Comments on: ...So the musician would have a place to put his beer.

...So the musician would have a place to put his beer.

Wolfdog — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:36:03 -0800

A lovely free online text on the Fundamentals of Piano Practice. (Tuning, too.)

By: TedW

TedW — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:44:33 -0800

I just started to look at this, but it really looks good. This budding pianist thanks you!

By: adgnyc

adgnyc — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:47:10 -0800

Looks terrific. I've just returned to studying the piano, so, for me at least, this is timely. Thanks.

By: chrismear

chrismear — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:48:12 -0800

Ah, 'HS', 'HT', my old lesson notebook friends. How long it has been!

By: DU

DU — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:53:30 -0800

Where was this site 8 years ago, when I was trying to teach myself piano? I've moved on since then. Much to the world's loss, let me tell you.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:54:41 -0800

Looks fantastic. Thank you, Mr Dog.

By: janetplanet

janetplanet — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:55:25 -0800

hmmm, the part about sweaty fingers seems to take my mind (the following link may be NSFW-) to other places Youtube is also a great resource for piano lessons & many other types of lessons (dig that soundtrack - obviously played by someone who took many piano lessons!).

By: The Ultimate Olympian

The Ultimate Olympian — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:58:28 -0800

I have a question for the pianists. I mangled the little finger on my right hand a few years ago. I have no mobility in the top knuckle or the second knuckle, and the latter is "frozen"at 90 degrees. The third knuckle is fine. I used to dabble in playing the piano, but never had any formal training, can't read music etc. Is there any point in me trying to learn how to play, or would it be akin to a one legged man auditioning for the role of Tarzan [YouTube]?

By: nicolin

nicolin — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:13:33 -0800

thanks, this has been highly desired by myself for years.

By: milestogo

milestogo — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:43:39 -0800

yay! can't wait to use this! thanks!

By: kozad

kozad — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:22:56 -0800

To The Ultimate Olympian: After seeing Rahsaan Roland Kirk play a couple of saxophones with one hand and one side of his mouth (after his first stroke in 1975) I have to say that anything is possible. Improv/jazz would give you more space to work around your limitations than would classical, I think.

By: the other side

the other side — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:28:42 -0800

When I first read this post I thought it said Fundamentalist Piano Practice. This is much better!

By: TedW

TedW — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:06:34 -0800

Uh-oh, I think we broke it. In the meantime this askme has some piano resources for anyone who is interested.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:14:02 -0800

I used to dabble in playing the piano, but never had any formal training, can't read music etc. Is there any point in me trying to learn how to play. Ultimate - you won't be a great concert pianist, but even without perfect technique, who knows - you might become a genius. (This guitarist had the full use of only 2 fingers - he did all right too. Music belongs to those who enjoy it.

By: surrendering monkey

surrendering monkey — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:11:49 -0800

Working link: Chapter 1.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:32:23 -0800

For anyone serious about learning the piano, resources like this are great, but you'll eventually need help with more subtle issues of whole body movement that only a teacher can really give...but the closest you can come if you're self-teaching is this book. The FPP link in combination with that will probably be a lot more valuable than either on their own.

By: davejay

davejay — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:17:00 -0800

Music belongs to those who enjoy it. Is that an original statement, or a quotation?

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:27:35 -0800

This section has nothing to do with pianos.

By: primer_dimer

primer_dimer — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:26:23 -0800

Looks like there are some audio clips here.