(Part 3) Top products from r/piano

My suggestions are going to be very simple. I highly recommend you don't try to skip anything thinking it's too easy for where you are. This is how you end up with lots of gaps. I speak from deeply personal experience and some of the best improvements in my playing have come from realizing that unless it's easy enough that I can sightread it perfectly and effortlessly the first time, it's worth working. Every small thing even in children's beginner books helps build that scaffolding that remove ability gaps and helps you be a better and more consistent player.

>1) get some classic stuff that we learn at the begining and

Not entirely clear about what you want in terms of if you just want the basics or you specifically mean you want some classical style stuff. Either way, here are some recommendations.

Alfred All-In-One - This is just a generally good book to work through with a lot of fairly basic stuff mostly sticking to a very small harmonic palette used in a ton of music. You can carry on to level 2 and 3 when you're done.

Masterwork Classics - If you're looking for actual simple literature, this is a great place to start. Very easy pieces and a great progressive series of books.

Burgmuller Op. 100 - Probably a it more challenging, but great progressive stuff as well and very classical.

Czerny Op. 139 - More progressive goodness.

Czerny Op. 821 - Not progressive, but lots of very short, bite-sized exercises that isolate specific things that show up in classical music, but in a fun musical way rather than just dull exercises.

>2) get better at sight-reading. I have lots of gaps in my piano skills.

Progressive Sightreading - These are ridiculously easy, but this is really where you should start. They are easy enough to let you be successful quickly and focus on keeping your eyes on the page because they are all within a 5 finger pattern reach covering all keys.

Paul Harris books - These are progressive sets of books that slowly introduce specific concepts. My favorite part about them is the articulations and stylistic directions that go beyond just having you hit the right notes, but have you actually thinking about how you want a piece to sound.

Mikrokosmos - These start a bit easy, but get hard very quickly. They also tend to not stick to predictable western harmony, which helps with getting your reading out of its comfort zone. Additionally, there tends to be a good deal more left hand motion and even melodies which really helps your left hand not just be the accompaniment hand.

Bach Chorales - I'm honestly not a huge fan, but some people swear by these. I would actually instead recommend finding a hymnal instead. These chorales are not only more difficult than most hymns, but will be extremely frustrating if you don't have a comfortable 10th.

In general, you should be learning lots of small pieces constantly. A huge part of sightreading is actually being technically capable. If you can't execute it technically, you can't read it. So find lots of pieces in a variety of styles that you can learn in no more than a week, or better, several of in a week. Lots of short focused pieces will chip away at very small weakness in your playing very quickly and efficiently. This will make your reading much better. Better technique and reading will lead to you being able to learn increasingly difficult music much faster. You'll likely find that something that once might've taken you a month to learn could be learned in a week. Something that could be learned in a week might be learned in a day or even sightread.

Try to remember when learning new, simple pieces, to try to keep your eyes on the page. Not matter how slow or out of tempo you need to go, really learn to trust your ability to feel the distances and shapes of chords you need to play. You might need to look early on for stuff that is more difficult for you, but try to get to a point where you don't need to look. When you can trust yourself in that regard, your reading ability will increase a ton.

Here is a good summary of four note rootless voicings and Here is a more complete chart.

I start all of my students off with these. The voicings generally take about 1-3 months to get in your fingers (mostly muscle memory). Around 6 months you'll be able to plug them into lead sheets without too much thought, but you probably won't be able to do it in real time. Around 12 months you really won't have to think about them any more. They are a great place to start with voicings because they give you a great sound in a compact one-hand format. Remember that the bass player is covering the root of the chord, so you are more concerned about 3,5,7,9,11,13.

The most two most important things in jazz are keeping your place in the form and playing in time. You can have the hippest voicing but if it's not in the pocket, it's going to sound awful. Likewise, you can have the coolest, most innovative improvisation, but if you're lost in the form, it's not going to flow over the changes.

Play with a metronome, ALWAYS. Explore play-along tracks, Jamey Aebersold books being the most well-known. There are also great online resources for play-along tracks. Check out here for a great place to start. These are also fun.

Get started on ear training yesterday. It'll help a lot. I like this trainer as it has a lot of things tailored towards jazz musicians. It has some simple play-along tracks too.

