🕘 Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:05 Piano Progress after 1 month 1:45 Common Mistakes (1 month) 5:36 Piano Progress after 6 months 6:33 Common Mistakes (6 months) 8:28 Piano Progress after 12 months 9:00 Common Mistakes (12 months) 10:36 Piano Progress after 3 years 12:39 Common Mistakes (3 years) *Note: I did a boo-boo at the start when I mentioned playing piano for 2 years - it's ACTUALLY 3 YEARS.
Hi Jazer, I'm a huge fan. I'm subscribed to your channel, and you teach me a lot with these tips and tricks on the piano. I was wondering if you could do a class on learning the notes? I don't think I've found a video for that yet, or else I would've already watched it. 😕 I'm still a beginner, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm still struggling to learn those notes.
@@jazerleepiano I'm playing piano less than a year in total, and I'm playing moonlight sonata 1st movement completely and I'm attempting 3rd movement. Am I doing a good job 😅?
When I'm alone and just playing for myself, it usually works very well. In front of an audience, even just one person, I get nervous and make mistakes. To combat this stage fright, someone recommended to me a few weeks ago that I simply play with the window open. And indeed! In the beginning I was too nervous, BUT somehow I have become much more relaxed and in the meantime I am no longer so nervous when I know that someone might be listening.
I actually struggle the same with drums. Playing in front of one person made me sweat and say how shitty i am all the time. Until that person rold me to play by feeling instead of with my rational head. It actually help.
Its been 1 year last week i started playing the piano and you couldn't be more on point ! Your videos are truly needed for people like us who don't take piano courses with a teacher but who can have enough self criticism to grow up in skill. We just need someone to tell us what we do wrong or miss out and you are that person. Thank you 🙂
Yep. 27 months into learning the piano by myself and guilty of some of the mistakes you've mentioned: • not counting (quarter notes become semiquarters😄) • boring warm up routine • expecting too much from myself in the beginning • scared of sightreading • didn't care for playing without headphones so that noone could hear me practicing • unconscious pressure in shoulders and neck • practicing too fast Fortunately, I started to overcome all of the above slowly but firmly🙂 however the process is not easy! You, Jazer, are pure gold!🙂 Always high quality content❤️
i really wish i had a teacher as patient and clear as you! as a uni student it's difficult, especially during exams, to incorporate piano practice but i am actually succeeding! and it's one of the best stress relievers ever.
Yay! Started just last week learning the piano at 43, and can’t wait for this video, so timely! I want to channel all the enthousiasm I have right now into progress at a realistic level and not jumping ahead or skipping stuff.
I actually started 2y ago, at the exact same age. Searched for a lot of ressources online, practiced a lot, and now, i'm really starting to enjoy what i'm doing. So keep in mind, age has nothing to do with this. Passion, hard ward, motivation do! Enjoy the ride and have fun!
I'm 40 and started a year ago. It can be frustrating at times but it's equally rewarding when something you've learnt takes hold and you barely notice it until you realize how easy it has become. Its a fun journey. The hardest thing is getting started.
I also started about 3 years ago at the age of 40 . However, could not practice regularly. But I have been playing a lot of pieces. For short pieces which do not have notes to be played in high spped and octaves, I can learn with a few days of practice. But complex pieces, and octaves , I cannot learn fast. I wonder ,if my progress is really slow. Since last 8 months , I have been practicing 1-3 hours everyday. I do have really small hands.
As an adult returning to piano after several years I am in the last level, 3 years of playing, and your tips totally matched my experience now. Very helpful video.
finally after not uploading videos for a long time, the best channel to learn piano ever, i learned a lot from here, i started learning early 2022, starting from zero experience, until i can beethoven moonlight sonata 3rd movement, thank you very much dude
As a seasoned pianist, but out of practice, I really appreciate your tips. For example, playing several measures repeatedly, breaking piece up into pieces. Thank you for your videos. 15 minutes every day. A set and consistent daily practice. 🎹🎶
Your description of being one with the piano, how everyone should get to experience this at least once in their lives was very beautifully put and inspiring. Thanks for your videos :)
Have been playing piano for a little over 3 years, finishing op 23. By chopin, which I am really proud on and working on op 10.4, 25.5, felt in love with piano during covid, so I had a lot of time for practise. To others, don't give up, enjoy the music and keep improving, it is super rewarding.
