Mandolin to Piano

[farmerjones]

Every time i walk past a piano it laughs at me. So quite simply, i gotta learn how to play one. Is there an equivalent to the Caf'e for piano bent?

BTW I've looked at many things on Utube. Most YT vid makers consider never-ever's to have no knowledge of chords or music, so there's a 90% trim to 10% meat.

I guess i'm bound for the woodshed. Thanks

[HeimBrent]

All I can say that I ever learned as far as piano-playing goes is the standard major-chords, and which finger to move left for the minor-chords. Other than that it's an instrument well suited for learning and playing by ear. I'm not saying that taking classes/getting tips/reading books won't help you, just that it's an easy enough instrument to get into if you have an ok ear. I've grown to love playing the piano, though I'm not a good piano-player by any means. It's just nice from time to time to play an instrument that's there in front of you, being used having stringed instruments hanging around my neck.

[billkilpatrick]

have to say, i thought this was pretty cool:

http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Elect.../dp/B005F3T3P0

[Absaroke]

There are lots of piano resources on the net...what are you looking for? Do you have a piano? Can you read music? That may sound like a dumb question, but many string players play tabs only...
What kind of music are you wanting to play? If you aren't looking for lessons, I would recommend some scale work first with some simple song work.
It's an extremely accessible instrument and a lot of resources are out there...
The good news is that it's a buyers' market right now...I saw a used Bösendörfer in SoCal for $8K a few weeks back...it sold new for probably $80K. Lots of great deals...

[if6was9]

Speaking as a professional teacher of both mandolin and piano, I recommend you get yourself a piano teacher :-) If for some reason they aren't teaching you what you want at the level you want (teachers vary in quality like everything else), then try another one.

[Josh Kaplan]

Farmer J, please consider David Sudnow's approach, the Sudnow Method. It is an alternative to the traditional way of learning to play the piano for adults, and it works--I think it works better. He starts with the standard American songbook and shows you how to voice chords so that you can play your own rich-sounding versions. It is more of a chord melody approach, but one you can start with, rather than work up to. He contrasts it with the traditional approach where you have to practice four hours a day to be able to play for two minutes. It changed my life and opened up a whole world of music.

Josh

[farmerjones]

Wow, thanks for the replys.
Had a toy for the canned rythmn stuff. But got a 61 keyboard with full size keys a few days ago. Though i don't read notation enough to call it that, i've got 10k hrs. of chord and music savvy. So i wade through Utube stuff by day and practice mornings and evenings. Didn't take long find my I, IV, V chords. The bass line stuff seems pretty straight forward. I'm reminded of Niles, "Show where 'do-re-mi' is and give me a some time." Most any two or three chord standard seems to be there eventually.
It'll be a bit before i can "speak piano."
Thanks again,
FJ

[Bob Clark]

Speaking as a professional teacher of both mandolin and piano, I recommend you get yourself a piano teacher :-) If for some reason they aren't teaching you what you want at the level you want (teachers vary in quality like everything else), then try another one.

Hi,

First, I want to strongly endorse what if6was9 is saying. While there are many different ways to learn to play the piano and some of them might fit your goals better than others, I think it's very important to build in good technique from the beginning. There are a lot of short-cuts available, but without good technique, sooner or later you will hit the wall. Your available technique just won't carry you any farther. That can be extremely frustrating. Backing up and starting over with the basics is something nobody wants to do. Your current knowledge of music theory will be a big help, but learning finger technique in the beginning is really important down the road.

The second point I want to make is that you should get yourself a decent piano from the beginning. Many people try to start with some piece of junk that's been sitting in Aunt Matilda's cellar for years, because they can get it for nothing. I think that's a great way to convince yourself the piano is not for you. These are complicated instruments with lots of wooden, moving parts. If left unmaintained and unplayed for a number of years, their actions can become really bad. A beginner may not know that the problems they are encountering are not due to their lack of experience, but instead due to the piece of junk they are trying to learn on. So go get yourself a decent piano and get it serviced by a certified piano technician. Sure, this will cost a little money, but it's worth it in the long run.

Finally, have fun. The piano is a great instrument!

Best wishes,

Bob

[Tim2723]

As one who started on organ and moved to piano - it's usually the other way around - I'm not sure what I can add, except to agree with Bob. I try to stay fairly on top of things in the keyboard world, but to me even the most advanced electronic pianos with the newest, greatest technology still feel a bit 'organ-y' to me. There's nothing like an acoustic piano and if you can get one, and have it properly up to spec, that's how I'd go.

Oh, and I always thought standard notation WAS piano tab.