If you need something basic just to get by for now (while learning the voicings I linked above) then really start to learn the thirds and sevenths of chords. These are called guide tones and they are all you really need to define a chord. Try playing an A3 and an E4 in your right hand over an F2 in your left hand. There's a nice voicing for the Fmaj7 you listed above. It sounds a whole lot cooler than FAC and will get you started thinking about splitting your voicings up to use more of the keyboard. You want to get to the point where you see a chord on the page and you instantly know what the third and the seventh of the chord is. Make sure you get the correct third and seventh:

• Major7th Chord: Major Third, Major Seventh | C E G B
  
• Minor7th Chord: Minor Third, Minor Seventh | C Eb G Bb
  
• Dominant7th Chord: Major Third, Minor Seventh | C E G Bb
  
  Learn those combinations and see if you can get through a lead sheet naming thirds and sevenths as you go.
  
  There's really a whole lot more I could write about the topic, but this might be enough to get you started.
  
  If you have specific songs that you need help with, don't hesitate to ask. I would be happy to work out some simple arrangements/voicings/solos with you.
  
  Good luck!
  
  
  
  

Since some time has now passed and there haven't been too many answers, I want to add something that I think is the most important answer: you can make up your own chorale preludes by getting better at improvising.

An easy way to start improvising is by playing just the harmonization in your hymn book, but rather than playing the top three voices at the same time, you can play them in an arpeggiated way. Some notes will have to be added or taken away in some situations, such as when two voices merge onto the same note. Here is a very quick recording that I made to demonstrate this principle.

Over time, you'll want to add basic harmonic ideas to your musical vocabulary. A few things I'd note:

• It's OK to change the notes of the hymn tune slightly to accommodate the harmonies you want. But it's important to keep the rhythm of important motives the same, especially if you're changing the notes
  
• It's useful to learn the hymn you're improvising on in multiple keys so that you can switch keys in your improvisation
  
• Steal textures from written-out preludes/meditations/etc. on hymns. One texture you can use is the triplet texture I mentioned above.
  
  If you keep working on this, you'll get better and better. My favourite improviser who lives in my area sounds like this (the recording is terrible, but good enough that you can get the idea). A feature of his improvisations that I really like is modulations to far-away keys; when I hear him play, it feels like I'm being thrown into something vast and mysterious.
  
  A resource I recommend for liturgical musicians' improvisation is this book by Gerre Hancock. It's intended for organists, but is still extremely useful for pianists. I also find Improv Planet on Patreon very useful. It's run by a piano professor who specializes in improvisation in the style of Bach and Handel.
  
  If you haven't already studied harmony, I also highly, highly recommend it (I'd call study of harmony a prerequisite for Improv Planet). Good resources for self-study of harmony include the textbooks by Laitz and by Clendinning & Marvin.

>Just for encouragement, is it safe to say that those 5 years actually gave me something?

Yes, of course. You're 5 years ahead of zero experience.

>Can I say that I started to play the piano at an early age?

I guess. Who do you need to prove yourself to?

>I’m worried that it was more like a waste of time.

Don't worry.

>What should I make my priority for now? Should I learn a bunch of theory? Should I play scales all day? Should I focus on ear training?

In terms of theory, you should understand the following:

• 4 chord types with all inversions: Major, Minor, Dominant 7, Diminished 7 (in all 12 keys)
  
• Major & Natural Minor scales (in all 12 keys)
  
• The Circle of Fifths & The Key Signatures
  
• Chord progressions like II-V-I or IV-V-I (in all 12 keys)
  
  That's just a start, but it should take you a few weeks of an hour practice daily to master the above. You don't need to "play scales all day". Once you've memorized them all, it should take 30 minutes of daily maintenance work to keep them in your fingers.
  
  >I currently pick pieces above my skill level and learn them slowly. I take around two-three days with three hours practice each to memorize them and be able to play without mistakes in every bar. After that I spend up to two months bringing it to desired speed and just polishing overall. Is that okay to do it? Perhaps it’s better to learn a lot of easy pieces instead?
  
  I think it's wise to look for quantity over quality in the beginning to intermediate stages of training. Spending a ton of time and energy on a single piece leads eventually to a certain dullness and falling out of love with the piece (and sometimes the piano!). If you're constantly exposing yourself to new pieces daily, that are more manageable in difficulty, you're exploring a lot of variety in musical ideas, learning to prioritize rhythm and spontaneity, and overcoming "perfection paralysis".
  
  Look at some of these interesting articles on the "40 piece challenge": http://sightreading.com.au/free-resources/40-piece-challenge.html
  
  >I’m thinking of buying one of those sight reading books. Do they really help a lot? Is that really important to focus on it now? At first I thought I’d wait until my sight reading improves naturally but I’m getting too annoyed with the slowness.
  
  Yes, Sight Reading is the most important thing to focus on. I like this series by John Kember: http://www.amazon.com/John-Kember-Piano-Sight-Reading-Approach/dp/184761132X
  
  >Any tips on ear training? Is that ok to start by transposing easy G1-G2 pieces?
  
