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I have, for as long as I can remember, had a love affair with the language of music. In seventh grade (That's about age 12-13) my friends used to joke that when I played "A Whole New World" from Aladdin on my trumpet, it was like I went into a trance.
I never learned to read sheet music because of my vision problems. I actually found it MUCH easier to just learn to listen to what the guy next to me was playing and just copy him. I got so good at it that I could pick up a new part of a piece after an hour of practice listening to someone else sight-read it.
I've sadly lost a lot of that ability to disuse over the years, but I decided to take a lesson from Kelly and Robin. In one of the more recent chapters of Becoming Robin Ally comments that Kelly started playing piano because she felt like it made her feel more feminine.
Now, my motives aren't the same, and I'm under no delusions to that end, but I've always wanted to learn to play the piano just the same, so I've started teaching myself, mostly basics like scales and fingering.
I just kind of found it amusing when I realized that it's sort of a case of life imitating art. I have a dear friend who's told me at least once that I should learn from Robin. I doubt this is what she meant though ^_~
Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I can't afford professional lessons of course, and I doubt that I'll ever become a great virtuoso, but just trying to learn has proven very relaxing.
Later days :-D
~Zoe
UPDATE: 11/15/2010
I'm posting this as an update, as well as adding it as a comment. My new keyboard arrived today, and ... well, I'll let the message do the talking. I sent this as a PM to a dear friend here on TopShelf, but I wanted to share it as a blog update too :-D
So.. um... I just spent a grand total, across about three practice sessions, of about four hours practicing/playing today.
The first hour is probably closer to 45 minutes because it took me a good fifteen minutes just to get used to going from a 25-key MIDI controller to a 61-key 'board (And going to a real piano'll probably be even more of an adjustment)
But the funny thing is, each time I only set out to practice a few minutes, and a few minutes turned into a couple of hours when I wasn't looking :-P
I haven't practiced this much, or totally lost all track of time, since I was learning to play guitar in high school. I don't even think I picked up my trumpet nearly this often if you don't count hanging out in the band room (And even then, we spent most of our free time playing poker for gum :-P)
So much is coming back that it's amazing. I have some twisted form of perfect pitch/musical memory in that I can sit down and translate mentally the different styles of chords (I had a 'basic' form of Silent Night going earlier in three different keys ^_^)
The problem comes in at coordination, playing complex patterns with both hands. I can play melody well enough for simpler songs, but the complex stuff is RIGHT out right now, but it's just so inspiring to be able to enjoy music again.
I haven't felt this... giddy in ages. Even my Mom's comment about how she wishes I'd marry a nice girl like our mutual friend (LONG story there) couldn't begin to touch my high.
I'm addicted, and my drug of choice is music. It's been so long, I forgot how great it felt. I think I'm going to post this as a comment to my blog too.
I wish everyone could find the kind of peace that we do. This goes beyond even what writing does for me in so many ways that I just could never explain.
Anyway, this is probably long enough ^_^
TTFN,
~Zoe
Comments
learning to make music
is a wonderful thing. I have no skills in that area, but I wish i did.
Keyboards
They're not terribly expensive these days. I'd try eBay, put in a last-minute low bid, and see what happens.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Have you seen the Scott the Piano Guy shows? He concentrates on chords and lead sheets, that is, Fake Books, which isn't nearly as demanding as the "professional" way of teaching sight reading from scratch.
http://www.scotthouston.com/store/home.php
They're carried on some PBS stations in the USA.
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Cheap Pianos
Keep your ears open and ask around your local music shops. You can often get an old piano for the price of hauling it away and getting it tuned. I got a very nice large upright that's more than 70 years old but has a nice sound and holds a tune well. Cost, $75 for haulage, $100 for a tune. :)
I also acquired an electronic keyboard, regular price $450 for $190 by finding a sale and using a coupon. And I have a small portable midi keyboard that I got for $80.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
*cackle*
Reminded me of a story my dad told me years ago. This guy and his son bought his wife a new upright piano for Christmas.
