended up playing tuba in the high school band, so picked up the basics of notation and theory. My band teacher assumed I would go into music at university, but I took Math / Computer Science instead.

I wrote software for about 10 years, then decided that maybe teaching was the thing for me. I've been teaching high school math since 2003--one of my most challenging jobs! Not only is the workload high, but the emotional drain is significant!

A few years ago I saw some kettle drum performers at a Christmas performance. It was so beautiful and melodic that it inspired me to learn piano ago (oh, did I mention that during my university years I bought 2 keyboards but didn't really do much with either? ) This time I was determined! So I bought a Casio unweighted keyboard and "noodled" around for a few years.

Somehow in May I decided that I should take lessons. On the spur of the moment, I called up a local teacher to see if she was available. My first teacher, and it's a great fit!

After my second lesson I realized that my unweighted Casio just wouldn't cut it. Long story short--after lots of obsessing about specs and money, I bought a Yamaha YDP140 and love it!

Hmmmm, what else? Before moving away from the mountains (from Calgary to Edmonton), I did a lot of whitewater kayaking. It's an amazing sport--it's difficult to keep thinking about your day-to-day worries when staying upright and not drowning are front and center! I've mountain biked as well.

I will now continue on the piano journey!

I am Todd Vance, age 39 for the second year in a row. I had a couple months of lessons in the first grade, but I guess I was too immature to do anything. I started again in the fifth grade, hit a wall at the 7th grade in John Thompson's 3rd grade book and quit again. Then in June 08, I got a portable electronic keyboard (61 keys, and I did get touch sensitive, though if I knew more then, would have tried for something more realistic feeling with 88 weighted keys). I flailed
around with Hanon and Czerny, and tried the Piano Bench book of easy classics, but didn't really start getting anywhere till January when I started James Lyke, et. al.'s classroom piano texts, namely keyboard fundamentals book 1 and 2, and after that keyboard musicianship book 1 and 2, including repeating book 2 several times (it has lots of nice stuff I haven't mastered, like lead sheet harmonization and transposition exercises).

Then I purchased books 3 through 5 of James Bastion's Piano Literature. I would only say I've mastered the first few of book 3 (spinning song, and almost have Fur Elise down), but can play ok some later ones in this book (Clementi's Sonatina, Op 36 #3), and in the other two books, (e.g. Beethoven's Sonata #20, Kabalevski's Sonatina, op 13 # 1). I have also ordered The Michel Legrand Songbook, mainly because Lyke's book Musicianship#2 had an 8-measure excerpt of "The Summer Knows" and I decided I wanted to play it and some similar songs.

In addition to learning this music, I have a goal of better sight reading, so I could, say, sit down and play something at random from the Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (I can, with a lot of mistakes).

My primary instrument is saxophone, which I played in high school and college, and now in a community band. I also took a semester of classical guitar, but never kept it up.

Currently, I am trying to master the three pieces mentioned above, Beethoven, Clementi, and Kabalevski, as I like the sound of all three. Just a few days ago, I managed to break through an expression barrier of sorts and get what I thought were some pretty good sounds out of the keys on the Clementi (with sax, I feel it and it happens--but with piano, I still have to consciously play louder or softer--and I still have some problems, e.g. 4th finger of left hand descending scale patterns with 4th landing on a black key always wants to play loud even in a soft passage for some reason).

Outside music, I'm a mathematician by trade, and an amateur astronomer by hobby. I also like to read physics and theoretical computer science, as well as science fiction, and I've read some music theory.

Todd

Saxophone! I gave up mine when I left high school. It was bigger than me. Of course, the piano is too (a friend, who knows I also own a hammered dulcimer, asked me when I was going to get a *wieldy* instrument ). However, the tuba part from marching band stuck and I now play oom-pah on the piano

I didn't make it to math by trade, tho I've taught math part-time, and I didn't get an A in freshman physics until I was 40, but hey! We seem to have some stuff in common.

So, welcome. The ABF is a fine place. A little searching and you can find several threads with tips for sight reading - here, in the Pianists Corner, and even in the Teachers Forum Although I don't play the composers you mentioned, there's a wide variety of music here, and many people do play those folks.

You'll fit right in.

Cathy

my name rome from londom
i am new here

While I am not a beginner I visit this forum every day and love it. I am 61 and have been married to the same wonderful woman for 41 years. I make my living as a CPA and live in Southwest Georgia. I have played the piano for 45 years and have tried every type of music, every type of learning system and every type of piano out there. Let me encourage everyone, no matter how good or bad a player you think you are, to stick with the piano. This is a hobby for a lifetime.

I started on Bari Sax, and when I started, it was bigger than me!

Well...I was going to read all of these before posting my own intro, but it's going slower than I wanted (only 7 pages so far), and it seems I should do this before too much time passes where I live only in the Einaudi thread.