Just recently discovered your channel and thoroughly enjoying the content so far. I’m a newbie at piano, but have several decades of experience with the drums and guitar. At almost 50, I’m finally learning the piano to help with music theory and just because it’s a beautiful instrument. Thanks for your insight!
Thank you for giving us a goal and motivation by showing what we can expect at each timeline. I'm now in my third month, 62-year-old returning after so many years. I'm making this a ten year project.
Excellent… absolutely correct … I had three formal years and wast classical instruction; relearning as an adult ; following all your techniques and advice … I’m doing great ! Thank you
One has to learn the system/rule of notation and feel the rhythm internally. Metronome does not help you play with correct rhythm nor count for you. It will show you whether you are playing with steady beat or not and help identify where the rough spots are on the music. In most cases, the cause of not being able to keep the tempo is due to the technique not meeting the challenge of the passage, not because of not knowing how to count.
After 1 year of taking piano lessons AND practicing daily, maybe not optimally but daily. Then I started the Prelude in C, and it still took me (among other excersises ) more than 4 months to get it on a nice flow ( slower than your example ). That was a little disheartening but good stuff.
I’m 3.5 months into my piano learning journey and this has given me a lot of r reassurance that I’m on the right track with some really great tips to keep me going the right way. Thank you.
Sight reading is the product of 1) time-built experience by reading lots of sheets, and 2) music theory, that enables the pianist to recognise the chord patterns and the notes in each key
I feel like I would never thank you enough for this precious tips & advice! When I achieve the reasoults that I long for somehow I will let you know, and I will let know to everybody what kind of role you have played in my formation.
I 'm 30yo, never played before. Bought a digital piano 2 weeks ago and I have been emerging myself into theory and practice. My goal is to be able to play the Moonlight Sonata fully. For now, I have been slowly learning the first 10 bars of the first movement and getting frustrated my fingers do not listen and I spend too much time moving my fingers to the right keys and the rhythm is lost. I am overachiever and want everything for yesterday and being this bad at something is extremely challenging. It is hard to find motivation to keep doing something I am so bad at, which is illogical because any skill takes time to develop, but this is my personal struggle. I wanted to thank you for the video, now I need to readjust my goals and get into a more realistic expectations of what I should be able to do after 2 weeks :D
Yes, also, maybe the first time in playing is the hardest because as you say, you're an absolut beginner and adults are not that used to it anymore. I'm playing for eight months and it's great to see when something that felt difficult is now easier to play, soo.. probably just "hang on" (no idea if that is a common way to say "stay with it" ahh I don't even know if that is right, anyway keep going 👍)
Moonlight sonata is a grade 6 piece so dont be too hard on yourself. If you can manage the first 10 bars as a beginner then id say thats pretty impressive
A piece I can recommend for those who have played for just 2-3 years, is the 2nd movement of Mozarts C-major sonata KV545. It's really really beautiful and not particularly hard (written i G-major). It has a steady Alberti base for most of the time and is written in Andante which is not too fast for a piano player of 2-3 years of experience.
I'm starting over this year with a digital keyboard. I'm fortunate my husband plays piano, and has quite a lot of classical sheet music on hand. Rather than using the old beginner books from my childhood lessons, which did not "spark joy," I have Bartok! His progressive pieces in 6 volumes called "Mikrokosmos" is amazing. I love modern and contemporary classical music, and even the simple pieces of book 1 have sophistication and beauty - and I'm sight reading all the time. And rather than using the repetitive Hanon, I found a book called "Hand Equalization Studies" by Reuven V. Kosakoff, based on etudes of Carl Czerny. I don't think it's in print - my copy is from 1949. Each piece is in two parts, usually a major and minor key, with each hand getting an equal workout. I've found it is great brain exercise, too, especially playing hands together. I really appreciate your UA-cam lessons, btw!
