How long to learn piano / keyboard

[telford_mike]

Always wanted to be able to play the piano. Starting next month I'll have some free time on my hands, so now might be the time to make a start.

How long might it take before I'll be able to bash out a recognisable tune?

[telford_mike]

Ta. Learned clarinet when I was a teenager, was ok with music theory etc, so hopefully have a bit of aptitude. Should be able to give it an hour a day at least I think.

[telford_mike]

Thanks for all the input. I'm lucky enough to be finishing work at the end of Feb, so I'll pay a visit to my local piano shop and pick up something that fits the bill (and our spare room).

I assume the £3-400 quid Yamahas are ok to begin with?

[telford_mike]

Super Slo Mo said:

I'm no expert on the digital stuff, but ideally you need 88 keys and weighting. Graded weighting to the keys is better (lighter at the top end, heavier at the bottom), but I doubt it makes that much difference to a beginner. I think it's much easier to control a weighted keyboard than non-weighted (do they even exist anymore?), as it strengthens your fingers leading to better control and expression.

Most of them seems to have graded keyboards, but the more expensive ones have a 'hammer action' which is supposed to mimic the action of an acoustic piano more realistically. These models seem to be much heavier (20+ kg) and I need to be able to put mine away after playing. Chap at our local shop has recommended this for a beginner:

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instrumen...

Any thoughts?

[telford_mike]

Super Slo Mo said:

I wouldn't worry too much about 'hammer action', yes, they do feel like the real thing, and for a proper virtuoso, it's probably a big deal, but for us mere sausage fingered mortals, normal weighting is adequate at least until you get more advanced. I don't know what the weighting is like on the one you linked to, the spec I found says 'touch sensitive', rather than 'fully weighted', but it might still have some weight to it.

To be fair, if the only instrument you ever play is this one, it doesn't matter at all.
It's more of an issue if you're jumping from your own keyboard to someone else's with a proper action, then you'll have a bit of a learning curve to get over each time as you initially press the keys gently and nothing much happens .

Thanks, you just saved me a few hundred quid

Super Slo Mo said:

If you're anywhere near J15 of the M6 this week or next, you're more than welcome to come and have a look at my piano, and compare it to an unweighted keyboard or electronic organ, both of which I also have.

Thanks again. I'll try as many as I can at the local shop but if I need more I'll get in touch.

[telford_mike]

Super Slo Mo said:

Upgradeitis will set in at some point, I'm sure of that! You know what us blokes are like for shiny toys.

It's actually worse than that, as we split our time between here and abroad, I may have to buy 2!

[telford_mike]

Thought I'd update this thread as things have moved on. I bought a nice piano (Korg Havian 30) in May last year, and messed about with online learning (pretty useless) for a couple of months before it became obvious that I needed the discipline of lessons. I got a recommendation for a teacher and she's turned out to be really good. Had a dozen or so lessons last summer & autumn before we left the UK for the winter.

Missed the piano a lot while we were away so I bought another one, and had lots of fun learning Christmas carols, but didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much without lessons. Returned to the UK in April and started weekly lessons again. I really feel like I'm getting somewhere with the piano now, currently working on grade 3-ish pieces and I can't imagine not having this hobby.

So in summary, absolute beginner to grade 2/3 took about 30 lessons, along with an hour of practice most days. A big investment of time, but hugely rewarding. A good teacher is the key. Thanks for all the advice & encouragement.

[telford_mike]

Super Slo Mo said:

Some of the pieces I played were 9-13 pages long (Einaudi and similar), and my memory isn't so great these days so I struggle to play without notes as at least a rough aide memoire.

Blimey. I need therapy after 32 bars or so! And I'm still at the stage where I need to know every note of a piece off by heart if I'm to be confident playing it 'in public'. Always get a doing from the teacher about that

[telford_mike]

Update on my piano journey. We have a holiday home which we're spending more and more time in, and I had to admit defeat and buy a second piano as I was taking 2 steps forward with my lessons & practice at home in the U.K. then 2 steps back through lack of both while we were away. Initially made a mistake by buying a cheap-ish one and wasn’t happy. Situation now fixed thanks to Korg UK who shipped another Havian 30 to our little home in the mountains.

Things are still going well and I've been invited to practice with a local band (only practice, not perform) which is really nice. Have also hooked-up with a local pro piano player which is great just for a chat about stuff (and I get to have a tinkle on her amazing Nord Stage 2).

If you're thinking of taking up a musical instrument I can’t recommend the piano highly enough. You need time and a little money, but it’s really rewarding. Can't beat banging out Sweet Home Alabama with a nice glass of scotch after everyone else has gone to bed

Edited by telford_mike on Tuesday 24th April 00:43