prac

Intro:

piano practice!  Ok, you've finally got your killer gear.
You got all the hardware wired and all the software config'd.
It's a rig of pure beauty.
You are ready to make some serious TUNES !!

Whew !!

Now what ??

Oooooooo boy, time to practice.  Eeeeevery day.

Oh man.  I'm so busy right now.
I'm gonna go check my email.
I'd KIND of like to write this app that'll organize my midi files...
Yeah, I'll do that first.  I'll get to practicing in

a little bit...


SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE NEWBIE !!    (Like i was:)


You don't seem to realize that playing the piano is incredibly fun.
Seriously, there's little I enjoy more than learning a song.
The only things I like more are my family and computer programming.  That's IT.

So how do YOU get to that point where it's "incredibly fun"?
   Read up below on the things you'll be up against while practicing.
   Once you understand em, and get ready for em,
      and once you actually make it through that FIRST SONG,
      you'll probably feel the same as me - it's pure fun.
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Note:  I learned this all from
   - Chang's wonderful PianoFundamentals.com
   - PianoWorld.com's forum's sages
   - my piano teacher
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Piano Teachers:

get one !!

if you want to play the piano, you want to get a piano teacher.

You can learn on your own if you WANT.
   But i wouldn't recommend it.  I tried it.  Never got very far.

I know, I know...  You can do it on your own.  You're no dummy.
Well, I'm no dummy either.
I've learned a kajillion programming languages ON MY OWN.
And I've learned the ones that are useful extremely well on my own.
Probably more efficiently than I would have with a teacher.
But learning a computer programming language is all logical and in the brain.

Piano is ALSO in the nerves and in the memory and in history and in repetition.
It's more of a sport than a science.  You really need a coach.

I'm done trying to convince you, but here's what you get :)

- a mentor who can play the piano WAYYY better than you

- a regular due date that forces you to practice so
  you don't look like an IDIOT at the next lesson

- somebody who can teach you FINGERING for cryin' out loud - it's NOT a snap

- an extra pair of ears who watches out for crappily played notes and suggests
  ways to play them un-crappily

- somebody to nip bad habits in the bud
  before they become part of your technique in every song you play :P

- somebody to cheer you on.
  your family may not.  especially if you don't use headphones often :)

- it's up to you to figure out what kind of music to play and how to get better.
  but a teacher can put you on the fast path instead of the slowww one.

- more reasons later maybe - i'm only on my 2nd month of em.
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Sheet music:

For me (a beginner) it is a TOTAL PAIN to read sheet music.
And I get all kinds of ERRORS in the songs I learn from sheet music.

So instead of buckling down and learning sheet music, what do I do??
I decide to redo the standard sheet music format into my OWN format and
write a bunch of programs that get the sheet music INTO that format.

Well, I ended up learning standard sheet music format DOING that,
but my goal was to make a better format.  And i think i did.

You may choose to work straight from standard sheet music format.
But not me :)

So skip to the next section if you want, but I'd also appreciate your feedback
on what you think of it (grovel grovel grovel :)

So I wrote a program to load a text file of sheet music info into a midi file
and
tacked on printing functionality to the "tinker" portion of my midi sequencer.

You see, the advantage of a midi file is that
- I can ACTUALLY HEAR =exactly= how the song would sound
  (if played by a computer - more on that later;)

- I can have the other hand's track played as a metronome when I'm practicing
  in the hands seperate stage (more on that later, too)

Tinker prints out the notes in a "piano roll" format so
- I can EASILY see where my fingers go since the notes are colored black
  and white and I can feeel the 2 vs 3 black keys for where my hands are now.

- Maybe someday Tinker can give me good guesses for fingering?  Who knows?

The big drawback, of course, is I have to type the sheet music in :(
Not a breeze...
But it's only a little worse than reading the song the first time
in standard sheet music format.

