Inspired to learn Piano!! Any advice?

[bluepowder]

So Ive been playing guitar for a few years and Ive always always wanted to learn classical piano, always been listening to chopin,debussy,mozart and kinda pleased myself by playing some neoclassical stuff on the guitar but ofcourse its just the cherry on the sundae...

Now I wanna learn the real deal...my question....

Who are the best teachers in town-group and individual(I gotta check my budget for this) but i prefer individual

I cant afford a piano right now, but I was thinking of investing around 500$ on a keyboard...I dont really need too many features apart from metronome,floppy/CD for practice(any others?)

I asked at Yamaha music school but the idea of being put in a class full of kids half my age and size doesnt appeal to me, I prefer individual lessons....

Any suggestions??

I did a search, just wanted to know if there are any other options apart from Yamaha,Christophori....

 

[joashchee]

I cant afford a piano right now, but I was thinking of investing around 500$ on a keyboard...I dont really need too many features apart from metronome,floppy/CD for practice(any others?)

I think there's a pretty decent discussion on some threads about the touch and feel of a keyboard, and I do believe that will be an important consideration if you're intending to do classical.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/showthread.php?t=35408

http://soft.com.sg/forum/showthread.php?t=38900

Hope that helps some!

 

[bluepowder]

hey thanks a lot man, I think I overlooked the first thread....

from my point of view, Im not sure I wanna take exams...would be nice to have qualifications but Im playing for myself and not keen on exams.....I wanna play piano....so i guess a weighted keyboard is what I can consider now.....for 2 reasons....I change house often....I dont have too much space.......

Im only interested in piano and not really into synthesizer modules.....so any recommendations? I dun wanna spend 1K on it...but if anything that you get below 1k is gonna be crap then I'll just have to save up.....

 

[joashchee]

I was just at Swee Lee feeling some of the digital pianos and I think to some degree, it could be down to personal preference if you're doing music for yourself only and not really for exams and grading. I'm not an expert on this however, so I hope others chip in as well.

The most glaring thing for me when it comes to the feel of the keys is the responsiveness. some people hate how light some keys are, they literally stick to your fingers as they come up. Others swear by it for their own reasons.

But I think those who do classical will probably push for as close an authentic feel as possible.

 

[pf]

think a weighted keyboard would cost >1k.....

Anyways, if you wanna play classical, you not only need to develop strength in your fingers. There is also the touch that matters. And this touch would be better developed on an acoustic piano.

My friend who played classical was teasing me about my "big friendly giant" - a Yamaha Clavinova. I was complaining that I sound like crap when I use the acoustic piano. She laughed and said that mine sounds gentle all the time. It would take real skill to make acoustic piano sound nice.

So, if you're really into it.....you might wanna think carefully in terms of instrument as well.

Btw, some Yamaha keyboards with weighted keys are actually heavier or harder than acoustic pianos. You might wanna check with Bongman and Cheez who are the gurus on the instrument to choose.

 

[bluepowder]

hey thanks guys,
Well I'll be frank...I would rather learn for a year or so on a keyboard....so that I can buy a nice piano after saving up..I have played on a piano before and I know how different it is ofcourse...but I just cant afford one right now!!...so whats my next alternative? I wanna get a decent keyboard......

 

[Cheez]

bluepowder, if you want to learn classical piano, then you must learn from a real acoustic piano. It's more than the touch - it's the entire piano itself, the way the sound revererates in the body of the piano, the mechanics of the hammer actually hitting the strings in the piano etc. There is no way any digital piano can emulate all these. And all these will affect the way you play. Try second-hand pianos if you're tight on budget.

Digital pianos are possible alternatives but never first the choice in learning classical piano. If you have the choice, always go for acoustic piano. If you start learning on a lousy digital piano, your finger technique is going to be wrong and it will be a very difficult task to re-learn again.

Best digital pianos (closest touch to the acoustic) are the Yamahas: higher-end P series, S-series, and CP series. P-series will be the cheapest of the lot, but watch out as the lower-end P series has touch that are terrible.

Try a second-hand piano first.

 

[bluepowder]

how much would a second hand piano cost?and where can i look apart from soft?

 

[phoeniz77]

but the problem is that bluepowder has a budget.. I think it is better to get a digital piano for the first few years if you have only 1K budget than a cheap 2nd hand piano.. coz a 2nd hand piano that cost only 1K will sound like crap and have bad touch (unless you had a really good buy). *Note that this is coming from someone who practiced on a beginner's model acoustic piano until grade 7.. haha... I think I would have more motivation to practice last time if I had a better sounding piano with a better touch..

 

[pf]

Pardon me but...

Sometimes it's not the instrument but the musician that makes the difference. Even though I might play everything correctly for a piece on a Yamaha PSR 295, but I still don't sound like my teacher playing on the same cheapo keyboard.