Old Motifator threads are available in the Archive.
nickmccullum808
Total Posts: 30
Joined 07-29-2010 status: Regular |
Hey Guys, M name is nick, im pretty new to these forums. In May last year I started playing piano, and many people say I’m getting really good. I mostly play by ear, and don’t read a lot of music. My music teacher at my middle school constantly preaches about how important sight-reading abilities are, and how important classical training is. Is it really worth all the work to get heavy classical training in piano? |
delirium
Total Posts: 2441
Joined 11-16-2006 status: Guru |
yes and no - classical training will give you technique and will open you musically like nothing else plus you’ll learn read music well but if you don’t want to play classical music or be a pro it is kinda “waste” of time. Life is too freaking short to spend 2-6 hours a day for practicing. |
nickmccullum808
Total Posts: 30
Joined 07-29-2010 status: Regular |
Do you need to play 2-6 hours a day from the start or just when it gets really hard? |
delirium
Total Posts: 2441
Joined 11-16-2006 status: Guru |
all depends how old are you, what school, what are you practicing for etc but in general you practice technique (I guess that what you meant) longer in the beginning and once you get it you can “relax” a little and even skip days or two. You practice then other things not necessary with instrument. But hey! if you wanna be virtuoso you practice all day long and play gigs at night :))) |
dgarvich
Total Posts: 125
Joined 02-15-2009 status: Pro |
Let me start with this… classical training will always be helpful for any musician in any situation. There’s simply no downside EXCEPT for the smugness that seems to come with it. With that said, it’s more helpful in some situations. Consider the following scale: Generic singer / songwriter / player > Chuck Leavell > Page McConnell > Jacque Loussier > Alfred Brendel On that list, if you start at the left you’re going to get a lot of self-taught musicians all the way up to and including Chuck Leavell. Once you move beyond that you start getting into an area where at least a moderate amount of classical training is part of the music, all the way up to virtuosos who spend countless hours worrying about phrasing and damping. I’m sure people could spend hours including / excluding people from this scale, but it was quick and meant to illustrate not be all conclusive. ;) In the end it’s all about what you want to do with your music. Good luck making a decision and welcome to playing! :) |
nickmccullum808
Total Posts: 30
Joined 07-29-2010 status: Regular |
Thanks guys. Could anyone refer me to some good technique exercises, or are they not to be found on the internet? |
delirium
Total Posts: 2441
Joined 11-16-2006 status: Guru |
Bach inventions are the best(2, then 3 voices). You can try also popular Hanon exercises but they’re boring. |
nickmccullum808
Total Posts: 30
Joined 07-29-2010 status: Regular |
I listened to those inventions and they seem extremely difficult. Anything else? |
saeef
Total Posts: 649
Joined 06-24-2005 status: Guru |
Yeah go fish :-)
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dgarvich
Total Posts: 125
Joined 02-15-2009 status: Pro |
You’re about to discover why there are 1,000 guitar players to every 1 pianist. ;) |
tuquoque
Total Posts: 563
Joined 08-15-2007 status: Guru |
LOL |
DmitryKo
Total Posts: 1483
Joined 07-25-2002 status: Guru |
I’ve been trained to play trumpet, so now I know why there are 100 pianists to 1 brass player :) As for all the horror stories that you have to practice 6 hours each day, well, that’s certainly an overkill for initial training. You will have to practice that much if you are to become professional classical or jazz musician and play all those genius piano pieces that contain 64th notes in 240 bps (just exaggerating), but that would happen much much later in your piano player career. I’d say definitely go for classical training if you want to be able read scores for both singing and playing piano. In addition to piano lessons, you will need to practice solfeggio and learn music theory, which includes basic concepts of melody, harmony, polyphony, chords, consonants and dissonants, scales and modes, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, and more.
To get a glimpse of what it is about, see this archived thread:
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sciuriware
Total Posts: 9999
Joined 08-18-2003 status: Guru |
The Bach Inventio’s difficult? Not at all:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gek1-K9CHFg ;JOOP! |
gtk
Total Posts: 22
Joined 04-28-2009 status: Regular |
As a revolutionary & comprehensive (and free) piano methodology, I highly recommend “The Fundementals of Piano Practice” by Chuan C. Chang freely downloadable at http://www.pianopractice.org/ |
sciuriware
Total Posts: 9999
Joined 08-18-2003 status: Guru |
Bach inventio’s? Child’s play!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3UYlmkfWI&feature=related ;JOOP! |
botega
Total Posts: 1174
Joined 03-16-2007 status: Guru |
Bach actually composed the “Inventions and Sinfonias” for his children |