horrified classical pianist

[Lalaru]

hi fellow soft-ites
so im a classical pianist for ~9 years, nothing serious, just abit of off-and-on playing of classical pieces.(blah haydn/mozart/bach sonatas...) and recently, i've been interested in venturing into playing some pop songs, like keyboard acompaniments to oh let's say, smells like teen spirit etc. i have a fair ear for being able to play by ear abit for most classical pieces or ballads, but when it comes to pop stuff, i'm miffed. i can't seem to play the chrods for smells like teen spirit, in fact an amateur pianist of 3months could easilly grasp the chrods better than i did, i was just so horrified. like, all my classical training was just useless, i simply couldn't play by ear.
is there anything i can do to get on the path of a pop keyboardist? i'm mostly self-taught so, if you could toss a few easy pop music sheets my way (smells like teen sounds like a good beginner piece...) that'll be great. or even recommend some techniques.
thanks.

 

[iansoh]

classical training does nothing to train you in terms of playing by ear. so don't be so harsh on yourself. you're starting from scratch after all.

last thing u need now is more music sheets. start by working out melodies (by ear) on the keyboard. when u've got that going u can start to figure out chords. and in case you're wondering, at this intiial stage of learning, extensive practice would be more effective than employing a teacher.

 

[bongman]

:lol:

 

[redspiffy]

don't worry! you're not alone! 've seen many grade 8s who can't decipher a single chord or note by ear.

perhaps you could change the way you listen to songs, like don't pay so much attention to the lyrics but the keys or guit for that matter. and most pop songs have very standard chord progressions. most.

1-6-4-5? yup.

a good ear can be trained over time i believe

don't give up! the methods suggested above are great!

 

[frequenz]

Im not even a pianist... I just started learn how to play scale and Im 26. Ought to be contented that you are trained in this skill. Everything take times and dont be too hard on urself.

Some ppl have perfect pitch on their ear while some take a longer time. Cheer up, buddy.

 

[piano_ex]

don't worry ...

i'm a classical pianist myself as well, but thank God that i have always been naughty and always venturing and playing chords and songs and improvise so i could improvise ...

but, u're totally not alone .... i'm studying in NAFA and i could easily tell u how many of my pianist friend that can improvise or play chords or play simple pop song without score ....

from my batch of 20 people .... only 3 or 4 could .... the rest .... they need score ...

anyway ... that's not really the topic yea?

to think how i started playing by ear is ...

actually u must play and play and play ..... and play ...
again and again and again .... melody line, and try with some simple chords...

u can use Lead sheet ..... and also see some pop score (if u're stuck) for accompaniment inspiration ....

when u listen to recording ... try to listen to the keyboard ... and not the vocal ..
always try to get the chord ...... try and play the song ....

=) .... hope it'll help ...

 

[dace_diath]

helohelo,

well since u have quite an experience
in the classical area,
ur hearing abilities and pitching
shouldn't be a problem,

it will be more interesting for u
to venture to other area of music,

well i was a classical player for a few years,
after that i find learning new styles of music
to be a very good challenge,

 

[piano_ex]

erm, i want to add that being a classicaly trained and have a grade 8

DOESN'T guarrante good hearing and pitching ....

especially if the training is not a good one .....
*learn 3 piece a year for exam ...* -_-"

 

[KAI]

All of the aboves method will work.

In addition to that, I suggest you to learn singing. Just learn how to sing melody in tunes (no need to go depth into singing technique unless you want to become a singer), eg. do more sight-singing, with the aid of piano/keyboard.

Why? Because I believe that singing and hearing are related. When you are trying to sing in tune, you are buidling up your "inner ears" to recognise pitch, thus it will improve your hearing.

Hope that it helps.

 

[man4422]

Actually pop piano playing extracts from classical piano playing...coz pop piano playing play chords or arpeggio chords form with just some adds on on the left/right hand, while harmonizing melodies with the other hand....
Classical piano playing plays almost all melodies to replace the chords on both hands....there are many broken chords found in classical music with no standard turnaround progressions as compared to pop piano pieces...
So I would say, if you want to switch to learn pop piano...first learn the different variety of chords....then rhythmic part would be no problem to you...

 

[piano_ex]

Classical piano playing plays almost all melodies to replace the chords on both hands..

this is not true. We can't simply say that classical piano piece plays almost all melodies. This is true only in Fugal form or counterpoint writing. When 2 or more melodies are interlaced with each other.

Classical style (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven) usually only have 1 melody while the rest of the thing is an accompaniment. It could be an alberti bass, or simply chord figuration or broken chord. Melodies can be shifted to any hand but it is only 1 melody at a time. Yes they may sometimes apply fugal writing in their piece but mostly it's not fugal.

Romantic, 20th Century, they're even more chordal base. Take a look at Brahms ... he likes to use chord based melody and octaves runs.

Basically the difference between classical and pop/contemporary playing is that for classical, everything is written out. It is the composer's wish that it's to be played exactly what is written. For pop or contemporary, we have to learn the "style"

be bop, blues, rock, etc. Learn the rhythm .. learn the comping techniques usually used for certain genre. And of course, u must know chords well and be able to play any chords almost instantly without trying to figure out this chord has which note.

But I agree with man4422 that pop playing is an extracts. Because classical comes first.... and the world of playing today is an extraction and addition....

It'll be very helpful if u're strong in ur techniques for classical because if u have good techniques ... u can play almost any insane stuff u've ever imagine in pop.