This past week I started on something that I have wanted to do for a very long time.
About four years ago I bought my girlfriends electric piano. I bought it with the intention of my youngest daughter taking lessons. That never happend. Oh the kids when they come over would play a silly tune or something....but there it sat...holding ornaments and collecting dust.
I don't know why I didn't start to play. I guess I figured it was to hard. Learning all the notes and all the classical stuff. I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to be able to play a tune.
So this week I started surfing the net looking for some free and easy piano lessons. After much searching I came across a site that offered the first 5 lessons for free, with the music and instructions that you could down load. I thought, what have I got to lose, except maybe wasting a little bit of paper...which if things didn't turn out I could recycle for scrap paper.
Well I printed off the first lesson. Finding center "C" position and numbering the keys via my fingers C,2,3,4,5 they get you to familiarize yourself with the keys....and by the end of lesson one you realize that if you can find and understand C position the rest falls into place. They seem to stress not to look at your hands but rather at the music. This seemed to come naturally to me...I guess it's all the years of typing that I have had....once you know the position of the keys it's not so bad. On to lesson two. Lesson two was Getting ready to Play. In this lesson I actually learn't a song. Guess what it was......did you guess.....Mary had a little lamb. They then introduce me to learning more marks and pauses and breaks, and gradually they change those numbers into notes...Treble Clef and G, Quarter Rests, D,E and F and by the end of lesson two I can play the beginning of Ode to Joy!
Who would have thunk.....little old me being able to learn the piano all on her own. In only 2 1/2 days I am able to play Mary has a little Lamb and Ode to Joy. Hmmmm patting myself on the shoulder proudly. I am really excited and encouraged to continue. I figure I can practise at least a half hour a day. The piano is situated in the room that I can look out the window and see all the birds, it's bright and relaxing and so far it's fun....I guess it's because I want to do it....I don't have my mom telling me to practise. Who knows maybe by my birthday day I can play a real song...or better yet I will learn some Christmas songs.
About four years ago I bought my girlfriends electric piano. I bought it with the intention of my youngest daughter taking lessons. That never happend. Oh the kids when they come over would play a silly tune or something....but there it sat...holding ornaments and collecting dust.
I don't know why I didn't start to play. I guess I figured it was to hard. Learning all the notes and all the classical stuff. I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to be able to play a tune.
So this week I started surfing the net looking for some free and easy piano lessons. After much searching I came across a site that offered the first 5 lessons for free, with the music and instructions that you could down load. I thought, what have I got to lose, except maybe wasting a little bit of paper...which if things didn't turn out I could recycle for scrap paper.
Well I printed off the first lesson. Finding center "C" position and numbering the keys via my fingers C,2,3,4,5 they get you to familiarize yourself with the keys....and by the end of lesson one you realize that if you can find and understand C position the rest falls into place. They seem to stress not to look at your hands but rather at the music. This seemed to come naturally to me...I guess it's all the years of typing that I have had....once you know the position of the keys it's not so bad. On to lesson two. Lesson two was Getting ready to Play. In this lesson I actually learn't a song. Guess what it was......did you guess.....Mary had a little lamb. They then introduce me to learning more marks and pauses and breaks, and gradually they change those numbers into notes...Treble Clef and G, Quarter Rests, D,E and F and by the end of lesson two I can play the beginning of Ode to Joy!
Who would have thunk.....little old me being able to learn the piano all on her own. In only 2 1/2 days I am able to play Mary has a little Lamb and Ode to Joy. Hmmmm patting myself on the shoulder proudly. I am really excited and encouraged to continue. I figure I can practise at least a half hour a day. The piano is situated in the room that I can look out the window and see all the birds, it's bright and relaxing and so far it's fun....I guess it's because I want to do it....I don't have my mom telling me to practise. Who knows maybe by my birthday day I can play a real song...or better yet I will learn some Christmas songs.
