Do you play the piano?

[steelyman]

It’s true that there are much-improved instruments over the options available not-so-long ago. But I remember someone answering a question I posted a while ago in a photography thread about what camera to buy. The answer was, “the one you’ll use”. The same thing is true of musical instruments (although pianos can do fine as beautiful pieces of furniture/craftsmanship!).

[mn54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 There is plenty of sheet music available online that can be downloaded as PDF and printed. Lots of classics free as it is so old as to be public domain. Usually without the fingering though. And it’s also easy to order. Even Amazon carries quite a bit.

what are the websites you use to find the downloadable sheet music?

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn54 what are the websites you use to find the downloadable sheet music?

The recent Bach piano pieces I downloaded from here:
The Mutopia Project

There are tons of sites.

I’ve found free download classical guitar music from several locations, along with lots of free lesson videos.

[Music Lover]

I can play bass competently and guitar passably....I know well over 300 songs on bass and about 50 or so on guitar.


I can't play piano...I can fake a dumbed down version of Werewolves of London, and can also play simple background string patches or horn and synth leads. I once thought about learning to play piano but after seeing the keyboardist in my band play I realized my time was better spent getting better on bass.

[jjquantz]

It seems that the key thing to getting a big payoff from lessons as a kid is to be in a household that values music. In my case, my parents thought that music should not be taught in school, and that music lessons were for spoiled rich kids. Needless to say, I didn't have any lessons.

I took my first (and only) piano lessons when I was 22. DW and I already owned a harpsichord and we had DW's old spinet piano. DW grew up with piano lessons and could play pretty well. Over the years we have acquired a high quality Yamaha upright, a better harpsichord, a fortepiano, a clavichord and a reed organ. We also owned a pipe organ for about 5 years back in the day. I probably spend about 10-15 hours each week playing the various keyboard instruments - mostly the harpsichord. I use the piano mostly to accompany myself singing old Irish tunes from the turn of the 20th Century. DW loves it (really). The reed organ gets used for some 19th century parlor music. I play a little Mozart on the fortepiano and the clavichord gets used rarely.

I also play baroque flute and spend about 15 hours each week practicing on that, as well. I play the flute much better than the keyboards, but it is more fun to play the keyboard by myself than to play the flute. I sing in church choir and with a group that sings 15th and 16th century polyphony - we give two concerts a year.

Retirement has provided a wonderful chance to improve all of my musical skills. Although I engaged in all of these activities when I was w*rking, there is no doubt that I am a better musician now, after 4 years of retirement. I am still very jealous of my friends and acquaintances who took lessons as children, at times I have felt like I've been fighting an uphill battle to catch up for almost 40 years.

Sadly, DW's rheumatoid arthritis took away her keyboard playing several years ago and her eyesight is making it much tougher for her to read music and sing.

[steelyman]

This thread made me remember a movie I’d placed on my Amazon Video watchlist but hadn’t yet watched: “Oscar Peterson: Keeping The Groove Alive”. It’s about the man and his career as much as his skills as a jazz pianist with a strong classical background.

He’s probably my favorite since I first heard the live album “The Trio”, recorded at Chicago’s long-gone London House. Verve released a multi-CD set “The London House Sessions” that includes “The Trio”.

I had the chance to hear him solo once, in the early 80s. Oh, my!

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 There is plenty of sheet music available online that can be downloaded as PDF and printed. Lots of classics free as it is so old as to be public domain. Usually without the fingering though. And it’s also easy to order. Even Amazon carries quite a bit.

Thanks, I will go look. Most of my music was classical so should be easy to find I hope.

[audreyh1]

Well, it only took a day to restore my ability to read the base clef. That’s a relief!

Found some pieces I had completely forgotten about. Was able to play most of the way through one that I knew well as a teenager. Really surprised myself. It’s been like 40 years!!!

[chris2008]

When I was 9 I got an accordion and some lessons before I quit for various reasons.


50 years later...


- I noticed how much my mom (89) likes to play the piano in her assisted living place even though she can only play by heart due to her bad vision.


