I know this is an old thread but I wanted to say something about music books. My wife has been a piano teacher for many years and I think that she is about the same level as you, Alyssia, things are different in Australia. Anyway, we hadn't been married very long when I noticed that she had a book of Beethoven Sonatas. The book was falling apart and for our wedding anniversary I had it rebound with a leather cover but in such a way that it would stay open on the piano stand. It cost me a bomb. But she loved that book and it encouraged her to play more of them and then go on to further studies. Nice books are priceless.
I started learning piano at 54 and now I'm approaching 2 1/2 years. I just want to let you know how much your videos have helped me. I am so glad I took the time to watch this particular one. I have been in a rough spot for some time now, have been getting increasingly frustrated and wanting to just give up. It is so good to hear that what I have been going through is shared but so many other adult learners and I am not just some sad anomaly that is completely incapable of doing this. I know I need to be kinder to myself and keep at it!
As an adult learner for 5 months, I am learning to learn the piano. #12 about how you practice is interesting. As I am subscribed to PianoMarvel, I had to change my outlook from singly trying to pass the assessment, which weirdly began raising my tension level, to become more relaxed and play the piece as a piece, for myself, and keep tightening it up with each attempt. But mainly, I just played it as a piece for myself. That is my new pattern which seems to work, for me...
0:47 The drill sergeant (in your head). - Be kinder to yourself. 2:29 Being over-sensitive to criticism. - 5:03 Awareness (Worth listening to again!) 6:01 Being too stingy with your piano education. - (6:49 Anecdote) Invest in yourself. 9:48 Being closed-minded about what you want to learn. - 10:17 Advice (10:50 Anecdote)12:10 Classical music (Jazz etc.) is an acquired taste. Try it, give it a chance to grow on you. 13:52 Performance Anxiety - You are not being judged, esp. as a person. Separate yourself from your music. 17:02 How you treat your piano practice is a mirror of yourself.(Distorted perception) - Try to be aware. Try to be neutral, not too critical, not too complacent.
I have taken up the piano this year and these 12 problems are so right. My teacher happens to be a Canadian and she is very supportive and nice, just like this teacher, must be a Canadian thing. I thought she was just being polite but now understand she is actually helping me get over these 12 problems. Thank you for helping me see that my teacher is excellent.
When I was playing Viola in an adult community orchestra I had a teacher who didn't have the best bed side manners. She said to me one time when I was getting really frustrated with a piece "Your not as good as you think you are". When she said that I took it really hard. Listening to you I think I understand what she meant. She meant I picked a piece that was too hard for my level. It wasn't the personal attack that I took it as. And performance anxiety is horrible. I moved on in the last couple years to playing guitar. My hands aren't at the level that my mind is at but what really helped is our teacher basically forces us to play in groups, and forces us to play solo's. Constantly being put in front of a group and not "hiding" into the mix of the orchestra is helping the performance anxiety. You can hear all the other adult learners going through the same problems and even if you completely bone up a performance, you hear everyone else boning it up too so it's no longer a big deal.
That's unfortunate that she wasn't very tactful. I'm a pianist/teacher & my daughter is a professional violist. I picked up lessons again a couple years ago, & I was still very sensitive to her criticism. She was a gentle Russian but I hung onto every compliment desparately!
Great video, just a side note: People who are in their 60ies now might actually have had teachers who hit them on their had or fingers every time they made an error when they where kids. Hard to believe, this was common practice at one point. I know a few adults who never played again because of this, even though they are technically very good players.
Hope everything goes well. I played earlier in life but gave it up unfortunately. I just recently picked it up again. I hope you excel in this new adventure. 👍👍👍
For some reason (which is really NOT me), I am not a drill sergeant with myself. I have come to realize that every single time I sit down and practice for not just 5 minutes, but for 30 minutes to an hour, I see progress. Being older, progress is all I'm really going for. I will never be a concert pianist, and that's okay. What wouldn't be okay is to give up just because I still have to practice the same song over yet again. So, just pick out ONE thing to get better at with each practice. And rejoice in the music you can make!
"Treat yourself the way you would treat other people" + "treat other people the way you want other people to treat you" = Treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you. I think being kind to yourself is important, but in my observation, the people who are hardest on themselves without giving up seem to achieve the most.
It's a fine line between always pushing yourself, and being hard on yourself. One is positive pressure, one is negative pressure. But you're right - pressure is key!
Allysia's distinction between positive and negative pressure is important. Those you observe as "hardest" on themselves may simply be examples of sustained discipline. While you may occasionally see someone succeed who is actually negatively hard on themselves, there are two things you may not see. First is the incredible personal cost that comes with long-term negative pressure. Also, how long does their "success" last? Second is that for every one who apparently succeeds there is the wreckage of many, many more that you never see who burned themselves out. A hard work ethic combined with a realistic and long-term joyful attitude is the way to go the distance.
I have been at the piano now for two years, I started watching your channel at that time also, thanks for all you do here! Also, watch a few TH-cam videos on neuro plasticity, as adults if we can learn slowly and in a stress free environment we actually learn faster! It has changed my self talk for the better!
Performance anxiety!!! I am 55 y.o. and about 8 months in on learning piano. I love it! However, I had a recital about a month ago and completely bombed. I felt bad about my performance, but it was not due a lack of effort. I am so into playing piano and will continue...it will probably take a lot of coercion from my instructor to participate in the next recital. Great 2 part video - very helpful.
Been playing by ear for many years. Just started learning to read and I am nowhere near as smooth, so it is challenging. I really appreciate your videos, there so encouraging and that will make a lot of people press on. One day these people will look back and realize it was because of you that they can actually play the instrument. Not just play songs on the instrument, but actually play the instrument. There is a difference.
I'm from Toronto and I know the streets you speak of. Adult beginner here and sometimes I feel like I am making no progress. My piano teacher keeps me motivated.
In an earlier comment I said "I'd rather eat liver and onions than learn jazz". Well, the music gods have conspired against me. After a day or so of learning a piece called 'Sherlock Holmes' I read the fine print at the bottom and noticed it's sourced from 'Fun With Jazz Piano'. Not only do I stand corrected but as of 5 minutes ago I've chosen this piece for my next exam this coming April.
YES! I finally got something down that I was struggling with yesterday (and some days before that). Was listening to this vid during a break. After, I tried again and it just clicked! Love when that happens. Starting to learn piano is the best decision I ever made in my life ... Edit: Most of these problems are very recognizable. :) Luckily it gets better as time passes. Patience is key.
I think I've always loved classical music, mostly because of cartoons like What's Opera, Doc?, starring B. Bunny" and "Rhapsody in Rivets". That dude was a terrible construction foreman, but a pretty awesome conductor. Point being that television isn't 100% terrible. Regarding the Try it Twelve Times rule, I agree. I mean it took me like 3 or 4 different tries before I discovered that beer was simpatico with my palate.
Your vids are excellent. Insightful, clear, and easy to follow. I’m a lifelong drummer in the US who recently took his own advice to “learn it on TH-cam.” It’s been a few weeks and I’m still on “Little Waterfall,” but I’m cool, I’ll stick with it-gonna get the Czerny book soon...and, say, what’s with the best TH-cam music instructors being from Canada? Jared Falk (Drumeo) and Rob Brown’s channels are fantastic resources for drummers. Both Canadian. I think it’s the universal health care. Anyway, thanks for the great work and I know that I will keep coming back to learn more stuff. Thanks, again!
