Setting sail for exploration of something completely new

[Skybird]

With 55 years I felt the need and interest to start something very new and see how far I could get. Old familiar interests are fading a bit, its all known by now what I did in the past 30 years: chess, photography, martial arts, archery, flight simming, photography, its all getting a bit stale now, the thunder is gone, one starts to feel used, and older, and less interested.

So I decided to pick up some playful toying-around from my youth years, and this time, hopefully, will have the endurance to follow it for longer, and more systematically, than back then.

I got up my lazy back and ordered an electric piano.

I do not play an instrument, my father is the active musician in the family, my mum also knows a lot about music, and I always liked music, though not as exclusively classics only as my parents, my taste is much wider than theirs, but certainly includes classical music. Time to change from the passive to the active side of things.As a teen, I played around a bit with our piano, an accordeon, a flute - and every time when it became difficult, I left... On the other hand, I had little time anyway, I trained a lot in fighting, and played a lot of chess, and had daily meditation with my master additional to training.

The times could be in my favour, because there now is all this modern technology, communication links and so much software helping an anti-social personality like me to bring structure and systematic effort into it without leaving the house and meeting nasty foreign people who could teach - or bite - me.

I got a Roland FP-30X, because it is said to have an excellent action being very close to the hammer action of a real piano, the action is also weighted and has escape, and the white keys have an invory-like coating; it has very good sounds, its affordable, and I can (and must, I do not have that much space) store it away, or get it out for daily practicing easily (which I think is very recommended). Then, it has a line-out, MIDI, double jacks for headphones (small and big plugs), and blutooth. Internet material I could directly feed into the machine, internet software could recognise what I do on the keys. Also, I could secure a very good price on one display piana, but the local - or better: a neighbouring small town's - shop needs to re-order it, the one they had in store had a technical issue. They will sell the replacment for the reduced price although it will be not formt he shop-display, but will be factory-new.

I checked the app and software market, and there is really plenty of stuff to chose from, its hard to know in advance what may suit your taste and what not. I doubt there is the one-solution-for-all-needs. I plan to go first with a very much hyped app named Pianoforall. It definetly does not seem to be "for all", but is limited on certain "target purposes" - but these it seems to approach and teach very well and in an attractive way wo which I immediately connected when seeing it in videos. Its limited in scope and reach, but for a beginner and with my intentions it sounds to be the exactly right thing for launching and reaching L.E.V. (laziness escape velocity). I will see. It also is very cost-economic. If I endure to complete all that material, and see the need, nothing must hinder me to then turn towards another course of different things and targets, in a year, or two, who knows.

My parents, especially my father, are stunned a bit.

Lets see what will come of this. Age can or can not be an issue. Some say its late to learn an instrument, and I would be a fool to expect that in three years I could go onto a stage. But many doctors would say (and neurology supports them) that the brain starts rewiring within days once you start actively playing an instrument, and that you can only benefit from it. My expectations I think are realistic, and reasonable and not too high, and I do not plan for a concert tour any time soon. Just fooling around a bit, with some more discipline and systematic effort than back then. I once juggled a bit with three and four balls, it took me an eternity to hear the "click" in my head when suddenly it worked and I could let those small sandbags endlessly dance in the air. I think something like this lies ahead of me again, when it comes to playing the keys with both hands sooner or later

So, a toast on the Click-experience - and the path leading there!

[Moonlight]

You're going through a midlife crisis old boy, I'm surprised your parents haven't sat you down and told you this as well, you're supposed to know something about psychology so why haven't you diagnosed the symptoms yourself and come to that conclusion as well, or are you in denial about it?.

[Skybird]

I had my midlife crisis already when I completed university and still was not married.

[Gerald]

Excellent initiativ to improve "the daily routine"...we of course waiting for a musical experience higher than normal..so load up the music and we are all ears, salute!

[Skybird]

Mind if I do not bore you with one finger keyplay and instead learn - hopefully - to use the other nine as well before I haunt you?

[Gerald]

You are most welcome. But ya will learn fast and gently!