I'd really like to help you learn standard sheet music format, pal.
But, well, there a ton of websites that already do that.
And I don't feel like it...  Sorry...:/

You can check out "my" sheet music format
here:
(sorry - lame explanation for now - I'll explain better, umm, later)
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Fingering:

You've got a lot of notes to play.  WHICH fingers do you use WHEN ??
Sorry to tell ya - there are no hard and fast rules for this...:(
I KNOWWW !!  I was there, man...  It's sooo disappointing, ain't it...

And NO known computer algorithm either (as far as I know)   :O

See, everybody's got different sized fingers.
There are plenty of ways to play the same thing.

All you've got are just some general rules.  We'll get to those in a bit.


For the "piano lesson" book songs and SOME sheet music,
there are little numbers next to the notes from 1 to 5.
They tell you which fingers to use on the note.
   1 = thumb
   2 = index
   3 = middle
   4 = well, 4th finger, ring finger, whatever
   5 = pinky

But this is (unfortunately) pretty rare.  (Although extremely helpful)
Note:  Sometimes given fingering won't work for YOUR fingers...
       Yep - you gotta fix it...:/

Soooooooooooo, you're gonna have to work it out on your own most of the time.
This is what you do in your first several "play through"s of a song:
   FIGGER OUT FINGERIN'

WRITE IT DOWN (in pencil) on the sheet music !!
(or in the midi sequencer - it lets you do that, right? :)

Use pencil, because you'll likely find a better way to finger it when you
reach the next section or after thinkin' on it a bit.

(especially after a good night's sleep)

Watch the min and max range of notes for the section you're on,
   and figure out how you can make your fingers "cover em" best.

With minimal hand position changes.

For chord after chord after chord type sections,
   you'll probably be moving hand positions.
Otherwise, try to keep your hands somewhat stationary so you'll
know what notes you have "under your fingers" easier.

If possible, try to keep your thumb or your pinky "anchoring" your hand.


Here's some more general tips scammed offa pianoworld.com:

- always figure fingering ONE hand at a time - or you'll drive yourself nuts.

- determine fingering -BEFORE- practicing.
  you want your brain and fingers to remember ONE fingering.
  Not a couple variations swapped in and out randomly !!

- know what notes are under your fingers so you DON'T HAVE TO LOOK DOWN.
  that's why we have black keys.  so the hand can always FEEL where it is.

- for chords, scales and arpeggios try to use standard fingering

- if possible, anchor your hand via the thumb or pinky and
  keep your fingers on successive keys of the scale to match the sheet music.
  So you can "feel intervals" (or whatever:)

- when extending to reach a "way out there" note, use either the fingers or
  else the thumb.  then move it back so you always know what it's covering.
  Try to move either the thumb OR the fingers as a group.
  You don't want to have to readjust gaps between the 4 fingers.

- move your whole hand to a new position rather than
  "really really REALLY stretching" fingers.
  But also try to minimize hand hops.

- try to use your strongest fingers for important notes:
  first thumb, then index, then middle.

- try to minimize thumbs and pinkies on black notes
  since they're short, they'll squish the rest of your fingers up too far.

- practice thumb under (and 2nd or 3rd over the thumb)
  for smooth legato melodies.
  for very very fast melodies, you'll need to use
  what's CALLED thumb over, but really just means "scoot your whole hand".

- pay special attention to smooth transitions between passages of the music.

- DON'T bother with fingering the "easy" spots.  Clearer is better.

- if the finger doesn't move, DON'T mark it on the 2nd note.
  just look back across the line.

- sometimes awkward fingering in an earlier passage "sets up" the start of the
  next passage

- ask your piano teacher how to do it !!   ;)
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Once you've got the fingering figured out, it's just a matter of time.
And things get fun !!