Hi, thanks for your videos! I have a couple of comments and questions: I’m 60 and took a couple of years of piano 50 years ago, and I remember the scales, basic chords, etc., so I’m not a complete beginner. I am trying to learn music production, and am treating it like getting a college degree ( there’s definitely a degrees worth of learning!). So, I’m learning how to play piano so that I will be more competent at putting together instrumental pieces, and I’ll be using a fully weighted MIDI 88 key controller for my practice and production. Like you, I go through phases of interest in books and have about 1000 books in Kindle (I wish they gave you the ability to tag your books, so you could pull up all the photography, or music theory, etc. books, rather than the ones you’ve most recently read). Anyway, I got a 12.9” iPad and it is big enough to be able to see sheet music clearly. There are apps available to be able to organize your music, which seems a lot handier than trying to find pieces in a bunch of physical music books (like Kindle is to reading books). It would’ve nice to know that wherever you take your tablet, you can pull it out and have all the pieces you know, those you are learning, etc. pulled up in a couple of taps. The one thing I was worried about was page turning when both hands were playing. Then I found out that there are Bluetooth page turner foot pedals that allow you to turn pages like that. I’m thinking about getting one and going this route. Any comments or suggestions? Also, it is a curse to know enough to be a second or third level (method books) student, but knowing that you are missing some techniques be skipping to challenging material. This is similar to any field where you “know enough to be dangerous”. Do you have any suggestions on resolving this issue, without going through learning whole notes, or what an octave is? I appreciate your take on these things. I’ll check out Czerny, since I just received a Hanon book. I will still use Hanon, as I think of it like exercise that you do to become better at sports. From what I’ve gathered from my research is that how you play the exercises is very important, but a wide divergence among various teachers in how they teach playing the exercises. This is somewhat confusing, though it seems the consensus is the finger only technique espoused in the Hanon book is “old school”, and involving the wrists and arms and rotation are much better to develop technique that will translate into better playing, rather than just getting stronger fingers. Sorry for the length.
Love all you videos! My carpal tunnel surgery was mangled and I had to start over with my right hand. It now takes 30 minutes of "warming up" before my hands "act right" - say a Chopin or Rachmaninoff Prelude. Continue stressing your most important point: "Learn correctly the first time!" The tendency to gloss over "difficult" parts is universal but that is really the key. I use the old Schirmer (Jossefy) edition (almost worn out) with the "25th prelude" and the fingering is often strange yet in the end it works best.
with this part I 100%agree , I feel bad with my self when I can't make it right in front of my teacher, my hads start to shake without knowing, and I tought that it was only me that make me feel less bad with my self. (sorry if i had mistakes in english and it's beacause I speak spanish but I'm learning english) :D
Thanks a lot for these videos Allysia. I am finding them very useful as an older adult learner. It helps greatly to hear about some of the common pitfalls and to keep on track. Loving playing piano at 55.
You absolutely nailed it, the first three points in video 1 were spot on for me! I want to practice on a piece that sounds good, even if it is simplified. I cannot for the life of it sit and practice on some kids song, it has to be music that interests me, so make it a very simplified jazz or classical piece instead. That will keep me motivated to go on. One big thing that should be included is: You forget what you've learned faster, the older you get! The adult brain is so different from kids brains, you probably know that what you learned as a kid stays with you, but as and adult, try to remember a piece you practiced two days ago and you know what I mean.. For adults, to be able to keep it up, you have to practice all the time. This is more true, the older you get. I'm over 50, and I cannot remember one note from a piece I could play fairly well 3 months ago. Not one note! :)
Wow, didn't expect someone so young to be so full of wisdom. I guess you thought about these things a bit more than average Joe because you teach piano to adults and all that, but still. You're an absolute joy to watch/hear in any case, will definitely watch more (I just discovered you/your channel today). Thanks a lot for these excellent videos.
Thank you for sharing this for me, an adult yet to begin beginner. I can absolutely relate to it. I leave with a ton of knowledge. You have such an impressive way of explaining things. You are such a fabulous person, gosh I just grew a crush.
Successfully? HA HA HA. Probably "Land of the Silver Birch" by Pierre Gallant. I did this piece for my Grade 10 exam and got a fairly good mark on it - I felt like my interpretation was pretty solid. It had some fast and exhilarating passages! In the modern realm, I could once fairly comfortably play The Heart Asks Pleasure First (Nyman) and February Sea (Winston). I'd need to review them now, but February Sea in particular was a good challenge in accuracy for me, that I feel like I successfully conquered.
There is a problem I definitely don't have : being picky with pieces! There are so much around I would love to play and I feel like my entire life will not be enought to play all the pieces I want! My teacher brought me "Dans la maison triste" of Jacque Ibert. It is somewhat contemporary, different then what we are used to listen to and, imo, it is a very interesting piece! As for composers, I'm more a fan of the Romantic era, with Chopin and Beethoven, but I've been enjoying some Bach and Mozart.
What I got out of this video: I'm not the only one suffering from performance anxiety when playing for my teacher. Don't be harder on yourself than you would be on your children.
Wow... listening to you opened my eyes in many ways. I think i knew what my fears came from but listenig to them from you make me feel kind of understood ^^". I wish i had a piano teacher like you... i remember finishing each of my piano classes almost crying 'cause i felt so judged and afraid of my teacher (besides she wasn't much friendly) so i never gain confidence learning with her. At the end i left my studies out of stress, frustration and fear :( Thanks for comforting me in a way :') i'm trying now, after years, to start from zero again by myself~ Thanks!!
The stingy thing also applies to the instrument. I finally bought a brand new Kawai K300 piano, and it has made a huge difference in how I feel about the instrument. But it wasn't cheap, and I found that there is only 1 store left in a city of 811,000 people that sells acoustic pianos.
You are awesome, I am 66, been trying to learn for decades, you are an inspiration to me. Excellent delivery, perfect, absolutely nothing short of "brilliant", thank you, what's your name?
🤯🤯 Watching this I realised I skim over exercises which I think are too easy because my brain gets them.... I've just tried a 'simple' rhythm practice and while my brain got it months ago, my fingers aren't quite there yet! Thank you for this useful insight!!
Love your videos!! I'm 31, and started practicing a few months ago. I had some classes time ago, but never really committed. Now I'm very excited about it, but struggling with all of this problems. It helps a lot to know I'm not the only one, and to have your advice. For me, the biggest problems are performance anxiety and also anxiety to get it right fast. I'm working on it. Thanks for your tips!!
Performance anxiety is something a lot of adults struggle with, myself included! One of my goals this year is to get immersed in the literature on the subject, so that I can make decent videos about it.
Very well done. I think you've been looking over my shoulder. Like one of your earlier commenters I live in a small town with no music teachers either so I self-teach. I didn't even take up piano until two years ago at 65 years old. One of the thoughts that haunts me is I'd very much like to become a good enough pianist to play at small gatherings, special events, etc, where I live. So, I think to myself "you know you may not have a lot of time left so you need to get better quick or you may not ever be able to accomplish your playing goal." For an older adult such as myself we (I) feel the metronome of life is moving fast so we need to hurry! Not sure what anyone can recommend for that other than don't think about it and carry on.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, no matter how old or young they are. So don't listen to anyone who says you are too old because you are never too old. The only thing is changing the approach of how you learn since adults learn differently than young children. In fact, keeping your brain active and your fingers moving will stave off dementia, depression, and diminishing motor skills. Learning will keep you young. :-)
Thank you for talking about this anxiety problem. I remember a recital to which I was invited, there was a very little girl (about four or five years old at the most), and she played Tchaikovsky - Song of the lark, she played slowly, but it sounded awesome. At the end, she send kisses and bend to say thanks. My point is «kids do no struggle a lot with being judged, they just have fun» As a suggestion, it will be grat if you make a section about a piano performance :)
Your videos are fantastic. I learn so much from everything you say and feel so inpired by what you say. Do you still live in Toronto? Remenyi is closing!
