G'day everyone . I'm David Reidy , welcome to the piano finally podcast . [music] Piano finally is a podcast by an old bloke who is learning the piano, finally . I'll cover the process of learning the piano and music theory as an adult learner . I'll also review piano books , hardware and other materials from an adult learner's perspective .
This is the introductory episode . The proper show will start in a week's time , but I needed to get back into the swing of podcasting and most of the podcast directories need a first episode to get everything in place so people can find the show .
This podcast has come about because , although there are many wonderful podcasts and other resources available to learners of all ages , I couldn't find one that covered all the things in which I am interested in, in one place . So I decided to make my own , and I hope there will be other people for whom this show provides some entertaining and useful information .
As this is the introduction , here's a bit about me . As you can probably tell from my voice , I'm Australian . I was born here in 1962 and grew up in Mosman , a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales . I now live in a town in the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of the Sydney CBD .
I studied physics at the University of Sydney and specialised in astrophysics . In my final year, I found that I enjoyed teaching and have a teaching degree and subsequently, a master's degree in secondary education . I've worked at a number of jobs , but I'm a teacher . I've taught in secondary schools for nearly 40 years , covering mostly science and computing subjects .
Even when I haven't been in classrooms , every job has involved teaching something to someone in some way . I still work full-time teaching Science at a great school in Sydney's northw est . Do I have extensive expertise in music ? No ! I'll go into more details in later episodes , but basically, I grew up in a non-musical family .
I learned classical guitar for a bit when I was very young . Other than that , I've been mostly a consumer of music . I bought my first keyboard instrument in January this year , so I'm currently four months into my journey . My plans for piano , finally , are simple .
I want it to be the sort of podcast I would like to listen to about a subject that I'm interested in . When I walk into a music store and , believe me , I've been doing that a lot lately I see so many possibilities .
One of my favourite stores for sheet music mostly sells string instruments , and I have to walk past racks of violins , cellos , double basses and more to get to the piano scores . Every time , I have to be firm with myself and remember that I don't have time to pick up another instrument .
It's not much better when I get to the two full aisles of piano music and I have to restrict myself to the "asy piano section . The first important job of this podcast will be to let you know about the things I have found that have helped me as an adult beginner , and I'll let you know what I think of them as a learner .
There are some great YouTube channels reviewing all aspects of music , but usually the presenter is someone with extensive experience and considerable talent , and their take on books and equipment is understandably very different from what mine is likely to be . I'll also be talking about the best way to learn , or at least the best way I have been able to learn .
So far , I have used free online resources , paid online resources , a local music school and a local private teacher . I'll go through the mostly pros and very few cons of each of those . As I progress , I also continually check YouTube and other media for interesting videos about pianos and music in general , so I'll pass along any gems I find .
As a teacher who regularly has to set, mark, and give feedback on exams , I'm intending to try at least some of the formal music examinations through one of the Australian or international music boards . Finding a suitable organisation , a syllabus I like, and then preparing will all find their way into episodes in the future .
If you're not interested in exams , don't worry , though . I'm doing it purely as a challenge to myself . This isn't going to become an examination preparation podcast , though maybe I'll add in a performance if it's going well .
With a background in Physics and Mathematics , it's not surprising that I really like music theory , so I'll be including some of that as well . Australia uses British terms for music theory , and so I'll be using them by default . You can expect tones , semitones , crotchets and quavers . Whenever I have to get technical .
I'll try to remember to add step , half step , quarter note and eighth note , but I'm not promising anything . My background in Physics and Maths might also explain my choice of opening music . I'll elaborate on that in the next show . So that's it for the introduction . I'm planning the first full episode to come out next weekend , the first weekend of June 2024 .
Weekly episodes will then follow . I hope you'll enjoy them . You can subscribe to this podcast in all the usual places and from most podcast apps , and I'd love for you to join me on this adventure . If you would like to get in contact with me , email is probably the most reliable way at the moment . My email address is david@ pianofinally . show .
pianofinally is all one word . The show has an Instagram account at pianofinally , but I'm not sure how much it will get used . I haven't used social media much since it went from being a nice place for a chat to a huge mess . There is a website for the podcast at www . pianofinally . show , which will slowly fill up with what I hope are useful resources .
The show notes, and a transcript of this episode, are available there too . So until the next episode; I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the Keys . Here's a piece I'm working on at the moment, that's May 2024 . Please do not feel obliged to listen to it .
I'm including it both to keep myself honest with practising regularly , and so I'll have a record of how or if I improve over time . The piece is Good King Wenceslas from page 16 of the Joy of First Year Piano by Denes Agay . There's an Amazon affiliate link to the book in the show notes . Thank you . [music, played by David]