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GMC Forum _ CHILL OUT _ Learning Piano
Posted by: ElHombre Apr 2 2012, 12:49 PM
Hi, my sister is learning my to play the piano, which is a beautiful instrument, guitar and piano the greatest instruments I think.
Well we havent started out yet she is away.
So I thought I see if there is someone here that plays piano and can tell me where to start out. All knowledge is good knowledge
I found out that playing scales were easy, for example the C major scale 
Reading notes is almost a "must know" when playing piano and I can do that aswell.
But starting out with chords. I have been harmonising scales on the guitar, so I know which notes make up and chord and they seemed quite easy to play on the piano.
Well give me something 
Posted by: PosterBoy Apr 2 2012, 01:08 PM
I keep trying to learn and only get so far.
I know my chords, but you really have to work on the fingering of scales and getting that left and right hand working together (sharing harmony) whilst working independantly is tough going.
The easy way is octave bass with left hand and partial chording and melody with right hand.
but proper piano with left and right hand playing the underlying bass and arpeggios with the right hand also doing melody is more than my brain could cope with.
I bought a book of Einaudi thinking it sounded fairly easy but effective, but boy was I wrong, there were little syncopated passing notes that I didn't notice at first and after taking a day to get four or so bars down slowly but in time I gave it a rest.
Posted by: casinostrat Apr 2 2012, 07:24 PM
I play both piano and guitar, and actually have been playing piano longer than guitar (I started with Piano in 2003). I had an instructor that taught me the basics, and so I wasn't really self taught but here are some general tips I would recommend.
1. you are absolutely right about being able to read music, this is a must with piano. The best way to learn do this is to start by playing scales, So that you see both the notes written out on a traditional music score, and also begin to be able to locate them on the fretboard.....errr keyboard I mean 
2. I recommend staying with C Major scale to start off with, since it has no sharps or flats (Black Keys) and is a good way to learn the pattern of the major scale on the piano. I would then possilbly move to the relative minor of C major (A Minor) since it also has not sharps or flats, and helps to not only explain the difference between a major and minor scale, it also demonstrates the difference in sound between the two. When you feel you are ready to switch to a new key, I recommend G Major since it only had one sharp (F#) and introduces the concept of playing with both black and white keys gradually.
3. Don't worry about things like pentatonic scales, modes and exotic scales in piano. Things that we use every day in guitar are just not used in piano. For exaple, I never think about modes or pentatonics when playing piano, but rather the emphasis is on the diatonic (Seven Note) scale, chords, and playing within a certain key. So if you are looking to music theory with piano consentrate on the seven note scale, how to tell major scales from minor scales, know your keys and key signatures, your major and minor chords found within any particular scale, and chord inversions.
4. Are you going to use any kind of instruction book? if you do I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-In-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic-Alfreds/dp/088284931X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333390471&sr=1-7
It is an instruction book that is geared toward adults (How old is your sister?) , and teaches you quite a bit about theory, technique, and other aspects of playing piao in a user friendly manner. It is the first part of a three level course, and if you go through all three (I did) you will have a great foundation and be able to play quite a bit of stuff, and more importantly you will be able to pick up any piece of music and learn to play it.
5. If you are looking for music to play I recommend these sites, since they offer free music scores that you can use.
free-scores.com
8notes.com
freesheetmusic.net
That should be enough to get you started, but remember piano is just like guitar, practice makes perfect. Any other questions just PM me and If I can help you I will!
Posted by: ElHombre Apr 2 2012, 09:31 PM
Wow, thanks for all that information
My sister is 19 years old been playing for 9 years, it will be very useful to have a teatcher to help with finger placement and everything.
Playing scales on a piano seems easier than on a guitar since u have everything in a straight line and no halfsteps, and all sharps are black.
Converting the theory from guitar to piano seems much easier than doing the opposite.
Posted by: casinostrat Apr 2 2012, 11:19 PM
No Problem, always glad to help where I can!
Playing scales and particularly chords is much easier in Piano, since everything is lined up in basically one direction. Also, generally speaking your sharps and flats will be found on the black keys, the only two exceptions being B sharp which is actually C natural, a white key, and E sharp, which is actually F natural, also a white key. There are half steps in piano, but the are not used as much as with guitar. If you started at Middle C and went up the scale to the next C, playing all the black and white keys, you would be moving up the C major scale chromatically, or in other words in half steps. This is really the only place where you will deal with half steps in piano, playing chromatially.
