anyone here really good at piano?

[cloudzero]

i dont see myself improving. on fast pieces, sometimes i hit between keys and wrong keys even though i know exactly which key im aiming for. its weird, i dont wanna go into too much detail unless some1 here is really good? :confused:

[snailpoo]

i dont see myself improving. on fast pieces, sometimes i hit between keys and wrong keys even though i know exactly which key im aiming for. its weird, i dont wanna go into too much detail unless some1 here is really good? :confused:

I was decent a long time ago. Does that count?

The only thing worked for me was to practice slowly, ad nauseum. It was mindnumbing, but I had to do it until it stuck in my muscle memory, which was something I had to do because I could never sight read fast enough to keep up with the speed I wanted to play. I used to like to play fast (the allegro section of Pathatique at 220 :redface:), and I hated getting this advice from my teachers, but it worked for me when I was patient enough to practice it enough times slowly for the piece to stick in my muscle memory before speeding the thing up.

But then again, this is me and my slow-assed music reading ability, and you were asking for "really good." :biggrin:

[Napoleon Chynamite]

^ I loved the Pathetique~~ I used to like to play the first movement extremely fast also. That and Fantasie Impromptu, which is actually easier than it sounds but nevertheless a good show-off piece~ I actually am supposed to start lessons again next week...I've been playing classical and a bit of contemporary ballad stuff all my life and I want to dabble in a bit of jazz and the like.

As for improving dexterity, I think just the whole basic routine of practicing scales or Hanon works a lot. I'm not sure I know any secret methodology.

[cloudzero]

did you have a teacher from school in music class or is this like a private tutor?

ok here is the full story
i had about 2 years of piano in highschool, only the first year had any learning/progression in it. because i practiced 3-4 key chords and going up and down single octaves with both hands. i can't sight read, the most i can do is practice each measure for about 30 seconds until i stop hitting the wrong keys.

here are my problems:
for the songs i have memorized, i can play them pretty fast but find myself hitting between keys at random times.
i would be crossing fingers and hand flipping when its not necessary and leaving the pinky out of entire songs (sometimes).
i think my chords are good because in highschool, the teacher gave me generic exercises (not songs) that disciplines the hand to play a certain way. are there generic exercises that help with fingering?
like improve the common sense of how i use my fingers.

typing "fingering" in a search engine is a bad idea

take a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neAiLZcy8Qk
yea, he is obviously hacking, aimbot or something

at 7:20, my right hand would be hitting between keys
at 9:15, my left hand would be hitting 1-2 keys off or between keys again

[snailpoo]

9 years of private lessons, lots of competitions, a great item on my college application, but gave it up after 13 years in college because I was just too lazy.

If you're only a few years in, good exercises are Cherny and Hanon.

If your fingering is messing you up for a particular piece, sit down with a pencil and map it out so you don't run out of fingers in a particular run. Write out each finger above each note so that your hand isn't flipping and your fingers aren't crossing unnecessarily. In a run, your finger progression should be similar to a scale, with your thumb crossing your third or fourth finger on your right hand moving upwards and your 3or 4 crossing your 1 moving downwards (mirror opposite for your left). Practice what you wrote.

As for chords, I'm going to guess that it's your 4 and 5 that mess you up. You need to condition your fingers, as most people don't have the necessary muscles or the necessary nerves to use these four fingers independently of each other. Try a trill with just your 4 and 5. Feel that burn in your forearm? Notice how jerky it is compared to a trill with your 1 and 2? Finger and chord exercises will help, but don't expect overnight improvement --you're trying to build muscles and nerves where there aren't any. (Even the Youtube performer misses a few notes in his chords with his left 5)



^ I loved the Pathetique~~ I used to like to play the first movement extremely fast also. That and Fantasie Impromptu, which is actually easier than it sounds but nevertheless a good show-off piece~ I actually am supposed to start lessons again next week...I've been playing classical and a bit of contemporary ballad stuff all my life and I want to dabble in a bit of jazz and the like.

