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Hi everyone,

My name is Brian and I'm a lurker LOL

That said I finally created an account and am here to be a part of the community. I'm a 34 yr old adult who started taking lessons about 10 months ago and it's been a real trip. I never imagined how much of playing piano is a brain teaser! There are days where I can't believe the progress I've made and then there are others when I'm frustrated that I can't play as well as I'd like to.

My teacher is very knowledgeable, but a bit "classic" in her ways. For instance, we're going through the Thompson and Schaum method books. I just started John Thompson Book 2. I am anxious to learn more about chords etc, but she's insistent on teaching things in the way she was taught some 70 years ago. She seems to just focus on reading the music from the bottom up and going from there.

Anyway, I'm glad to be a part of the community. I have a Pearl River 48" Studio Upright (EU122) and I actually really like it, despite the negative opinions I read on here about it. To be honest, it was in my price range and I wanted something to start on that is an actual acoustic piano. Perhaps I'll upgrade in the future. As far as the action goes, my tuner has told me that he thinks it has better action than some grands he's works on, not sure if that is true but interesting point of view.

PianoGamer, I have read your post, here:

Hi everyone,

My name is Brian and I'm a lurker wink LOL

That said I finally created an account and am here to be a part of the community. I'm a 34 yr old adult who started taking lessons about 10 months ago and it's been a real trip. I never imagined how much of playing piano is a brain teaser! There are days where I can't believe the progress I've made and then there are others when I'm frustrated that I can't play as well as I'd like to.

My teacher is very knowledgeable, but a bit "classic" in her ways. For instance, we're going through the Thompson and Schaum method books. I just started John Thompson Book 2. I am anxious to learn more about chords etc, but she's insistent on teaching things in the way she was taught some 70 years ago. She seems to just focus on reading the music from the bottom up and going from there.

Anyway, I'm glad to be a part of the community. I have a Pearl River 48" Studio Upright (EU122) and I actually really like it, despite the negative opinions I read on here about it. To be honest, it was in my price range and I wanted something to start on that is an actual acoustic piano. Perhaps I'll upgrade in the future. As far as the action goes, my tuner has told me that he thinks it has better action than some grands he's works on, not sure if that is true but interesting point of view.

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Great post. Glad to hear you have a teacher. I love the Thompson books and the Schaum Books. I think they are great books to learn to play the piano from with or without a teacher. And I have been waiting for the 2 years that I have been playing the piano for someone to suggest something better than Thompson or Schaum methods - and nobody has yet to say what the method book or method books are.

If you learn to play the classical way as you teacher has suggested, you can easily switch to the chord method, so it is a win win situation. It is so true that some days and some pieces can be lots of fun to learn and other days and other pieces can cause your brain lots of grief.

The other thing that neat is that when you see a page of notes, you have no idea what it is going to sound like until read the notes and play it. It is like decoding a message of music when sit down at the piano.

Welcome PianoGamer, another lurker emerges, lol.

No harm in following a teachers tried and tested method, the benefits of a fundamental method vastly outweigh the negatives. I guess we are all eager to run before we can walk but I am sure you will come across chords soon enough.

Welcome, Brian...

This may be the best description of an adult beginner's journey toward piano that I've read in ages. Welcome to the forum, Brian. What are your goals for piano? What kind of music do you want most to be able to play?

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

Regarding my goals, ultimately I want to play Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2. I know, that is a HUGE undertaking, but I believe I can eventually get there. I know that's a very "mainstream" piece, but there's something about it that just mesmerizes me.

My other shorter term goals are getting to a point where I can entertain friends at a party or play for myself and reflect/express/CREATE music. I could see myself playing mainly Classical, Jazz (later), and some fun stuff like musical scores or cool pieces like the Downton Abbey book I just received. I'm making a list of pieces I want to play

Glad you joined in . I lurked for a while too. this is such a great place to share trials and tribulations , but mostly the joy of just trying. 'Piano Worlders' as you named us, are so supportive. Stay in touch.

Welcome! Especially as a beginner, results from day-to-day practicing can vary wildly like this. Make very specific note of what you do in each practice and then later, how the results turned out. Adapt your approach this way often, keeping the good and discarding the bad and before you know it, just 10-20 minutes of time will compare to hours of your time when you were first starting out (in terms of efficiency)!

You're in for a veeeery long journey Of course you know that.

Welcome to the forum! Join the ABF recitals!

Hey Brian... I am a Brian too and a former lurker as well. I am also a beginner with about 16 months under my belt. I can only wish I was 34 again (the good old days). That birthday came and went many years ago.

I know what you mean by the good days and bad days. My piano and I have developed a love/hate relationship but the hate part never lasts too long before we become friends again.

I have found that progress usually appears without warning. All of a sudden, your getting it! Something you have struggled with for days or even weeks, begins to flow and you smile and think "holy solid Batman.. I just played through those bars without an error and it actually sounded okay". It makes the rest of your day a bit brighter. Then there is the dark side... Other days, it feels like you're beating your head against a wall to no avail. Frustration can reign supreme. I have learned to accept this as normal so it does not bother me as much any more. Sometimes, I'll just simply leave the piano and come back to it later or even the next day. On days where everything seems to be clicking I will practice more since I feel I am being more productive with my time.

Piano is definitely a brain teaser. I have found that my memory, overall, has greatly improved since taking up the piano. The constant challenge to learn new material and skills gets the ol' engine room running on all eight cylinders.

Enjoy the journey, as they say.

All of what you guys are saying definitely resonates

Ok, even though I'm in my 2nd JT book I went back and recorded some of my favorite little tunes from Book 1. You can check them out here. Wow! Interesting how much I messed up when I started recording myself. Every single time I messed up the piece in some little way or worse I would nail one part, but then in the middle of it I would get excited and mess up the next few notes LOL

Ok enough talking, my first set of videos here:

Dublin Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TymJk6Exhjg

The Knight and the Lady
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j6aF0717es

To a Skyscraper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2wKB-CVGbM

The Fairies' Harp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2m-_mjvUVo