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Hi everyone. I have recently started learning piano using my mum's old 63 key keyboard and Alfred's all in one piano course, after 2 weeks I'm about half way through the 1st book and have found it straightforward so far, but my ultimate goal is to play music such as the below:
I'm not quite sure what genre you would categorise this as, but I would appreciate any suggestions as to what sort of books or courses would help me achieve this end goal? Thanks.
I think its called 'gaming music'. The genre is quite broad I think. Tetris i think originally is a russian folk song. Final fantasy is probably written for the game. I myself would try and get some simple gaming music. Some of it really is very easy to play and some people can do it without even reading music. But what you've got above you'll need some decent piano years I think. I would suggest a mix of standard approach and some pieces you like. Maybe start with legend of zelda theme ? That I like! Enjoy.
Unfortunately, the truth is …. To play that music, you need to be a very good pianist …. capable of playing almost anything of at least intermediate level.
That will take years of lessons or working at it on your own with whatever material you decide to use …. books, videos, youtube, tips on piano world, etc ….
The most efficient and probably surest way is with lessons but none of the early (first year or two) efforts will be influenced by the type of music you wish to play. You will simply be learning to play the piano.
Sorry, no easy path.
Good Luck
Don
Kawai MP7SE, On Stage KS7350 keyboard stand, KRK Classic 5 powered monitors, SennHeiser HD 559 Headphones
...but none of the early (first year or two) efforts will be influenced by the type of music you wish to play. You will simply be learning to play the piano.
Video game music is very popular genre, and I'm sure there are arrangements available for all levels of pianists including beginners. They will be mostly simplified from the original but still the type of music this poster is interested in playing.
If the OP posts this on the non classical forum he may get some specific suggestions.
...but none of the early (first year or two) efforts will be influenced by the type of music you wish to play. You will simply be learning to play the piano.
Video game music is very popular genre, and I'm sure there are arrangements available for all levels of pianists including beginners. They will be mostly simplified from the original but still the type of music this poster is interested in playing.
If the OP posts this on the non classical forum he may get some specific suggestions.
I think the most important thing in learning piano (when not being forced to by, say, a parent) is to keep up interest, and playing stuff not to your liking is not going to cut it.
across the stone, deathless piano performances
"Discipline is more reliable than motivation." -by a contributor on Reddit r/piano "Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration." -by some other wise person "Pianoteq manages to keep it all together yet simultaneously also go in all directions; like a quantum particle entangled with an unknown and spooky parallel universe simply waiting to be discovered." -by Pete14
Looks like an interesting category of music you are getting into. Before that you need to go through pieces of music you may / may not like to play to get up to a proficient technical level.
You may be able to find Lead Sheet versions to many of these pieces where you just have a melody and left-hand chords. Super Mario (a game released by Nintendo years ago) is a popular song.
Looks like an interesting category of music you are getting into. Before that you need to go through pieces of music you may / may not like to play to get up to a proficient technical level.
I think there is close to 100% chance there are very simplified versions of video game music available. If so, then there is no need for the OP to play music he's not interested in.
I was intrigued by the question so did some googling around. There is quite a lot on offer for simple versions of familiar game music. There are sites offering free fan-created sheet music (quality is unknown) and also some books based on popular games, viz:
Or this site has individual pieces for sale - you can preview them before buying to see if they look accessible to you. Look under the "scoring" column for "Easy Piano". There's a lot of Final Fantasy stuff in there, however the ones I looked at look like they are maybe Level 2 or 3 and up, so you might have to start with other stuff and aspire to that. (You might have to copy and paste the link into your browser).
Thanks a lot for the responses guys. I really like pop music too, songs like chasing cars and run by snow patrol for example. I'd like to use genres that I like to learn the techniques wherever possible as I did with guitar, as playing music I'm not interested in can be demotivating. I realise it'll take a long time before I can play songs like melodies of life though, or this Amazing variation on Apologize by one Republic!
I am at a year and a half of playing, RCM grade 5 of 10.
I started To Zanarkand, but didn't finish it. It isn't that hard, maybe hard beginner/lower intermediate. I just got bored with it.
I would recommend finishing your book, then grab an Etudes book, level 1 or 2 (depending on how you are taking to piano) in whichever national music education program you have. Read what you are to get from the piece before you play it and learn it well. Grades 1-2 are the fundamentals beyond the basics, if that makes sense.