Some of this will be duplication from my posts in that thread.

I just turned 44 and have been married for almost 19 years (consecutive...to one woman!). We both grew up in southern California and moved in 1992 to Arkansas for complex reasons that would take too long to explain. We're very happy here - after the adjustment period.

I took five years of piano lessons from age 10 to 15. I was asked to practice 30 min per day and hardly ever did. I faked my way through many lessons. My teacher was nice and certainly gave me some foundational skills, but I didn't learn much of music theory. Probably more my fault than hers.

I never 100% quit but definitely had some lean years where I'd go long periods without touching the piano. In late 1985 my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I started playing my old songs, and learned a few new ones, since it gave her pleasure to listen.

When she passed away in 1986 I practiced on the grand at the church so I could play at her memorial service. My dad saw how playing on the grand affected me (positively) compared with the console we had, and soon after he purchased the Yamaha C7E that has followed me ever since. It's much more piano than my skills deserve, but it's nice to know that my piano never limits what I can bring out as music; I and my skills are the limit.

(Apparently I can be heard a block away, according to somebody on this list, even though strangely my wife doesn't always hear me if she's on the other side of our [normally-sized] house, and I've never had a neighbor complain.)

Except for another lean year right after my move to AR (bad job issues), I've never really quit, though life has often intruded and I'd say until last Oct. I rarely played more than 1-2 hours a week, and sometimes skipped whole weeks. Last Oct. I watched "Man on Fire" and fell in love with the snippet of the song "Smiling." As near as I could tell, no sheet music existed, so I made an arrangement by ear and decided to post it on YouTube.

Ever since then I've been playing more frequently, trying to squeeze in practice time after work in the evenings. I work (more than) full-time as an IT Director at the University, in charge of e-commerce and payment card security...which is only natural since I have a B.A. in English and an M.Ed. in Higher Ed. Leadership. (I do hold some relevant technical certifications.)

I played trumpet (no lessons) from age 7 through the end of 9th grade, playing in concert and marching band all three years in Jr. High, ending as first chair. I got tired of all of the hot bus trips to competitions.

I briefly toyed with violin and cello within the last decade but was forced to abandon both due to residual neck and back problems from an auto wreck in the '80s.

Although I haven't done much anything lately, I've been involved with woodworking since about 1994 and built more than half of the furniture in our house. I like to ride my bicycle on the trails here for health, used to like to walk before surgery on both feet a year ago, used to read a LOT but now don't seem to find as much time, and wish I remembered more math so I could better understand physics and other sciences which fascinate me.

And that's probably way more than enough.

Hi Swaying Tree!
Welcome to PW. I enjoyed reading your journey, and that's a very pretty performance on YouTube!

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum so I figured I'd join in with an intro. My name is Kathy, I'm 24 and recently married this past February.

I began taking piano lessons when I was 8 and I played until I was 16. I stopped at that point because it stopped being fun for me. The conservatory exams were too much pressure for me, and as a teen, I figured I had "better" things to spend my time on. I taught myself to play the flute when I was 12 and played that until I was about 16 as well, I had the pleasure of being in an honor band through cadets. Music has always been my passion, even though I'm not particularly gifted at it, I have a profound love and appreciation for all music, especially classical. Over the last two or three years, I've really begun to miss playing the piano but couldn't afford a nice digital piano I had been eyeballing. Yesterday, my husband decided to surprise me by offering to pay for most of the cost of the digital piano I have my heart set on. I'm so excited and thrilled that I will get to play again. I'll be visiting a few pianos tomorrow to see what's out there but I'm hoping to get the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-340.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone around here and exchange ideas and thoughts on all things piano-related!

Kathy

Welcome, Kathy. I played several Clavinovas in a music store a few models ago and was pleasantly surprised by both the action and the sound, so I imagine the new ones are quite nice. If money and space were no option, I'd probably have one to complement my grand so I could play at night and interface with a computer to create sheet music. Good luck, and just enjoy the music.

Hi there: I'm also new here. I'm in Calgary, Alberta but moving shortly to British Columbia. I've posted a few times to get advice about the old Chickering I have that I'm getting rid of and for selecting the new small grand I'm wanting. I'm just in the doing the research stage. I'm planning on a grand between 5'5" and 6'2", probably used, the best I can afford for between 10 and 15K.

I started playing when I was 7 and took lessons (classical and a little pop) on and off until I was about 19. I lived all over the US and had lots of different teachers, some good and some not so good. I remember clearly the good ones.

I'm married to an expert banjo player, and I have 2 grown kids that are each quite good on acoustic guitar. My husband plays a lot of bluegrass and jams with lots of musician friends. I'm also studying acoustic guitar and banjo. I was amazed at my first guitar lesson how much the piano knowledge was going to help me.

This is a wonderful and knowledgeable group, and I'm so glad to have found you'all.

