How hard is it to play the keyboard?

[amirm]

Question for the musicians in the crowd. One of my childhood dreams was to learn to play the keyboard/synthesizer. For the sake of this discussion, let's include Piano in that. My interest would be in playing modern music and not classical. I am talking about new age.

A bit of context, when I was in my teens I tried to learn to play the guitar and found it very hard, stretching the fingers and pressing hard. Never seemed that hard watching others play it . I even have long fingers but found the experience not enjoyable.

So how hard is this? Do you have to spend years learning sheet music, practicing, etc. just to be able to play some nice relaxing music? What is involved in hearing a track and replicating it?

 

[Steve Williams]

Finding yourself a good teacher has always been the key in our family

 

[egidius]

Try to imagine:

You see a key, touch it, and wonder about the sound. try to do that on as many surfaces you can find: and then the fascination of touching / playing different sounds at the same time.
Having said that; Playing the violin is really very particular, as one movement is useless without the other, which is really different from playing the piano, so maybe i have no idea of that either..
But my advice to students, when asking if they should become musicians: Don't do it. IF they do it anyway, they didn't need my advice - IF they don't do it, my advice was brilliant.
In a small way, this would apply for you too?
As to being able to read: Don't bother first, just listen!!

 

[zztop7]

So how hard is this? Do you have to spend years learning sheet music, practicing, etc. just to be able to play some nice relaxing music?

EASY to enjoy; NOT hard. Skip all the above. First find the individual note sounds you like. Then develop the tone you like on those single & simple notes. One single sounding great note is so much better than a mish-mash of chords, or 200 mph frantic.......

Later you can put the beautiful notes together.

Best to you,
zz.

 

[joeinid]

Check out Scott Houston here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/pianoguytv

http://www.scotthouston.com/

 

[Peter Breuninger]

EASY to enjoy; NOT hard. Skip all the above. First find the individual note sounds you like. Then develop the tone you like on those single & simple notes. One single sounding great note is so much better than a mish-mash of chords, or 200 mph frantic.......

Later you can put the beautiful notes together.

Best to you,
zz.

I agree. Playing for fun, just like this can be rewarding. I sat down at church one day and began hunting for keys that sounded good together. After 15 minutes of fooling around, someone walked in and said, wow, you are a great pianist!

 

[Bruce B]

I've been playing piano since the 3rd grade with a minor in college. What I did find out was I that I was the fastest typist in school because of if. Since you can already type, you have good dexterity in your fingers. Can you read music? If you can't, then that is another hurdle you must accomplish.

 

[amirm]

I've been playing piano since the 3rd grade with a minor in college. What I did find out was I that I was the fastest typist in school because of if. Since you can already type, you have good dexterity in your fingers. Can you read music? If you can't, then that is another hurdle you must accomplish.

That's interesting. Yes, I can type although never got above 45 words/minutes. Good to know that kind of dexterity is useful here.

How hard is reading sheet music? Seems daunting to me. Is that just the case with classical music?

 

[JackD201]

Playing a keyboard is easy. Playing it without sucking is hard. Playing great is reserved for the talented AND dedicated

Seriously though, I know a lot of people who can play well but can't read a single piece of sheet music. The common limitation is that these "play by ear" people are usually confined to playing in just one key, typically C.

I say it's never too late to check another item off the ol' bucket list. Go for it!

 

[Bruce B]

That's interesting. Yes, I can type although never got above 45 words/minutes. Good to know that kind of dexterity is useful here.

How hard is reading sheet music? Seems daunting to me. Is that just the case with classical music?

Well you only have 2 staffs (for the most part), and notes have not changed for hundreds of years.

The upper treble staff spaces spell out: F-A-C-E and the lines are EGBDF or Every Good Boy Does Fine. It only gets hard when you start into difficult key signatures and chord structures mostly found in jazz pieces. It's all about fractions, timing and a good ear.....

 

[microstrip]

I've been playing piano since the 3rd grade with a minor in college. What I did find out was I that I was the fastest typist in school because of if. Since you can already type, you have good dexterity in your fingers. Can you read music? If you can't, then that is another hurdle you must accomplish.

Well, we have a joke about piano players: at the introductory session the new recruits are asked if they are good piano players. A few answer "yes" enthusiastically and are immediately sent to the kitchen to peel potatoes ...

 

[BobM]

If you can play an instrument now and can read music, but that instrument is limited to one staff and one note, then you will likely find it difficult to read 2 staff notation, with different clef's, and chords. It's complicated.