Defensiveness and excuses are not to be mixed up, I believe. I wholeheartedly accept remarks about what I did wrong and was in the dark about but when I know exactly what my problems are I feel it makes sense to communicate that part of knowledge to the teacher when he/she point it out. (at least he/she'll have an idea of what things I'm usually aware and what things need be highlighted) Your example with counting has 2 polar opposite realizations: if the student is aware of the issue - he/she might say 'Yeah, I know, I'll work on it' or 'Oh really, thanks for pointing that out' Is it really a problem?
Such wisdom Allysia! Thank you! Some of the problems even though I am aware, I never think that much. I am an adult learning started the piano August 2018:) Really like your videos!
I am a teenager and whenever I have lessons on the weekend I am carefree and don't apologize for my mistakes becuase it's just a mistake. However if my lesson is on a weekday I apologize as I feel that I let my teacher down.
Adult learners may have years of listening to music and appreciating different styles. I would also say that knowing what music you are interested in learning and playing is something that a child may not have.
You do have more self-discipline and are definitely learning the piano because you want to, not because someone's forcing you to learn. You should be more aware of what you are doing and if your teacher tells you to do sth you are more likely to actually listen and focus on that while practicing.
Thanks for your video! You've mentioned some pretty important points about the psychological basis for a lot of things adults struggle by learning piano. I also was an adult beginner, but now I'm somewhere at the early/middle intermediate stage. I'm quite serious about my piano training, but there's one thing I'm struggling quite often with - it's the lack of certain plasticity in my hands. I know how I wish to interpret a piece of music, I hear it in my head, and sometimes when I practice slowly and separate music into small sections (sometimes even like one measure or a half of a measure), I achieve to make the sound I look for and manage to make the movements that I know are right for these particular music parts. But if I'm playing quickly, no matter how long and detailed I've practiced before, I'm failing to perform everything I've achieved playing slowly. My hands are just betraying me! But anyway I'm not going to stop to try.
Thank you so much for these videos! I'm a "lapsed" pianist going back to it after having some horrible experiences with a teacher during my early teens, so it's good to know what to look out for and can always appreciate encouragement!
@pianoTV Glad I found you today! I'm a guitar player. I taught myself back when I was in 5th grade through song book and just followed chords from it. Google wasn't available that time and we can't afford a teacher. I bought myself Washburn after 15yrs. Anyway, now that I'm on my super late 20s, I want to learn to play the piano and definitely learn how to learn music notes/sheet. My question is does a Yamaha P45 is a good buy for a beginner and what should I do first to begin with? Please help thank you!
7: "The Drill Sergeant (in your head)." A problem? A living DS behind me would be a problem, me wanting to strangulate him would be a problem. But my second pilot in my head is just keeping his hands on control panel, handling my irritation, venting my anger, preventing my frustration through simplifying or switching tasks. He knows and keeps reminding me of how far I've got already and there is no way I can't beat my challenge having all the time in the world! ) 8: "Being over-sensitive to criticism". My solution is simple: never boast with things half-way done. What is deserved tastes bitter, whatever neglection on well done piece doesn't affect me at all. My pride protects my feelings. 9: "Being too stingy with your piano education". Never been around a place where music books are sold. Yet I've always been stingy to buy sheet notes from Internet (totally agree with the point that writers deserved their penny for their labor). But I don't feel bad about writing down notes in Sibelius 7 looking at video play-through or low-resolution online examples. It took my effort to copy them and it payed back immediately with the first feel of what I'm going to play and noticing little things I could overlook otherwise. 10: "Being close-minded about what you want to learn". Well, that had little time to be revealed so far. I've practiced for a little more than a year. And I've got all the time in the world times all the music going to my attention. We'll see about that ) 11: "Performance anxiety". That's true. I should probably start recording my practices, because even camera makes me nervous. This is too basic and deep to neglect or try to justify. This simply... is. 12: "How you treat your 'piano practice' is a mirror of yourself". I don't know. My "self" kinda disappears when I play. Maybe this is a key to my performance anxiety, because it is simple when it's just my hands and the keyboard, but when I feel attention, I start to feel my presence there as well. ) Thank you!
You're videos definitely inspire me, especially the part where you talk about not pushing yourself because of. Fear of failing, so you don't try to learn something new or difficult
The spirit is all of you, the ego that (little) part who feels itself the driver or ruler of the body, in essence a resident tyrant over it. The spirit is free and wise, it lives for the joy of living, it feels the music flowing to and from itself. It doesn't control the music, it enjoys it, at each moment as it occurs. The ego is controlling, he desires to manipulate, to control, to dominate, how the music should be. The spirit is child-like, it is kind like you mention, and it grows. The ego is berating, puts others down. It feels itself fundamentally separate from "the body" which it "controls", and thus berates, or shames, its inadequacy.., musical or otherwise.., always blind to its own reflection, or "fault". It's very obvious as well the ego, though it feels itself supreme, is very inept. He doesn't understand music, he must divide it (destroy it) to understand it, it is a mere sequence of sounds to him. He transforms it and learns it as a mere algorithm. He 'thinks about it' (too much). Any one who plays the piano, or any other instrument, musical or otherwise, knows perfectly well what happens when one "thinks" too much. You "become" slow, you "become" tense, you "become" anxious, you are paralyzed, like a computer stuck in deep endless recursion.. Even something as simple as walking becomes infinitely complex and "awkward" when delegated to the sequential "mind"™™™. When the spirit plays, it shows. It is clear, free of doubt, it is free of fear. The spirit lives in the moment, the ego lives in thoughts. The spirit lives in the moment, that is to say in reality, the ego lives in the imaginary, in illusions. The spirit lives in the music, the ego in the achievement. The ego screams at and shames a young flower she's not growing fast enough; the spirit loves her thus he cares for her, without 'expectation', he enjoys her nature and its beauty, and the flower will grow, as beautiful as it will.
Hi, I've just come across your channel... really good and informative. Love the piano problem videos. I've been learning since April 2017, I have weekly lessons and I'm loving it however finding it difficult and experienced all the problems you've mentioned so I'm pleased to hear I am a normal human being experienced normal issues! You start to feel not good enough so your video's have boosted me so thank you.
You are seriously awesome and I greatly appreciate this series! I'm on my second week of learning piano and I'm so glad I'm not the only one with these problems. Thanks!
Huhu and thanks a lot. I'm just glad to know, that what I am going through is pretty common :-). Just knowing that this is human is such a huge relief. I am learning daily about every topic you touched upon....cuz I have to. I am 29 years now and have just changed my life. I studied economics but always wanted to do art & music. After a lot of struggling I finally managed to start doing art again and got into art school (yeiii!!!). Now it's about music...I have been playing the guitar for 10 years now (before that I played saxophone) but always wanted to play the piano. This problem started to become relevant, when my taste in music changed from rock&metal to classical, jazz and movie scores. The past few weeks have been an internal struggle cuz I just don't know if I have got what it takes to start all over again and start from zero. Then again, I can no longer go on playing guitar and my heart has been longing for the piano for too long. Maybe it's just another step to finally come to rest and start my new life (not only did I change my career path, my friends and lots of other parts have changed too). So thank you for pointing all these things out and being soooo understanding about it. Greetings
Just recently found your channel and I really like the way you present them. Your comment, tips and idea's just work for me. Just amazed you haven't got more subscribers. Anyway, thanks, will watch more of them
When I was started (I started from 0) it took me about 6 months to feel comfortable to play in front of my teacher, it was ridiculous, my hands started shaking and I made mistakes that I did not make at home, I remember that once I recorded a piece at home because I knew I´d mess it up in the class, when I showed the recording to the teacher she laughed and said, "Well that´s how I want you to play, but in here as well". I was 28! So yeah, I can relate.