Recording your playing at any level is extremely important. What you think you're playing is not always what your audience is actually hearing. You'll usually find hidden issues with rhythm, tempo or phrasing that can only be caught when you actually listen to what you're playing without distraction.
I’ve been casually learning on my own for about 3 years after accidentally getting hooked while also playing guitar for a few years. Only just recently thought of trying a few lessons which is eye opening. I’m more like the ‘6 month’ level than 3 years! The videos on this channel are great.
I feel the same 3 years and still making lots of mistakes and struggling with sight reading. But I love the piano and won't give up!! Started at age 57!
I (self-taught) have been playing the piano for 18 years, making countless mistakes. From my experience what is very important is to do finger exercises early and on a regular basis. This is so so so important for developing your finger strength. If you skip this step, practicing pieces alone will not take you very far. I also discovered scale training very late. Generally my practice was limited at the beginning (basically only Hanon), while I now do a broad range of exercises like lying fingers, staccato, arpeggios etc.
You are an amazing teacher! I started learning at an adult age 30+, and your videos really helped me a lot as I was able to identify mistakes that I was making. I have learned many things, what to expect after a certain period of learning, and got conscious that it is a long journey to master piano playing, and not one month of super-fast learning as most sources promise. Thank you very much.
I’ll be honest, this video helps me a lot to understand what to expect when learning how to play the piano. I have a very busy and inconsistent schedule due to my job. Because of that I found little or no time at all to practise
I started playing last summer and have also tried to learn your first to third year recommended Songs. Right now i am learning gymnopedie but i even played für Elise for christmas and in the last 3 months i learned canon in d. I can relate to the only playing 1 Song part (canon in my case) and now iam trying to learn alot of new songs again. Love the channel :)
I've been playing piano for about 2.5 years now but I never had the money to actually get myself some lessons. Nontheless, I managed to create two pieces by my own that I am proud of but I couldn't write them down, due to lack of music theory. Two weeks ago, I finally started taking piano lessons and went with very simple pieces to read for now. I'm very hyped for whats yet about to come and hope I someday can write my own pieces down and maybe even share them. Thank you for this video, I will keep in mind the things you said and start to get good now :D I think you're a good teacher so keep going.
Hi Jazer, I am 38 years old and started playing piano 3 months ago, the theory you expound about playing every day a little bit to allow sleep to create muscle and mental memory is something I hadn't experienced before, even having studied in college and majored in computer science (I didn't study steadily but a lot the days before exams). This has really opened my mind, in addition to being satisfied with the piano path of these 3 months, I have applied this theory to other kinds of learning, including work and sports, and I must say that it puts me in the psychological condition to think that I could learn to do anything, even where I fail, I know that with perseverance I will reach my goal. It's a good way to put yourself in everyday life. Forgive the offtopic and I extend yet another thank you, both as my piano teacher living on the other side of the world :) and for the advice that I have applied more generally to everyday life. Grazie mille
I just hope to be able to be independent hands / play at different tempos without thinking about both hands in the next 6 months. I want to be able to play my favorite music through the piano.
Ive been playing for 10 months now, I am alone , and 60 . I hate to say I started with super easy , the easy play today Hal Lenard, I’m doing the Alfred’s books , finished level 1 , I read music very slow , and don’t do well with much more than left hand chords right hand melody . I understand chords and using them in different positions. But I don’t feel like I am progressing much, I understand sight reading but again I am slow, I had a lot of tension the first few months but don’t any more .