  Transposing is more of a mental "theory" thing, IMO, than an ear training practice (although really ALL music study is ear-training). This site has lots of notation/theory/ear-training exercises (the app Tenuto is really good too): http://www.musictheory.net/exercises

If you're looking for quality tools that a technician could use for decades, you'll want to spend the most on a tuning hammer with replaceable tips. The quality and price can vary from there, but that's a good basic guideline.

Here is one of your best bets for finding quality equipment available to the public. Generally, everything on that page above the nylon tuning hammer (S-4) is considered apprentice-level, because having a longer exposed steel rod allows a slight amount of flex at the shaft, and a longer handle prevents that. The extension lever is the lever many if not most technicians swear by, but is more expensive.

A different option is scour eBay for vintage Schaff or Hale tuning hammers, where you can find very high quality tools for a lot cheaper than retail. I got a steal on a Hale extension lever for under $30 that way.

Besides the tuning hammer itself, you will only need a small assortment of rubber mutes, a wool temperament strip or two, and possibly a good A fork.

As far as learning, there are few online resources that really go into detail on the process of learning aural tuning. The well-known Reblitz book does have a good section on tuning, but even this should only be a supplement to a wealth of information needed to truly understand the process.

Another good tool to use is the computer program Tunelab, for which there is a fully functional free trial that can be used indefinitely with only small intermittent pauses. It's good for beginning to learn to manipulate the tuning hammer without going wildly off base, and it's another useful tool to supplement an understanding of tuning theory.

This is a big investment, but if she is serious about learning the trade, the tools are well worth their price in utility, and once she trains to a competent level, they will quickly pay for themselves.

Well, yeah, if you want to be satisfied with your performance you'll have to dedicate yourself somewhat. But let it not be underestimated the insight gained from listening to the piece - ideas for the song will be gleaned there that were not contained within the notation itself.

*So as far as exercises go, well, I've spend plenty of time running scales and methodical etudes which contribute significantly to well-rounded technique. However, there's so much to learn you really should pick a song that sounds enjoyable to you and one that you would feel satisfied after learning to play. After learning a couple Joplin rags I heard Morton playing and thought, "now that sounds great, I wish I could sound like that" and found a great book with 40 transcriptions of Morton piano solos. I would say pick a artist you would feel accomplished after emulating and find transcriptions for their pieces, this is usually a pretty effective way to at least get started.

Gonna be honest, 20 minutes is fine for grade-schoolers, but if you're looking to get good fast, at your age, I'd suggest closer to an hour of practice and study a day. Soon enough, when you're looking at more serious rep, that should jump up to something more like at least 2-3 hours a day. Warm up with scale exercises (do some Googling for that) and arpeggios, then I'd recommend something like an etude book to start finding new fancy tools for your fingers to use (the one by [Cramer](http://imslp.org/wiki/Studio_per_il_pianoforte,_Op.50_(Cramer,_Johann_Baptist) is excellent).
Remember, Liszt once practiced 14 hours a day. There's no real limit there once you cross the professional threshold.
As far as theory is involved, I really don't know how to help there. My college classes were invaluable in that regard. If you're really interested, we used this textbook (which also has a separate workbook). However, I'm sure you could glean plenty of useful theory basics just talking to lots of theory nerds (ha, like me). Perhaps your teacher would be willing to devote a little time here and there.

Edit: looks like there's a 4th edition now for that textbook, but hey, older means cheaper ;]

Privia PX-160 is my reco for a beginner looking to invest a bit more, but still under $600. I also recommend going to Guitar Center and playing a couple just in case you have a preference in another direction, but if you’re looking for a solid starter keyboard with weighted keys, this one is great. I did a lot of research. There is a dude at Kraft Music (kraftmusic.com) named Michael that I talked to on the phone and he was super helpful. My bundle was $533 and they don’t charge tax or shipping. And they sell packages: piano + console/stand + pedal.

Also have this adjustable stand separately purchased and I love it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Happy piano’ing!

PX780 is an awesome digital, I love the Privia series.

https://www.amazon.com/Play-Again-Piano-Perfect-Rediscover/dp/1847614590

I would recommend this book as well as the second book, it's compiled by Melanie Spanswick a fantastic pedagogue it is specifically marketed for people that are returning to piano, it has a wide range of pieces within different styles beginning from grade 1 - grade 8 I believe the last piece of the second book is Rachmaninoff's famous prelude op 3 no 2 in C sharp minor. There are also practice tips along the way on how to practice the pieces, since you said you played for a while when you were younger I think these two books would be a great approach to get you back into shape instead of having to start from scratch via some adult beginner books.

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Good luck my friend!

