Does anyone fancy a piano chat thread?

[LemonViolet]

I’m awaiting delivery of a new piano, squeee!!! I haven’t played regularly for 20 years. I got to grade 6 as a teen, failed grade 7, carried on tinkering for a bit but have not really lived anywhere with a piano since age 18 so am well out of practice.

Whilst I hope/plan to put a baby grand in our front room, once it is done up - which may be some time - at the weekend I just realised, what am I waiting for, I want a digital anyways for playing at less sociable hours, so went ahead and ordered myself a nice Kawai digital and it arrives on Friday!!!

There’s a music chat thread on the extracurricular board but that’s more parents discussing their offsprings’ exploits, I have seen on the music board it’s quite pianissimo but there clearly are other grown up women around here playing/learning/relearning piano for our own pleasure, entertainment, therapy etc! So thought I’d post to see if anyone else is interested in hanging out on a piano thread to chat about our piano journeys, successes and failures, pieces we like, what we’re practicing etc?

It could be called the piano bar or the pianist beaker, seeing as this is MN

If there is one I’ve just failed to find, please point me in that direction.

Ooh can join in?
I've been learning classical guitar for a few years and play very badly, but during the last lockdown had a play on my son's keyboard... and realised I liked it far more!
I did free trials of various online providers and decided on Pianote ..ordered myself a nice Roland digital piano..and I'm hooked!!!!
Pianote is excellent for me as I can work at my pace and I have a better understanding of HOW music works than 4 years of guitar gave me! Plus it gives you the skills and chord knowledge to start playing right away. I'm even enjoying arpeggios!
Learning to read the bass clef is really testing my brain in my 50s but I am enjoying it so much.
I've also bought the first Grade Trinity pieces so I can map my progress a little tho I don't plan to do exams.. this is for pleasure!

@stillmedusa Nice to find another Pianote fan!

@Serenissima21
How long did it take you to get from grade 3 to grade 7 with your teacher- and did you take all the grades in between? I definitely want to take exams but feel like I'm in the minority!
@AlwaysLatte - I have a teacher for refresher lessons as I find it helps me stay motivated. Having to play in front of the teacher gives me a goal every week- and although it's only been a few weeks, I feel I've learned a lot already.
This thread is great- glad to see there are lots of other adult re-learners out there.

@Serenissima21 @StillMedusa
Tell me more about Pianote.... is it worth getting it as well as a teacher?

Oh I would love to join this thread. Completed your to grade 8 and began teaching diploma at 19 but stopped for a few reasons. Barely touched a piano for over 20 years but purchased a digital one 2 years ago. I was great for playing the first year I had it but I haven't as much recently so this will give me the kick to get back into it. I'm thinking of looking into lessons, even one a fortnight, to keep me honest and make me practice! Maybe this will virtually!

How long did it take you to get from grade 3 to grade 7 with your teacher
Grade 3 to grade 4 took anout twenty years! (No lessons) and then 2 years between each grade - partly because I didn't want to only do exam pieces and partly because I'm a slow learner.

@LilaGrace not have experience of exams as adults, but I didn’t take all the grades. I believe it is common to skip grades until 5+. DC1 is doing grade 1 and I noticed ABRSM now has a prep grade for piano.

@Serenissima21 I’m very impressed how dedicated you are! I have dreams of getting grade 7 or 8 but I don’t know if I can find the time for practice.

@ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast
My teacher said it's common to skip either grade 6 or 7, on the way to grade 8 too. Grade 5 is apparently a big stepping stone- I'm hoping to take grade 5 next year if I stick with it.

@Serenissima21
That's interesting, 2 years between grades. How often and long do you practise?

Probably about half an hour a day. Tbh I was very lucky to pass Grade 7 - I think the examiner took pity on the mature student! I am way below that now.

Tell me more about Pianote.... is it worth getting it as well as a teacher?
I guess it depends on what your teacher is like and what you want to learn. I have found Pianote really useful for the many gaps in my knowledge and love their approach.

@ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast

I reckon on an average I do about an hour a week in total. It is painstaking progress and I’m aware I’m woefully short of what I should do. However I do make progress and I aim to do G8 this year. I did G7 I think in Nov 2019.

Would I be better with more practice? Yes.
Would I have sat G8 by now if I’d done more? Yes (even taking covid delays into account).
Every week do I promise I’ll do more? Yes.
Is it likely to change? No.
Would I even do what I do without the commitment of weekly lessons? No.

Joining too! I did grade 8 @ 15 then stopped. Then got back up to scratch in college & started my diploma. And then stopped. I’m now a middle aged primary school teacher and therefore I’m another one good for Cauliflowers Fluffy. I come into my own at Christmas & love playing carols & Christmas songs. I am sentimentally attached to my piano that has a cracked soundboard (this breaks my heart) but I’ve just ordered an M Audio Hammer 88 to share with my teenage son who’s a guitarist but writing his own music. Hoping it will inspire me to play more.

This is one thing I find completely different and irritating- I get nervous now when I’m playing something for other people. When I was going I didn’t give a shit!

[quote ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast]@Serenissima21 thanks, I have a lot of gaps too. When I got my digital piano, I learned to play leadsheets from YouTube and blog posts. ABRSM curriculum near talked about chords in that way. In contrast the Faber piano adventures have I and IV chords and leadsheets from level 2. I wonder if it’s a British vs American way of teaching.

