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The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

freepianomethod.com

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Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#61

Post by gjulianm »

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.

> even just want to try it out for a year or two

If you're already thinking about trying it for a year or two, you're serious enough that a teacher will be far more helpful than an app, and a cheap, small, non-weighted midi keyboard will limit you a lot.

> But if you just want to make music in a modern way (on the computer)

Acoustic or digital, music is more than a series of button presses. All the things I mentioned apply even if the only thing you want to do is play 4-chord pop songs.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#62

Post by komali2 »

verroq wrote: post #59
mike_h wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The alternative is "never starting because of high barrier to entry," not "starting with better habits."

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#63

Post by aaronax »

actuator wrote: post #6

Has someone here picked a musical instrument seriously for the first time in their 20s and managed to self learn? If yes, it would be helpful if you could point to resources that were helpful to you and any daily practice schedule you followed? I have tried learning piano and I found a lot of stuff irritatingly hard to get right and got bored. Like for some reason I am not able to transition to other keys well when I…

Yes, guitar primarily via the game Rocksmith 2014. Very rewarding overall and amazingly fun.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#64

Post by Cactus2018 »

maille wrote: post #24
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…

what kind of cheap keyboard would you recommend?

He says "el cheapo keyboard", but the search term would be "MIDI keyboard controller"

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#65

Post by torben-friis »

If any of you is fluent in Spanish and want to learn to play piano, I can't recommend Jaime altozano enough (he's on YouTube). He's the best music teacher and communicator I've seen in any language, I would compare him to what threeblueonebrown is for math.

He also has some paid courses available in https://www.musihacks.com/ but just the free content is already awesome to understand modes, scales, pregressions, etc

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#66

Post by verroq »

komali2 wrote: post #62
verroq wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The alternative is "never starting because of high barrier to entry," not "starting with better habits."

Let's not kid ourselves, the chances of any normal person learning by themselves without a teacher to any kind of mastery is zero. Most won't have to the drive to continue even after two weeks. "Starting" doesn't mean anything, anyone can "start". It's trivial to start.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#67

Post by tonystride »

thih9 wrote: post #56
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.

> 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…

Some low price keyboards are so bad that they might not properly convey the fun of piano because of their limited function and make you think you don't like it. You've gotta make sure that what you buy gives you an accurate picture of what it is like to play a quality instrument because a crappy instrument is not fun.

For example I bought a $200 keyboard once because I thought it would lighten my load as a gigging pianist. Nice and light, 88 keys, built in speaker. Much better than lugging around my thousands of dollars of pro gear. But when I got it, it didn't have weighted keys, ok not fun but I can deal with that, but then it didn't have velocity sensitivity... Every note was just on/off. This was a deal breaker, it is strait up not fun to play a piano like that. I mean it's in the name Piano/Forte the instrument that can play loud and soft.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#68

Post by OJFord »

tonystride wrote: post #34
amelius wrote: post #3

I wish piano methods would offer me the choice of genre (jazz, latin, classical, ...) and that they would start with songs that are perhaps technically simple, but still interesting from a musical viewpoint.

I'm working on something like this right now. Pieces that are accessible but not boring. Getting into jazz early can be tough, like how will you understand an extremely basic 3-6-9 voicing and how it connects to a 7-3-5 voicing in a circle of fifths progression if you haven't studied your basic triads, basic 7th chords and the circle of fifths? And not just reading about them but spending enough time to absorb them i…

> Getting into jazz early can be tough, like how will you understand an extremely basic 3-6-9 voicing and how it connects to a 7-3-5 voicing in a circle of fifths progression if you haven't studied your basic triads, basic 7th chords and the circle of fifths?

Do you really need to? Why can't you just play something that 'sounds jazzy' but is simple enough without understanding any theory behind how it was written? Just for early interest/motivation/joy of having made that sound oneself.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#69

Post by komali2 »

verroq wrote: post #66
komali2 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative is "never starting because of high barrier to entry," not "starting with better habits."

Let's not kid ourselves, the chances of any normal person learning by themselves without a teacher to any kind of mastery is zero. Most won't have to the drive to continue even after two weeks. "Starting" doesn't mean anything, anyone can "start". It's trivial to start.

Really? I find myself surrounded by self taught programmers, musicians, and visual artists all the time.

Yes. Nobody I know will play in the London philharmonic. But we figured out enough to play a cover band in highschool, and I'm figuring out enough to learn passable music production. On that note, from what I've learned from their interviews, many of the biggest producers have never taken a music lesson.

This isn't me arguing against lessons writ large, simply pushing back on the notion that they, and other barriers to entry, are not barriers at all. There are other paths.

Re: The Mayron Cole Piano Method is now free

#70

Post by skeeter2020 »

komali2 wrote: post #55
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 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…

The former. We don't need more boosters of things done casually, for fun and a short time; we have knitting, duolingo and sourdough bread for that. I want to promote and help people pursue big things that take time and tremendous effort but have huge pay-off. I focus on a handful of people over my life and others can work at the top of the funnel.
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