Update , it’s been 15 Months now and I am sight reading better , gave up the super easy books, and on Alfred’s end of adult book level two . Doing more with both hands together and reading simple sheet music . I feel like I understand music theory (I actually enjoy studying it) better , than actually playing, which is still slow going
I started playing Piano 2 years ago. Personally I started with learning music for Ludovico Einaudi, which was surprisingly easy since apparently his music is very formulaic and somewhat simple. Last I learned to play was the 3rd mvmt of the Moonlight Sonata, which I never expected to be able to learn within 2 years when I initially started. Learning definitely goes a lot faster than people make it out to be, granted it's more flawed. My main issue currently is that I dont retain songs very well. I tend to forget the more complicated songs very quickly when I dive deeper into a new song, which is currently my greatest frustration, definitely hope that improves in the future. I'd say my biggest weakness is currently playing scales quickly, but I guess that's because I never sat down to practice it, which I really just have myself to blame for xd
I like the fact that you are still making video's about coaching and teaching beginners and rookies on the piano. Besides that you are a good teacher and a good coach. I haven't seen all your video's but I hope you have several practices on Hannon; in a gradual timeline like this video for instance. Thanks for all your work, effort and kindness Jazer!
Great tips: 6:23 a little slip up saying the "Prelude in C" by Bach or Petzold. Normally we'd attribute the "Minuet in G" & Gm from the Notebook for Anna M to Petzold. The Prelude in C came from the Well-Tempered Clavier which was by Bach and not Petzold.
2 years in and i would say learning music theory earlier is a must! Otherwise you hit the nail on the head and you get stuck playing the same pieces and not pushing yourself to learning new ones, great video 👍
What a blessing you are !!! So glad I found this video just when I was at a tearful standstill !!! I am learning Cello, and will apply these wonderful principles to my journey. I am so grateful to you. So far, I've seen what you teach to be applicable to all instrument learning. I love your channel.
So...if you are a slow learner like me, it will take me about 4- 5 years to get at the same level , as you with 3 years.... thats no problem for me, still progressing after 2,5 years... never play a full song...I pick a song a bit higher than my current level, take the most difficult part of it, and use it as kind of an etude.... that is allways my challenge and keeps me motivated... thanks for the vid! 👍
Very good presentation. I've been thinking of learning to play the piano but have been hesitant mostly because of the stiffness in my hands and fingers, (I'm 83). But, I just might try it now because of your encouragement. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
That's so encouraging - I'm 64 and worried I was too old. I started with a few lessons over a year ago with a very nice piano teacher. Sadly my husband's cancer got worse and I had to stop. He died on New Year's day '23. I resumed piano playing almost immediately - as a form of grief therapy. It's been a life-long dream to play. Then I broke my left hand wrist quite badly and had to stop again. Got right back to it as soon as I could with the same wonderful teacher. It's a great form of recovery exercise, it turns out! I love it so much I practice at least 3 x 15mins a day. Impatient to be better. This is a great channel - like having a resident piano teacher on call!
Oh my gosh i can totally relate to the mistake at 12th month!! Thank you for that insight! Now it is clear to me what i have to do to keep moving forward. Thank you Jazer Lee!
Started a month ago. I practice a few pages ahead, get comfortable with the songs so my piano teacher and I can go over it and not a single time did I play those practiced songs well🤣 A person being with you changes everything, I’m sitting next to her tensed and even sweating by the time I’m done the song which is less then a minute🤣
The timing! I am just getting unmotivated because I got a piano 3 months ago and I can't play anything. It makes it worse that my family is really invested in my progress. Every day they see my playing and ask how I'm doing, I break a little bit because I'm having almost no progress. I might get encouraged again and might download this video to show them every time they ask about progress 😂 lets see 🤞
If you can, try recording yourself. You may feel you're not making progress, but if you can look back and see how you were compared to now, you'll see more progress than you thought.
Hang in there. Focus on a little at a time and try not being too hard on yourself. Perhaps find a song you love and practice it measure by measure. It's ok if it takes time.
I started piano 1 year and 8 months ago, not from 0, but after 10 year the only thing i remembered was the names of the notes, and with daily practice, even only 1 hour, it really adds up. It may come in 1 month, in 3, a year, but the results do come. Believe in yourself, work your ass off and enjoy music. HF
Thanks for your great videos. Has been following and watching your videos all along with my journey since the very first days. Now it is around 12th month. I am exactly like what you mentioned. Hang to what I achieved for so long. I will need to move on to new pieces. Thanks for inspiring. Things I really can’t do now. 1) Sight reading and play at the same time. I started to be able to understand what on the sheet but it is way tooooooo slow and also will need to look at the hands. Really can’t. 2) No matter how much I practice. I keep doing mistakes here and there. I don’t know how to fix this really But I will keep on. Thanks again.