After an hour of struggling and fighting to get it in the house, the son turns to his father and says "Dad, why the heck couldn't Mom have learned to play the FLUTE?"
I'm using a little 25-key MIDI to practice with right now. I'd LOVE to get a full-sized upright, though I don't know where I'd put it right now. A nice electronic keyboard would fit right in though. I'll start keeping an eye out both online and locally. Maybe I'll get lucky by the time I can afford it ^_^
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Uprights
I have one of those too. They're a pain to move around, but you don't have to devote a room to them like you would a baby grand.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Electronic keyboards
Keyboards come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, aimed at different audiences. Ideally, try and find one with full size keys and touch sensitivity (i.e. if you press a note slowly it comes out quieter [softer] than if you jab it down). Buying online is certainly a way to pick up a bargain, but if probably wouldn't hurt to do some real-world research - find a store that sells keyboards (not just music shops - toy shops sometimes have a selection of cheaper models) and have a tinkle. Don't worry about not knowing any tunes - just improvise (i.e. play a few notes at random - get used to the feel / sound quality / dynamics - as well as how it looks and how many useful/useless features are bundled).
And once you've got it, if you're a good girl and practice regularly, you may one day feel confident enough to play a tune or two without the headphones! :)
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
I had to edit out my comment
I had to edit out my comment on my old keyboard because I'd forgotten we actually ended up giving my old one away a couple of years ago.
It was such an old thing that it would've cost more to fix it than to actually buy a new one, and I just never got around to shopping for a new one, mostly due to that being a really dark point in my life depression-wise that I've blogged and ranted about before, so I'll leave that mess alone ^_^
That said, I've got my eye on a couple of possible models that I really like once I'm a little further along. eBay is a fantastic idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner :-D
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Electronic Keyboard
I bought my son an electronic keyboard that the keys light up and has tunes pre-programed. He's gotten quite good at it. And it was under 150.
And there are quite a few blind piano players
So poor eyesight is little bar to having fun.
In line with Erin's comment, I purchased a 76-key Alesis QS-7 synth for $300 a few years ago, and it came with five Q-cards* to give it a very large repertoire of pre-defined patches and sounds, as well as a small pile of cables and gear.
http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/qs7.php
The notes about the tiny screen are apt, but if you aren't changing parameters on the fly in a concert, it's fairly usable. The one thing it really lacks is a proper fake hammer action and feel, so it doesn't give one the same tactile feedback as a real piano, but it's not bad at all. The sound is awesome, and the price was very right. With an adapter or two, you can plug it into your home stereo or "home theatre" system, or your computer if you want to save the MIDI stream and edit your own symphony.
And a huge benefit of a synth, as opposed to a "real" piano, is that you can plug in a set of earphones and not annoy anyone, unless you're tempted to sing along.
Cheers,
Puddin'
* Classical, Stereo Piano, Sanctuary (lots of organ sounds), Latin, and Euro-Dance.
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Blind Musicians
Ray Charles was my hero growing up :-D I used to get ridiculous amounts of pleasure from completely baffling my music teacher both in class and when we'd go out for marching practice.
I was the only one of a fifty piece band who managed to stay in step the first few runs through a practice (largely because I learned the hard way to step lightly to avoid tripping over something ;-))
Also, that is a sexy piece of keyboard right there. Headphones are practically a necessity in this house too. Our walls have very little insulation on the interior (little more than two pieces of sheet rock slapped together as far as I can tell) so I have a big pair of noise-cancelling (Not the expensive electronic kind, just the padded ones) that work miracles. :-D
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Marching band
Rather good sight gag from Woody Allen, in a marching band and playing...the cello.
I wish I could play by ear.
I've always wished I could play by ear. I've been playing the trumpet for 24 years and I still have to sight read. It's even worse with my bass, I can't read the music for it or play it by ear. I've been toying with the idea of learning to play the clarinet.