You should get a piano bench that is adjustable. I started with the one linked below, although I'd shop around as the price may have jumped up. I don't remember spending 50 dollars, but considering it's lasted 6 years I guess it was worth it. It's not 100% adjustable since it has "levels" and you might end up needing a height between levels. The acoustic piano benches that are fully adjustable cost $200+ though. A bench at the proper height will help avoid back pain after playing for a little while.

Scales are good to learn, you can do this as a warm up. I just listed two that seem to come up often and only had a single black key in them. I wouldn't recommend learning only scales as that would get boring. My teacher would have me do one scale as a warm up and when I could play it two-octave, hands together, including the 3 primary chords and inversions, and the arpeggio (the book we used had all of these on one page) then we'd move to a new one.

Now I'm going back and playing the scales of any pieces I'm working on at the time during warm-up. I do 4 octaves contrary motion. So it starts out normal then half way left hand starts going back down and right hand keeps going up. When right hand hits the 4th octave it starts going down and left hand starts going up again. Makes them feel fresh. I can learn scales faster than pieces so soon I'll have to start rotating scales in that aren't tied to pieces.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_boCu1_c_x_3_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=ZWXDVWB0S7AT05JJVCKX&pf_rd_r=ZWXDVWB0S7AT05JJVCKX&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=ab2b2dba-42b7-45ce-8379-d10e65c92e8d&pf_rd_p=ab2b2dba-42b7-45ce-8379-d10e65c92e8d&pf_rd_i=11966001

Edit - this is the new book I use for scales. The old one was fine but this had a little more info in it. There were some sections at the beginning that explained how scales were formed before getting into the usual big list of all of them.

https://www.amazon.com/Scales-Chords-Arpeggios-Cadences-Complete/dp/0739003682

Do note, this is coming from someone that took lessons since I was young and went through courses to be a music educator in college so I may not have the most relatable experience, but here's my take.

I say it depends on the kinds of music you want to learn and play that will influence on what you should be focusing on.

There are beginner books for adults available such as this one that will go through beginning concepts at a much quicker pace than what I went through as a child. A lot of my music friends used something similar (can't find the one they used, sorry) to pass a piano proficiency exam. They did have a professor coach them through, which streamlined the process.

I'd suggest going this route (teacher + adult beginner book) as it will give you the best foundation that can be branched off into whatever interest you have. You'll learn a lot of fundamentals such as proper posture and reading sheet music and you'll do it at a much faster pace than if you were younger.

There are other alternatives too. I had a dorm mate from Costo Rico that just wanted to learn how to jam on the piano when his buddies whips out their classical guitars. So I spent an evening teaching him how scales are formed and how major/minor chords are formed. After a couple weeks of practicing and asking a few questions during that time, he got to the point where he could jam with his buddies. He couldn't read sheet music, but if we tell him what chord and scale, he'd figure out what sounded all right and jam along. He could also look at chords online of simple songs and he'd be able to figure out an arrangement on the piano he could manage within a week.

Hope this helps a bit in your decision :)

If you've only been playing for 6 months, this piece may be too difficult for you. I learned the Waltz in b minor by Chopin (Op. 69 #2) before I learned the c# minor waltz. I found that what I learned from the b minor waltz transferred very easily to the c# minor waltz.

For both Waltzes I've mentioned here in general, start off as slow as you need to, and make sure that you get all of the nuances right. This c# minor waltz was the first time where I had to deal with repeated notes, and it's quite awkward at first, but if you practice slowly and keep a metronome going and build up your speed, you'll notice that the technique will eventually develop. The metronome is particularly important so that you maintain a rhythmic pulse, can keep your notes as even as possible, and can gauge where your progress is.

If you've only been playing for 6 months, you will probably have to practice either waltz (the b minor one I mentioned previously or, if you dare pursue this c# minor one) hands separate. Again, practice slowly with a metronome.

Another thing to take into account is that improving your sightreading ability helps for learning these pieces, and in my experience, made learning the c# minor Waltz a much less painful experience than for the b minor waltz (I had done a lot of sightreading practice after learning the b minor waltz). I had finished the three Kember series books (Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3 ), making sure that I didn't look at the keys for each exercise.

Hope this helps.

I highly recommend 'Play It Again Piano' by Melanie Spanswick. She has two books - Book 1 (from beginner to intermediate) and then Book 2 (from late intermediate to advanced and beyond). I got Book 2 and have found it great for many reasons. It's a self contained course in many ways - progressively more difficult pieces, practice tips, interpretation ideas, very varied repertoire etc. Slightly more 'user friendly' than trying to just learn from choosing your own pieces (which is all I used to do). Also, it's specifically aimed at returning pianists as opposed to complete newbies. I ended up creating a set of videos reviewing the book (going piece by piece sometimes) that I've linked here for you. I also recommend you check them out on Amazon - you can decide whether Book 1 or Book 2 would be best for you.