I realize there is still so much for me to learn....I mean I am only going onto lesson three....it looks like I will be learning about chords next.....now that should be interesting....wish me luck.....Happy Weekend all!
17 comments:
And, did they tell you when you put your thumb on middle C and go to play the scale, the fingering is
thumb - middle c, index finger -d; middle finger e -then tuck your thumb under to use it to play the "F" key, index finger then on G, middle finger on A, ring finger on B and pinky on the c an octave above middle C?
I think that was the first thing I learned when I first started taking piano lessons that I took off an on till I was about 14 or 15 years old but overall, only totaled about 3 years in actual lessons. The first teacher I had -an old maid probably in her 80's then (seriously -not a child's notion of old, as my Mom tried to figure out how old she was and she came up with that age figure, not me) -was extremely strict - you had to sit a certain way, back straight, no slouching AT ALL and your fingers, each one had to have a certain arc and touch too. How I hated those lessons and practicing. Today, my old piano (which actually my grandparents had purchased it in 1917 or 1918 for my mother to take lessons) now sits up at my son's house while older daughter mulls how to get the piano loaded on to a truck and transported to the house where she and her fiance live -about 45 miles from here. I have an electronic organ at my house which needs looked at as there are upteen keys on it that make no sound at all and the old piano -well it is in dire need of being tuned, if indeed, it CAN be tuned again! I never put that much into the practice thing -much to my Mom's chagrin -but I did manage to learn enough that I served as our church organist -and choir director too - my senior year in high school. I wasn't the WORST organist they ever had but I was NEXT to the worst. The guy before me had only ever had 6 weeks of instruction! LOL Now, I wish I'd listened and practiced back then. Enjoy learning though and if you are a good typist, that does have a correlation to playing the piano, ya know!
That's wonderful Mary Ann. Isn't it a neat feeling when at last you conquer something? And during those trying or stressful times now you will be able to let your own music soothe the soul. Good luck on the chords!
Yay Mary Ann!! I learned in a way like that too. I play by ear and had a few free lessons in one foster home I stayed in and then played in a church for a while but never had any formal lessons at all. It's been many years since I played as I do not have a piano anymore. But I just picked it up as you did... it truly is a relaxing hobby. Keep going!
Oh clever you! You'll be wanting a baby grand before long. :)
Yes and hence the picture of the baby grand....but my house would never fit a baby grand....so I think I will just stay with what I have.....
That's great! I know how to read music, and I taught myself some songs on a keyboard, but never really expanded on it.
Sounds like great fun! Good luck and enjoy.
Have I told you lately that I love Bert. He is a handsome fellow.
Enjoy your Sunday and your music.
Enjoy the music!!!
RN, you may be surprised at your success, but I am not. You're one of those people that finds solution and puts them to work to master whatever you seriously put your mind to doing.
Very cool!
How wonderful that you're teaching yourself to play the piano!! That's something I always wanted to learn but my parents couldn't afford to send me for lessons so a friend of mine who was taking lessons would show me what she had learned and I would copy her...I mostly played by ear, though! lol I have a keyboard and every once in a while I take it out and play all the songs I've taught myself by ear:-) Best of luck, I just know you'll be a natural at it since you're picking up so quickly already!! xox
Hi,
I came across your blog this weekend. I love it. I added it to my favorites. I think it's wonderful that your trying new things. Good luck.
You are one adventurous soul! I too always wanted to play but was too lazy to work at it
Congratulations! The only thing I know how to play is the radio :o(
That's great. I'm sure you'll be playing songs long before Christmas. Enjoy!
Makes perfect sense to me! I always thought that there was a special website that they came from. Now I know. Thank you for giving me the scoop on the awards and thanks for coming by my blog!
what website is this? i just bought my 9 yr old a keyboard for her birthday and wanted to find somewhere i could get like a few basic lessons free. i want to get both girls piano lessons in the future...right now the 11 yr old is taking beginning strings at school (violin)
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