In the past five months I've only taken 3 lessons to prepare for an exam. To my surprise, and dismay, I too found that my hands were shaking (LOL!) when playing in front of the teacher. My playing was nothing like at home.
Thank you for your great insights in this video! I am an adult learning piano and have experienced everything you have discussed. I am learning not from a typical performance standpoint and just want enough skill to understand how to create original electronic music. I felt learning piano would help me from a compositional standpoint. If you have any advice, I would really appreciate it! Thanks again for your great video!
I started the piano 5 years ago at the age of 10. It was my own decision, my family doesn't force me to play. So I am not a adult beginner but I have a lot of the problems you describe ! I don't know if it's related to the fact that I chose to play without being forced or because of the difference of age between me and other children with the same level. I know it seems stupid but generally, children start playing piano at the age of 5/6 and I was 10. So I often compare myself and feel bad for my age. It's like being a adult beginner but in less worse I imagine. But I have a good level, I don't complain for that ! I was just surprised that I have the same problems as adults beginners even without being one. (Sorry for the grammatical mistakes, I'm French)
Same, I'm having the problem with comparing myself to children younger, they're better and they started earlier, if only I started earlier... Also, what frustrates me is how my hands don't move the way I want them to. Do you have any tips on hand independence and how long it took for you to develop decent hand independence?
@@SweetSinger789 赤羽総悟 Hand independance is a bit tricky. It was pretty quick for me to know how to deal with it for basic rhythms. However when the rhythms became harder (the notes on the right hand were never in synchro with the notes on the left hand) I had to play it very slowly to really understand the way my hands needed to move. I repeated this a lot in order to print the movements. I know my hand independance isn't the worst but I think I could be better if I made special exercises. But I'm not really patient XD I prefer to pratice my pieces than upgrade my technique. So I don't really have an universial tipp to know how to be better at hand independance, I just take a long time to adjust for each piece I learn. I don't say that what I do is the best but it suits me :) Hope I have help you a little!
Hi.... I love your energy and excitement!!!.... I just started piano lessons. I would love to have you as my teacher. Any chance you live in Niagara Region in Canada? please let me know :-) Have a nice day :-)
If you haven't already could make a video on how much piano practice someone should do ranging from beginner to and advanced players. Thanks :) awesome video today aswell !
Well I would actually point out a mild reservation on the stinginess part... Right now I have a collection of books that are gathering dust as I make my way through online coursewoek. I am tempted to buy a few titles on Amazon, but one of the reasons I refrain is I don't want to lose focus and would much rather finish what's already in my plate. I am already low on time for practice, so this is how I try to keep my focus, dunno if this is the case for others
Love your last statement. Easy for you to say. I notice your acute understanding about personal development and psychology. I'll wager you will explode out of your perimeter if you pick up a copy of "The Magic of Believing" by Claude Bristol. Huge stepping stone in personalities like Liberoce and Phyllis Diller. Also if you want to have a huge "girl power" moment , check out an interview on youtube of Marylin Vos Savant. I have two books by her "Logical Thinking" and " Brain Building". Have read her " Art of Spelling". All the best stuff. That girl is beyond brilliant and no mistake. While I'm on a roll here I would mention to all I'm an old man that is just getting a kick out of learning beginning piano and violin from gorgeous galls like you and would be jazzed ?!… ? very happy to see you give us newbee's some pointers on playing Vangelis's 1st movement of the "Heaven and Hell" sweet that he wrote for the series Cosmos.
Have you ever read "The Inner Game of Tennis?" It was the very first book my piano professor had me read. It deals a lot with performance psychology and your inner voice.
bereantrb Oh of course! I mean, there's also The Inner Game of Music and a lot of other inner game books, but reading the one the author specialized in is what I was advised.
I think it's funny that I actually don't want to learn any pop music. I only want to learn classical music but it does make me want to try some pop music after playing the classical music that I want. I'm also scared to try jazz but I would like to try that too.
Several assumptions: 1. Books vs. Internet downloads: I play music with a church group. Before a Christmas service, music from a hymn book would be scanned and send around to the musicians by Email. Not practical to carry a hymn book with 300+ songs if all you need are 5 for the service. The other thing with downloads is that you can keep the electronic copy on your computer and print new ones in case your pages get worn-out. 2. Being budget-conscious tends to be the same for kids & adults. In the beginning if you don't have an acoustic piano, your first choice would be a cheap keyboard even down to 61 keys. When it comes to books, you don't buy them that often and most don't cost hundreds of dollars. In practical terms the money comes out of the same pocket. Whether your kid or you take lessons the money is from the same place: you. Your teacher ask your kid vs. you to buy a specific exercise book are you going to complain in 1 situation and not the other? It's the same book, the same money. 3. Being closed minded is a problem for some learners like someone who doesn't like Beethoven, you can't get them to play a Beethoven Sonata. Definitely true. 4. When it comes to criticism on your playing skills you tend to be more critical of yourself than people around you. Last year went to a Christmas party. Played several seasonal pieces on a keyboard and got an appreciative audience. Despite a few wrong notes in between, the fact that you played "Silent Night" or "Jingle Bells" brighten up someone's day. Being part of a music group, I perform regularly in church. I've seen people who took lessons for years who are uncomfortable playing even an easy song in front of people.
![Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course [Method Guide + Review]](/img/n.gif)
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to say something about music books. My wife has been a piano teacher for many years and I think that she is about the same level as you, Alyssia, things are different in Australia. Anyway, we hadn't been married very long when I noticed that she had a book of Beethoven Sonatas. The book was falling apart and for our wedding anniversary I had it rebound with a leather cover but in such a way that it would stay open on the piano stand. It cost me a bomb. But she loved that book and it encouraged her to play more of them and then go on to further studies. Nice books are priceless.
I started learning piano at 54 and now I'm approaching 2 1/2 years. I just want to let you know how much your videos have helped me. I am so glad I took the time to watch this particular one. I have been in a rough spot for some time now, have been getting increasingly frustrated and wanting to just give up. It is so good to hear that what I have been going through is shared but so many other adult learners and I am not just some sad anomaly that is completely incapable of doing this. I know I need to be kinder to myself and keep at it!
How are you now?
As an adult learner for 5 months, I am learning to learn the piano. #12 about how you practice is interesting. As I am subscribed to PianoMarvel, I had to change my outlook from singly trying to pass the assessment, which weirdly began raising my tension level, to become more relaxed and play the piece as a piece, for myself, and keep tightening it up with each attempt. But mainly, I just played it as a piece for myself. That is my new pattern which seems to work, for me...
0:47 The drill sergeant (in your head). - Be kinder to yourself.
2:29 Being over-sensitive to criticism. - 5:03 Awareness (Worth listening to again!)
6:01 Being too stingy with your piano education. - (6:49 Anecdote) Invest in yourself.
9:48 Being closed-minded about what you want to learn. - 10:17 Advice (10:50 Anecdote)12:10 Classical music (Jazz etc.) is an acquired taste. Try it, give it a chance to grow on you.
13:52 Performance Anxiety - You are not being judged, esp. as a person. Separate yourself from your music.
17:02 How you treat your piano practice is a mirror of yourself.(Distorted perception) - Try to be aware. Try to be neutral, not too critical, not too complacent.
thank you so much for this
Thanks for being genuine and not sounding like you’re selling something.