Lots of people are suggesting that you learn to play on something cheaper first. That's how I started a few years ago, and it's definitely a good choice. If you do decide to go that path, the most cost effective solution would be to buy a midi controller.

Midi controllers cost less than ordinary keyboards of the same quality because they don't come with on-board sounds; you'll have to plug it in to a computer or laptop to play anything. Fortunately any software you'd need can be found for free, and I know of a couple of free piano programs that have better sound quality than most entry level keyboards in that price range.

The midi controllers I linked have 61 keys, rather than 88. That's more than enough room starting out though. In terms of feel, real piano keys are weighted and harder to push down. This controller has semi-weighted keys, for about 50$ more than the others which should make transitioning to heavier keys easier. I had a really crappy keyboard, and it only took me a week or so to comfortably play weighted keys so this isn't all that necessary.

You also need a sustain pedal which might not be included, but they're cheap.

All in all, it should only cost $150-$200 for something that would normally be $500.

If you don't have a computer, or it's more than six or seven years old, this might not be the best solution. Otherwise, though, it could save you a couple hundred bucks in the long run.

A little pricier than $1,000 with everything and Casio may not be the most respected name in music equipment due to only fairly recently entering the pro audio market but this keyboard is pretty groovy for the price. Formal stand and Folding Z Stand

Combine with m50xs and enjoy =)

What's your goal?

The piano jam has a video game/anime section if you don't know where to start. :)

Super Smash Brothers could be really good, because you get samples of music from a lot of different game series, and maybe you can find what you like that way? ninsheetmusic.org has a lot of transcriptions. They all go through review before they get uploaded, so you're probably not going to find anything awful.

A lot of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts game have "Piano Collections" published Example

First of all you have to eradicate the idea that you are junking up their sound. As long as you are vaguely playing the same chords as them you are adding body to the sound, even if you only play a single root position chord at the beginning of each measure.

Also, get into the habit of working out the chords relative to each other e.g. I - IV - V - IV instead of, say, F Major - B flat Major - C Major - B flat Major. More often than not jazz/blues/pop/Broadway pianists are required to play in a key other than the one notated (e.g. to fit the range of a vocalist). Fake books indicate the chords in relation to the melody, but you will have to get used to transposing.

Although you may not be interested in Jazz specifically, if you assimilate the principals of jazz piano, almost anything else will seem easy in comparison. There's a great book by Mark Levine called The Jazz Piano Book which starts from the absolute basics and takes you through to solid proficiency (sorry I could only find a kindle edition, but there must be a hard copy available somewhere).

Any sustain pedal should hook up to it just fine. I'd recommend this $20 one from M-Audio. It's what I use now, and I think it's pretty good. Getting any of the piano style action ones helps, but I wouldn't say it hindered my progress when I had one of these pedals and it worked just fine. I think an expression pedal would would work fine, though, since it's basically an on-and-off switch controlled by your feet for the digital effects of the piano.

Lots and lots of hand PT and exercises. I am in a similar boat except I'm returning to music after about 20 or so years of not practicing and it's pretty much like learning anew, except with much stiffer fingers and joints.

Depending on how limber, agile, and your stamina, I would say start slow and pay lots of attention to form and posture, take break often and stretch. Do arm/hand/finger strength drills a few times a day and stretch A LOT, and I don't mean just hands and arms, develop and follow a routine to maintain overall mobility (which isn't a bad thing to do at this age anyhow).

Other than that — The Complete Musician could be a good start and a teacher to get you started with your instrument though be careful as early bad habits are very hard to fix in the future.

I'd recommend The Jazz Piano Book or The Jazz Theory Book, both by Mark Levine. There's a ton of great stuff in both, and they'll teach you how jazz musicians conceive of how they play—not to mention give you a foundation to play pretty much any popular style that strikes your fancy.

I have this book which is great. It's all 371 Bach chorales (4-voiced harmonizations of typical contemporary religious melodies, along with some new melodies) in a solid volume, at a pretty good price often.

There is a whole set of lessons online here that would probably be perfect for you:

• http://www.howtoplaypiano.ca/?page_id=67 (his Youtube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/Lypur)
  
  Also checkout the links and discussions under "Getting Started as a Beginner" in the sidebar -------->.
  
  Although we don't have too many online resources like the one above. See the other information and links in the FAQ too.
  
