How long to learn piano / keyboard

[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

[Simes205]

Well done, the kids at school tend to pass grade one after about 20 lessons, that's from scratch.
Practise your scales correctly and the rest will fall into place.

[Super Slo Mo]

telford_mike said:

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

It just comes with practice. Says me who isn't terribly good. I had to put together enough stuff to last 90 minutes plus, so I had about 15 pieces of music back to back, then filled in the gaps with some random ad-lib stuff (slightly jazz/free form in style, probably sounds awful but it's all I can do on the fly).

I first played publicly 30 or so years ago, when I was 12. I really was bad back then, but playing with other people helps you get your timekeeping up to scratch as you can't slow down when it gets difficult. You soon learn to mask your errors and keep the momentum going.

Anyway, well done, it's an impressive start so far.

[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

[silobass]

telford_mike said:

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

I'd love to take up piano (might one day) and have visions of me playing some old jazz late at night with a glass of scotch. I like it in movies when people come home late at night looking weary and sit and play for a bit.

Anyway, glad it's going well.

[dieselgrunt]

i've been playing since 2006, passed grade 8 (just).
Currently learning "Reverie" by Debussy and some other pieces for grade 7 performance exam (LCM Leisure play syllabus)
Even though i've been playing for a while it takes me a long time to learn a piece from scratch. The Debussy piece will take me around 6 months to get it sounding not horrendous. I'm finding it tough to play the melody in the left hand whilst not letting the right hand overpower it. Just constant practice