I have taken up the piano this year and these 12 problems are so right. My teacher happens to be a Canadian and she is very supportive and nice, just like this teacher, must be a Canadian thing. I thought she was just being polite but now understand she is actually helping me get over these 12 problems. Thank you for helping me see that my teacher is excellent.
When I was playing Viola in an adult community orchestra I had a teacher who didn't have the best bed side manners. She said to me one time when I was getting really frustrated with a piece "Your not as good as you think you are". When she said that I took it really hard. Listening to you I think I understand what she meant. She meant I picked a piece that was too hard for my level. It wasn't the personal attack that I took it as. And performance anxiety is horrible. I moved on in the last couple years to playing guitar. My hands aren't at the level that my mind is at but what really helped is our teacher basically forces us to play in groups, and forces us to play solo's. Constantly being put in front of a group and not "hiding" into the mix of the orchestra is helping the performance anxiety. You can hear all the other adult learners going through the same problems and even if you completely bone up a performance, you hear everyone else boning it up too so it's no longer a big deal.
That's unfortunate that she wasn't very tactful. I'm a pianist/teacher & my daughter is a professional violist. I picked up lessons again a couple years ago, & I was still very sensitive to her criticism. She was a gentle Russian but I hung onto every compliment desparately!
Great video, just a side note: People who are in their 60ies now might actually have had teachers who hit them on their had or fingers every time they made an error when they where kids.
Hard to believe, this was common practice at one point. I know a few adults who never played again because of this, even though they are technically very good players.
I'm 27 I'm going to start learning.
don't say it. Do it
And most importantly, don't forget to practice 40 hours a day
I'm 33, started a time ago, doing well. Age means nothing.
Hope everything goes well. I played earlier in life but gave it up unfortunately. I just recently picked it up again.
I hope you excel in this new adventure. 👍👍👍
How’s it going @Louis? Are you still playing?
For some reason (which is really NOT me), I am not a drill sergeant with myself. I have come to realize that every single time I sit down and practice for not just 5 minutes, but for 30 minutes to an hour, I see progress. Being older, progress is all I'm really going for. I will never be a concert pianist, and that's okay. What wouldn't be okay is to give up just because I still have to practice the same song over yet again. So, just pick out ONE thing to get better at with each practice. And rejoice in the music you can make!
This is a good attitude!
I adore practicing. Mindful practice guarantees progress. I love that.
"Treat yourself the way you would treat other people" + "treat other people the way you want other people to treat you" = Treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you. I think being kind to yourself is important, but in my observation, the people who are hardest on themselves without giving up seem to achieve the most.
It's a fine line between always pushing yourself, and being hard on yourself. One is positive pressure, one is negative pressure. But you're right - pressure is key!
Allysia's distinction between positive and negative pressure is important. Those you observe as "hardest" on themselves may simply be examples of sustained discipline. While you may occasionally see someone succeed who is actually negatively hard on themselves, there are two things you may not see. First is the incredible personal cost that comes with long-term negative pressure. Also, how long does their "success" last? Second is that for every one who apparently succeeds there is the wreckage of many, many more that you never see who burned themselves out. A hard work ethic combined with a realistic and long-term joyful attitude is the way to go the distance.
Critical thinking leads to reflection - reflection leads to the path. Kudos -
how does this channel only have 5500 subs?? Needs 1000x more!
6 months later, 31k
11 months later, 59k
u mean 10000000x more
luckily it's getting close to 100k now !!!
dude you are so astute and insightful. These 2 parts contain the most solid beginner-pianist advice on youtube.
I have been at the piano now for two years, I started watching your channel at that time also, thanks for all you do here! Also, watch a few TH-cam videos on neuro plasticity, as adults if we can learn slowly and in a stress free environment we actually learn faster! It has changed my self talk for the better!
Performance anxiety!!! I am 55 y.o. and about 8 months in on learning piano. I love it! However, I had a recital about a month ago and completely bombed. I felt bad about my performance, but it was not due a lack of effort. I am so into playing piano and will continue...it will probably take a lot of coercion from my instructor to participate in the next recital. Great 2 part video - very helpful.
Been playing by ear for many years. Just started learning to read and I am nowhere near as smooth, so it is challenging. I really appreciate your videos, there so encouraging and that will make a lot of people press on. One day these people will look back and realize it was because of you that they can actually play the instrument. Not just play songs on the instrument, but actually play the instrument. There is a difference.
I'm from Toronto and I know the streets you speak of. Adult beginner here and sometimes I feel like I am making no progress. My piano teacher keeps me motivated.
In an earlier comment I said "I'd rather eat liver and onions than learn jazz". Well, the music gods have conspired against me. After a day or so of learning a piece called 'Sherlock Holmes' I read the fine print at the bottom and noticed it's sourced from 'Fun With Jazz Piano'. Not only do I stand corrected but as of 5 minutes ago I've chosen this piece for my next exam this coming April.
Ha ha ha, this is awesome! +1 for the music gods.
sooo.... ahem. This means, now you have some free liver and onions? Could you... could you pass them to me? :>
Leonard Krieger I just might FedEx any unwanted liver and onions over your way. FedEx driver knocks on your door - dinner will be served.
Liver and onions? Yum!
YES! I finally got something down that I was struggling with yesterday (and some days before that). Was listening to this vid during a break. After, I tried again and it just clicked! Love when that happens.
Starting to learn piano is the best decision I ever made in my life ...
Edit: Most of these problems are very recognizable. :) Luckily it gets better as time passes. Patience is key.
I think I've always loved classical music, mostly because of cartoons like What's Opera, Doc?, starring B. Bunny" and "Rhapsody in Rivets". That dude was a terrible construction foreman, but a pretty awesome conductor.
Point being that television isn't 100% terrible.
Regarding the Try it Twelve Times rule, I agree. I mean it took me like 3 or 4 different tries before I discovered that beer was simpatico with my palate.
Your vids are excellent. Insightful, clear, and easy to follow. I’m a lifelong drummer in the US who recently took his own advice to “learn it on TH-cam.” It’s been a few weeks and I’m still on “Little Waterfall,” but I’m cool, I’ll stick with it-gonna get the Czerny book soon...and, say, what’s with the best TH-cam music instructors being from Canada? Jared Falk (Drumeo) and Rob Brown’s channels are fantastic resources for drummers. Both Canadian. I think it’s the universal health care. Anyway, thanks for the great work and I know that I will keep coming back to learn more stuff. Thanks, again!
Hi, thanks for your videos!
I have a couple of comments and questions:
I’m 60 and took a couple of years of piano 50 years ago, and I remember the scales, basic chords, etc., so I’m not a complete beginner.
I am trying to learn music production, and am treating it like getting a college degree ( there’s definitely a degrees worth of learning!). So, I’m learning how to play piano so that I will be more competent at putting together instrumental pieces, and I’ll be using a fully weighted MIDI 88 key controller for my practice and production.
Like you, I go through phases of interest in books and have about 1000 books in Kindle (I wish they gave you the ability to tag your books, so you could pull up all the photography, or music theory, etc. books, rather than the ones you’ve most recently read).
Anyway, I got a 12.9” iPad and it is big enough to be able to see sheet music clearly. There are apps available to be able to organize your music, which seems a lot handier than trying to find pieces in a bunch of physical music books (like Kindle is to reading books). It would’ve nice to know that wherever you take your tablet, you can pull it out and have all the pieces you know, those you are learning, etc. pulled up in a couple of taps. The one thing I was worried about was page turning when both hands were playing. Then I found out that there are Bluetooth page turner foot pedals that allow you to turn pages like that. I’m thinking about getting one and going this route. Any comments or suggestions?
