Piano practice methods?
I’m primarily a flutist, but I’m interested in becoming proficient on piano. I have some experience (took eight years of lessons as a kid…my abilities reflect maybe three our four) and passed the proficiency exam for my music degree, though I’d really like to reach a level of genuine skill for purposes of fun, performance, and teaching–I’d like to be able to accompany my own students someday when I have my own studio, though I’m probably about ten years away from that.
I intend to take lessons when I have the time and money, but could anyone recommend some practice or exercise books to look at in the meantime? I’m aware of most fundamentals, hand position, crossing fingers, crossing hands, etc. but I definitely need a refresher on the scale fingerings and such.
I’m having a heck of a time trying to sight read as well. Bass clef…playing two, three, FOUR, FIVE notes at the same time? What’s that about? Haha. Seriously though, I usually end up having to do one hand at a time because I’m not used to reading more than a single line. I imagine you just grow accustomed to it over time to the extent that you can see chords and play them without thinking about it, but is there something I should focus on to make the process less overwhelming? The bass? The root? Stop trying to play music and just look at some exercises for a while until I’m used to it?
So…scales, chords, technique exercises, and maybe some easy rep. I have a book of Clementi sonatinas and they’re just slightly beyond me if that’s any indication of where I am.
Thanky!
Learn How to Sight Read Music
Learn How to Sight Read Music
There are lots of exercises books but I think you should get a Chopin book or something similar. It’s titled Chopin, it’s tan, and it comes in several different volumes. These books are great because they have hundreds of short melodies to learn. It’s like a mini song as a warm up. It will help you with your sight reading and it will definetely improve your playing. As the book goes on the melodies get a little longer and a little more difficult. But the first one is only about 10 measures I think. The last is practically a solo rather than a warm up because it’s about 3 pages. This is my book and I have volume 3, but they’re all about the same. I suggest you get volume 1 though.
What Top Musicians Know About Sight Reading Music
You need Hanon and Czerny exercise books. They are standard repertoire for any serious piano student.
For learning how to play chords and learning about chord progressions, get a hymnal and play one hymn a day till you get through the whole book. Then you can start over again and you’ll be amazed how much better your sight reading and ear training skill are. You mentioned getting a music degree so I am going to assume you are in (or have taken) music theory classes and ear training. And if your classes where anything like mine, you probably analyzed more than a few hymns in those classes. That’s because most hymns follow counterpoint rules (of which Bach was the master) and are great for learning about chord structure, progression, and fingerings. So hymns make great sight reading exercises.
How to Sight Read Music Video Lesson
Ok so you’re clear on the treble clef now what?
Personally you have got to get used to reading 2 lines at a time…There is no absolute way to make the process “less overwhelming” instantly…
Get a scale book…I think it can be found at any store that sells scores,ask for those with fingerings too!They should come with broken chords and arpeggios.
Try some of those pop industry pieces(even though they’re crap)but they build technique and refine it…Get Mozart’s sonatas for study too…I hate Mozart personally but his sonatas are not overwhelmingly difficult but neither are they too simple,they are in the middle so you can build your technique there too…
The Hanon and Czerny exercise books(while great)may be too difficult for you to handle as they demand technical proficiencies from the player…I played one from Czerny which made me go at Presto tempo and I had to play Pianissimo!They’re all 16th notes too!
I think Chopin’s Nocturnes are great as well,even though they are usually gloomy.Beethoven is nice too…His Sonatas are great…Picking up some of Baroque music is good to keep your tempo straight if you have trouble keeping in time.