  You could also get a book like this:
  http://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Self-Teaching-Adult-Piano-Course/dp/0739052055/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1342832792&sr=8-3&keywords=teach+yourself+piano
  
  Ideally you could eventually pursuade your parents to pay for lessons or you could get a job and pay for it yourself haha. One of the keys to learning to do any activity is having someone who can guide you, give you feedback, answer questions, etc.

I would second getting a teacher, because even if you manage to learn how to read/sightread music well, you will 100% have mistakes in your technique that will become very difficult to correct later and can cause long-term damage to your hands if you don't.

A good option is to get a teacher for ~3 months to teach you the basics and ensure proper technique. After that you can stop the lessons and move onto following this guide. This is one of the best guides I've seen (shoutout to u/clarinetist001) and really helped improve my sightreading.

I would also recommend checking out [this book] (https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sight-Reading-Secrets-Step-Step/dp/0961596309) which you can read online, if only to get an idea of the mindset you want to be in when sightreading, as well as some basic drills to get you familiar with the keyboard.

TLDR: Teacher for 3 months, follow this guide, enjoy being able to sightread well.

If you are thinking about that book, (which I do like, and used with many of my adult students) - I'd suggest getting this instead. It's exactly the same book but the left hand pages contain advice on things a piano teacher would be looking out for if you had one. It's not the same as actual lessons, but it's a big improvement over just guessing.

Once you can run up and down the scales try looking at some jazz books for ideas on working the scales in other ways. My instructor uses and OnaZ likes this one. Even something as simple as playing 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-6-5-7 etc can be pretty challenging to do with good fingering (e.g. avoiding thumb on black key).

I also really like this one. It's crazy thorough; intimidatingly so.

Thanks guys!

1. I'm recording into Reason directly from the piano into my laptop.
   
   
2. The sheet music is from the official Final Fantasy 7 piano collections:http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-Piano-Collection-Sheet/dp/4636258665
   
   
3. I definitely would like to take requests, I'll check out those arrangements!
   
   
4. I've been playing piano for 23 years (started when I was 4, haha)

I received a book of all of Chopin's Nocturnes, Preludes, and Waltzes for Christmas. I'd definitely recommend this book, there's tons of materials for extremely experienced pianists and for early intermediate pianists. There's also some helpful fingerings in the book as well. Anyway, here's a link to the book, there is so much you could do with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0634099205/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496667388&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Chopin&dpPl=1&dpID=51UvBuLr9fL&ref=plSrch

Edit: You can also get it Spiral-bound ;D

I got this one recently and am having great fun with it:

Chopin Complete Preludes, Nocturnes & Waltzes: 26 Preludes, 21 Nocturnes, 19 Waltzes for Piano (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0634099205/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bkkqybDPYTAZX

I spent many years without being able to sight read at even 20% the speed required on most of the pieces I learnt.

But for what it's worth, I recently spent a month or two on the book "Super Sight-Reading secrets" (don't bother the catchy title) and I made tremendous progress in sight reading. After some really basic lessons to recognize the notes, the drills are separated in "keyboard orientation" drills and "visual perception" drills. Those former ones really made me improve ; and what is really weird is that the most progress I made was only by working several hours on one single sheet full of smartly positionned notes on 4 lines of piano staff. My level was really bad though, and I guess at higher level this book does not help much.

Bach chorales for piano are also advised in the book.

My teacher told me to try out Czerny's pieces too.

edit: add link

You need a [sustain pedal](https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-FC5-Compact-Portable-Keyboards/dp/B00005ML71/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1RPAGV15V6VN4&keywords=sustain+pedal&qid=1556220454&s=gateway&sprefix=sustain&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1) that plugs into your keyboard. I have the one in the link and it works pretty well for the price. You might want a piano style (rasied pedal) for a few more bucks tho. Just make sure your keyboard has a port somewhere that says sustain, most do

If you want to learn how to sightread, I suggest you check out:

• [Bartok Mikrokosmos Books on Sightreading](http://imslp.org/wiki/Mikrokosmos,_Sz.107_(Bart%C3%B3k,_B%C3%A9la) ^^Amazon
  
• Burgmuller's 25 Progressive Studies/Etudes (Sidenote: Do this if you're a medium level sight reader)
  ^^Amazon
  
  If you wish to become better at endurance, dexterity, fingering, etc., I suggest you take a look at:
  
  
• [Czerny's Practical Method for Beginners](http://imslp.org/wiki/Practical_Exercises_for_Beginners,_Op.599_(Czerny,_Carl) ^^Amazon
  
• [Liszt Technical Exercises](http://imslp.org/wiki/Technische_Studien,_S.146_(Liszt,_Franz) (Use if you're a bit advanced) ^^Amazon
  
  
  If you want to know what level you are at piano, check out ABRSM
  
  
  IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: The IMSLP links don't work due to Reddit's formatting system, so when you click them, add a ")" (without quotes) to the end of the URL link.