Cornets
I used to play the cornet, back fifty years ago. I can still pick one up and get a musical noise out of it but not really playing a tune. Cornets are fun. They're played just like a trumpet but have a different sound. And they're lighter to hold.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Music
I can't play be ear but when I know the song I know how it's supost to sound. I can play my guitar as long as there are no hard cords as long as I have the cords in fornt of me.
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Music
If you have read anything of mine, you will have guessed how big a part music plays in my life. Reading is a skill you must learn, but more than that is simple body memory with regard to your instrument. I can pick out a key from a strange piece in a few seconds, and a few seconds later, as the fingering is automatic, I can improvise in tune to it. It's a matter of 'feel'. If you can feel the music, then that is a wonderful thing. Musicians talk about 'the dots', which are the written notes, the printed sheet. The music is what you play, and you make it your own. Alstair Anderson wrote at the start of one suite that he had scored no ornamentation, because his target players would know what to do and when to do itbecause they would feel it.
Listen to stuff, play along to it, get that feel under your skin.
Yay for you!
^_^
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
The Stretching is the Worst
Gyaaaah. I woke up this morning with such a sore wrist. I was blessed with relatively slender fingers (They look slender anyway. 9 1/2 ring size isn't really "small", but far from "huge" :-P), but even so, my hand's not used to moving like that.
It's still totally worth it. ^_^
I'll hopefully be in Fort Smith tomorrow to get a MIDI-USB cable for my little keyboard, and while I'm there I'm going to check a couple of music stores to see what I can find.
I have my eye on at least three or four models that I really like, but maybe I'll come across a good deal from out of left field. Touch response and a good, realistic Grand Piano voice are both a must, though the former more than the latter.
Keeping my fingers crossed (except while playing!) :-D
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As Faraway says
yay for you
just get on and enjoy music. Who cares who hears?
A deal
Zoe you might want to try the money areas of close by towns like here in St. Louis we have Manchester, Ladue, & Chesterfield.You never know what you can find in those areas for little of nothing espicaly at yard sales in those areas or the trash for that matter.
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Hi, my name is Zoe and I'm addicted
... to music :-D
I sent this in a PM to a dear friend here on TopShelf, but I wanted to post it as an update to this blog as well.
So.. um... I just spent a grand total, across about three practice sessions, of about four hours practicing/playing today.
The first hour is probably closer to 45 minutes because it took me a good fifteen minutes just to get used to going from a 25-key MIDI controller to a 61-key 'board (And going to a real piano'll probably be even more of an adjustment)
But the funny thing is, each time I only set out to practice a few minutes, and a few minutes turned into a couple of hours when I wasn't looking :-P
I haven't practiced this much, or totally lost all track of time, since I was learning to play guitar in high school. I don't even think I picked up my trumpet nearly this often if you don't count hanging out in the band room (And even then, we spent most of our free time playing poker for gum :-P)
So much is coming back that it's amazing. I have some twisted form of perfect pitch/musical memory in that I can sit down and translate mentally the different styles of chords (I had a 'basic' form of Silent Night going earlier in three different keys ^_^)
The problem comes in at coordination, playing complex patterns with both hands. I can play melody well enough for simpler songs, but the complex stuff is RIGHT out right now, but it's just so inspiring to be able to enjoy music again.
I haven't felt this... giddy in ages. Even my Mom's comment about how she wishes I'd marry a nice girl like our mutual friend (LONG story there) couldn't begin to touch my high.
I'm addicted, and my drug of choice is music. It's been so long, I forgot how great it felt. I think I'm going to post this as a comment to my blog too.
I wish everyone could find the kind of peace that we do. This goes beyond even what writing does for me in so many ways that I just could never explain.
Anyway, this is probably long enough ^_^
TTFN,
~Zoe
Edit: Typo :-P
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Music
Anyone who has read anything of mine knows how I feel about music. A wonderful addiction,it is creative and non-harming. Go with it!
Satisfaction
Zoe I'm glad that you are enjoying you music hun that is great I can play a bit of country song (3 waylon Jennings songs & thats it). Enjoy your new found love hun & let it take away all your frustrations & didapointments :).
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Love Samantha Renee Heart