Overall way to practice:
(mostly from 
pianofundamentals.com
GO THERE !!  Sure it's overly long and burdened by physics, but you MUST read
this thing all the way thru.  At least the .pdf - on the resource page)

- find a song that isn't incredibly difficult that you absolutely LOOOVE
  (and want to show off, too - sometimes there's a diff)
  Hit the piano store and look thru the sheet music.
  You can go online, too.  Or use a midi file and print it with Tinker.
  But, I'd start at the piano store.  Seriously.
  This is =CRITICAL=.
  Only a song that you reeeally like will get you through the learning process.
  You're in great danger of going to the dark side (not playing piano)
  if you start with music you don't care about.
  You must feeeel the force, young jedi  (ok, SORRY !!)

- always start hands seperate
  your brain needs to understand the notes a hand at a time before it
  can understand both.

- figure fingering - you GOTTA do it...:/
  look at the sheet music and look at your fingers.
  it's a puzzle - conquer it !!
  note the non-easy parts (in pencil).

- practice JUST the hard sections (where you've written fingering)
  in short segments.
  switch off between left hand hard segment practice and
                    right hand hard segment practice
  play the first few notes of the next bar after your practice segment.
  (it'll help you "auto-transition")

- taking breaks is GOOD.
  many short practice sessions are WAY better than one long boring one.
  Notice your "post practice improvement"?
  That's the improvement that happens AUTOMATICALLY when you sleep!
  That's your brain rewiring itself to be able to DO what you asked it.
  Pretty cool, huh :)

- get em both memorized (seperately)
  and be able to play em faster than required.
  you're trying to get the notes
  IN your brain's AND fingers' nerves' long term memory.

- ok, NOW start hands together practice.  no need for the sheet music anymore.
  note fingering tweaks and just keep practicing (hard parts only)
  Well, you can't help but play the whole song through a few times, can ya ;)

- concentrate on ACCURACY, not speed.
  speed will come automatically, accuracy WON'T.
  In fact, crappy playing is memorized just as easily as accurate playing :(
  (so watch out - you have a teacher, right?)

- SHOW OFF !!  It's good for you.
  it improves your technique and shows you where you
  actually DO still have problems with the song.
  a little stage fright is perfectly normal,
     and a little of it actually helps your playing.
  Just remember, you ain't done till you've shown off.

Well, that's the jist of it.
So go find a song and start the wheels in motion !!  It's freakin FUN !!

Starting with blues tunes is cool - they're usually short.
Video game tunes are sometimes short, too.
(My son loves the gamecube "Animal Crossing" song I got from a midi file;)
vgmusic.com rocks !!
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Midi files:

Notice how you tend to play NOT exactly at even tempo?
It's because the song sounds better that way.

Once your brain really understands EVERY nuance of the "as written" song,
 it can play with timing and make the listener wait and surprise the listener.

There's a big difference between a human "performance" of a song and
                                        a computer playing just the sheet music.
That's why so many people say "midi files SUUUUCK".

Now you know why.  Because most are typed in from sheet music rather than
ACTUALLY BEING PLAYED by a human being !!

However, they are a GREAT source of sheet music.
And of how to arrange a song in parts with different instruments.
And how to really tweak a synth track so it wails :)

Occasionally they are WAY better than sheet music.
Sometimes, a human actually played the music and you can see the nuances of
 what they did to really PUNCH that song.

Listen to them with ditty and view them with tinker.
I've learned a lot that way...

I've got a ton of em.
Not really legally - I got em from nefarious websites :(
But I don't plan on making money off em or sharing em
   (except maybe with my friend who are interested)
Just learning from em...

I dunno.  It's illegal, but, eh, it's not THAT illegal...

I still buy sheet music.  So whatever.  Enough about that.

They're also a great format to RECORD YOUR PRACTICE.
Teeny little files that sound better with time (as your sound module improves).

And lastly, you can tweak your sound module to give you TONS of extremely
cool sounds to play instead of that gorgeous piano sound on your keyboard.
Well, sure, piano is -THE- best sound.
But other sounds are sneaky - they dodge - they weave - you remember, right?
A midi sequencer can pop those in anywhere.
I should probably expand on that.

But not today...