I will have a good think and see if I can afford the pianote.[/quote]
Got to Grade 7 at school, haven't played much for the last few years. I know nothing about playing from leadsheets though... obviously I could work out the chords but no confidence in making them sound good or improvising in any way. Do you mind saying which youtube videos helped most? Thanks!

I’m not keeping up at all with all the happy pianists joining in :-)

For people using things like Pianote - do you put the iPad on the music stand? Probably daft question.

It’s bonkers how much things have changed tech wise since I last played properly. When I last had a piano lesson I didn’t even have a mobile phone. We went to internet cafés and thought that was swish . I remember logging on and not knowing what to do with the internet. So we just asked Jeeves about Brad Pitt and Pete Sampras. Wasn’t even google. Sorry going off piste from piano chat!

I am very excited for arrival of piano tomorrow. I have got some music that is familiar around grades 4-6 standard to see what I can do - Bach inventions and little preludes, Chopin introductory album, and Romantic Sketchbook 2, been reading through them and recognise the ones I knew…. am intrigued to find out what my fingers can actually do though! Also ordered myself an Adele piano book. Because why not. I remember really enjoying John Ireland and Frank Bridge as well, will have to look into those.

My piano is a Kawai from Bonners. They have been very helpful arranging delivery for a specific day, I chose the model after reading reviews and listening to the sound on lots of YouTube videos. I can’t really go and try out in a shop - very limited time off work and cannot afford to get pinged so having to be super careful about being out and about - I didn’t want to spend over £1000 because we are doing the house up and this is luxury…. Although I am rebranding it as investing in self care/music therapy!

Btw am I the only one who doesn’t get the cuddly brassica references?

Oh have just seen there is a pianote youtube channel with free videos...I'll start with that :) Any other suggestions welcome!

Ooh how lovely. I've been trying on and off since 2018 when I treated myself to a clavinova.
Got to grade 4/5 at age 12 then stopped. My sight reading is awful and not started lessons yet.

Nice to hear other people are older re-starters!

I love the Pianote approach.. as someone who could read music a little for guitar, but certainly couldn't read a bass clef, and my theory knowledge is minimal... it seems to combine the fun stuff.. getting a fast start on chord inversions so you can bang out a singalong to Hey Jude within a few days, with slipping in the underpinning knowledge. I like that I am given stuff to work on but can skip in and out of other modules, like technique classes, hand independence exercises etc as I wish.
Obviously I am a raw beginner but it seems quite comprehensive and allows you to dip into different genres and skill levels.
I like the fact there are live sessions and students are encouraged to send in recorded pieces for review at any stage, but that I can work on one lesson for as long as I need... it suits me and my life!

If I can get to the stage where I can bang out Cauliflowers Fluffy at school (yes that would be handy) or even better..Lord of the Dance.. I'll be happy!

I agree LemonViolet about technology - I have most of my old exam mark sheets. Scores in pencil, mental arithmetic checked centrally and confirmed in pen. Illegible comments scrawled in fountain pen. Months to get the paper sheet back and no copies if it got lost. Now I understand just in the last few months scores and comments get entered directly to an ipad by the examiner and received within days. I will quite miss the ritual of deciphering the comments afterwards!

On the other hand abrsm still had a record of my G5 theory that I sat approx 1988 when I entered a practical exam in 2017 . They said they consulted some ledgers (I think they just took my word for it )

Ooh can I join? I’ve just reclaimed my piano from its function as Covid Lockdown Homeschooling Dumping Ground but tbh despite having had it five years, I’ve rarely played it because I’m so very very rusty. I’m now DYING for DH to go back to the office so I can practise in my lunch hours when WFH.

I’ve been using Oktave for sheet music which I quite like as it seems well graded and you can find your level, stretch yourself a bit or really go easy on yourself/the neighbours.

Need to see if it has Hanon….

Evening All, would love to join you.

I always wanted to play the piano & last year my lovely husband bought me a digital piano & I signed up to Pianote.

I love it. Finally a hobby I can fit around me!

Pianote has been brilliant & although my annual membership isn't due until November, I am signing up for the lifetime membership later (currently £355).
The annual membership was approx £150 & they also do a monthly subscription if you need a more affordable option.
The teachers are enthusiastic and there are live q&a sessions. Over 500 songs in the library to learn & totorials for everything from beginner to very experienced. You can stop and start the videos and just go at your own pace.

I put my tablet on the music stand in answer to a pp above.

Oh and the comments from G7 I sat in about 1993 were uncannily similar to the ones I got in 2019 (but I did improve my score).

I think I always felt comfortable as whilst I was re-learning I knew I’d done it before and just wanted to show my progression. G8 is totally new ground and I can feel the self doubt again.

Sorry I’m yattering too much, I should shut up!

Hello all

I just wanted to share my piano story - I did my G8 at 16, took and failed a diploma exam at 18/19, then left home and pretty much stopped playing regularly for about 25 odd years.

Last year I got myself a Yamaha P515 digital piano with the idea of sitting the diploma again at some point. I told myself to take things slowly and not rush into things - which was hard!! But I literally started off playing G2-G4 pieces to build up the finger strength etc. Now, after about 15ish months I'm learning some fiendish Scriabin and last month played a Chopin nocturne in a lovely piano meetup.

When I first started playing again I also found it hard to commit to practising regularly. But I then found Instagram and did the 100 day challenge which really helped me to break out of the "I don't have time" mindset (I say this as someone who was regularly practising whilst working, homeschooling and looking after 2 kids!).

Anyway. That was a long essay! I guess what I'm trying to say is, for those of you who are starting again, it's absolutely possible to do this!!