Heh, those are my two show off pieces... or were. One of my biggest regrets was letting piano go, and now I can't make it through 4 or 5 pages of Pathetique without my arms hurting too much to continue.

[cloudzero]

eh its mostly my runs that are screwy
i said my chords are good, 5 chords dont bother me
no burn, ive been through it and got use to it.
just need more disciplined fingering instead of random junk

my showoff pieces are all from final fantasy games. Nobuo Uematsu is my hero
i play touchy music, then some1 hands me a sheet and i have to pretend i have diarrhea
starting off a song like a pro and hitting between keys really raises some eyebrows

but thanks for the advice, i was planning to get hanon a few years ago but didnt get around to it

[applehead]

Heh, those are my two show off pieces... or were. One of my biggest regrets was letting piano go, and now I can't make it through 4 or 5 pages of Pathetique without my arms hurting too much to continue.

me too.
i remember crying and begging my mom
to let me quit. And when she finally did
i couldnt wait to get rid of that piano

but now after a stressful day i find
myself longing for a piano in the house.
pound out some of that stress by practicing
hanon superfast.

[SunWuKong]

The only thing worked for me was to practice slowly, ad nauseum.

i don't play piano, but i think that basically works for any musical instruments when you're trying to learn any fast pieces.

[SunWuKong]

me too.
i remember crying and begging my mom
to let me quit. And when she finally did
i couldnt wait to get rid of that piano

but now after a stressful day i find
myself longing for a piano in the house.
pound out some of that stress by practicing
hanon superfast.

learn guitar. it's easy to self-teach if you know how to play the piano.

[raacluse]

Yeah, Czerny and Hanon are the standard piano exercise material.
You've got to practice, practice, practice, and develop your technique.

I've always had trouble trilling.

Brought home to me when I tried learning Beethoven sonata #3? The one that starts out with trilling thirds.

BTW, while I never got real good in piano, I did find that developing my finger articulation did transfer over to learning to touch type and having a blazing typing speed.

[VV o n g B a]

learn guitar. it's easy to self-teach if you know how to play the piano.up to a point. i played piano for years and maybe this is only me, but i found sweeping to be pretty difficult to self-teach. then again, i don't know if that's also due to only having a classical vs an electric guitar to practice on.

[SunWuKong]

up to a point. i played piano for years and maybe this is only me, but i found sweeping to be pretty difficult to self-teach. then again, i don't know if that's also due to only having a classical vs an electric guitar to practice on.

you can do both strumming and picking on either types of guitars. but it is easier for beginners to strum on electric/acoustic guitars, while it's easier to finger pick on classical guitars.

[cloudzero]

so i entered "fingering" into a search engine.....

any advice on how to sight read? "every good boy does fine" doesn't really help

[snailpoo]

so i entered "fingering" into a search engine.....

any advice on how to sight read? "every good boy does fine" doesn't really help

Practice sight reading, one hand at a time and SLOWLY. One thing that might help is to sit down with a pencil, and think through which finger goes where before you start playing. Start off with songs that you already recognize so you have a little leg up when you start, and start off using only one hand. Move to more difficult songs and combine your hands as you get better. Grab a bunch of sheets, and get to it.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Sightreading was always my weakest point. That and correct fingering, because I'd always be so lazy that I would just do what my fingers wanted to do instead of forcing myself to learn the fingering my teacher wanted me to learn.

[cloudzero]

which version of Czerny?
"Practical Method for Beginners"??
or
" School of Velocity"??

[applehead]

learn guitar. it's easy to self-teach if you know how to play the piano.

no way. i tried. but my retarded arm
makes it hard for me to move my fingers
with ease when it's in that position.

and it's hard!!

[snailpoo]

which version of Czerny?
"Practical Method for Beginners"??
or
" School of Velocity"??

Whichever one you feel comfortable with.