I started learning the piano at age 40 from absolute zero, didn’t know how to read music, hand no finger dexterity, had zero hand independence, had no teacher, had to write the letter of each note on my sheet music and slowly read it practicing bar by bar. Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, however I practiced consistently for 45min to an Hr a day every single day. It’s been exactly 1 yr now, I can play about 5 different pieces of music from memory. However, the problem is I still can’t read music, so learning new pieces i start to forget a lot of the songs I learned months ago, since your brain can only fit so much from memory. Nevertheless, Being able to play some of the music that I would have never imagined at the start of my journey has been extremely rewarding and a great sense of accomplishment. The key is to make it apart of your life, have to do it every single day.
I am in my 50s. Been playing for over a year, after I took an early retirement and finally have the time to commit to it. I am always adding new pieces to my repertoire even though I have to keep playing my previously learned pieces so I don’t get rusty. I use ForScore on my iPad and annotate pieces so I can go back and work on passages that are a bit tricky. I feel that the most important thing is to “read” as much new music as I can. I have a neighbor who also started piano last year and we encourage each other. Keep up the hard work.
Thank you so much for this. Picked up the piano again about a year ago and I am in the slump for a few months now, and now I know why. The pitfalls of being self taught I suppose. I’m going to take your advice and move on and learn new pieces and skills
thank you so much for these tips! I’ve only been playing piano for a little over a week (so I’m very much a beginner) but your videos have helped me get into good practice habits :”)) and I can play with two hands now, which I’ve never been able to do! it’s very satisfying :D currently piano is only a hobby to help relieve stress and ground me, but I’ve been loving it a lot so far. I also found it’s been good for my adhd, since it gets me out of waiting paralysis and allows me to focus on something long enough to clear any cluttered thinking. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, but I thought it would be cool to share! anyway thanks again for these videos, I hope you’re having a good day/night !!
i realise why my piano teacher that i learn very fast, after 12 month i learn some rach, chopin, liszt and bach piece and that i started learn la campanella, prelude in g minor and 5th synphomy at the same time
Great video for a beginner like me who is a couple months in and excited to keep going. Also, btw, I’ve heard it many times including from you, but when you played the segment of moonlight sonata that really struck me as extra beautiful. Well done!
Ok Jazzer, I can count to 5 and I know my letters CDEFGABC. So what books should I get to be able to play classical music like moonlight sonata, etc. in 3 years. Wish to play for personal enjoyment.
🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:05 Piano Progress after 1 month
1:45 Common Mistakes (1 month)
5:36 Piano Progress after 6 months
6:33 Common Mistakes (6 months)
8:28 Piano Progress after 12 months
9:00 Common Mistakes (12 months)
10:36 Piano Progress after 3 years
12:39 Common Mistakes (3 years)
*Note: I did a boo-boo at the start when I mentioned playing piano for 2 years - it's ACTUALLY 3 YEARS.
is Jazer also a piano teacher?
Hi Jazer, I'm a huge fan. I'm subscribed to your channel, and you teach me a lot with these tips and tricks on the piano. I was wondering if you could do a class on learning the notes? I don't think I've found a video for that yet, or else I would've already watched it. 😕 I'm still a beginner, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm still struggling to learn those notes.
@@winterheat - yes he is. 🤓
@@NiaFrederick - I think I have a couple of beginner lessons but not note centric in terms of learning. Lemme see what I can do.
@@jazerleepiano I'm playing piano less than a year in total, and I'm playing moonlight sonata 1st movement completely and I'm attempting 3rd movement. Am I doing a good job 😅?
