Am I silly

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mhwebb64@gmail.com
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:17 am

Am I silly

Post by mhwebb64@gmail.com » Wed Feb 09, 2022 3:45 am

Hi All
I am nearly at the end of the beginner boot camp and i struggle, I feel I am slowly getting some coordination but I seem slow, I may practice a piece on a bootcamp song 80 times before it sinks in and I can play it, then I hop off playground sessions and the keyboard, go to the piano and cant play it for the life of me, I would like PS(playground sessions) to introduce practice sessions , like a piano teacher would, for eg, go home and practice these 3 scales or these 3 chords, I know its all there but some of us dont know what and how to practice or what we need to practice apart from all the songs, need guidance as a piano teacher would do, I dont know what I am trying to say but I need a goal to follow , if i go into intermediate, then i dont think i am ready. When I play a PS song and practice it 100 time or so I can play it and my hands do work together, but its my memory thats doing it, they when I fool around on the piano and try a melody with chords, they it just doesnt work. Is this normal or am I just slow, or do I need a piano teacher.
thank you in advance
Slightly frustrated Michael

SJunior22
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:04 pm

Re: Am I silly

Post by SJunior22 » Thu Feb 10, 2022 11:55 am

Hello Slightly-Frustrated-Michael! :)

Please allow me to unpack what you've wrote and pledge my "two-cents";

At the very start, you stated a criticism. That's usually your "I didnt meet my expectations" sticking out. Now, did you have a general plan to how you were going to approach learning the piano on your own? Playground sessions meets you half way, but you end up having to do most (if not all) of the heavy lifting - believe me, it all pays off in the end. Playground Sessions allows you to customize and implement your own approach to learning the piano. Everyone learns differently, so they've kept the application from being "on-rails", if you will. Sounds like you had a idea, but was reliant on the software to do the planning for you. Its up to you to figure out how you will make Playground Sessions work for you.

I suspect you had set higher expectations than you could currently meet - that's so normal especially for those who try to learn instruments on their own without traditional/formal training from a teacher. I advise you to not beat yourself up on how long it takes to learn a song/pattern/fundamentals - everyone is different and its not a race. You pay your dues (which will take years), and the rewards come flooding in.

Now, for hiring a teacher - what is your end goal? Are you looking to join as a professional or is this just a hobby that you'll share with friends and family? For the former, get a teacher. For the latter, I would suggest saving your money and use all the available free resources out there (Playground Sessions Forum and Youtube videos, search for tips from other web sources, etc).

Next, is the issue with "what and how to practice as a beginner". I would direct you to my article I wrote, "How to Practice Effectively..." (Board Index > Playground Community > General Chat > Practice Tips). I offer a few ideas to use as beginner to develop your approach on how to practice and not waste your precious practice time.

Lastly, the issue with translating from keyboard to piano - does your keyboard have 88-weighted keys? What is the exact problem? If your keyboard does not have 88-weighted keys, make the move to purchase one as soon as possible.

Bonus - Touching on what you said when you mentioned about fooling around with melodies and chords; I would suggest that you take some time out and lookup music theory and be gentle about it. As a beginner, you already have alot to contend with just by getting your mind, eyes, arms, hands, and fingers to all work with each other. You bring in music theory, its gonna be pretty heavy on the mind in the beginning. Playgound does bring in some "theory" in the intermediate stage of bootcamp. So dont be in too much of a rush. Get the basics and foundations from rookie bootcamp down as solid as you can (dont forget to throw in some work in the "Courses" section as well).

I hope some (if not all) what I wrote will help you advance your skill in some way. I wish you all the best!

Moreless
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:45 am

Re: Am I silly

Post by Moreless » Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:07 am

mhwebb64@gmail.com wrote:
Wed Feb 09, 2022 3:45 am
When I play a PS song and practice it 100 time or so I can play it and my hands do work together, but its my memory thats doing it, they when I fool around on the piano and try a melody with chords, they it just doesnt work. Is this normal or am I just slow, or do I need a piano teacher.
thank you in advance
Slightly frustrated Michael
Yeah that's normal.

If you don't practice the score WITHOUT the score, it's hard to play it later from memory. It's like if you read a chapter in a book 100x then i told you to go write every phrase perfectly it in a notebook. You'd fail miserably (Unless you have photographic memory).

So, you're trying to use different skill sets:
  • Reading music
  • Playing piano
  • Improvising
  • Rythm
  • etc
Some of them you haven't really practiced so you're failing hard. Which is normal.

Anyway, a lot of people who learn an instrument are disappointed for the same reason you are. If you don't practice jamming/improvising or playing without a score in front of you, you'll do poorly in those areas.

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