-I got the idea to take some lessons but was reluctant to buy or rent an instrument given my history with the accordion.


- I thought that I might have dragged the old accordion with me for so long for a reason, if only to give it a final try before selling.


- Found a teacher in February and take weekly lessons since then.


- Surprised myself (and probably my teacher) how much I enjoy practicing almost every day. Yes, it is difficult to learn something almost completely new at my age (60). But it feels so good to play a piece today which was just chaos last month.


I will hardly ever play in front of other people (except DH, who is extremely supportive) but I have fun each day when I practice.


Yes, it takes longer to learn a piece than it had taken when I was younger.
But it is never too late to learn!

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2008 - Surprised myself (and probably my teacher) how much I enjoy practicing almost every day. Yes, it is difficult to learn something almost completely new at my age (60). But it feels so good to play a piece today which was just chaos last month. I will hardly ever play in front of other people (except DH, who is extremely supportive) but I have fun each day when I practice. Yes, it takes longer to learn a piece than it had taken when I was younger. But it is never too late to learn!

I can relate to these. While the stuff I have resumed playing includes no new material, I still find it tough at times to (re)learn some of it. I surely agree with you about it feeling good to see the 5 rags I play coming together after a month of practicing. Sometimes, I go several days without playing, but when I can get a few days in a row of good practice, I am noticing the improvement. The toughest parts, even individual measures, I am now getting through without error or hesitation.

I am still having some trouble remembering the music so I don't have to refer to it, especially in parts where I simplified it a little bit. I have become more diligent in noting on the sheet music where I made changes compared to before where my notations were sparse and inconsistent. I am finally getting able to play entire songs without the sheet music in front of me but sometimes my brain freezes up and I have to get the sheet music out and figure out what dang notes I was supposed to play!

I am also trying to rebuild my stamina. A month ago, I could barely get through my small set of 5 songs without getting worn out after 3 or 4 of them in 30 minutes. Now, I can get through all 5 of them and practice for a full hour without getting too worn out. I recall back in my college days I could practice for an hour or more without betting worn out at all.

[audreyh1]

I may do some performance just for friends and family though. After a couple of years there are a couple of pieces on the guitar that I would be OK playing. One reason for the long time is that I insist on playing pieces that are technically challenging for me, but that’s what keeps me inspired and motivated. I could easily perform easier pieces, but those don’t motivate me enough to spend the time to memorize and polish them up to performance quality.

I really do enjoy the time spent practicing. And if that’s all I ever did that would be good enough for me.

Yep, stamina is a big one. I have finally gotten to the point where my left hand isn’t exhausted after 20 to 30 mins on the guitar, and I can actually get a couple of hours practice in during a day if I want. And I often do want.

It’s going to take a while on the new piano as my right wrist starts complaining. Patience.....

[steelyman]

People who are interested in a more free-form style of music notation might have been exposed to the “Real Book” series (as opposed to “fake book”). I bought several of them in music stores in the 80s and 90s. They are a collection of charts that are generally pretty accurate and represent a wide variety of songs.

We used them a lot in small group settings as a quick way to get up to speed on a song.

A few years ago while on vacation a good friend of mine who’s an excellent pianist told me of an app equivalent called iReal Pro. Unfortunately, it’s not free and there’s not a trial version but I bought it today ($13 on iTunes) and will take it for a spin.

http://irealpro.com

Still have my original Real Book hard copies, though!

[ADDED] While searching for iReal I noticed a few other related apps that seem like good resources for traditional sheet music. Fun to browse.

[jimbee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Can plunk out basic chords, but never took lessons. A bit more accomplished as a guitarist... Do enjoy plunking around in the “studio”. Attachment 30016 Attachment 30017Attachment 30018Attachment 30019

Nice collection. Beautiful Casino!

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbee Nice collection. Beautiful Casino!

I kept looking for a roulette wheel or one-armed bandit in the photo.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman I kept looking for a roulette wheel or one-armed bandit in the photo.

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop/Casino.aspx

[audreyh1]

A big milestone this week on my new piano. I finally performed Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (first movement) for DH - only couple of mistakes. I have been practicing with headphones so he couldn't hear it until I could play it through well and I have been practicing it like crazy too. He was very impressed, LOL! He loves the piece and said it was very special hearing it played live.