When I'm alone and just playing for myself, it usually works very well. In front of an audience, even just one person, I get nervous and make mistakes. To combat this stage fright, someone recommended to me a few weeks ago that I simply play with the window open. And indeed! In the beginning I was too nervous, BUT somehow I have become much more relaxed and in the meantime I am no longer so nervous when I know that someone might be listening.
That's a very good tip!
I actually struggle the same with drums. Playing in front of one person made me sweat and say how shitty i am all the time. Until that person rold me to play by feeling instead of with my rational head. It actually help.
Yes! I had two recitals at my piano school and my hands were shaking uncontrolably. I still haven't figured out what to do.
You can try to record you playing the piano in front a videocamera or phone, it’s the same feeling that see the audience. I hope it helps you.
@@ampueromusici did it.. it really works!!
I love when I spend a day practicing a song and can’t play it then go to sleep then wake up and it’s so easy 😂
this is the best feeling ever
Gotta love how the brain works haha
Its been 1 year last week i started playing the piano and you couldn't be more on point !
Your videos are truly needed for people like us who don't take piano courses with a teacher but who can have enough self criticism to grow up in skill. We just need someone to tell us what we do wrong or miss out and you are that person. Thank you 🙂
Thank you for the kind words.
Looks like a need a new teacher given that the old one let the tension to sit in.
Yep. 27 months into learning the piano by myself and guilty of some of the mistakes you've mentioned:
• not counting (quarter notes become semiquarters😄)
• boring warm up routine
• expecting too much from myself in the beginning
• scared of sightreading
• didn't care for playing without headphones so that noone could hear me practicing
• unconscious pressure in shoulders and neck
• practicing too fast
Fortunately, I started to overcome all of the above slowly but firmly🙂 however the process is not easy!
You, Jazer, are pure gold!🙂
Always high quality content❤️
i really wish i had a teacher as patient and clear as you! as a uni student it's difficult, especially during exams, to incorporate piano practice but i am actually succeeding! and it's one of the best stress relievers ever.
Yay! Started just last week learning the piano at 43, and can’t wait for this video, so timely! I want to channel all the enthousiasm I have right now into progress at a realistic level and not jumping ahead or skipping stuff.
I actually started 2y ago, at the exact same age. Searched for a lot of ressources online, practiced a lot, and now, i'm really starting to enjoy what i'm doing. So keep in mind, age has nothing to do with this. Passion, hard ward, motivation do! Enjoy the ride and have fun!
I'm 40 and started a year ago. It can be frustrating at times but it's equally rewarding when something you've learnt takes hold and you barely notice it until you realize how easy it has become. Its a fun journey. The hardest thing is getting started.
Also started last week. Also 43🎉🎉🎉😂 happy learning!
I also started about 3 years ago at the age of 40 . However, could not practice regularly. But I have been playing a lot of pieces. For short pieces which do not have notes to be played in high spped and octaves, I can learn with a few days of practice. But complex pieces, and octaves , I cannot learn fast. I wonder ,if my progress is really slow. Since last 8 months , I have been practicing 1-3 hours everyday. I do have really small hands.
Started at 44, 6 months ago and keep on going on.
As an adult returning to piano after several years I am in the last level, 3 years of playing, and your tips totally matched my experience now. Very helpful video.
This guy knows about sleep and how it consolidates and transfers knowledge/skills into long term memory!!! Former teacher here is a new fan
finally after not uploading videos for a long time, the best channel to learn piano ever, i learned a lot from here, i started learning early 2022, starting from zero experience, until i can beethoven moonlight sonata 3rd movement, thank you very much dude
Thank you!
As a seasoned pianist, but out of practice, I really appreciate your tips. For example, playing several measures repeatedly, breaking piece up into pieces. Thank you for your videos. 15 minutes every day. A set and consistent daily practice. 🎹🎶
Your description of being one with the piano, how everyone should get to experience this at least once in their lives was very beautifully put and inspiring. Thanks for your videos :)
Have been playing piano for a little over 3 years, finishing op 23. By chopin, which I am really proud on and working on op 10.4, 25.5, felt in love with piano during covid, so I had a lot of time for practise. To others, don't give up, enjoy the music and keep improving, it is super rewarding.