Also, it is a curse to know enough to be a second or third level (method books) student, but knowing that you are missing some techniques be skipping to challenging material. This is similar to any field where you “know enough to be dangerous”. Do you have any suggestions on resolving this issue, without going through learning whole notes, or what an octave is?
I appreciate your take on these things. I’ll check out Czerny, since I just received a Hanon book. I will still use Hanon, as I think of it like exercise that you do to become better at sports. From what I’ve gathered from my research is that how you play the exercises is very important, but a wide divergence among various teachers in how they teach playing the exercises. This is somewhat confusing, though it seems the consensus is the finger only technique espoused in the Hanon book is “old school”, and involving the wrists and arms and rotation are much better to develop technique that will translate into better playing, rather than just getting stronger fingers.
Sorry for the length.
Love all you videos! My carpal tunnel surgery was mangled and I had to start over with my right hand. It now takes 30 minutes of "warming up" before my hands "act right" - say a Chopin or Rachmaninoff Prelude. Continue stressing your most important point: "Learn correctly the first time!" The tendency to gloss over "difficult" parts is universal but that is really the key.
I use the old Schirmer (Jossefy) edition (almost worn out) with the "25th prelude" and the fingering is often strange yet in the end it works best.
with this part I 100%agree , I feel bad with my self when I can't make it right in front of my teacher, my hads start to shake without knowing, and I tought that it was only me that make me feel less bad with my self.
(sorry if i had mistakes in english and it's beacause I speak spanish but I'm learning english) :D
These not just our piano "problems" these are our life problems ! . I am so glad to find your channel.
Just discovered this channel yesterday and watched a bunch of videos. Allysia really 'gets' this. Subscribed.
I enjoyed this mini series and I'm not even an aspiring piano player. Lots of good advice here, for life in general, not just piano playing!
Thanks a lot for these videos Allysia. I am finding them very useful as an older adult learner. It helps greatly to hear about some of the common pitfalls and to keep on track. Loving playing piano at 55.
You absolutely nailed it, the first three points in video 1 were spot on for me! I want to practice on a piece that sounds good, even if it is simplified. I cannot for the life of it sit and practice on some kids song, it has to be music that interests me, so make it a very simplified jazz or classical piece instead. That will keep me motivated to go on.
One big thing that should be included is: You forget what you've learned faster, the older you get!
The adult brain is so different from kids brains, you probably know that what you learned as a kid stays with you, but as and adult, try to remember a piece you practiced two days ago and you know what I mean..
For adults, to be able to keep it up, you have to practice all the time. This is more true, the older you get. I'm over 50, and I cannot remember one note from a piece I could play fairly well 3 months ago. Not one note! :)
Learned flute in middle school starting piano as an adult 😁 loving it so far
Wow, didn't expect someone so young to be so full of wisdom. I guess you thought about these things a bit more than average Joe because you teach piano to adults and all that, but still. You're an absolute joy to watch/hear in any case, will definitely watch more (I just discovered you/your channel today). Thanks a lot for these excellent videos.
Have you looked at the performance anxiety problem as yet please? I suffer from this and would love some tips.thanks.
Thank you for sharing this for me, an adult yet to begin beginner. I can absolutely relate to it.
I leave with a ton of knowledge. You have such an impressive way of explaining things.
You are such a fabulous person, gosh I just grew a crush.
yo Allysia, what is the most difficult piano song you ever approached successfully?
Successfully? HA HA HA. Probably "Land of the Silver Birch" by Pierre Gallant. I did this piece for my Grade 10 exam and got a fairly good mark on it - I felt like my interpretation was pretty solid. It had some fast and exhilarating passages!
In the modern realm, I could once fairly comfortably play The Heart Asks Pleasure First (Nyman) and February Sea (Winston). I'd need to review them now, but February Sea in particular was a good challenge in accuracy for me, that I feel like I successfully conquered.
There is a problem I definitely don't have : being picky with pieces! There are so much around I would love to play and I feel like my entire life will not be enought to play all the pieces I want!
My teacher brought me "Dans la maison triste" of Jacque Ibert. It is somewhat contemporary, different then what we are used to listen to and, imo, it is a very interesting piece!
As for composers, I'm more a fan of the Romantic era, with Chopin and Beethoven, but I've been enjoying some Bach and Mozart.
What I got out of this video:
I'm not the only one suffering from performance anxiety when playing for my teacher.
Don't be harder on yourself than you would be on your children.
Wow... listening to you opened my eyes in many ways. I think i knew what my fears came from but listenig to them from you make me feel kind of understood ^^". I wish i had a piano teacher like you... i remember finishing each of my piano classes almost crying 'cause i felt so judged and afraid of my teacher (besides she wasn't much friendly) so i never gain confidence learning with her. At the end i left my studies out of stress, frustration and fear :( Thanks for comforting me in a way :') i'm trying now, after years, to start from zero again by myself~ Thanks!!
This 12 problems and solutions were very good. Thank you!
Soooo right about piano books and "sentimentality"!
The stingy thing also applies to the instrument. I finally bought a brand new Kawai K300 piano, and it has made a huge difference in how I feel about the instrument. But it wasn't cheap, and I found that there is only 1 store left in a city of 811,000 people that sells acoustic pianos.
did you understand that your video went from 40 dislikes to 19. you read the sentence's in our hearts and prepared us for the motivation. Great job.
You are awesome, I am 66, been trying to learn for decades, you are an inspiration to me. Excellent delivery, perfect, absolutely nothing short of "brilliant", thank you, what's your name?
🤯🤯 Watching this I realised I skim over exercises which I think are too easy because my brain gets them.... I've just tried a 'simple' rhythm practice and while my brain got it months ago, my fingers aren't quite there yet! Thank you for this useful insight!!
Love your videos!! I'm 31, and started practicing a few months ago. I had some classes time ago, but never really committed. Now I'm very excited about it, but struggling with all of this problems. It helps a lot to know I'm not the only one, and to have your advice.
For me, the biggest problems are performance anxiety and also anxiety to get it right fast.
I'm working on it.
Thanks for your tips!!
Performance anxiety is something a lot of adults struggle with, myself included! One of my goals this year is to get immersed in the literature on the subject, so that I can make decent videos about it.
Very well done. I think you've been looking over my shoulder. Like one of your earlier commenters I live in a small town with no music teachers either so I self-teach. I didn't even take up piano until two years ago at 65 years old. One of the thoughts that haunts me is I'd very much like to become a good enough pianist to play at small gatherings, special events, etc, where I live. So, I think to myself "you know you may not have a lot of time left so you need to get better quick or you may not ever be able to accomplish your playing goal." For an older adult such as myself we (I) feel the metronome of life is moving fast so we need to hurry! Not sure what anyone can recommend for that other than don't think about it and carry on.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, no matter how old or young they are. So don't listen to anyone who says you are too old because you are never too old. The only thing is changing the approach of how you learn since adults learn differently than young children. In fact, keeping your brain active and your fingers moving will stave off dementia, depression, and diminishing motor skills. Learning will keep you young. :-)
Thank you for talking about this anxiety problem. I remember a recital to which I was invited, there was a very little girl (about four or five years old at the most), and she played Tchaikovsky - Song of the lark, she played slowly, but it sounded awesome. At the end, she send kisses and bend to say thanks. My point is «kids do no struggle a lot with being judged, they just have fun»
As a suggestion, it will be grat if you make a section about a piano performance :)
Ha ha, that's super cute! And thanks for the suggestion!
