I want to teach myself to play the piano, but do you have any tips for me?

Or any website with tips.

First of all, I’d like to say that it is a wonderful thing you desire to learn a musical instrument, for music is truly the only universal language. Teaching yourself will be a big challenge, and you must have the willpower to continue trying even when you want to quit. I used to play piano, but I never connected with it, and I regret not being able to play. However, I’ve been teaching myself how to play guitar for almost 2 years now, and there are some tried and true ways of getting better.
Number 1: This is the most important thing you can do when learning an instrument: Practice! You will never get better if you don’t practice, so be sure to set strict goals for yourself, and stick to them.
Number 2: Set time out of each day (at least an hour) to practice, and stick to it. If necessary, move the time you play to fit your schedule.
Number 3: Persistence. While practice may be the most important thing needed for improvement, persistence is the root of mastering anything new. Never give up on your goal, and always remind yourself that you may not be good now, but you will be soon.
Here is a website you might be interested in that offers free piano lessons for all skill levels: http://www.gopiano.com/
I hope this has helped, and that you fulfill your dream. Take care and God Bless!

Boyfriend overseas..?

I’m 22 (23 in sept), and he’s 25.

We’ve been dating for over 3 years now, and have known each other for longer than that. He’s my college sweetheart.

When we’re together, it’s wonderful. We laugh, and smile constantly. He’s into art (like me) and music (plays many instruments). Overall, just an awesome guy with a perfect sense of humour for me. He can always make me laugh when I’m down.. He actually hounded me to date him in the beginning until I finally accepted after a few months.

We went to China for a year to teach English after college. Afterwards, we both came back to Canada and had to decide what we wanted to do next. I figured I should decide what I want to do as a career, since I don’t want to be stuck going back to school any older than I already am. So I chose to begin a degree in Ecology..

He doesn’t know what he wants to do with himself. He can easily get (and has gotten) jobs teaching piano and guitar in Canada, but he prefers the attitude of the Chinese (and I can’t blame him, most of them are much friendlier than westerners like us). He decided (halfheartedly and halfhazardly) to head back to China to learn Mandarin (in a University near the ocean). He can be very scatter-brained, though that’s part of his charm.

We decided to have an open-relationship before he left since we both wanted to be realistic as per our "needs" if such a thing would happen to arise while we are apart. This doesn’t mean that we do not love eachother, we both agreed equally to this.. Example: If you want something and can’t have it, you’re going to want it even more. Might as well just level the playing field.

He was reluctant to leave and we were both very sad upon parting when March rolled around and he had to go. He will not be back until January.

Now our method of communication is msn (since it’s webcam and mic -if we could only get the mic part working). We only communicate on weekends since the 12hr difference causes one of us to be up super late (since we’re generally both late risers).

So during March and the beginning of April, we kept up pretty steady. Chatting and whatnot.. Sharing news.

But lately, he hasn’t been going on.. He’s been reassuring me that he still misses me, and sending me a message once in a blue moon, but not coming on msn to talk to me anymore on weekends.

He said that he hasn’t found anyone of interest (since we said that we would be honest about those kinds of things, though not descriptive). But says that he is kept quite busy meeting people and getting out, which I’m very happy for him, but isn’t there a little time he could squeeze in for me..?

Now he’s not planning to continue into his second semester on University there learning Mandarin. He’s planning on getting a job, then moving out to a place near a beach to keep windsurfing while learning Mandarin from the locals on his own (since he says that his classmates are demotivating). This said, we’ve discussed whether or not he wants to stay there for good.. He’s teetering.

I’d like to know what the general populous may think of this. I mean, it’s hard to keep myself preoccupied with studies and work when I’m in the town where we met and everything around me reminds me of times with him (he doesn’t have to confront this daily atmosphere of missing me, and we’ve even talked about that).

I miss him alot, no idea how much.. Trying to take up at home yoga for an added distraction (since my good friends are out of town and it’s hard to see them), but at bedtime when I want him around, I find it very hard to think that he may not be missing me at all when all I want is for him to be holding me.

It’s distracting me from the rest of my life.. Man it’s pathetic.

Any advice or thoughts? Nothing rough guys because things are tough as it is.

Much appreciated, sorry for the long-winded "question".

