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[Rizzo]

I used to play keyboard pretty averagely but this was way back when I was 9 or 10. Now I'm 18 and looking to start again. However I don't have the time or the money for proper lessons. What do you folks reckon I should do?
I can't really play anything much at the moment but my fingers are pretty dexterous from years of guitar playing.
I'm mostly into goth and metal but I also like a bit of classical.
Can anyone recommend some ways to start up again and get decent?
Thanks guys.

[ObsoleteDonkey]

I taught myself just by figuring out what sounded good and what didn't. If you listen to Opeth, try to figure out some of Steven Wilson's piano lines at some point. If you can play one instrument, you can play them all. Translate your knowledge of guitar over to piano.

[Duchess Tapioca]

You didn't really define "decent" Do you want someone to be able to play sheet music? Write your own songs? Play by ear?

How to learn to play:
1. Get more time.
2. Remember which notes on the paper go with which keys or play by ear.
3. Practice.
4. Um...
5. Ect.
6. Profit?

With sheet music:
Find a good sheet music store, because the more songs you have access to that you like, the better. If it says "Easy" on it, it means "Crapified" Lots of modern day musicians release crapified sheet music. Sometimes it takes forever to find it uncrapified. If there is a song that you really want to play that is hard just practice little bits over and over until it is good. I think it's less frustrating to just pick a simplier song.

http://www.music-scores.com/piano/composer.php That site is pretty cool if you want some free sheet music. A lot of them are just for members but there's enough free ones to occupy you for a while. Never pay full price for classical sheet music. The guy has been dead for a long time. You can find it if you are crafty enough.

Song writing?
If you just wanted to write your own songs, buy one of those basic piano books with the chord wheels and practice a bunch of differnt chords and scales and stuff. Same if you don't remember basic piano stuff like which keys go to which notes.

By ear:
Listen to stuff over and over. Play it on the keys.

Summary:
Pick things that you enjoy the sound of, practice lots, don't get frustrated. The easist way to start is probably classical, because if you are playing by ear, there usually aren't a lot of extra instruments in the way, and you can find a lot of free sheet music.

I miss my keybord! 5% of that should be helpful, you decide which!

[KharBevNor]

If you want to play some awesome stuff by ear, play some Sigh or Illnath.

I can play the keyboard to an extent, but not, ironically, well enough to play any of my compositions. Oh MIDI sequencer, how I love thee.

[ForteBass]

Summary:
Pick things that you enjoy the sound of, practice lots, don't get frustrated. The easist way to start is probably classical, because if you are playing by ear, there usually aren't a lot of extra instruments in the way, and you can find a lot of free sheet music.

I pretty much agree with what was said here. However, I do disagree with the free thing. This is because there's a set of 6 books on piano, by Bela Bartok called Mikrokosmos. The Mikrokosmos series was written specifically to teach piano. I highly reccomend picking up these books and going over each piece bit by bit.

[Signum_Tenebrae]

Don't skip learning your basic theory if you don't already know it or remember it.

[Reno]

Don't skip learning your basic theory if you don't already know it or remember it.

hmm.....that needs to be bigger ....

Don't skip learning your basic theory if you don't already know it or remember it.

cant be stressed enough.

[est]

i need to remember this thread when i get home.  my brother has a keyboard that i am sure he isn't using, gonna try to swipe it from him and set it up someplace and try to teach myself to play

[Duchess Tapioca]

But it's so boring... Oh fine.

[Reno]

I would teach myself keyboard, but I have no head for chords.....I can tell what they are when played, but dont know what keys to press to play them

[Luke]

Go out and buy Rhapsody in Blue, sit down at the piano, and don't get up until you can play it perfectly.


I'll check back on you in six months to see how you're doing.


Seriously, though, if you don't feel like going out and buying some theory/lesson books or something, try taking a tune you know and playing it by ear. Starting with the simple monophonic melody, of course.

[Thrillho]

Take it from a self taught pianist who learned guitar first - being a guitarist helps very little unless you can do hybrid picking or that trick where you strum with your little finger and tap with your other three fingers. Because it's not about speed on the piano any more, all of your fingers have to be doing different rhythms, and not just like fingerpicking, totally different rhythms.