Episode 3 - Where to start

Some of my students have discovered the podcast and have been listening . If you're one of those who have found the podcast , thanks for tuning in , but I'll point out that listening to the podcast doesn't remove the need to listen in class . Over the past week I've had just one piano lesson .

There was a public holiday on Monday , so one of my regular lessons wasn't on , and I've got about five and a half hours of practice in over the week , mainly on two pieces the Gigue you'll hear at the end of the podcast , and M ini-Hit from the same book where I have been working on a short part with a tricky rhythm for the left hand .

The jig by Samuel Arnold is in the public domain , so I've included a copy on the podcast website , www . pianofinally . show , and there'll be a link in the show notes . I've put the score together using MuseScore and I'll probably talk about using that software in some future episode .

This week's review is of the first keyboard I bought after deciding to learn the piano . A small amount of research on the internet meant that I knew I would need a full 88-key keyboard for the best experience and that the keys should be progressively weighted so that you get an experience closer to an acoustic piano .

I was thinking that if you only ever intend to play the keyboard you purchase , then having it feel more like an acoustic piano probably isn't that important , but if you want to be able to play on any piano , then learning on a more realistic keyboard is probably a good idea .

Similarly , all the videos I watched warned against the cheap and simple pedals that come with keyboards , recommending replacing them with pedals that look and act in a similar manner to an acoustic piano pedal . Of course , most pianos have three pedals , so a keyboard with all three would be even better , but by no means necessary .

I'm yet to find a piece that requires either of the left two pedals , so just a sustain pedal is enough . Having looked at lots of reviews on the internet and seeing what was available at the local piano store , I ended up purchasing a Roland FP-30X , which has indeed 88 keys , progressively weighted .

It has what they call the Supernatural Piano Sound Engine , which sounds very exciting , I suppose .

The point is it sounds a lot like a normal piano , which is pretty much what I was looking for , but it does also include a wide variety of other sounds for pretty much every musical genre , including electric pianos , strings , synthesizers , harpsichords , organs , all sorts of things like that . Importantly , the keyboard that it has is one of Roland's best features .

It's called a PHA4 and it feels very much like an acoustic style piano with a feel for the escapement mechanism , which apparently is very important . It's easily loud enough to fill the room with sound , but , more importantly , it has headphone outputs so that you don't have to fill the room with sound .

That said , if you're playing with headphones on , there is still noise as you hit the keys . So here's a very quick recording of me doing a C major scale with the headphones in , so that the piano itself is not making any noise . Itself is not making any noise .

The piano is not very much bigger than it needs to be , which is about a metre and a half wide to fit all 88 keys in .

It doesn't go back very far and it will fit onto a desk or onto one of those portable stands , but you can also get a proper stand for it , so it sets up more like a permanent installation , still much smaller than a normal piano , and along with that stand you can get a three pedal add-on .

So you've got at least a proper sustain pedal , as well as those two other ones For connecting it to things . It has Bluetooth audio for putting music into the piano if you want to play along with something , and MIDI out if you want to connect to your computer or any other pieces of equipment .

The only downside that some people had in the reviews was that it doesn't have a display , so pretty much to control the functions you need to link it to a mobile phone . There's an app available for both Android and iPhone , so that's not hard and nearly everybody has a phone of some sort .

So you can always connect using that and that gives you access to pretty much every function on it , including individual tuning and all sorts of quite advanced features that I never got around to using . It's available in both black or white . I have the black one . You can put it onto a desktop if you want .

It has a setting so that it redirects the sound somewhat , so that sitting on a desk it will still sound okay . But I got it with the optional stand and with a three pedal unit . How much did it cost ? Well , in Australian dollars it cost $1,200 all up . That's with the three pedal unit and the stand .

That came together as a bundle , so I don't know how much it is individually . To me that seemed , having looked around at what was available , quite decent value . So that's the Roland FP-30X . If you're looking for something to start with and you don't mind spending that sort of money , then I'd certainly recommend it . It seems to be quite a nice keyboard

when to start . You've set up your new keyboard or you've waved goodbye to the people who have just delivered the new piano and you're faced with 88 shiny new keys , a slightly reduced savings account and a bewildering array of options as to what to do next .

You'll probably try out all the keys , test out the different voices if it's electronic , make it sound like a choir and then wonder where to go next .

I'm going to suggest that there are three different approaches to learning as an absolute beginner , and these are regardless of what type of piano music you want to play Whether you want to play pop , sing-along music or more classical pieces you need to get familiar with the piano before you can start to specialise .

My three starting points and there's nothing wrong with trying . All three are online books and a real-life piano teacher . Online is the easiest to start with and the quickest , as you're not going to need to get anything else organised before you begin . Also , if you're like me , you've been looking around the internet in anticipation of the piano turning up .

Youtube is a great place to start and there are many beginner guides explaining how to hold your hands , how to sit properly and comfortably , where to position your fingers , and generally these are pretty good . Most of the ones I have found are aimed at adults and , with a few exceptions , they all agree on the basics . I'd suggest keeping it simple to begin .

Pay attention to the posture videos and be prepared to experiment with different bench or chair placement , getting the height correct and being comfortable . I spent about a week making small adjustments each time I practised until I got it just right . Some of the videos suggest taking a photograph of yourself sitting at the piano . I didn't use that approach .

I just kept changing things until I could sit comfortably for half an hour or so and still feel fine at the end . I've since asked my piano teacher about how I sit , and she's happy with it . Your body will let you know when you've got it right .