I'm 21 and I'm about to join a piano class next month so this video is super timely and helpful. Thank you so much sir ❤
Just recently discovered your channel and thoroughly enjoying the content so far. I’m a newbie at piano, but have several decades of experience with the drums and guitar. At almost 50, I’m finally learning the piano to help with music theory and just because it’s a beautiful instrument. Thanks for your insight!
Thank you for giving us a goal and motivation by showing what we can expect at each timeline. I'm now in my third month, 62-year-old returning after so many years. I'm making this a ten year project.
Excellent… absolutely correct … I had three formal years and wast classical instruction; relearning as an adult ; following all your techniques and advice … I’m doing great ! Thank you
One has to learn the system/rule of notation and feel the rhythm internally. Metronome does not help you play with correct rhythm nor count for you. It will show you whether you are playing with steady beat or not and help identify where the rough spots are on the music. In most cases, the cause of not being able to keep the tempo is due to the technique not meeting the challenge of the passage, not because of not knowing how to count.
I am happy and you remind myself to do things now before im a adult
@@habibshirzad7947 what
Sorry
@@katarina5802 👍
After 1 year of taking piano lessons AND practicing daily, maybe not optimally but daily. Then I started the Prelude in C, and it still took me (among other excersises ) more than 4 months to get it on a nice flow ( slower than your example ). That was a little disheartening but good stuff.
I’ve started this week and your suggestion of never looking at hands and making sure to learn sight reading from the start has been great! Thanks!
This was really handy! Not enough people mention common pitfalls that happen along the way. Thanks!
I will try the 'practise from the last bar' thank you
I’m 3.5 months into my piano learning journey and this has given me a lot of r reassurance that I’m on the right track with some really great tips to keep me going the right way. Thank you.
Moonlight is what attracted me to playing piano in the first place. 😀
Sight reading is the product of 1) time-built experience by reading lots of sheets, and 2) music theory, that enables the pianist to recognise the chord patterns and the notes in each key
Hey I’m glad you started uploading videos again! I just want to say thank you so much, your previous videos have really helped me out a lot!
I feel like I would never thank you enough for this precious tips & advice! When I achieve the reasoults that I long for somehow I will let you know, and I will let know to everybody what kind of role you have played in my formation.
I 'm 30yo, never played before. Bought a digital piano 2 weeks ago and I have been emerging myself into theory and practice. My goal is to be able to play the Moonlight Sonata fully. For now, I have been slowly learning the first 10 bars of the first movement and getting frustrated my fingers do not listen and I spend too much time moving my fingers to the right keys and the rhythm is lost. I am overachiever and want everything for yesterday and being this bad at something is extremely challenging. It is hard to find motivation to keep doing something I am so bad at, which is illogical because any skill takes time to develop, but this is my personal struggle. I wanted to thank you for the video, now I need to readjust my goals and get into a more realistic expectations of what I should be able to do after 2 weeks :D
Yes, also, maybe the first time in playing is the hardest because as you say, you're an absolut beginner and adults are not that used to it anymore. I'm playing for eight months and it's great to see when something that felt difficult is now easier to play, soo.. probably just "hang on" (no idea if that is a common way to say "stay with it" ahh I don't even know if that is right, anyway keep going 👍)
Moonlight sonata is a grade 6 piece so dont be too hard on yourself. If you can manage the first 10 bars as a beginner then id say thats pretty impressive
A piece I can recommend for those who have played for just 2-3 years, is the 2nd movement of Mozarts C-major sonata KV545. It's really really beautiful and not particularly hard (written i G-major). It has a steady Alberti base for most of the time and is written in Andante which is not too fast for a piano player of 2-3 years of experience.
All true - especially the 3 year stuff. I've been playing for 3.5 years and I can relate to everything you said.
GREAT VIDEO!!!!