The piano playing has come back to me super fast. Very affirming/encouraging and really amazing considering it's almost 40 years since I played. I'm pretty sure I only played about 1/4 of the Moonlight Sonata when I was a young-un, so it's been pretty ambitious working it all the way through and memorizing it.

Now working on expanding my repertoire....

[Bamaman]

I never had time to play the piano as a young musician growing up in Nashville, Tennessee. I played woodwinds and put in 4-5 hours a day practicing in high school. Gave it up when I went to college. What's nice about my saxophone is that I can pick it up anytime and play acceptably--other than my sight reading being a little rough.

I have a buddy in Dallas that's a very successful architect. His sideline business is buying and selling used Steinways. He absolutely loves being in the business if just part time.

[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow I took piano lessons for about 14 years from when I was 6 until I was 20. I remember thinking that I was a pretty good player. As a younger student (elementary school and junior high) I would always play in the talent show. But, I got shy about it later. Anyway, in high school I met a classmate who just blew me out of the water and was so good. It disabused me of the notion that I had any real talent. Anyway, I looked him up and he is a music professor so I wasn't wrong in my assessment of him. After a number of years as an adult, I didn't have a piano until maybe 15 year or so ago when we bought an electronic piano. I thought I would get back in practice and did for awhile but got busy and never did. My son wanted the piano when he moved out and I let him take it. But -- now he is staying with us for awhile and I currently have the piano in my living room. I would be interested in playing again. But....my sheet music is lost. In someone's move apparently it got misplaced. I had music from even when I took lessons as a child. I don't play by ear and I need music so no playing for me right now (unless I want to get some music...)

One excellent website for free sheet music is IMSLP.org. Anything published before mid 1920s is not copyright protected. If you download something, the site wants you to pay a tiny annual membership fee or a small lifetime fee. But if you wait about 10 seconds it downloads anyway.

I started plunking out melodies when I was 3 and took lessons from 5 to 13 years. I played in jazz band in middle school and high school, and also a private jazz/rock band during high school, as well as pianist in musicals.

During college I played piano little. During medical school, my roommate and I rented a white and green painted piano for $16/month.

Since then I’ve played on and off, just a few favorite pieces: Claire de Lune and Take Five. I taught myself most of Linus and Lucy. And I make stuff up when I’m by myself at home. DH is the pianist, but we didn’t get a piano until 2003, a Kawai baby grand. It gets a lot of use.

[swakyaby]

Some similarities to EastWestGal. I took 2 years piano lessons around age 12, learning on an upright Kawai. In Jr high and high school, played flute in the concert band and keyboards in the jazz band. Was asked to play the piano solo of Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue in Jr high, and spent the summer memorizing around 23 pages of sheet music when I was 16. But after high school, I had no piano during college, medical school, residency. By the time I bought a piano, a used upright Steinway model K, I was pretty rusty. I like playing Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Moonlight Sonata, Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer, Vince Guaraldi’s Linus & Lucy and Cast Your Fate to the Wind, Christmas tunes in December, some other popular tunes, and of course a few sections of Rhapsody in Blue. I consider my level intermediate. It’s very relaxing.

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swakyaby Some similarities to EastWestGal. I took 2 years piano lessons around age 12, learning on an upright Kawai. In Jr high and high school, played flute in the concert band and keyboards in the jazz band. Was asked to play the piano solo of Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue in Jr high, and spent the summer memorizing around 23 pages of sheet music when I was 16. But after high school, I had no piano during college, medical school, residency. By the time I bought a piano, a used upright Steinway model K, I was pretty rusty. I like playing Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Moonlight Sonata, Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer, Vince Guaraldi’s Linus & Lucy and Cast Your Fate to the Wind, Christmas tunes in December, some other popular tunes, and of course a few sections of Rhapsody in Blue. I consider my level intermediate. It’s very relaxing.

Here’s some Vince Guaraldi on my Un-Piano

https://youtu.be/ITZjhhoYyLU