Youtube is a great resource for getting started and for inspiration , but I'm not sure that it's the best for long-term learning . Although there are channels with excellent teachers and many lessons , I'm not sure that you can really use it to progress very far .

A year's worth of piano lessons is between 30 and 50 hours of tuition and that will get you from absolute beginner to a comfortable preliminary level , but I haven't found any YouTube channels that take things that slowly .

Youtube has the advantage of being free or cheap if you pay for their premium subscription to get rid of the ads , and there is a lot of variety , but I don't think it works as the sole way of learning in the long term . That said , there are a couple of YouTube channels that work , along with different method books .

I'll come back to them when we look at books . If you're prepared to spend some money , there are online piano courses that combine more detailed lessons with a learning community where you can get some interaction with instructors and other learners .

I have a subscription to Pianote , so I'll be basing my opinions on what they have , but there are others and they're all fairly similar . Also , there are YouTube comparison videos of the different services so you can check them out .

Compared with a private teacher , these online teaching resources are reasonably priced , but they'll still cost you a reasonable amount of money . Be careful of scams , though . I found a couple of sites which appear to offer very , very generic learning for one-off fees of a few hundred dollars .

These sites often don't have any third party online reviews and they don't seem to have been in business for very long . I would avoid them . The more reputable sites don't offer instant results and generally have a range of levels for you to progress through .

In addition to their standard courses , they often have smaller units covering particular skills or pieces of music , so you can add some variety to your lessons . Many of the services offer a free trial , so you can check them out and I'd say , give them a go , even if you think you might end up using another option .

It can be fun to see some of the different things that are available . I've said it before , I'm a big book fan , so it's not surprising that I've bought a pile of learning piano books If you walk into a music store with a decent book section , you'll find there's quite a range of teaching titles available .

Many of these are designed to be used by children After all , they do make up the largest group of piano learners but there's also quite a good selection of titles aimed at adults . You can find quite extensive reviews of the different series of books online , as well as comparison videos from teachers .

Remember , though , that a teacher reviewing a book series will look at different features when compared to a student looking at the same series . Some of the series are designed to be primarily used with a teacher , but others are designed for the independent learner . I prefer a printed book over a straight video presentation .

It's nice to have the material stay in place , and I've found that , with some of the videos I've tried to follow , things disappear off the screen much too quickly , and I'm trying to pause and step the video as well as playing .

All of the well-known book series , though , have accompanying videos or recordings of the pieces , either from the publishers or from third parties , and this is really great , as you can hear how a piece is supposed to sound , so you'll know when you finally got it right .

Over upcoming episodes , I'll review some of the more popular series and the accompanying recordings and videos . The third way to learn is a piano teacher . This is the most expensive way of learning , but I'm pretty sure it's the most effective .

A private teacher will be able to structure your learning to fit your strengths and weaknesses best , and they can tailor what you learn to your interests . One of the big differences between being an adult learner and a child learner is that your piano teacher is much more likely to take your interests into account when choosing pieces with which to learn .

A piece that might interest a 10-year-old is unlikely to hold the same charm for an adult , and your teacher can probably find something more interesting that still teaches the same concepts and skills . The other advantage of a private teacher is that you have someone to whom you are accountable .

If you're learning by yourself , it's much easier to take some time off , but if you know you're going to be showing your progress again next Monday , it may motivate you to get that practice in .

After all , private lessons may be at the piano teacher's studio or in your own home , but one of the things that came out of the pandemic was the much wider use of online piano lessons .

It's now possible to have a lesson with a teacher who could be in another city or country and at a time that may be more convenient than normal business hours where you live . For effective online lessons , though , you'll need a good camera setup with a tripod and decent sound equipment , as well as a reasonably fast internet connection .

In addition , you may need a computer or tablet so that you can see your teacher . Online lessons open up a much wider range of options for private lessons . So how do you find a private teacher ? Personal recommendations are good .

Personal recommendations are good , so if you know someone else learning , ask them , or try searching for piano teachers near me on the internet , and then start making some phone calls . If all else fails , most music stores will have some knowledge of the local teachers . So now you're ready to begin learning in earnest .

But perhaps the question is , why do I want to learn ? That's something for the next episode

. This week's podcast suggestion is not strictly a piano podcast , although the show host is a composer and a piano player . Alexis French is the Artistic Director of the Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music , or ABRSM , and he hosts a limited series podcast called Start here .

There are 10 episodes in the series , each around 30 minutes long , which were released earlier this year , and they cover 10 different genres of music . In each episode , mr French talks with an expert in the genre , offering many insights into its origins , forms and influences .

Now you might expect that an organisation with the reputation of the ABRSM would only be covering classical styles of music , but you'd be wrong . Start here begins with grime , includes hip-hop , country stadium pop and many other genres , including one episode of classical music .

If you're interested in music generally and some of the background to the incredible range of sounds that are being made , then Start . Here is the podcast for you . There's a link in the show notes or search for ABRSM , start here in any podcast directory , in any podcast directory .

Well , that's it for this week . If you'd like to get in contact with me , email is the best way . You'll find me at david at pianofinelyshow and the website at wwwpianofinelyshow . In both cases , pianof , finally , is all one word . The show notes for this episode are on the website and include a text me link , which will also let you send me a message .

Until the next episode , I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the Keys .

This week's practice piece is once again Jeeg by Samuel Arnold . It's the whole piece . It's still too slow and because I've been practising it in four-bar blocks , I'm still working on putting it all together fluently . Thank you .