Piano practice, but fun
October 25, 2021 6:37 PM Subscribe
I'm currently staying in a place with a electric keyboard. I have almost no musical education. I'm enjoying noodling around on it, but I'd have more fun if I had a wider range of things I could do. What are fun ways that I can broaden the set of things I can play?
The most important things here are that these be:
* Things that don't require any real knowledge to build on
* Things that are fun/satisfying to do in and of themselves (otherwise I am highly unlikely to do them)
My goal is not to be good at piano, it's to make noises that I enjoy. What recommendations do people have?
The most important things here are that these be:
* Things that don't require any real knowledge to build on
* Things that are fun/satisfying to do in and of themselves (otherwise I am highly unlikely to do them)
My goal is not to be good at piano, it's to make noises that I enjoy. What recommendations do people have?
Best answer: I think chords are the way to go. If you are able to learn a basic progression like I – V – vi – IV then you will be able to noodle out from there in a very satisfying way. You don't need to learn the underlying theory, just look up a video demonstrating piano chord progressions and go from there.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 6:55 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by forbiddencabinet at 6:55 PM on October 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I did a few weeks of the Simply Piano app and it made it much easier for me to play around on the keyboard. The app has a linear progression to specific levels, but you can ignore that, just work through each section to pick up skills that you can then use to bang out some pleasant sounds!
posted by third word on a random page at 6:56 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by third word on a random page at 6:56 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you don't know how to read sheet music, I think an app like simply piano or yousician or flowkey seems like a reasonable option for "noodling around." (Note: i have no direct experience with those apps, but i have seen some youtube reviews).
If you are up for attempting to read sheet music, there are classiic finger exercises (ex).
In terms of self teaching music theory, I would explore which notes when played together sound good (beginner level is start with the white keys only). One can also play scales up and down the piano varying the rhythm.
It is possible to play Mary Had A Little Lamb entirely on the black keys.
posted by oceano at 10:06 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you are up for attempting to read sheet music, there are classiic finger exercises (ex).
In terms of self teaching music theory, I would explore which notes when played together sound good (beginner level is start with the white keys only). One can also play scales up and down the piano varying the rhythm.
It is possible to play Mary Had A Little Lamb entirely on the black keys.
posted by oceano at 10:06 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Came here to say simply piano as well, now its available for android or ios. Totally genius and worth the money, imo. Free trial period to check it out.
posted by elgee at 1:47 PM on October 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by elgee at 1:47 PM on October 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You didn't indicate how much, if any, musical knowledge you have. If you have a good ear, that is, if you are able to pick out melodies (or more) from songs you like, it can be very enjoyable to learn to play them on the piano. You may recognize them intuitively, but if you can figure them out on piano, you'll also learn intervals in the process. There are thousands of pop songs with simple melodies to start with. For example, try "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode.
Also, once you learn a bunch of basic chords, you can start to work on inversions. That is, playing the same chord but with the notes in a different order. For example, C Major is:
C E G
But you can also play it as:
E G C
And finally, when you learn some inversions, you will find that it is easier to transition from one chord to another, because your fingers don't have to move as far.
posted by 4midori at 3:20 PM on October 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Also, once you learn a bunch of basic chords, you can start to work on inversions. That is, playing the same chord but with the notes in a different order. For example, C Major is:
C E G
But you can also play it as:
E G C
And finally, when you learn some inversions, you will find that it is easier to transition from one chord to another, because your fingers don't have to move as far.
posted by 4midori at 3:20 PM on October 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
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I've taught myself the major scales using whole step whole step half step and from there figured out chords. (This also helped me understand the theory of chords on the ukulele)
posted by freethefeet at 6:52 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]