If you give a solid year, and I mean a truly solid year practicing, you should be able to tackle it. I was working on Grade 3 pieces and decided to learn Nuvole Bianche - Einaudi. It was a great piece to learn that was my first real piece over just a page or two. It is challenging at that level and beautiful. Basic basic left hand that requires a bit of lateral movement, basic right hand melody for the polyphonical parts, and other fun right hand parts. I would recommend it for anyone starting. After a year of playing it, I am still not perfect at it.
Thanks a lot for the responses guys. I really like pop music too, songs like chasing cars and run by snow patrol for example. I'd like to use genres that I like to learn the techniques wherever possible as I did with guitar, as playing music I'm not interested in can be demotivating. I realise it'll take a long time before I can play songs like melodies of life though, or this Amazing variation on Apologize by one Republic!
Sure, if you like that style you can learn piano with it, but I would like to caution you about doing it on your own. The thing is that this guy (and others on YT who play the anime stuff) not only has a good technique but also a fairly good musicality, which is a more abstract and difficult thing to get on your own. For instance, he knows what notes to play louder to bring out the melody above the accompaniment and give the song a sense of rhythmic drive forward. Many self-taught beginners just think about pressing the right keys at the right time, which is maybe like 10 percent of piano playing.
A teacher will tell you about all this stuff and can serve as an objective listener for things you may not be aware of. Of course, you can do it without a teacher but it's much harder and takes much longer.
Unfortunately, the truth is …. To play that music, you need to be a very good pianist …. capable of playing almost anything of at least intermediate level.
That will take years of lessons or working at it on your own with whatever material you decide to use …. books, videos, youtube, tips on piano world, etc ….
The most efficient and probably surest way is with lessons but none of the early (first year or two) efforts will be influenced by the type of music you wish to play. You will simply be learning to play the piano.
Sorry, no easy path.
Good Luck
There is some truth, however, you will notice improvement faster if you choose pieces out of your reach (within reason) but you love dearly!
Thanks a lot for the responses guys. I really like pop music too, songs like chasing cars and run by snow patrol for example. I'd like to use genres that I like to learn the techniques wherever possible as I did with guitar, as playing music I'm not interested in can be demotivating. I realise it'll take a long time before I can play songs like melodies of life though, or this Amazing variation on Apologize by one Republic!
Sure, if you like that style you can learn piano with it, but I would like to caution you about doing it on your own. The thing is that this guy (and others on YT who play the anime stuff) not only has a good technique but also a fairly good musicality, which is a more abstract and difficult thing to get on your own. For instance, he knows what notes to play louder to bring out the melody above the accompaniment and give the song a sense of rhythmic drive forward. Many self-taught beginners just think about pressing the right keys at the right time, which is maybe like 10 percent of piano playing.
A teacher will tell you about all this stuff and can serve as an objective listener for things you may not be aware of. Of course, you can do it without a teacher but it's much harder and takes much longer.
Lessons are something I am considering, where does one find a good tutor? Is it more typical for the tutor to come to me or the other way around? I am just a bit wary sometimes of there being too much focus on classical music from when I had clarinet lessons many years ago. I need to find someone with good experience playing more contemporary music.
Lessons are something I am considering, where does one find a good tutor? Is it more typical for the tutor to come to me or the other way around? I am just a bit wary sometimes of there being too much focus on classical music from when I had clarinet lessons many years ago. I need to find someone with good experience playing more contemporary music.
There are teachers who almost only teach contemporary and jazz. I think there are some of those, for example, who post on PW's non-classical forum, for example. When you interview the teachers (which you should since they will be working "for" you), you should just make it clear you have no interest in classical and are interested instead in pop/contemporary/gaming music, and ask for their experience teaching the same.
across the stone, deathless piano performances
"Discipline is more reliable than motivation." -by a contributor on Reddit r/piano "Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration." -by some other wise person "Pianoteq manages to keep it all together yet simultaneously also go in all directions; like a quantum particle entangled with an unknown and spooky parallel universe simply waiting to be discovered." -by Pete14
I would call a school and just ask for a teacher that could teach you what you want to learn. My first theory teacher and piano teacher was an college teacher and played for a symphony. His focus was classical, but he was well versed to play and teacher other aspects of music. My second teacher is more focused on gospel, jazz, and music composition. He also plays organ and drums. However, he is well versed in classical as well, but that is not his focus. Both of my teachers had master's degrees in music. My point, I think piano teachers are pretty diversified and can teach an array of music.
Deb "A goal properly set is halfway reached." Zig Ziglar
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