nickmccullum808 - 20 August 2010 09:33 PM

I listened to those inventions and they seem extremely difficult. Anything else?

Err, they really are not that difficult on the scale of things. They are often used by teachers as a precursor to the 48 preludes and fugues. You want difficult, try some Rachmaninoff - http://www.youtube.com/user/ValentinaLisitsa :)

Some tips.

1) Practice your scales and finger exercises. A lot. Then do it again. A lot. Then do it again. Even more. Play them to a metronome, and increase the tempo over time while making sure your fingering is correct.

2) Learn each hand seperately. Right and Left, doesn’t matter which first. Don’t even start to play them together until you can play them individually at full speed in your sleep. You can of course work through the piece in sections, rather than learning just the left and right separately for all of it in one go.

3) Get your fingering right. Learn what it should be for each piece (you can use the little notations as a guide) and stick to it. Fingering which may at first appear awkward can be strategically advantageous later as you approach the final playing speed having put together the two hands.

Df.

That’s exactly the kidn of tip i needed! thanks a lot. If anyone else has tips like that feel free to say them.

Practice your scales and finger exercises. A lot. Then do it again. A lot. Then do it again. Even more. Play them to a metronome, and increase the tempo over time while making sure your fingering is correct.

Be careful on your hands and your back…

stay away from Rachmaninoff (:

Dreamflight - 22 August 2010 07:37 PM

1) Practice your scales and finger exercises. A lot. Then do it again. A lot. Then do it again. Even more.

and then you’ll die…

Just remember, if you spend all of your time practicing you will have so little time attending to this wonderful forum…

botega - 23 August 2010 01:10 PM

stay away from Rachmaninoff (:

why? I talked with him once and he was really nice guy.

why? I talked with him once and he was really nice guy

so now i know you’re at least 70+ and that you’re speaking Russian (:

Nick,

I was musically inclined at a young age and I could play by ear fairly well.  As I got older, I could perform some faily complicated pieces with a certain degree of professionalism.  The only problem was that I couldn’t read music and knew nothing of theory and technique.

My parents decided that if I was to advance musically, I needed lessons.  That was the best musical decision of my life.  It opened a whole new world when I learned how to read music and understand the theory behind it.  Although I practiced daily, it was not burdensome.  It was a joy.

I eventually went on to get my masters in music education.

I have been playing for almost 60 years (I started at about age 7) and still practice on a regular basis.

If you want to get the maximum benefit out of your talent, a little nurturing of that talent would be beneficial.  Unless you plan on being a concert pianist, take it easy and only do as much as you feel comfortable doing.

For what it’s worth, that’s my 2 cents.

I had classical training forced on me at the young age of eight. I freakin hated it! 1.5 hours practice everyday, 2 hrs lessons once a week by this impatient old lady who got frustrated and slammed the piano key lid on my fingers once, (I was just a kid man)....recitals on weekends. And not to mention boring concertos when they came to town. Im told I saw/heard some greats. Thats nice.
Im scarred for life now. I wish so desperately too be able play by ear. But just cant seem to get it. I read sheet music.. ok. I let a decade go by after I grew up in the 70’s and lost some info there.
I do have a little better understanding of music then some. But my hard work and efforts seem worthless when someone walks in and lays down some sweet Beatles tune, empresses all the girls, but cant tell you what chord he’s playing.. “I just heard it on the radio one day”.... WTF?
I worked my ass off to learn pieces like Funeral For a Friend-Love Lies Bleeding, most of Journey,-Jonathan Cains work, Song Bird by Fleetwood Mac etc. Its 3 decades later and I cant even grasp Barlow Girls music by ear..let alone Todays music..Holy Crap.. you heard some of this stuff out there? (And Im sure my Grandparents were saying the same about Led Zepplin’s Whole Lotta Love and such back in the day LOL!)
I completely missed the Teckno/Trance music. I spin through some of it in Performance Mode on my XS and have not a clue what Im suppose to do with it, its like the S.Efx performances to me. My loss.
After coming out of my classic shell. I definitly noticed some pieces did not compute and the artist were doing stuff against the rules. But, I guess I honestly have no TRUE regret’s. It got me into music and I love every minuet I have in front of my XS.
I push music on my two boys. BUT....they may play anything they like. I have noticed I bore them to tears with my knowledge when I try to share and explain music situations too them. They dont care..they just want to play, and I believe thats all that really matters.
A good balance of all genre’s and techniques is a must as they flow across each other. Keep your mind open, dont let the disciplines consume you. And do apply that worn out statement of thinking outside of the box.  There is so much different and exciting stuff out there. You’ll miss so much if you only focus on one aspect of playing music. 
Get hooked up with other musicians in your area to learn to play along with other instruments and people. I never had that experience till long after my classical youth and I feel I really missed out. Most musicians love to help each along and share their knowledge, like in these forums. And when no ones around, kick up those Perfomances and jam to them like its 1999!
-Dez

Thanks for the advice everybody, still not sure what I’m going to do yet.