Cynthia

Welcome, Cynthia. One day I hope to get back to British Columbia to see more of the beauty I saw in my brief visit during the '80s. Best wishes on the piano hunt.

Hey guys, I guess some of you may already know me, but since I've been away for a while I'll reintroduce myself.

My name is Álvaro Quiles and I'm 22 years old. I'm from the SE coast of Spain, from Alicante (near Benidorm).
I'm actually a Piano Student and would like to become a professional Pianist. I started when I was 18, but I'm quite confident and I know I'll make it, no matter how long it takes. It's all about loving something with all your heart and making it happen.

I've owned several Pianos: an upright Kingsburg, a Kawai RX2, an upright Schimmel, a Steinway B (had to sell it because of this never-ending recession), and now I own a Shigeru Kawai SK-6 (7' model), it's quite an amazing Piano.

My hobbies include Music, Cinema, Literature and RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and other similar (and freak) stuff
I also like to hang out with my buddies (I'm 22! )

As for favorite composers... Rachmaninov, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Scriabin are my top 5.
I'm now discovering Russian music which I believe is amazing, hence my love for Rach and Scriabin.

And this c'est moi:



Cheers!

I am 31 years old from Melbourne Australia, and have had a life long dream since I was about 6 years old of learning to play piano. I will take delivery of my new Kawai K-3 in a few weeks time and am very excited. Initially I will be teaching myself before taking lessons in a year's time or so depending on how my Alfred's Courses go.

Other instruments I have dabbled in are violin for about 8 years off and on and also flute for a couple of years whilst in school. Violin and piano are my absolute favorite, violin maybe a tiny bit more to listen to when played properly, but to play myself, I prefer piano.

Other intersts are flying light aircraft, tennis, reading, travelling (I love Europe especially, and would love to live in Switzerland or Austria for a year) and art (viewing paintings, not painting myself). I also want to learn a language one day, probably German or French.

I look forward to beginning my piano lessons and discussing my progress etc. with this forum. Thankyou everyone for your help to date especially with regards to my piano purchase.

Hi to both of you. Álvaro, aren't you supposed to also be a fan of motorcycle racing too? I watch an occasional Moto GP race myself. Sounds like you have an interesting life, and a life that includes piano is always better.

Oz, congrats on the new piano. If you want to learn a language, dive in. I can recommend the Pimsleur method (Google it). You can go direct, or I think I got my basic Italian through Amazon. My friend got German, I sampled three lessons about two years ago and still remember it all.

Hi, SwayingTree. I actually like motorbikes, but I haven't got one, although I used to ride one when I was in my teens. I now own a car though, an Audi, much more comfortable I shall say.

Cool. I drive an Audi myself. I just like to watch bikes. I'm still too young to die.

--

By the way, Oz, I rescanned your post and I feel I have to say that you also have an interesting-sounding life. I'm pretty boring in comparison.

Well my job is incredibly boring so that balances out any interesting hobbies I might have.

Hi,

I'm very happy to have found the PianoWorld.com forum. A wealth of information here and I plan on searching and reviewing previous posts to try and find answers before I post a question that has been answered a thousand times already.

A bit about me; I'm over 50 and wondering where all of the years have gone! I strummed acoustic guitars on and off for a dozen years or so, then about 5 years ago decided to "get serious" about learning more than some open chords and simple ballads.

I bought a Yamaha P-120, a few piano books and even took a few lessons from a nice lady who liked to slap my hand when I played something wrong (no kidding). I ditched the teacher and continued on for a while, learning some music theory and having a little fun. After a few months I concluded it would take a lifetime to learn piano, I already had several years invested in guitar, so I sold the keyboard and bought an electric guitar.

I've poured my heart and soul into learning guitar, took some lessons, practice daily, and have advanced a lot in the last 4 years. Learned a lot more music theory, etc. My end goal is/was to play music live in a band situation. I even got into a couple of start-up bands, but they fizzled for whatever reason. I went to some open stage blues jams, but sitting around for 3 hours to spend 10 minutes jamming to songs I didn't know was a waste.

And guess what? There are millions of guitar players all trying to do the same thing. I would respond to ad's for bands and they either want a Jimi Hendrix, SRV, EVH, or they already have "tons of guitar players" trying out (most of them were much better players than me too). Too many guitarists. But by the way "we need a keyboard player." Keys wanted! Everywhere I look at band ads, keys wanted!

So I'm switching back to piano / keyboard. I bought another 88 weighted keys electric piano / organ and am jumping back in. I won't stop playing guitar, because I love it and have invested a lot of time and money with it. However I plan to make keys my primary instrument then try and get into a band as a "keyboard player who can also play guitar if needed."

That's about it for now. I'm looking forward to reading all of your helpful posts (have read a lot already) and will no doubt have to ask some questions directly.

Regards,
Jake

Welcome, Jake. Best wishes on realizing your end goal.