Piano

Introduction

[Cha07] is a very long winded book. All the essential information is nicely summarized in Summary of Method. Some more complementary resources are Dr. John Mortensen’s Piano Technique and [May07]. The former gives concise and very intuitive suggestions on posture. The latter presents a roadmap on sight reading and its importance.

When starting to learn the piano, it is helpful to hear the correct version of the music piece. One way to generate piano sounds is to import MIDI from MuseScore. Note that the default sound samples are limited; some free decent ones are

These soundfont (SFZ) files can be imported into MuseScore.

My ideal setup is a Kawai VPC1 with Pianoteq.

Before attempting this autodidactic method, it is very helpful to acquire some initial background in music theory. The goal is not to learn everything about music theory upfront. That is not as effective as getting the minimum needed to start practicing piano. As one practices at the piano, read up on more theory. Furthermore, avoid doing exercises such as ear training, staff identification, and staff construction. That will neither cultivate your rhythm nor commit the knowledge to long term memory. You should instead study and complete the exercises in [laitz2012complete] via LilyPond, which is superior to MuseScore in terms of typing up scores and exporting MIDI.

The following are my own experience of learning piano from scratch as an adult:

  • Maintain a proper posture, breathe, and relax at all times.

  • Instead of memorizing mnemonics, memorize the notes!

    • Mnemonics for note recognition will hinder your ability to recognize notes because it’s a two step procedure.

  • Always strive for evenness, accuracy, and expression over speed.

    • Play the piece at a speed, such as half of the target speed, that allows all the criteria to be satisfied.

    • Increase the speed until one of the criteria starts to fail.

  • Use a metronome to practice.

  • Play without a metronome at the target speed before moving on to the next piece.

  • Play through mistakes; do not stop to correct them because you will develop stuttering habits.

    • This will help you develop the quick recovery needed after a mistake.

    • Correct the mistakes later using segmental practice around each mistake.

  • Practice hands separate until the speed is faster than the target speed.

    • Research has revealed that proficient instrumentalists read single-line melodies up to seven notes ahead.

  • Practice hands together slowly and work towards the target speed even though hands separate is faster than the target speed.

    • The goal is limb independence while satifying all the foregoing criteria.

  • As you practice, you will notice that recognizing the notes is faster if you use the previous note as a reference.

    • This is a crutch since it breaks down when notes are too far apart.

    • More practice will enable you to recognize the note’s pitch, your hand placement, and eventually the pitch’s sound.

MuseScore & Pianoteq

This configuration requires a user account with real time scheduling.

# Add the following three lines to /etc/security/limits.conf:
@audio - rtprio 90
@audio - nice -10
@audio - memlock 500000

# Add user account to audio group that has real time scheduling.
sudo adduser $USER audio

QjackCtl is the easiest way to hook up MuseScore with Pianoteq.

sudo apt-get install qjackctl libjack-jackd2-dev audacity

After launching it, just hit the Start button followed by the Connect button to display a pop-up dialog that contains a MIDI tab. This tab automatically lists MuseScore and Pianoteq once those programs start.

After installing MuseScore, open up the settings at Edit ‣ Preferences ‣ I/O ‣ JACK audio server. Select Use JACK Audio, Use JACK MIDI, and Remember last connection(s). Do not select Use JACK Transport or Timebase Master.

Note that enabling QjackCtl will prevent VLC from playing any sound. One fix is to run

sudo apt-get install vlc-plugin-jack

and change the VLC’s Tools ‣ Preferences ‣ Audio ‣ Output module to JACK Audio output.

Digital Piano & Pianoteq

Given the foregoing QjackCtl setup, simply connect the digital piano to the computer running Pianoteq via the MIDI interface e.g. UM-ONE mk2. Pianoteq should automatically detect the MIDI inputs without any tweaks to the settings.

Level 0

The best way to waste a lot of time is to practice on ineffective books such as [PML05][PML95][Fab93]. One should instead seek out books that actually have produced amazing musicians. There are plenty of sites that host public domain music:

The following are useful introductory practice books that should be completed in parallel: [Bartok40], [Sch08], [Mat92], and [Man06]. One approach is to start practicing with a book until you encounter a piece that is difficult to play. Play that piece (slowly measure-by-measure if needed) until the end. Move to another book and repeat. The main idea is to cycle through the books making progress where you can before going back to the problematic piece. This allows you to improve while reducing frustration. As the pieces get longer, a one hour session may not be enough to finish a piece.

By the time you finish the first volume of [Bartok40], you should be surprised at how much quicker you’re able to read music.

[Gui03] overview of classical works.

After finish Bartok Volume II: , [Kun75], [Gur77], [Gur95], and [Loe60]

Berens 70 Kohler 190, 151 Couppey - Op17 Streabbog - Op63, 64 Lemoine - Op37 Gurlitt 130, 101, 113, 140, 228 Bertini Op100, Op29, Op32, 12 Little/Short Pieces Loeschhorn - Op181 Clementi - Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Jonas - Master School of Piano Playing & Virtuosity 1 Beyer - Op101 Kohler Op157, 209 Duvernoy - 176, 120, 276

after level 3: [Jon29]

Test yourself with

https://us.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/

https://www.yamaha-mf.or.jp/english/grade/

https://www.rcmusic.com/learning/examinations/academic-resources-and-policies/syllabi-look-for-any-syllabus-below

Robert Estrin’s Living Piano Videos

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb9dheYKfknSU6X0sK0raACZ8yaszLGBf

Lifting your fingers is the most strenuous activity when playing the piano. In order to strengthen your fingers, lift all of your fingers up except the one that is pressing on the key when practicing scales and arpeggios.