[em2nought]

After 57 years, I have this odd desire to go on a python hunt in the Everglades. If you can't bag the real swamp creatures, maybe you can at least dispatch the slithering kind. If Hannah Barron could go with me to hold my hand that would be even better because I'm not that fond of swamps.



https://www.fox13news.com/news/large...eveloping-eggs

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by em2nought

After 57 years, I have this odd desire to go on a python hunt in the Everglades. If you can't bag the real swamp creatures, maybe you can at least dispatch the slithering kind. If Hannah Barron could go with me to hold my hand that would be even better because I'm not that fond of swamps.



https://www.fox13news.com/news/large...eveloping-eggs

I think I can handle Hannah but not sure the ONE she carry on her back.

[mapuc]

This thread reminded me about my good FB-friend I have.

She's blind since birth and one of her side effect from this is that she has absolutely music ears(can't remember the exact English word for it)

She work with piano voice/sound-There must be an English word for this. Well she tuned the strings and other things.

I said to her I wish I could play on piano and create beautiful classic music like Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt, a.s.o

But as I am totally tone deaf....

Markus

[u crank]

It is a good idea Sky. Go for it. I have been playing guitar since I was 14 years old. It is still a joy and lots of fun.

[Skybird]

Long-term committment (years, not months) is what is needed, and an attitude of "everyday a bit practice", even if only for short - practically EVERY day. The piano will arrive next week. I bought today the course I intend to run with. Its a steal, and it absolutely connects to me in the way the man leads his students through. For the cost of one lesson with a live tutor I got all the material, in form of 9 ebup books with integrated videos . And very viosually, for me that is important, take the following exmaple. My ftaher once tried to explai8n it to me, in talking, and I wa sleft mostkly unimpressed, and just thoght "Hu...?" But this brief little video, nothing special, made all the difference. Theory goes not first, but second if not third, instead: visual pattern recognition, and curious playing. Many say piano is easier to leanr than amny other instruments, my father also agrees with that. Becasue all tones it cna amke are laid out before youreyes, each toine has one key. A violine, a guitar , worse: wind instruments, you have nothing fixed and visible before you, the tones are "invisible". Try to see the geometry from this video in a - trombone! Its not possible.






There are 200 such video lessons included, and then severla hundred pages of text, with plenty of keyboard illustrations to lead you through. I checked it out and iemdoately knew: this one is my way.



https://pianoforall.com/


However, the aim of this course is what it is, and it is not any different. That is good if your intentions match with the direction the course aims at, and its bad if you have expectations that the course does not care for. The guy in this video expkains it, and leaves no doubt that it does not teach you evertyhing - but he is fair enough to say that what it actually does teach, it probably teaches in a better way than any other. I had a first look at the books, and I am absolutely attracted to the method. I also like that it is not ignorrant of the needed necessity of also knpowing a bit about music theory, but it doe snot kill the mtovaiton in students by pushign it before anythign else and borign people to death, it lets it drip in more playfully, en passant, and always interuroted by plewnty of excersising opportunity. When i think of the music classes at school, I still feel pure horror today! Absolutely thoerteical, abstract, dry and disconnected form - wlel, from usic'S reality when hearing of doing it. How can they kill the curiosity in young people so carelessly?

[Skybird]

And to complete my soul strip, this is the actual piano, explaining the reasons why I decided for this one (1: key action, 2. quality of tones/samples, 3. blutooth interface). The keyboard comes with 12 piano, 20 e-piano, and 24 other voices, but via app you can access several HUNDRED voices that it nevertheless already has on board. When I tried it in the shop, I was blown away, a "player" like me cannot feel the difference betweee this and a real mechnaical piano's hammer action. The salesman said that even very good and professional players get fooled by the action. Forget the "e"in "e-piano". This is a piano, basta. The coating of the kys is also such that it absoklutely fools your senses.

I bought the one they had on display at a reduced price, but then we found it had an issue. They ordered a new one - but will sell it with that price bonus. I therefore get a factory-new piano with that reduced price for 500 coins. The usual retail price most traders have is in the range of 700 to 850 coins. Excellent deal! I would have been stupid to go with the Roland FD-10 (550 coins) or even cheaper Yamaha 45P. (450-500 coins)

[Skybird]

Tutors versus Apps, pros and cons. All valid, one should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages. But by the end of the day it comes down to calculating the costs of live tutoring versus your personal aims and what you actually want to acchieve. One thing it all has in common: You must actually do the firts step to get started.

[Gerald]

Very moving clips about to play piano. Piano music is still on my favorite list and I listen to it almost every day.

[mapuc]

When I see people play piano I see they have eye-left hand-right hand-feet kombination work.

Markus