Favorite instrument

firensia wrote:

My favorite instrument is electric guitar. I am currently trying to teach myself how to play but unfortunately, I find it hard to stay motivated.

I think that's one of the downsides to self-tuition..I know that now I've stopped my piano lessons, I find it very difficult to find time to practice, but when I had lessons, I had a reason to practice everyday - Because I knew my teacher wouldn't be very happy if I turned up to my lesson and had made no attempt to progress.

The best thing about self-tuition is your own choice of music though. But I guess it's difficult to get started because you have to break everything down and start from the basics, which are generally very simplistic and don't sound as good as the higher graded stuff. It's all a matter of practice and persistence and it usually takes years to end up playing things where you'll end up impressing yourself at the sound you create and your own abilities.

Stick to it! You'll love yourself for it at the end. It's a matter of patience at the beginning.

Thanks for the pep talk. I also tried piano but stopped. For some reason, I found it boring. I listen to mostly metal, which you can't really play on piano (except for maybe some Sonata Arctica and Theatre Of Tragedy) and that's why I felt like guitar was a much better fit for me. You're right. I'll just have to be patient and practice a lot.

firensia wrote:

Thanks for the pep talk. I also tried piano but stopped. For some reason, I found it boring. I listen to mostly metal, which you can't really play on piano (except for maybe some Sonata Arctica and Theatre Of Tragedy) and that's why I felt like guitar was a much better fit for me. You're right. I'll just have to be patient and practice a lot.

Oh! I love my piano and I listen to metal! Heavy metal and melodic death metal! Most metal is derived from classical, so really really don't give up, I'll cry!

Especially when you get to more difficult stuff and you can start playing in minors and things with lots of diminished chord harmonies in..Ohh..The video below is 'First Loss' by Schumann..It's a relatively simple and short piece (I'd place it at grade 2-3), and it sounds beautiful (and if you get angry or upset, you can smash those angry-loud chords into a piano and it still sounds great, haha).

It usually takes 4-5 years to really start getting onto complex stuff, so if you bear with the simpler things now, in 5 years' time, you'll love yourself for it! Please don't give up! :ohmy:

A friend I met through here also once sent this:

Which just shows what an incredible instrument the piano is. The most versatile, plus, one of the most difficult to play due to reading two clefs at once! That skill is transferrable to lots of other instruments too, as long as they read with either treble or bass clef, which covers most instruments out there!

Wow! I can't believe that guy is playing a Dimmu song on a piano. I guess I was a bit narrow-minded thinking it was only good for classical stuff. I'd love to be able to play that one day. I can read music well. I learned theory before ever picking up an instrument but my biggest problem with piano is playing two different melodies. The left hand and right usually don't play the same thing at the same time so it sort of confuses me. Again, I guess it's just a matter of practice. I have lots of spare time on my hand now too so I should probably start playing again. Sometimes the hardest thing is starting. Thanks for the tips.

firensia wrote:

I learned theory before ever picking up an instrument but my biggest problem with piano is playing two different melodies. The left hand and right usually don't play the same thing at the same time so it sort of confuses me. Again, I guess it's just a matter of practice. I have lots of spare time on my hand now too so I should probably start playing again. Sometimes the hardest thing is starting. Thanks for the tips.

The beauty of the piano is that you're playing two tunes at once. Particularly with baroque stuff - It's damn impressive, so really, it's worth it! It's brilliant for your brain too. ^.^ The younger you start, the more beneficial it is for your brainpower, and not only that, it's a really good long-term investment.

If you're strapped for cash, you'll always be able to resort to being a teacher for your instrument (piano, guitar, whichever) and it pays quite well (where I live anyway, I'm not sure where you live), plus where I live, you can perform in some classy places at night for a really good price per hour. I reckon it'd be similar elsewhere. I've got my instruments down as a backup plan for extra cash whilst I'm in university, and a friend of mine who's only grade 7 piano is teaching children up to grade 3 for 8 GBP per half hour, which is pretty neat.

^.^ It just takes some slow practice to get used to doing different things with each hand initially - It becomes very natural after a few years. I'm more than happy to give tips, because nothing upsets me more than someone giving up on an instrument! I love being able to play mine and I'd want others to have just as much joy as I get from it.