Getting your hands to work and hit the keys you want won't take a whole lot of practice. A few months at most will have you playing basic stuff and feeling less than inadequate and a fumble fingers. But getting your hands to work independently on scales and such will take time. You have to do those independent finger excercises and scales if you want to improve.

Learing how to evoke emotion and feel from a piano takes time, no surprise.

Getting to the point where you can "comp" in a pseudo-jazz stule or just play what you hear or what is in your head will take years. Just like it does with any instrument. The best realization you can have is that music theory is just laid out visually on a piano keyboard. You can see it as you play. You just need a good teacher who will show you that theory rather than just have you learn songs and play them back.

 

[amirm]

If you can play an instrument now and can read music, but that instrument is limited to one staff and one note, then you will likely find it difficult to read 2 staff notation, with different clef's, and chords. It's complicated.

Getting your hands to work and hit the keys you want won't take a whole lot of practice. A few months at most will have you playing basic stuff and feeling less than inadequate and a fumble fingers. But getting your hands to work independently on scales and such will take time. You have to do those independent finger excercises and scales if you want to improve.

Learing how to evoke emotion and feel from a piano takes time, no surprise.

Getting to the point where you can "comp" in a pseudo-jazz stule or just play what you hear or what is in your head will take years. Just like it does with any instrument. The best realization you can have is that music theory is just laid out visually on a piano keyboard. You can see it as you play. You just need a good teacher who will show you that theory rather than just have you learn songs and play them back.

Thanks Bob. Being an impatient person is not a virtue then in learning to play the piano .

 

[amirm]

Check out Scott Houston here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/pianoguytv

http://www.scotthouston.com/

I saw Scott teaching the same on PBS (US public television). He gave me a lot of hope as far as learning the piano. His style of teaching is exactly what I hoped existed. Alas, while I kept up with the first hour of his video, the second hour exhausted my impatience in memorizing things .

So can one learn from such videos? Or is a teacher much better? And for teachers, how do you find the best ones? Go to music store and ask?

And what is a good starting piano? I am not ready for the real thing as I may not stick with it. Is an electronic piano a determinant in learning how to play?

 

[asiufy]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, but it's a big time hurdle, is left/right hand movement independence.
You should be able to control what your left hand does independently of the right one, so you can solo with the right hand while the left does chord progressions, for instance.
In my experience, this is by far the hardest thing to accomplish. Most of the other stuff, like reading sheet music, just takes study and some effort.
Oh, and as a frustrated musician myself, I think it's far harder to learn guitar than piano/keyboards. You can "get by" on the piano with a lot less effort than with a guitar...


alexandre

 

[Bruce B]

You can pick up a portable keyboard that will meet your needs, but make sure it has a weighted action. I prefer the brands Kurzweil and Yamaha Stage pianos. I like the sound and action of those the best.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Thanks Bob. Being an impatient person is not a virtue then in learning to play the piano .

or just do the Bill Murray 'Groundhog Day' shortcut.....

 

[amirm]

You can pick up a portable keyboard that will meet your needs, but make sure it has a weighted action. I prefer the brands Kurzweil and Yamaha Stage pianos. I like the sound and action of those the best.

Great. Thanks Bruce.

 

[amirm]

or just do the Bill Murray 'Groundhog Day' shortcut.....

I always envy that aspect of his experience. The alarm clock music every morning, not so much. Great movie by the way....

 

[BobM]

Thanks Bob. Being an impatient person is not a virtue then in learning to play the piano .

I play keyboards (as you might be able to tell) - including piano, organ, synths and accordion (yes a real accordion), and some basic drums (enough to keep a beat in some different styles). So speaking from a bit of experience, I took tenor sax lessons for a year some time ago. At the end of that year I was getting fairly mechanically proficient but was nowhere near ready to try and solo or comp at all. I gave myself that kind of a time frame to see how good I could get, but that "impatience" of not being able to do what I wanted and when I wanted made me give it up. I could play stuff from a book, but I really couldn't do what I could do on a keyboard.

I guess that was fairly immature of me, because how can you compare a year on an instrument to several decades on another. When I retire I hope to take up the bass guitar. That should be fairly straightforward. Few if any chords. Basic theory (I know much of it from the piano). Mostly just knowing scales and getting my fingers in shape and learing a few mechanical techniques. At least that is what I think I will be getting myself into (it is probably a lot harder than I know).