Your videos are fantastic. I learn so much from everything you say and feel so inpired by what you say. Do you still live in Toronto? Remenyi is closing!
Defensiveness and excuses are not to be mixed up, I believe. I wholeheartedly accept remarks about what I did wrong and was in the dark about but when I know exactly what my problems are I feel it makes sense to communicate that part of knowledge to the teacher when he/she point it out. (at least he/she'll have an idea of what things I'm usually aware and what things need be highlighted)
Your example with counting has 2 polar opposite realizations: if the student is aware of the issue - he/she might say 'Yeah, I know, I'll work on it' or 'Oh really, thanks for pointing that out'
Is it really a problem?
Such wisdom Allysia! Thank you! Some of the problems even though I am aware, I never think that much. I am an adult learning started the piano August 2018:) Really like your videos!
Wow her energy is amazing and so up lifting
Wish I could be her student but I don't live in Canada...
I am a teenager and whenever I have lessons on the weekend I am carefree and don't apologize for my mistakes becuase it's just a mistake. However if my lesson is on a weekday I apologize as I feel that I let my teacher down.
Thanks for the great video! I just started the piano at 21 and even I feel like I am a but late to start
What about advantages of being an adult learner? I'm sure there are.
I would say structured thinking and having had at least 20+ years of experience learning different things
Adult learners may have years of listening to music and appreciating different styles. I would also say that knowing what music you are interested in learning and playing is something that a child may not have.
You do have more self-discipline and are definitely learning the piano because you want to, not because someone's forcing you to learn. You should be more aware of what you are doing and if your teacher tells you to do sth you are more likely to actually listen and focus on that while practicing.
You can afford too buy your own piano or keyboard? Lol
Just want to add.... there are 10,000 reasons. #*1 is "Enjoyment of Life"!!!!
Thanks for your video! You've mentioned some pretty important points about the psychological basis for a lot of things adults struggle by learning piano. I also was an adult beginner, but now I'm somewhere at the early/middle intermediate stage. I'm quite serious about my piano training, but there's one thing I'm struggling quite often with - it's the lack of certain plasticity in my hands. I know how I wish to interpret a piece of music, I hear it in my head, and sometimes when I practice slowly and separate music into small sections (sometimes even like one measure or a half of a measure), I achieve to make the sound I look for and manage to make the movements that I know are right for these particular music parts. But if I'm playing quickly, no matter how long and detailed I've practiced before, I'm failing to perform everything I've achieved playing slowly. My hands are just betraying me!
But anyway I'm not going to stop to try.
Thank you so much for these videos! I'm a "lapsed" pianist going back to it after having some horrible experiences with a teacher during my early teens, so it's good to know what to look out for and can always appreciate encouragement!
SO helpful!!!! You nail the inner voice! Thank you.
@pianoTV Glad I found you today! I'm a guitar player. I taught myself back when I was in 5th grade through song book and just followed chords from it. Google wasn't available that time and we can't afford a teacher. I bought myself Washburn after 15yrs. Anyway, now that I'm on my super late 20s, I want to learn to play the piano and definitely learn how to learn music notes/sheet. My question is does a Yamaha P45 is a good buy for a beginner and what should I do first to begin with? Please help thank you!
7: "The Drill Sergeant (in your head)." A problem? A living DS behind me would be a problem, me wanting to strangulate him would be a problem. But my second pilot in my head is just keeping his hands on control panel, handling my irritation, venting my anger, preventing my frustration through simplifying or switching tasks. He knows and keeps reminding me of how far I've got already and there is no way I can't beat my challenge having all the time in the world! )
8: "Being over-sensitive to criticism". My solution is simple: never boast with things half-way done. What is deserved tastes bitter, whatever neglection on well done piece doesn't affect me at all. My pride protects my feelings.
9: "Being too stingy with your piano education". Never been around a place where music books are sold. Yet I've always been stingy to buy sheet notes from Internet (totally agree with the point that writers deserved their penny for their labor). But I don't feel bad about writing down notes in Sibelius 7 looking at video play-through or low-resolution online examples. It took my effort to copy them and it payed back immediately with the first feel of what I'm going to play and noticing little things I could overlook otherwise.
10: "Being close-minded about what you want to learn". Well, that had little time to be revealed so far. I've practiced for a little more than a year. And I've got all the time in the world times all the music going to my attention. We'll see about that )
11: "Performance anxiety". That's true. I should probably start recording my practices, because even camera makes me nervous. This is too basic and deep to neglect or try to justify. This simply... is.
12: "How you treat your 'piano practice' is a mirror of yourself". I don't know. My "self" kinda disappears when I play. Maybe this is a key to my performance anxiety, because it is simple when it's just my hands and the keyboard, but when I feel attention, I start to feel my presence there as well. )
Thank you!
You're videos definitely inspire me, especially the part where you talk about not pushing yourself because of. Fear of failing, so you don't try to learn something new or difficult
The spirit is all of you, the ego that (little) part who feels itself the driver or ruler of the body, in essence a resident tyrant over it. The spirit is free and wise, it lives for the joy of living, it feels the music flowing to and from itself. It doesn't control the music, it enjoys it, at each moment as it occurs. The ego is controlling, he desires to manipulate, to control, to dominate, how the music should be. The spirit is child-like, it is kind like you mention, and it grows. The ego is berating, puts others down. It feels itself fundamentally separate from "the body" which it "controls", and thus berates, or shames, its inadequacy.., musical or otherwise.., always blind to its own reflection, or "fault".
It's very obvious as well the ego, though it feels itself supreme, is very inept. He doesn't understand music, he must divide it (destroy it) to understand it, it is a mere sequence of sounds to him. He transforms it and learns it as a mere algorithm. He 'thinks about it' (too much). Any one who plays the piano, or any other instrument, musical or otherwise, knows perfectly well what happens when one "thinks" too much. You "become" slow, you "become" tense, you "become" anxious, you are paralyzed, like a computer stuck in deep endless recursion.. Even something as simple as walking becomes infinitely complex and "awkward" when delegated to the sequential "mind"™™™. When the spirit plays, it shows. It is clear, free of doubt, it is free of fear. The spirit lives in the moment, the ego lives in thoughts. The spirit lives in the moment, that is to say in reality, the ego lives in the imaginary, in illusions. The spirit lives in the music, the ego in the achievement.
The ego screams at and shames a young flower she's not growing fast enough; the spirit loves her thus he cares for her, without 'expectation', he enjoys her nature and its beauty, and the flower will grow, as beautiful as it will.
Hi, I've just come across your channel... really good and informative. Love the piano problem videos. I've been learning since April 2017, I have weekly lessons and I'm loving it however finding it difficult and experienced all the problems you've mentioned so I'm pleased to hear I am a normal human being experienced normal issues! You start to feel not good enough so your video's have boosted me so thank you.
These videos really helped me. I feel they have a far wider application than just piano.
Thank you!
You are seriously awesome and I greatly appreciate this series! I'm on my second week of learning piano and I'm so glad I'm not the only one with these problems. Thanks!
I find your approach to be brilliant!
Huhu and thanks a lot. I'm just glad to know, that what I am going through is pretty common :-). Just knowing that this is human is such a huge relief. I am learning daily about every topic you touched upon....cuz I have to. I am 29 years now and have just changed my life. I studied economics but always wanted to do art & music. After a lot of struggling I finally managed to start doing art again and got into art school (yeiii!!!). Now it's about music...I have been playing the guitar for 10 years now (before that I played saxophone) but always wanted to play the piano. This problem started to become relevant, when my taste in music changed from rock&metal to classical, jazz and movie scores. The past few weeks have been an internal struggle cuz I just don't know if I have got what it takes to start all over again and start from zero. Then again, I can no longer go on playing guitar and my heart has been longing for the piano for too long. Maybe it's just another step to finally come to rest and start my new life (not only did I change my career path, my friends and lots of other parts have changed too). So thank you for pointing all these things out and being soooo understanding about it. Greetings
Just recently found your channel and I really like the way you present them. Your comment, tips and idea's just work for me.
