Large Scale Central

Way O/T Learning the piano

Other Hobbies
#1

The joke goes like this. One guy says to another, “Can you play the piano?” To which the other fella replies, " I don’t know. I’ve never tried."

Seriously, here’s the deal. Although I have more hobbies and busy work than I can handle, I like music and every time I listen to it I say to my wife, “Maybe I should take piano lessons.” Now mind you, when I was a kid we had a piano and I never got beyond playing chopsticks. But now I’m thinkin’ that maybe if I bought a simple electronic keyboard like the kind they sell at Costco, I could learn to play.

Your thoughts? About pianos, lessons, and am I nuts?

#2

Nuts? Probably :slight_smile:
That’s why you fit in here so well :wink:

Seriously, if you want to learn, get a better electronic keyboard with 88 keys. Yamaha makes some nice ones.
Anything less, and you’re learning to play a toy keyboard and not the piano.
Ralph

#3

Joe,

This is the one we have, although we bought it many, many years ago (25 years+). Ours has everything this one has except we have a CD recorder/player to download software (pre-recorded songs like a player piano or for practicing), rather than a SD card. The 88 keys have the same touch as a regular stringed piano. Comes in black ebony wood. It sounds EXACTLY like grand piano, just all digital.

http://www.casiomusicgear.com/products/menu_celviano/AP-620

#4

I got a Korg LP-350 a few years ago, and have been very pleased with it. Very realistic action and sound response–far more"piano-like" than the spinet in the family room, actually, which has a dreadful touch to it. I agree with what has been said above… if you’re serious about learning, get a good digital piano with quality touch-sensitive keys, not the $500 Costco job. It will make a world of difference.

Later,

K

#5

Ralph Berg said:
Nuts? Probably :slight_smile: That’s why you fit in here so well :wink: Seriously, if you want to learn, get a better electronic keyboard with 88 keys. Yamaha makes some nice ones. Anything less, and you’re learning to play a toy keyboard and not the piano. Ralph

… Try to get a little better keyboard if you can… I started out with a Large Casio and now have a Rowans 88 key under the Casio… We thru a 200 watt amp on them and can play them together… You will find out later you’ll need a couple of foot peddles to go with it. Whats nice is you can have a full band if like besides just the panio. It a lot of fun we just picking up new ways to play stuff off the internet. A lot of our Videos has my music in the back ground. Not the best, but its fun to add to them… Yup… like Ralph said, in this hobby and then add music you will really have to be nuts.

(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/noelw/Logo/Panio%20playing.gif)

#6

Dang it! You guys are no help at all. Where is that voice of reason I was expecting? Seriously, after posting I Googled “keyboards” and got one view of a 76-key Yamaha YPG-235 “grand piano,” which has a ton of bells and whistles. It’s on sale for $249.99 (marked down from around $500) at Amazon. BTW, it even comes with some lessons, musical accompaniment and stuff. Wonder if I could learn to play the “Pennsylvania Polka?” :slight_smile:

#7
Joe Rusz said:
Wonder if I could learn to play the "Pennsylvania Polka?" :-)
my words of reason: better try to start out with the "Flohwalzer" (flea-walz)
#8

The big deal is, if you want to learn to play the piano, get a real piano (used it’s cheaper than you’d think … I’ve had two given to me just to take them away) or get a full 88 key keyboard with WEIGHTED keys (A la the Korg M2) Regular synths have unweighted keys, and even though they’re both velocity and pressure sensitive, and with sampled waveforms sound very like the real thing, the feel is more like an organ. They also usually have 60 keys, though many people feel that doesn’t matter. A keyboard with 88 weighted keys replicates the feel and action of a piano… though it does make the unit quite a lot larger and heavier than their 60 key unweighted cousins.

If you don’t care about the piano specifically, and just want to play keyboard instruments none of this applies… and you can play piano pieces on a synth the same way you would anything else. I point this out only because some people learn on a keyboard and then have difficulty with real pianos because it’s, well, different.

Check your local (reputable) pawn shop or used equipment source … there are frequently really good pieces to be had cheaply.

Matthew (OV)

#9

Check the -bay and Craig’s list. I saw some nice pianos there for less that $300.00

#10

I’ve read that people are putting pianos in the landfill because there is not much of a market for used ones. This means that the potential to buy something nice really cheap is out there. Not sure if that applies out there on the islands, but certainly does back here on the mainland. Of course, if you buy one for your vacation house, you’ll need another for the main house :slight_smile:

#11

If you have Free Cycle (one of the yahoo groups) in your area join up. Around where I live there is about one piano a week “looking for a new home”. I’ve looked at a couple (don’t tell the wife - stil trying to convince her I can find room for one) and mostly there are in good shape.

#12

Thanks for the advice, amigos. I’m mulling. My wife says, “Just do it,” but I know me. I tend to be a flitter. Plus there’s the whole issue of starting a blog (not about trains), which would eat up a lot of time if done properly. Meanwhile, here’s an amusing anecdote from my personal life file.

When I was a kid we had an upright that stood in the entry hall of our Buffalo home. One day, after being inspired by the piano styling of Crazy Otto, I borrowed my neighbor’s tuning wrench (I have no idea why he even owned one) and loosend all the strings on our instrument so it would sound tinny. Suffice to say, my mother freaked and I made a tinny sound of my own as she paddled my butt. Fun times…

#13

I put thumb tacks on the hammers of my Dad’s piano to create a parlor house piano. So instead of the felt on the hammer striking the wire, it would be the thumb tack.

I couldn’t sit down for a week…

#14

Yep, Steve, we were (are?) some crazy, inventive guys. And like all genuises, unappreciated.

Next time I’ll tell you about drilling a 1/2-inch hole in a solid-frame oak front door so I could fish through the wires for some outdoor Christmas lights. Mom loved 'em (he said sarcastically), and I ate Christmas dinner standing up that year.

#15

I’ve seen a number of people start instruments later in life and get really good. It will take a lot of practice though. I play regular gigs on bass and guitar and it adds so much to my life. plus I make a little extra money for trains. There are people with “natural talent,” but overwhelmingly, it’s about practice. It’s 99% practice. There’s a guy I’ve played with who retired after a career in the air force. He’s made himself into a solid jazz guitarist, even though he didn’t start until he was 60 years old.

What everybody else said–get a keyboard with weighted keys, one that plays like a piano. IMHO, ignore the bells and whistles–the synth sounds, the drums machines–and get something with a good piano action and a good basic piano sound. Don’t let gimmicry get in the way of learning to make the music. All that stuff is fun later, but focus on getting some basics

#16
Steve Featherkile said:
Check the -bay and Craig's list. I saw some nice pianos there for less that $300.00
Pianos, just like cars are full of moving parts. Wood and felt. They have an action with hundreds of parts. You just can't buy one and haul it home. Have a pro look at it for a modest fee, if you find one you really like. (I worked for ten years, back in my youth) at my Uncle's piano and organ repair shop.)
#17

Another place to look, if you have one near you, is on the FreeCycle lists.

http://www.freecycle.org/

I see a piano maybe every month or so on the local ones.