Also I almost forgot, but GMC actually has a few piano lessons!
Do a search in the GMC search bar for "Maestro Mistheria" the lessons he put on GMC are all good, and can help you get started. Sorry I couldn't post actual links to the lesson, but my computer is not letting me for some reason.
Posted by: spacebran Apr 2 2012, 11:23 PM
Thanks for the resources - I've been meaning to expand my theory by learning piano over the summer. I found a copy of that book so I'm going to work through it.
Posted by: Alex Feather Apr 3 2012, 09:06 AM
It's a very good idea to learn piano! You will become much better musician if you know it!
I taught myself and it's very easy! Start learning chords on white keys first
And try playing simple songs and you will get it very fast!
Posted by: casinostrat Apr 3 2012, 11:37 PM
Yeah that book is great because it helps teach theory as well as playing piano, and the theory can be used anywhere piano, guitar, you name it. It also starts out with very simple stuff, and gets progressivly harder. the Third level book actually has full versions of some of the most famous classical piano pieces, like Bach's Tocata and Fugue (Technically an Organ piece) Fur Elise by Bethoven, and a few pieces by Mozart and Chopin. If you can find one that comes with a CD that would be great, because the CD actually has every song in the book played out correctly, so you can listen and tell rather you are getting it right or not.
I taught myself and it's very easy! Start learning chords on white keys first
And try playing simple songs and you will get it very fast!
Somehow I figured you could play Piano as well as guitar!
You are absolutly right about starting with simple stuff first. Just like no one picks up a guitar and plays "Eruption" perfectly on their first day of playing guitar, nobody starts out playing complex piano pieces right away. You have to start small and work your way into it. Personally though, I would say that playing piano is somewhat easier that playing guitar, even though I enjoy playing guitar a lot more than I do the piano.Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 4 2012, 01:36 AM
Some great info here! The main thing is to just get started. Try learning some chords, get a songbook
watch some youtube videos, etc. Don't pressure yourself and keep it fun. The more fun you can
keep it the more likely you are to keep at it. It's not an easy instrument IMHO but well worth learning.
The more instruments you can learn, the better. Each one will help you with your guitar learning!
1. you are absolutely right about being able to read music, this is a must with piano. The best way to learn do this is to start by playing scales, So that you see both the notes written out on a traditional music score, and also begin to be able to locate them on the fretboard.....errr keyboard I mean
2. I recommend staying with C Major scale to start off with, since it has no sharps or flats (Black Keys) and is a good way to learn the pattern of the major scale on the piano. I would then possilbly move to the relative minor of C major (A Minor) since it also has not sharps or flats, and helps to not only explain the difference between a major and minor scale, it also demonstrates the difference in sound between the two. When you feel you are ready to switch to a new key, I recommend G Major since it only had one sharp (F#) and introduces the concept of playing with both black and white keys gradually.
3. Don't worry about things like pentatonic scales, modes and exotic scales in piano. Things that we use every day in guitar are just not used in piano. For exaple, I never think about modes or pentatonics when playing piano, but rather the emphasis is on the diatonic (Seven Note) scale, chords, and playing within a certain key. So if you are looking to music theory with piano consentrate on the seven note scale, how to tell major scales from minor scales, know your keys and key signatures, your major and minor chords found within any particular scale, and chord inversions.
4. Are you going to use any kind of instruction book? if you do I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-In-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic-Alfreds/dp/088284931X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333390471&sr=1-7
It is an instruction book that is geared toward adults (How old is your sister?) , and teaches you quite a bit about theory, technique, and other aspects of playing piao in a user friendly manner. It is the first part of a three level course, and if you go through all three (I did) you will have a great foundation and be able to play quite a bit of stuff, and more importantly you will be able to pick up any piece of music and learn to play it.
5. If you are looking for music to play I recommend these sites, since they offer free music scores that you can use.
free-scores.com
8notes.com
freesheetmusic.net
That should be enough to get you started, but remember piano is just like guitar, practice makes perfect. Any other questions just PM me and If I can help you I will!
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