Keyboard / piano courses

Quote from Gary_W

Hello everyone,

I know this is a gear section but it’s related

I’m getting a half decent midi controller keyboard for my birthday later this week (Arturia Keylab essential 49) which comes with Analogue Lab 3 software. It’s a really good deal actually as the software alone costs nearly as much as the keyboard / software bundle which gets you the keyboard with a bunch of controllers to play with the oscillators etc.

Whilst I can pick out basic melodies on keys, I’m pretty bad at it. As instruments go, my love is with guitar so I’m not wanting to become a keys legend but what I would like to do is improve my skills in a reasonable timescale if possible. I love writing songs and, sometimes, just an inspiring sound on the Kemper or a little chord progression leads to a song idea which leads to a lot of enjoyment with creating something. I am hoping the keyboard / 6500 analogue synth sounds gives some inspiration but I’m aware that this will be far more effective if I don’t look like a monkey playing with a typewriter which is my default look with a keys instrument

Does anyone have recommendations for online courses or adult based books (preferably not ‘saints go marching in etc) for someone wanting to get good enough on the instrument for inspiration to have a chance of shining? Or do I need to bite the bullet and get some actual lessons?

Thanks

Gary

Display More

Hey Gary, there are some excellent apps and programmes that teach you how to play. No need to go the book route.

Here's one, for example. There are many more... Shop around!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap…oytunes/id1019442026?mt=8

Hey Gary. Great move, man!

Quote from Gary_W

I’m aware that this will be far more effective if I don’t look like a monkey playing with a typewriter which is my default look with a keys instrument...

Something wrong with my M.O., brother?

You and me both. If you've got an ear 'though, you'll always be able to find what you're looking for.

Quote from Gary_W

Does anyone have recommendations for online courses or adult based books...

Hmm... adult books died when video became ubiquitous on the 'net. Oh... you mean mature keyboard lessons.

You know, I've stumbled across many hundreds of guitar courses and PooToob channels, as I'm sure you have too, but it's bizarre how few keyboard equivalents seem to be out there. I've "stumbled" across precisely zero. That's not to say that they'd be out there, but I find it ironic that keyboard-based tech (like EDM and other electronic genres) has slowly been eating away at the instrument market (not helping guitar sales at all), and that a commensurate increase in free online courses apparently hasn't ensued.

That said...

All styles

The only half-decent course I've seen is Will Barrow's "Learn & Master Piano". It's comprehensive, consisting of 56 lessons and 5 CD's containing roughly 120 play-along tracks. It's pretty-serious, but it's the only all-in-one course I'm even vaguely-familiar with. Of course, I haven't done it - only "needle dropped" into lessons to get an idea of how good it is.

Blues

David Cohen - Learn to Play Blues Piano-Beginner's Guide to Improv
Henry Brewer - Ultimate Beginner Series 2 ~ Blues Keyboards

Gospel

Jason White - Gospel Keys Ministry Musician
PJ Morgan - Contemporary Gospel Piano Master Class

Jazz

Don Grusin - Jazz Piano Master Class
Per Danielsson - Jazz Piano Real Book
Willie Myette - 24 Jazz Piano Lessons

Hopefully clips will show up on PooToob if you search the titles.

HTH, Gaz.

Hmm, some personal expierience here:

Back in the day when I was 12 and started playing piano (that was 23 years ago), I just sat down at my fathers piano and had a go with scores from "Fur Elise" and such. With some basic music notation skills that they thought me in the lower grades from highschool I was able to decipher that level of scores, and over the years became quite proficient at playing scored stuff. On a guitar that self-teaching route never worked for me, because, remember, on a guitar you have to play quite precise, otherwise you'll have all sorts of bad side-sounds (or no sound at all), and you need a lot of time to master techniques like string bends first, before you learn even an easy solo, while on a piano, well, a button is a button, so you'll have to do your best to hit that button in the wrong way...

Oh and piano vs hammond vs synth. Piano and hammond (or synth) are very different in the way they are played (due to the lack of a sustain pedal and hammer action/dynamics on a hammond), but when playing from score you'll master either on your own. Key is to find and recognize scores within your capabilities.

The one thing on the other hand, you will not learn when doing this on your own is "feeling". Remember, it's a piano, not a forte, and I needed a teacher to point my attention to the difference the dynamics of your playing make in the sound of your piano. And eventually you'll need to be able to put different dynamics with all your fingers at once: your pinky plays a melody on top of a right hand chord, so your pinky has to stand out.... But then again I'm not the most sensitive person in the world, so maybe you got this, maybe not, but there isn't any book or internet lesson in the world which will teach you that... If you don't have this by nature, there has to be someone at your side, constantly pointing out that you are pushing way to hard on the keys

And than you have all the improv stuff, which I wasn't able to master on a piano yet. I did buy a few books, but in the end I tend to rush into those books and forget to practive the basics properly, to the point I'll give up, because at some point in that book, after skipping all the easy stuff, your mind can't handle all the information (different scales with chord changes, and then 2 hands... weird voicings, etc etc) which is involved with improvisation. On the other hand, I took guitar lessons at the local music school, and had the luck to get a really good blues/jazz player as a teacher. And the weekly character of those lessons force you to first learn the basics (improvise with a simple pentatonic scale for example), and then move on step by step. That's only been 3 years, and I can't say I'm even close to a really good jazz player, but I am way ahead of my piano improv skills... On a sidenote, a fellow guitar player I know had classical guitar lessons from 8 years old, but plays in a rockband since his 20s, and I allways hear him saying that he wished to be more proficient at improvising. I keep wondering, why isn't he? He's a way better and experienced player than me, but does he have the same problem with books and online lessons?

In the end, If I would have to learn piano again, I think I would go to the local music school, and find me a good blues/jazz teacher. I'm quite jealous to what those jazz pianists can do, and after 3 year trying out books and online lessons, I still can't commit to learning improv from a book, while on a guitar with a teacher, I feel I'm on a very "productive" learning path. Well, my teacher forces me to be....

That's unless you don't want to improvise (which would be a shame :D), in that case, just go to to imslp.org and find yourself a few easy beginner scores. Fur Elise would be one (allthough the middle part is very advanced, the main theme is beginner material and can be played on its own), Erik Satie's Gymnopedie would qualify too. And then musicnotes.com would be your other resource, for more modern stuff which still has copyright on it Philips Glass' Truman Sleeps comes to mind, Maxence Cyrins' cover of Where is my mind too... Maybe all this sounds a little classical, but in the end, when it's scored out, there isn't really much difference between pop and classical.

jus my 2 cents... good luck!

Try http://www.Playpianotoday.com He basically teaches piano accompaniment riffs and theory at the same time. You find that you can sound musical in about 45 minutes; and as you memorize more riffs, you will really start to feel accomplished beyond what you could have ever imagined given the level of effort.

To add to what was already mentioned, get the HANON book.. easily available in PDF on the net, it will cover all your technique on the piano.. all the scales and everything you'd need as far as technique on keyboards.. very easy to follow with fingerings etc.. I strongly recommend the Hanon for anyone, i completed the book when I was a kid, and now rarely encounter anything difficult to play on the piano ... and for guitar players you can play most of the exercises too, obviously the fingerings won't work, but makes for a very good exercise book for any instrument ..

If you're really serious about getting a good foundation, I would get private lessons to start you off correctly.
It will make a world of difference and keep you from picking up bad habits hard to break down the road.
I took a semester of piano in college and it helped although I forgot most everything, I can still play basic chords.I like the Alfred series of books.