Piano tone

Play the notes that have a longer duration louder so that their sound fades away at the same time as the shorter notes. You’re trying to equalize how fast each note fades away. Play the notes higher on the octave louder than the ones lower on the octave to equalize their texture.

Stacatto

Play deattached using wrist. It just so happens that you need to play it quickly in fast music.

Hanon fingering is golden standard
Czerny is also good practice

but pracice music instead

Rubato is keeping the higher level beats and playing in the others faster/slower Portato is legato on phrases instead of just notes repeated notes can be legato via different fingers on the same note Mentral practice can reduce practice time at the piano

Alan Belkin

Don’t bother reading his website, the books are good though? maybe…?

https://outsideshore.teachable.com/p/jazz-improvisation-primer

Not worthwhile to read

http://openmusictheory.com/contents.html

Better books out there by real composers.

start with: Laitz - The Complete Musician An Integrated Approach to Tonal Theory, Analysis, and Listening and if possible simultaneously Ligon - Jazz Theory Resources.

Once you get to chapter 10 for Jazz, start reading the other two books of Ligon.

Caplin Piston Harmony - Counterpoint - Orchestration

too old

Persichetti Schillinger

Incomplete notes, so not worthwhile

Ligon - Jazz Theory Resources

  • Ligon - Comprehensive Technique For Jazz Musicians

  • Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony

Levine - The Jazz Theory Book Levine - The Jazz Piano Book

Peterson - Jazz for the Young Pianist

https://www3.northern.edu/wieland/index.htm

Abby Whiteside

Don’t bother

Small handed piano

Disney Fake Book

Elementary Training for Musicians Techniques and Materials of Music

Ulehla - Contemporary Harmony Romanticism Through the Twelve-Tone Row

Haerle - The Jazz Language Mantooth - Voicings for Jazz Keyboard DeGreg - Jazz Keyboard Harmony & Voicings

qpdfview for the win!

violin https://imslp.org/wiki/School_of_Violin_Technics_(Schradieck,_Henry) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqTTFPCw1dEEl5NDZE00pUxuBppU2exiN

https://www.violinmasterclass.com/posts/148

Sassmannshaus method

https://imslp.org/wiki/Modern_Violin_School,_Op.51_(Henley,_William) https://imslp.org/wiki/Violin_Method_(Bang%2C_Maia) https://imslp.org/wiki/M%C3%A9thode_de_violon%2C_Op.102_(B%C3%A9riot%2C_Charles-Auguste_de)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV4kkWn2CqsWSUSO1KXk3Eg

https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:%C5%A0ev%C4%8D%C3%ADk,_Otakar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8sjq668ag

References

BGeromeAP17

Charles Bargue, Jean Léon Gérôme, Gerald M Ackerman, and Graydon Parrish. Charles Bargue Drawing Course: With the Collaboration of Jean-Léon Gérôme. ACR Edition, 2017.

Bartok40(1,2)

Béla Bartók. Mikrokosmos. 1940.

Cha07

Chuan C Chang. Fundamentals of piano practice. 2007.

Dod90

Bert Dodson. Keys to drawing. Penguin, 1990.

Dod06

Bert Dodson. Keys to Drawing with Imagination: Strategies and exercises for gaining confidence and enhancing your creativity. Penguin, 2006.

Fab93

N Faber. Faber piano adventures. 1993.

Gui03

The Piano Teacher’s Guide. Schirmer, gustav. 1903.

Gur77

Cornelius Gurlitt. The first steps of the young pianist. 1877.

Gur95

Cornelius Gurlitt. The first lessons. 1895.

Jon29

Alberto Jonás. Master school of piano playing & virtuosity. 1929.

Kun75

Konrad Max Kunz. 200 short two-part canons. 1875.

Loe60

Albert Loeschhorn. Studies for the piano. 1860.

Loo39

Andrew Loomis. Fun with a Pencil. Viking Press, 1939.

Man06

Jeff Manookian. Gradus. 2006.

Mat92

William Smythe Babcock Mathews. Standard graded course of studies for the pianoforte. 1892.

May07

Faith Maydwell. Sight reading skills: a guide for sight reading piano music accurately and expressively. 2007.

Nic41

Kimon Nicolaides. The natural way to draw: A working plan for art study. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1941.

PML95

Willard A Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco. Adult all-in-one course: alfred’s basic adult piano course level 1. 1995.

PML05

Willard A Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco. Alfred’s basic piano course. 2005.

Sch08

Christian Schafer. Sight reading exercises. 1908.

Vil97

Glenn V Vilppu. The Vilppu drawing manual. buy direct from Vilppu LLC, 1997.