Most definitely...you can find one version in this book: Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton: The Collected Piano Music

Totally worth the money, it's a superb resource.

Don't go with an X stand, you'll regret it, but if you can't afford the "real" stand, go with a Z stand. That's what I went with and I love it. Plus, frankly, I think it looks cooler - has sort of a stage vibe.

This is mine, but I got it bundled off craigslist for a lot less. There are similar ones online for around $40 (saw one on this thread too)

https://www.amazon.com/Stage-KS7350-Heavy-Folding-Keyboard/dp/B000LCRP14

There's nothing wrong with your motor skills. If you can wait I'll be addressing exactly this problem in my sight-reading series but for now a short version of the answer: the problem is that, even when you're playing without looking at your hands, you're still going through the works in your brain as if you are looking at your hands. That's why, despite practice, you're only seeing marginal improvements at best.

Playing without looking is not just doing the same thing blindly, there's a whole other mechanism that triggers the movements. This doesn't matter when you're only sight-reading simple melodies but it becomes an increasing hurdle as the music gets more complex. That's why so many pianists wrongly conclude they just lack the "natural" skill to sight-read. They got this far and, even with practice, can't seem to go further.

For now, I suggest you check out this book to get you started. Few things to note though: 1) It's akwardly structured and can get frustrating to work with and 2) I don't think he really understands the problem I described above and would personally suggest taking it a lot further than he does and practice his exercises in a different way.
But it's, for now, the best place to start. Oh and be patient. He says himself it takes anywhere between a few months and a few years. I would give it at least 6 months.

Scriabin is great - I'm currently working on his 4th piano sonata.

Also, if you understand the chord notation, look through a fakebook! I'm looking to get more into jazz myself.

WTC is awesome - maybe don't go THROUGH it per se, since the level of difficulty vary a lot. The Inventions and Sinfonias are a bit more consistent, and I think they're at a great level to practice bringing each line out, which is really the point.

As for getting comfortable with counterpoint in general, The Riemenschneider is essential. There are 69 chorales at the end for which only the figured bass is provided and you have to improvise the other three parts. It can be tough at first, but your musicianship will skyrocket if you can get the hang of it.

The FAQ says that the starting price of keyboards worth getting if you want to study piano cost $500. There are a lot of keyboards that will be cheaper. Here are the Yamaha and Casio entry-level digital pianos that this subreddit will probably recommend as the absolute minimum:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CN8WZ6

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0094KNESM

There are some interesting things in:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882848577/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I learned the Duncombe Sonatina and I've only been playing for about four months.

Haha understood. Maybe go with something like this https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Keyboard-Repertoire-Intermediate-Selections/dp/0882848577/ref=pd_bxgy_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0882848577&pd_rd_r=SPA40RZZWFZBMX6G7NR7&pd_rd_w=Jhm7Y&pd_rd_wg=JMC2o&psc=1&refRID=SPA40RZZWFZBMX6G7NR7 - the 'essential repetoire' series has a ton of songs which are all fairly spread in difficulty

Definitely not the Privia. Look at it brand new.

The YPG-535 is a good deal actually.

The P120 is old and discontinued.

You might want to try etudes such as Burgmuller's 25 Progressive Pieces, Op. 100. IMSLP (free) | Amazon. The BachScholar channel on YouTube has a playlist of all 25 pieces so you can see if you like them.

Ideas:
-Can sit on some books to raise yourself a bit higher
-Get yourself a higher bench, there's this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-Put books or planks underneath the bench itself, if you prefer the feel of the bench seat.
-Get something else to support the piano. Doesn't have to be the stand, can be a bookshelf or whatever works.

I like this one a whole lot: Complete Preludes, Nocturnes & Waltzes: 26 Preludes, 21 Nocturnes, 19 Waltzes for Piano (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0634099205/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7OVPBbN1N403W

It's also extremely affordable.

Like this it's basically all the jazz tunes with the melody and chords written out. The only thing it doesn't give you is a written out score, so you have to improvise how to play out the chords over the melody.

For anyone interested in Early Jazz/Stride piano I consider Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton Collected Piano Works by Dapogny to be a must have. https://www.amazon.com/Ferdinand-Jelly-Roll-Morton-Collected/dp/0874743516

It's more than just a collection of his pieces, but rather includes a brief history and musical analyses of each piece. The songs have their structures marked in the sheets and a number of footnotes point to further description of the passage or note. There are often times entire verses that have an alternate version that Jelly Roll soloed that are transcribed here indicated as such.

