Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

freepianomethod.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 267 posts

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#51

Post by tonystride »

pimlottc wrote: post #28

Can anyone provide some context here? What distinguishes this from any other courses? Is this a well-known course?

TBH it looks pretty good. Covers lots of theory, lots of repertoire graded for ability, and I'm super happy to see it covers rhythm. I think a few people knocked it for typography, I'm not that picky. Perhaps one of the biggest problems with any book is what is the % of people that finish any book much less 9 of them? Realistically this seems better suited as material for a teacher to incorporate into lessons.

I think the one thing that apps and video lessons offer autodidacts that books don't is repetitive guided practice. Going through every scale & chord with you, guiding you though syncopation exercises, walking you through a harmonic analysis, etc...

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#52

Post by mike_h »

gjulianm wrote: post #39
sandGorgon wrote: post #18

I just started learning piano in the COVID lockdown. The best and cheapest way to learn is use an app: Simply Piano(android+ios), Piano Marvel(ios), etc and connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard. this allows you to spend the next 6 months learning without anyone getting disturbed..while the app gives you realtime feedback about which keys you are pressing. you wont miss the lack of a teacher...especially during th…

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

This advice is debatable anymore. If your goal is to really go deep on acoustic, traditional piano then sure. But if you just want to make music in a modern way (on the computer), or even just want to try it out for a year or two before deciding this is a lifetime hobby to invest thousands of dollars and hours into, then cheap midi keyboard plus app is more than fine. Especially if the app makes it fun for you.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#53

Post by Scarbutt »

publicola1990 wrote: post #47
gjulianm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

Yes but in comparison with the same time spent on a game like 2077, even app lets people make progress.

And create bad piano habits that are harder to correct later, but sure, depends on your goals.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#54

Post by c03 »

gjulianm wrote: post #39
sandGorgon wrote: post #18

I just started learning piano in the COVID lockdown. The best and cheapest way to learn is use an app: Simply Piano(android+ios), Piano Marvel(ios), etc and connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard. this allows you to spend the next 6 months learning without anyone getting disturbed..while the app gives you realtime feedback about which keys you are pressing. you wont miss the lack of a teacher...especially during th…

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

I must agree. op comment is the worst advice i have seen on HN on any subject, it reads like an impatient child wishing to avoid to study just to be able to perform.

But then again, it comes down to what you want to achieve. If you just want to mind numbingly press buttons, knock yourself out.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#55

Post by komali2 »

gjulianm wrote: post #39
sandGorgon wrote: post #18

I just started learning piano in the COVID lockdown. The best and cheapest way to learn is use an app: Simply Piano(android+ios), Piano Marvel(ios), etc and connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard. this allows you to spend the next 6 months learning without anyone getting disturbed..while the app gives you realtime feedback about which keys you are pressing. you wont miss the lack of a teacher...especially during th…

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

I understand why you're frustrated to hear someone I suppose cheapen something you're really passionate about, but what is more valuable to you: less people learning piano because the barrier to entry is thousands of dollars of equipment, lessons, and books, not to mention time and space, but when they play they have good velocity management, or, tons more people enjoying the instrument, but not really playing it as well?

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#56

Post by thih9 »

phkahler wrote: post #26
maille wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what kind of cheap keyboard would you recommend?

That part of is definitely poor advice, although prices are lower these days. Get something with at least 61 full sized and weighted keys. None of those light weight organ type keys, they need to feel more like piano keys. Polyphonic - able to play at least 8 notes simultaneously. That would be the bare minimum IMHO. Getting the full 88 keys will probable ensure the rest but maybe not in some cases.

> Get something with at least 61 full sized and weighted keys.

As someone who plays a musical instrument as a hobby, getting an el cheapo toy seems a good first step to me.

You get to see whether you actually enjoy playing and it lets you become familiar with the practice schedule. When you start to feel limited by your tool, you advance to a proper one.

Otherwise you risk buying expensive gear and letting it collect dust 2 months later.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#57

Post by bluescrn »

astatine wrote: post #20
alphabetter wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reddit /r/piano there are a lot of similar questions, and as someone learning piano in their 50s is always amuses me. I self-tought to about an ABRSM grade 1 level before getting a teacher, but I had done a little bit (less than a year) as a small kid. Particularly the early stages are very hard and it takes a lot of practice to do seemlingly trivial things. It is a differnet skill from touch typing. I find the "D…

I tried to learn guitar a couple of years ago. I wanted to learn something which required me to use my fingers differently than on a keyboard. But, as someone in their 50s with a lifetime of working on software I found it practically impossible to get my fingers to curve the way they needed to for the guitar. The physical pain eventually made me give up. If anyone has any tips to work around this limitation will be g…

I’ve never understood why the ability to play music is still locked away behind such difficult, even painful ‘user interfaces’ of traditional instruments.

Why don’t we have more beginner-friendly and ergonomic instruments? Is it just because they’re seen as ‘cheating’?

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#58

Post by claudiawerner »

joegahona wrote: post #48
phkahler wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That part of is definitely poor advice, although prices are lower these days. Get something with at least 61 full sized and weighted keys. None of those light weight organ type keys, they need to feel more like piano keys. Polyphonic - able to play at least 8 notes simultaneously. That would be the bare minimum IMHO. Getting the full 88 keys will probable ensure the rest but maybe not in some cases.

> Polyphonic - able to play at least 8 notes simultaneously. Don't you kind of have to go out of your way these days to _not_ get something polyphonic?

Polyphony on keyboards is less about physically playing multiple keys at once, but having the sound of multiple keys audible as they decay. Even the cheapest keyboard will let you play many notes at once; those that will actually sound a large number of keys after you've hit them are pricier.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#59

Post by verroq »

mike_h wrote: post #52
gjulianm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

This advice is debatable anymore. If your goal is to really go deep on acoustic, traditional piano then sure. But if you just want to make music in a modern way (on the computer), or even just want to try it out for a year or two before deciding this is a lifetime hobby to invest thousands of dollars and hours into, then cheap midi keyboard plus app is more than fine. Especially if the app makes it fun for you.

The problem is that if you decide to continue you've already spent a year learning bad habits that could have been easily corrected if you had a teacher with you.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#60

Post by komali2 »

c03 wrote: post #54
gjulianm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but I have to disagree a lot. An app is not the best way to learn piano. Piano is not just about pressing keys. Does the app correct your position (important if you don't want to get fatigue and cramps), your volume, fingerings, etc? Does it tell you how to practice the parts where you're struggling? > connect it to an el cheapo midi keyboard Please don't do that. I mean, if you just want to give it a try to pi…

I must agree. op comment is the worst advice i have seen on HN on any subject, it reads like an impatient child wishing to avoid to study just to be able to perform. But then again, it comes down to what you want to achieve. If you just want to mind numbingly press buttons, knock yourself out.

I liked the advice because I always wanted to learn piano but every time I approached stage 1, people were saying similar things. "Oh, just to get STARTED, you're going to need an 88 key weighted keyboard, that'll cost you 600$ and take up an entire wall of your studio. Ok now spend 100$ on books, and now you have everything you need to spend 200$ a month and an hour every week on a teacher. And you better practice five hours a week, or don't even bother, don't you dare soil our beautiful instrument!"

It's gatekeeping. I don't want to be excellent piano, or even all that good. I want to be able to occasionally play a song not very well, and play some chords in a way that pleases me. Mostly, I want to plug chords on a whim into my DAW, where I have control to a level I, as a non savant, will never be able to play to.

The OP advice was perfect for someone like me who has learned piano just fine that way.

Post reply on HN