I’m fairly new to everything, but I’m studying every day. The kinds of stuff I brush up on are DAW familiarity, mixing, beats, sound design, music theory. I see regular, steady progress in everything, but I think I’ve hit a snag with the piano. I kinda wanna learn piano to be able to improvise melodies and speed up my creative workflow, but I’m not sure where I should direct my focus. Should I bother learning to read music? Proper piano fingerings? I know scales and chords are important to know, but I’m not sure if I should be spending so much time repeating scales when there might be better practices and programs geared toward just getting me started on actually writing music. Sorry if it’s a dumb question, I just don’t wanna feel like I’m wasting time that could’ve been utilized elsewhere. Any tips, guidance, book/article referrals would be appreciated. Thanks!
It’s definitely a good idea to learn the piano! Developing the ability to harmonise your melodies will certainly aid your creative process! I can tell you from experience it’s not easy, the piano is a tough instrument. But if you can stick at it you will feel the benefit. I found the best way to approach learning the piano (or any instrument for that matter) is by seeing it as something you really WANT TO DO or enjoy doing as opposed to something you think you OUGHT TO DO!
For instance I quite enjoy the physical sensation of playing, I enjoy making the movements required to play scales, I enjoy playing scales, and as music or melody is scala based when I practised scales more often than not I found myself digressing into making or improvising tunes, i.e. play the scale out of order and to different note values! When I got reasonably ok at playing scales I enjoyed making the bigger movements required to play block chords etc, and putting scales and chords together helped me harmonise the scales/melodies.The point I’m making here is that it’s more a labour of love than a chore.
In terms of how you go about, well everyones different. I wouldn’t suggest overwhelming yourself with practice routines. To give you some idea, I don’t really have any set routine or time frames or even goals for that matter (except to enjoy it). My piano (an electric one with headphones so I don’t disturb anyone) is in a fairly central location in my house, I pass it on the way to most places, an yes on the way to the kitchen I am fairly likely to stop off and tinker around with the piano. As you can see it’s a fairly relaxed routine, I found a little practice say 10 minutes here, ten minutes there on a daily basis is much better than a two hour blast once a week! Of course some of those ten minutes might develop into an hour or so, but not always. A bit of curiosity and the enjoyment of playing should be enough to keep you moving forward, maybe be not as quickly as you like, but in six months or a years time you will notice a difference. It’s really your journey to sculpt.
Now i’m certainly not a great pianist, I have taught myself to read music but i’m not a quick sight reader and I haven’t worried about learning piano grades, however doing the kinds of exercises I mentioned in the second paragraph on a relaxed but regular basis has helped me to develop the ability to improvise, maybe not to the level of playing in a band, but certainly as a driver for the electronic music I also enjoy producing. In other words from a compositional point of view, I would say it’s invaluable!
If you are looking for specific exercises I would recommend www.pianostreet.com I think they have a feature where you can list all the music in terms of piano grade, 1-8 and above. It’s mainly 18th and 19th century music but there are loads of exercises, specifically check out Carl Czerny.
If what i’m talking about doesn’t appeal to you then, just concentrate your energy into making tunes through your daw which is equally valid. What ever you do just remember to enjoy it!
Hope this helps.
Ian
PS, bashing away on the joanna for half an hour or so can be a great stress buster ;0))
Thanks! I figure I’ll just practice, practice, practice and let my ability naturally develop. I’m waiting on finding a good piano bench cuz I’m starting to see how much hand placement matters; sitting on my bed just isn’t gonna cut it anymore. I have two books and will just follow their lessons. Once I really get a grip on finger placement patterns I’ll start tinkering with scales, modes, and chords more intensively.