So what's next?

A place to discuss Playground's main curriculum, the Bootcamp.
polyphonic
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:25 pm

So what's next?

Post by polyphonic » Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:31 pm

Hi,

So I've just finished all the bootcamp lessons (beginner, intermediate and advanced), and it's been great!
But it feels like I'm only starting now, and I can't say I can actually play the piano, and I know that there's a lot of information I'm still missing.
So what's next? should I just download some songs from the store and start to work on it? any other recommendations?
Thanks!

arthos
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:25 am

Re: So what's next?

Post by arthos » Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:01 pm

did you ever get a reply?

polyphonic
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:25 pm

Re: So what's next?

Post by polyphonic » Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:35 pm

Nope.

arthos
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:25 am

Re: So what's next?

Post by arthos » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:56 pm

yea ive only had it a week and have a lot of questions.but looking on forum i see people have asked and dont get a reply ,or they dont give good answers.
im thinking of cancelling already.:(

Russ1409
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 8:08 pm

Re: So what's next?

Post by Russ1409 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:33 pm

@polyphonic
Well, the idea of playing the piano is to play songs. So, if you've finished all the lessons, why not take a shot at a song or two? I'm surprised you haven't decided to try one of your favorite songs already. I haven't finished the advanced bootcamp lessons yet, but I play about 15 songs from beginner level to advanced, plus some on sheet music.

If you have areas you feel you are lacking, I'd suggest asking specific questions here, or better yet, on the Facebook group. The Facebook group is very active. This forum, less so. It's the way of the Internet these days. There's a LOT of other self-study keyboard learning material out there, much of it free. I'm betting if you ask, someone will be able to point you in the right direction. I for one use PGS as about 40% of my study and practice.

@arthos
You'll need more patience to learn the keyboard than what you're exhibiting. Just sayin.

CLMPianoLearner
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:05 am

Re: So what's next?

Post by CLMPianoLearner » Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:17 am

I agree with the answer above. You need to learn actual songs. The bookcamp lessons are great, but they only teach you the basics and will not magically make you a piano player. As I learned the rookie lessons, I also learned 2 full rookie songs (including "Lean on Me" included with the app). When I was done with the rookie bootcamp, I learnerd 3 more rookie songs. I did the same process for intermediate, but actually learned 7 or 8 intermediate songs (2 while I was working through the lessons, and 6 more after completing the lessons). I've now learned 1 advanced song and faily close to finising up the advanced bootcamp. When I'm done, I plan to learn 2 or 3 more advanced songs as well as a few more intermediate songs to "refresh" my intermediate skills.

I view the bookcamp lessons as my "guide" and reference book, but the real learning comes when you do the hard work and learn lots of songs. Make sure they are songs you enjoy and you'll have a blast. Good luck!

Laurensss
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:20 am

Re: So what's next?

Post by Laurensss » Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:31 am

Dear Russ,
Russ1409 wrote:@polyphonic
(...)
If you have areas you feel you are lacking, I'd suggest asking specific questions here, or better yet, on the Facebook group. The Facebook group is very active. This forum, less so. It's the way of the Internet these days. There's a LOT of other self-study keyboard learning material out there, much of it free. I'm betting if you ask, someone will be able to point you in the right direction. I for one use PGS as about 40% of my study and practice.
I have to say I share the same concern about the lack of activity here. The Facebook group is fine for chit-chat, showing off your latest performance or a quick question or survey but it's completely inadequate for longer running discussions or finding out wether anyone else has faced and solved the same issue one has. Moreover, not everyone is /should be comfortable with Facebook the company.
@arthos
You'll need more patience to learn the keyboard than what you're exhibiting. Just sayin.
I don't think Arthos is expressing impatience with his / her learning pace but with the almost total lack of updates, answers and interaction here in the forums. Same goes for the blog, imho. I totally understand that doesn't inspire confidence in the program for him and have to say I, too, had second thoughts about buying additional services recently because of this (pulled the trigger anyway of course :).
I have utmost respect for the PGS team for how they kept a great thing going through the tragic event earlier, but visibility and responsiveness is super important for a service based product like this. In the end, the cash that went into lifetime subs and all those songs would yield us all a lot less (or nothing!) if the backend should stop working or software isn't updated beyond say, an OS API change. I don't even know whether downloaded songs and lessons would survive a backup / restore or transfer to a new device. I would hate to see the company get into trouble because people lack the confidence to invest in it!

And @arthos: you're in a great place to learn play the piano. Russ is correct, the Facebook group is quite active and most questions should be answered swiftly over there. There is a great team behind PGS but I agree with you about the state of these forums. I trust this is only temporary.

Russ1409
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 8:08 pm

Re: So what's next?

Post by Russ1409 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:52 pm

Laureness, I hear you on some folks preferring forums over Facebook. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook myself. As a webmaster on the side, I once administered over 45 forums, pre-Facebook. Now, I only have 3, and they are all extremely established with over 10,000 members and literally 100s of thousands of posts. The simple fact is, if you want information and there is a Facebook alternative, that's where you're going to get some feedback quickly. David posts on the Facebook group if not daily, then at least several times per week. If you tag him on Facebook or send him a personal message, he will respond very quickly. When I've done that, he's responded to me within 2 hours.

I do disagree that Facebook is inadequate for long running conversations or solving problems. My experience is exactly the opposite.

I'm on the internet....14 hours a day on average? (Ug). But I only check this forum probably once a week anymore. I do look at the Facebook group several times a day. I'll bet I'm a good representative (except for the total time on the 'net).

It only takes a few minutes of reading through this forum to realize that PGS has their plate full with the loss of their developer, and you won't see a lot of fast, personal interaction here on the forum. Send an email if you need tech support, or go where the traffic is for other questions, and there will be a lot of people waiting in line to help.

All that said, when I see a question on the forum that I can actually answer, if it hasn't been answered I'll jump in and try to help. But that applies mostly to basic music theory or outside resources. So if arthos or polythonic or anyone else has any specific questions, ask away.

User avatar
sw1tch73ch
Posts: 539
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:23 pm

Re: So what's next?

Post by sw1tch73ch » Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:24 pm

Regarding the lack of replies here in the forums - That is frustrating for us all. They used to be more active, but had a serious loss in their development team and maybe that has caused the devs to refocus on actual development and drop out from the forums. The team member that was lost was also one of the most active here.

I do hope they realize how many people depend on the forums and put some effort back to answering and responding to posts here.
== Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Just keep playing, playing, playing! ==

-- jbs --

Beauknowsdiddly
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:08 am

Re: So what's next?

Post by Beauknowsdiddly » Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:27 pm

I agree with everything said here. I am not a facebook fan myself and will NOT be forced to join the whole social media craze. I rely on forums everywhere.

I hope the PGS team realizes that there are a lot of folks, like myself, who will not join fb for a variety of reasons and really need to get back to paying attention to their own forum.

I too am considering turning off auto-renew for this reason. It's a shame because I REALLY like the program. I've only been here about 3 weeks and am halfway through rookie and learned Have a Merry Little Christmas. :) But I've put a couple posts up and have read through a lot of the others and see that the reply's are practically non existent.

So... That's all I have to say about that! :) Have a great day!
Thank You!

Beau
Windows 10 Pro 64bit, Dual Core 3.5GHz, 8Gbs RAM
Yamaha YPG-535, Focusrite 2i2 2nd Gen. Level 80

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