Please check

• Hannah Smith: Progressive Sight-reading Exercises
  
  
• John Kember - Piano Sight Reading Volume 1, Volume 2 or Volume 3
  

It's Schirmer, which I don't think is good for Chopin. And like the other guy said, you can get it spiral bound at print shops.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882848577/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is a really good collection of pieces that I'm working through. Covers a wide variety of time periods and each composer has 2 to 3 pieces in ascending difficulty.

My z stand is solid as a rock.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000LCRP14/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm looking to restart playing piano after a 10 year break. I was at an intermediate level when I stopped, though I will no doubt be pretty crap now.

This electronic piano has the full 88 weighted key and is very reasonably priced. It comes with the stand. (Also Costco is really good for returns if one makes a bad mistake).

Is it more or less the same as the Casio PX-150 that costs $500 on Amazon and is recommended in the FAQ?

Thanks.

Melanie Spanswick has a series of two books for classical piano returners.

http://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Basic-Adult-All--Course/dp/0739082426/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372885537&sr=8-2&keywords=alfred+all+in+one+piano+level+1

fakebook?

i did see it for 79 extra, and older model. https://www.amazon.com/Casio-CAS-PX150-BK-Tri-Sensor/dp/B0094KNESM/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1497894681&sr=8-17&keywords=casio+88+keyboard

Is that from this book?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/4636258665?cache=b92011dd16559277f94451628688ed73&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1404702291&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

I've really been thinking about buying it, just not sure how complex the music is

If you're going to ignore everyone telling you to get a teacher, which you really shouldn't, get yourself a copy of this, start from the beginning, and work your way through it.

Check out The Jazz Fake Book; my high school music teacher had a copy for each key and our jazz ensemble was always looking through it.

Idiot proof. It will take time, though.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sight-Reading-Secrets-Step-Step/dp/0961596309

I bought the Jelly Roll Morton Collection a while back, and while it's not a theory book, there was always some sort of a foreword that broke down the piece which helped me to understand the 'basics'.

The majority of his pieces are late ragtime/early jazz, BUT, there's some amazing pieces that are written in a style that he calls, the 'Spanish tinge'; this amazing man describes it here in detail.


PS: all of his pieces are hard as hell.

> What would be required of me to learn to tune pianos?

You need average hearing (wouldn't hurt to be above average), average mobility and average strength, LOTS of willpower, patience and LOTS of time (seriously, it's just as demanding as learning to play the piano). You will also need some money for tools and materials.

The previous musical experience is nice but not at all required. It will not be of much use (trust me, 10 years at a conservatory + 4 years of private lessons were completely useless on my first experiments; the engineering background was far more useful).

> Where to begin?

1. sign up for a piano technology programme at an established school. Check this list
   
   
2. Find yourself the nearest PTG chapter. Ask these guys if unsure Attend to their meetings, there are a lot of nice guys in that group. They will help you making a plan. The PTG invests a lot of time and effort teaching people. They make materials for beginners, they organize seminars and conferences...
   
   
3. Find yourself a piano technician willing to work with you. Lessons, apprenticeship... I don't know.
   
   
4. Mail/Internet course. This is the most popular one but there are others. You can find copies of the Potter course on ebay. It's a MASSIVE amount of information.
   
   
5. The DIY school. That is, on your own making one mistake after another for a long time until you notice you are starting to be less dangerous.
   
   I had to take option #5 because of geographical, financial, and other limitations. It's hard. I'd suggest to explore the other alternatives before trying that one.
   
   Whatever route you take, lots of techs have taken it before. There are A HELL OF A LOT of techs who took option 5.
   
   You can combine several of those options...
   
   Whatever route you take, it wouldn't hurt if you start doing some reading.
   
   Start by reading this and this.
   
   Those will get you an idea of what to expect.
   
   It's not just about tuning. Do yourself a favour and don't think about "just getting into tuning." Strings break, keys feel funny, pedals don't work... You frequently need many skills before even putting the tuning hammer on a pin.
   
   You should at least lurk here and here.
   
   Techs usually don't like people who take the DIY until they prove they can do stuff. See, piano techs are tired of people telling them what they do is super easy. They are tired of people using pliers to mutilate pianos...
   
   Piano techs use weird tools. You don't need all of them at first, but it wouldn't hurt to start a tool fund. Do not even look at cheap tools. Things are already complicated, getting shitty tools will only cause you to suffer and curse. You will also, eventually, need some supplies.
   
   I am NOT a piano technician, but I spent some time learning about this stuff and know how it is to start from nothing. OnaZ is a practicing piano technician (I think there are some others around here).