Just amazed you haven't got more subscribers.
Anyway, thanks, will watch more of them
When I was started (I started from 0) it took me about 6 months to feel comfortable to play in front of my teacher, it was ridiculous, my hands started shaking and I made mistakes that I did not make at home, I remember that once I recorded a piece at home because I knew I´d mess it up in the class, when I showed the recording to the teacher she laughed and said, "Well that´s how I want you to play, but in here as well". I was 28! So yeah, I can relate.
In the past five months I've only taken 3 lessons to prepare for an exam. To my surprise, and dismay, I too found that my hands were shaking (LOL!) when playing in front of the teacher. My playing was nothing like at home.
I just found your channel and am hooked! I love all of your videos and have learned so much from you. Thanks so much!!
Some super tips yet again!! Thanks!!
YHANKS soooooo much for your encouragement!!!. (This makes me want to go PLAY.)
I like you. I subscribed. I'm a piano teacher and I totally get where you're coming from on all 12 topics.
Thank you for your great insights in this video! I am an adult learning piano and have experienced everything you have discussed. I am learning not from a typical performance standpoint and just want enough skill to understand how to create original electronic music. I felt learning piano would help me from a compositional standpoint. If you have any advice, I would really appreciate it! Thanks again for your great video!
Wonderful video!
i just found your channel and i think that your advices are very helpful! keep the good work. Greetings from argentina
Thanks for that I feel much better about learning now :) off to binge watch the rest of your videos while looking at pianos for sale !
Very informative video
I started the piano 5 years ago at the age of 10. It was my own decision, my family doesn't force me to play. So I am not a adult beginner but I have a lot of the problems you describe ! I don't know if it's related to the fact that I chose to play without being forced or because of the difference of age between me and other children with the same level. I know it seems stupid but generally, children start playing piano at the age of 5/6 and I was 10. So I often compare myself and feel bad for my age. It's like being a adult beginner but in less worse I imagine. But I have a good level, I don't complain for that ! I was just surprised that I have the same problems as adults beginners even without being one. (Sorry for the grammatical mistakes, I'm French)
Same, I'm having the problem with comparing myself to children younger, they're better and they started earlier, if only I started earlier... Also, what frustrates me is how my hands don't move the way I want them to. Do you have any tips on hand independence and how long it took for you to develop decent hand independence?
@@SweetSinger789 赤羽総悟 Hand independance is a bit tricky. It was pretty quick for me to know how to deal with it for basic rhythms. However when the rhythms became harder (the notes on the right hand were never in synchro with the notes on the left hand) I had to play it very slowly to really understand the way my hands needed to move. I repeated this a lot in order to print the movements. I know my hand independance isn't the worst but I think I could be better if I made special exercises. But I'm not really patient XD I prefer to pratice my pieces than upgrade my technique. So I don't really have an universial tipp to know how to be better at hand independance, I just take a long time to adjust for each piece I learn. I don't say that what I do is the best but it suits me :) Hope I have help you a little!
Great video!
Damn,you're so good at this. I could listen to you speak all day long. Good job!
OMG !! You are amazing!!! I can listen to you speak ALL DAY
This was super-duper interesting!!!! Thank you!!!
Hi.... I love your energy and excitement!!!.... I just started piano lessons. I would love to have you as my teacher. Any chance you live in Niagara Region in Canada? please let me know :-) Have a nice day :-)
Good Video.
0:53 I always have this voice of J.K.Simons in my head screaming ”not my f*cking tempo"
If you haven't already could make a video on how much piano practice someone should do ranging from beginner to and advanced players. Thanks :) awesome video today aswell !
You are one awesome person!!!
Well I would actually point out a mild reservation on the stinginess part...
Right now I have a collection of books that are gathering dust as I make my way through online coursewoek. I am tempted to buy a few titles on Amazon, but one of the reasons I refrain is I don't want to lose focus and would much rather finish what's already in my plate. I am already low on time for practice, so this is how I try to keep my focus, dunno if this is the case for others
I enjoyed your free practice book.
Thanks.
What THREE books would you recommend for technique/skill learning exercises?
Great stuff. This is the first time I ever watched a piano video where not a single note was played. I subscribed.
Thanks
Bravo! Its amazing the way you interpret things! I am in love with music and piano... Im 19 but its not too late for me to start lessons this year! :D
Love your last statement. Easy for you to say. I notice your acute understanding about personal development and psychology. I'll wager you will explode out of your perimeter if you pick up a copy of "The Magic of Believing" by Claude Bristol. Huge stepping stone in personalities like Liberoce and Phyllis Diller. Also if you want to have a huge "girl power" moment , check out an interview on youtube of Marylin Vos Savant. I have two books by her "Logical Thinking" and " Brain Building". Have read her " Art of Spelling". All the best stuff. That girl is beyond brilliant and no mistake. While I'm on a roll here I would mention to all I'm an old man that is just getting a kick out of learning beginning piano and violin from gorgeous galls like you and would be jazzed ?!… ? very happy to see you give us newbee's some pointers on playing Vangelis's 1st movement of the "Heaven and Hell" sweet that he wrote for the series Cosmos.
U R Sooo Amazing ^^ You really help me with You're Videos!!!
Have you ever read "The Inner Game of Tennis?" It was the very first book my piano professor had me read. It deals a lot with performance psychology and your inner voice.
That book gets mentioned in so many areas outside of tennis.
bereantrb Oh of course! I mean, there's also The Inner Game of Music and a lot of other inner game books, but reading the one the author specialized in is what I was advised.
Good advice.
I think it's funny that I actually don't want to learn any pop music. I only want to learn classical music but it does make me want to try some pop music after playing the classical music that I want. I'm also scared to try jazz but I would like to try that too.
Several assumptions:
1. Books vs. Internet downloads: I play music with a church group. Before a Christmas service, music from a hymn book would be scanned and send around to the musicians by Email. Not practical to carry a hymn book with 300+ songs if all you need are 5 for the service. The other thing with downloads is that you can keep the electronic copy on your computer and print new ones in case your pages get worn-out.
2. Being budget-conscious tends to be the same for kids & adults. In the beginning if you don't have an acoustic piano, your first choice would be a cheap keyboard even down to 61 keys. When it comes to books, you don't buy them that often and most don't cost hundreds of dollars. In practical terms the money comes out of the same pocket. Whether your kid or you take lessons the money is from the same place: you. Your teacher ask your kid vs. you to buy a specific exercise book are you going to complain in 1 situation and not the other? It's the same book, the same money.
3. Being closed minded is a problem for some learners like someone who doesn't like Beethoven, you can't get them to play a Beethoven Sonata. Definitely true.
4. When it comes to criticism on your playing skills you tend to be more critical of yourself than people around you. Last year went to a Christmas party. Played several seasonal pieces on a keyboard and got an appreciative audience. Despite a few wrong notes in between, the fact that you played "Silent Night" or "Jingle Bells" brighten up someone's day. Being part of a music group, I perform regularly in church. I've seen people who took lessons for years who are uncomfortable playing even an easy song in front of people.
thanks for these 2 videos :)
Wow! Why havent I heard this earlier on... perfect!!