/lit/ - Literature

>>4626038

As someone who has played for roughly twelve years now, start small; it's a process. The first question is, which are you more interested in as an end game? Jazz pieces and on the spot improvisational creation of music, or sprawling songs and soaring classical pieces? Which you decide changes how you need to study.

Your first goal in my opinion, in either case, is to learn to associate keys from piano sheets into notes that you can play.

Find yourself some children's sheet music and theory books. I remember Alfred music being particularly helpful as a newbie; since it starts you off with finger guides and slowly phases them out. They're about 8 bucks each and one of them will last you about a month if you practice 30 minutes every two days or so.

If you don't have a piano, start small. Pick up a keyboard. A keyboard which will last you a decade with basic "Don't eat or spill shit on it" attention can be had for roughly 200 bucks at a guitar center, and a hell of a lot cheaper at local pawn shops used.

Other people will recommend youtube videos to learn songs, or synthesia. I would generally avoid both of these, as they're incredibly limiting the moment you hit basic proficiency.

Once you learn your notes, learn your scales. Then learn your chords and you can play pop music. Then find yourself some sheet music and just keep practicing and then the only limit is practice.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds-Basic-Piano-Course-Lesson-Book-1A--00-20656.aspx

>>4626103
Great thanks man

>>4626137

Do you have any specific questions, or have any favorite genres?

I can direct you to some decent focused beginners stuff too; once you're done with that book.

When you work a piano book, by the way, your goal is to memorize a song fully. Just being able to play it is insufficient: you need to know the song, and be able to play it without your sheets long term, since that's critical for showing off and having a knowledge base in the future.

Best way to practice the above is to learn a segment of the sheet's notes to play, then alternate playing music-memory-music until it sticks.

Eventually, you get to the point where you can play somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour and a half of music just playing songs that you've memorized. That's a nice place to be; and at that point your skill's monetize-able, if you so choose.

I'm with you, anon. Also looking for something to learn how to play, I have free time and I really want to get into it. Inspired for free improvisation(al jazz) and quasi-symmetrically structured pieces. Taking an intro music theory class now and i'm really into it.

>>4626103
>>4626160
Cool suggestion, I'll check it out as well, thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLmxrq_FY-o

>>4626160
OP here again, thanks for the pointers. I just have one question. Is there any particular finger exercises you recommend or would just straight practice be better. I have clumsy fingers when it comes to typing and other stufflike that so it might affect me

>>4626103
Alfred is good, yes. The adult books will last way longer than a month, but I'd be concerned about doing them without a teacher, especially with timing.

>>4628076

Finger exercises, at least in my opinion, aren't particularly helpful in and of themselves, and as a beginner, I would largely ignore them.

As you work your way up, playing memorized songs which are slightly easier than your more complex fare to warm up is fine, playing scales or practicing chord progressions is fine, but finger exercises for their own sake I find tend to be unhelpful, since their efficacy is first questionable and unproven and every moment you spend practicing an exercise is a minute you can't spend practicing a song, and your time is valuable.