I kinda understand ur pain cos i’m into a LDR. Well, i’m gonna make this as short & straight to the point as i can..
1. Its either u’re with him or not.
2. If u wanna be with him, then u’ve got to go over to china, but be ready for anything.
3. If u cant go to china, then u should be ready to plan a life without him, definitely he’ll hook up with someone else without ur knowledge. The fact that he hardly has time to msn u is a clue..
4. Better still, talk with him and see what he’s up for…

can I really teach myself piano, with just the help of online lessons and books?

It seems like such a complicated instrument to learn, but well worth it i think. I only have a KEYBOARD, it’s Yamaha. Learning this will enable me to play the piano though, right?

And, can I really learn how to read music from books? It seems complex! I need to teach myself and I know there are books out there, but do they really work?? Thanks!

I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 years old, I’m now 15. I’m not as good as I had expected I would be, but I’m good. All it takes is practice, and lots of it. The first couple years I had difficulty understanding how to read the scores, and I mostly played by ear. But now I can read scores very easily. It may seem complex at first, but it’s really quite simple. I didn’t have a piano when I first started and I think I remember correctly that I didn’t get one until I was about 10 years old. Before that I had only used a keyboard.
People who teach themselves how to play an instrument often go too fast. Just take your time and start with something suuuper simple. And than gradually build your way up. Just don’t go to fast, this can take a few years.

Piano Books: The Top Piano Books To Help You Become a Better Piano Player

There are umpteen zillion piano books available in music stores and online at such places as Amazon. And piano books are usually necessary if your goal is to become a better pianist.

But how does a person know which piano books are necessary and which books are redundant, to say nothing of good or bad. There are books on music theory, scales, chords, books about composers, books about music in general, and of course piano lesson books by Schaum, Williams, Alfred d’Auberge, Bastien, John Thompson, Glover, etc., etc.

The best way is to divide the study of piano playing into it’s components:

General lesson piano books:

While there are many, for the adult beginner I would select the series by Bastien titled “The Adult Beginner” It is excellent for adults, and includes quite a bit of music theory along with the piano lessons.

General books about music:

Far and away the most inspiring book about music in general is “The Joy of Music” by Leonard Bernstein. If you want to wrap your brain around music, this is the book for you. (Berstein, in case you don’t know, was both a great conductor and a great composer, having written “West Side Story” and many others.)

Another great selection would be “What To Listen For In Music” by Aaron Copeland. (He was also a great composer.)

Technique books:

The best book I have found for developing finger dexterity and piano technique is a book that has been around for a hundred years or so, but is still the standard. It is “The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises – Complete: Piano Technique” by C. L. Hanon.

Music theory books:

There are many, most of which are complex and difficult to understand, but a good choice for a beginner would be “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Music Theory” by Michael Miller.

Books on piano chords:

In this category I’m going to have to cast all modesty aside and select my own book titled “Piano Chords & Chord Progressions: The Secret Backdoor To Exciting Piano Playing”. It’s thorough, cheap, and very easy to read and understand.

Song books:

In addition to books that teach all aspects of piano playing, you’ll need several good songbooks so you can practice the things you are learning. The piano books you select are largely a matter of taste: if you love rock, you’ll want to buy books of rock songs. If you love jazz, or gospel, or pop, or whatever, you’ll want to get the song books appropriate to your likes and tastes.

But in addition to regular piano song books, be sure to also get a “fake book”. A fake book is a book which contains the melody, the words, and the chord symbols for songs. Usually a fake book has a thousand or more songs in it, so it is a huge bargain.

When I was a teenager fake books were illegal, but they were sold under the counter to musicians all the time. I paid $50. for my first fake book (which I still have, incidentally) which contained only 200 songs. Fifty bucks back then is similar to the national debt now. But it was something working musicians had to have.

Now fake books contain thousands of songs and sell for much less — often just $25. or so. So be sure to pick one up — preferably several, as they come in all flavors — jazz, folk, western, gospel, pop, and just about any other musical classification that you could think of.

All of these books can be obtained at your local music store or from online stores such as Amazon.

Then there is another totally different class of piano books that are part of an audio-visual course. Usually these books are supplementary to the DVD or CD (or both) which comprises the course. This type of piano books are new in the history of the world, because obviously DVD’s and CD’s haven’t existed all that long. This type of course puts it all together, so in addition to reading a book, you can hear the instruction and see it being demonstrated on your own TV or computer screen.

But whatever books you select, the important thing is to just get started learning in all these areas of music.

Duane Shinn
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/piano-books-the-top-piano-books-to-help-you-become-a-better-piano-player-114773.html