Learning Piano

[Thief Of Navarre]

I've just decided to learn piano after listening to chopin's complete works. Anyone have any hints, guides. e.t.c for ol' thiefy?

[Fezzik]

I was an organist (no jokes involved here please, I'm serious! Yes, I could play music on my organ!). Anyway, fingers need to be strong, and flexible, do lots of boring scales, they help a lot. Start with the last part of the piece, and work your way forward to the start a bit at a time (go from a position of weakness to a position of strength)

And unless you have an oodle of money, start with something small, then get something bigger later, but get something of good quality too, so that that doesn't distract from early learning sounds

[chupacabra]

Can you play any other instruments or sing, Thiefy? Music is a language, and like language, if you know one, it's much easier to learn another.

Fezzik's tips are very good. I hope by now he's stopped playing his organ, or he might go blind!

I find patience to be the most important element to learning music. Take everything as slowly as you need to at first, and don't speed up until you can play something well four or five times. Be honest with yourself.

Make the metronome your friend, and record your daily progress using the 'nome as a marker.

Play scales to develop muscle memory, though I find if I make my scales practice 'musical' by adding cadences, different rhythms, and dynamics (making them more like etudes in themselves), it means I can practice musicality at the same time, and keeps them from becoming too stale.
Play your scales in all keys, focusing on one key per week (or however you like to organize your practice).

Even if you aren't a Singer, learn to sing in pitch ,regardless of how bad you might think you sound. Sing along with all of your exercises. Make your motto that if you can sing it you can play it. This is an extremely useful strategy, and will also help with playing more musically when you are working on pieces, and also helps enormously with improvisation and interpretation.

A good teacher is always a major shortcut to success.

Chopin was a genius! I'm not surprised you were so inspired!

[Thief Of Navarre]

Thanks both of you! I've found working from the last part backwards on pieces a big help and I also hum the tune to myself (rather than singing) to help me pick up the sound and tempo easier.

I can now play *drumroll* Silent Night! xD