I never thought of learning a new piece by starting at the end and progressing to the beginning of the piece. 😎
I'm starting over this year with a digital keyboard. I'm fortunate my husband plays piano, and has quite a lot of classical sheet music on hand. Rather than using the old beginner books from my childhood lessons, which did not "spark joy," I have Bartok! His progressive pieces in 6 volumes called "Mikrokosmos" is amazing. I love modern and contemporary classical music, and even the simple pieces of book 1 have sophistication and beauty - and I'm sight reading all the time. And rather than using the repetitive Hanon, I found a book called "Hand Equalization Studies" by Reuven V. Kosakoff, based on etudes of Carl Czerny. I don't think it's in print - my copy is from 1949. Each piece is in two parts, usually a major and minor key, with each hand getting an equal workout. I've found it is great brain exercise, too, especially playing hands together. I really appreciate your UA-cam lessons, btw!
Thank you! Greetings from Poland
You help me stick to my piano practice so much Jazer! Thank you for all the videos!
Recording your playing at any level is extremely important. What you think you're playing is not always what your audience is actually hearing. You'll usually find hidden issues with rhythm, tempo or phrasing that can only be caught when you actually listen to what you're playing without distraction.
I’ve been casually learning on my own for about 3 years after accidentally getting hooked while also playing guitar for a few years. Only just recently thought of trying a few lessons which is eye opening. I’m more like the ‘6 month’ level than 3 years! The videos on this channel are great.
I feel the same 3 years and still making lots of mistakes and struggling with sight reading. But I love the piano and won't give up!! Started at age 57!
I (self-taught) have been playing the piano for 18 years, making countless mistakes. From my experience what is very important is to do finger exercises early and on a regular basis. This is so so so important for developing your finger strength. If you skip this step, practicing pieces alone will not take you very far. I also discovered scale training very late. Generally my practice was limited at the beginning (basically only Hanon), while I now do a broad range of exercises like lying fingers, staccato, arpeggios etc.
Good advice for also other kinds of Instruments!
Welcome back Jazer! I don’t have a piano yet, but I’ve watched many of your videos. Your truly inspiring.
Thank you and I will have a new video tutorial tomorrow! Join me in the premiere.
I really like your comment about becoming one with the piano after 3 years of playing. I can't wait to get to that point 😊
You are an amazing teacher! I started learning at an adult age 30+, and your videos really helped me a lot as I was able to identify mistakes that I was making. I have learned many things, what to expect after a certain period of learning, and got conscious that it is a long journey to master piano playing, and not one month of super-fast learning as most sources promise. Thank you very much.
I’ll be honest, this video helps me a lot to understand what to expect when learning how to play the piano.
I have a very busy and inconsistent schedule due to my job. Because of that I found little or no time at all to practise
I’m 35 and been learning for a year, please keep posting great contents! 👍
I started playing last summer and have also tried to learn your first to third year recommended Songs.
Right now i am learning gymnopedie but i even played für Elise for christmas and in the last 3 months i learned canon in d.
I can relate to the only playing 1 Song part (canon in my case) and now iam trying to learn alot of new songs again.
Love the channel :)
Learn a lot from you. Aloha from Hawaii.
About 4 months in, looking forward to that feeling of being one with the piano😍
I've been playing piano for about 2.5 years now but I never had the money to actually get myself some lessons. Nontheless, I managed to create two pieces by my own that I am proud of but I couldn't write them down, due to lack of music theory. Two weeks ago, I finally started taking piano lessons and went with very simple pieces to read for now. I'm very hyped for whats yet about to come and hope I someday can write my own pieces down and maybe even share them. Thank you for this video, I will keep in mind the things you said and start to get good now :D I think you're a good teacher so keep going.
I love my virtual piano teacher/best friend ❤
My favorite free piano tutorial maker/metronome salesman.
Thanks
Thank you for your support! 😍
Hi Jazer, I am 38 years old and started playing piano 3 months ago, the theory you expound about playing every day a little bit to allow sleep to create muscle and mental memory is something I hadn't experienced before, even having studied in college and majored in computer science (I didn't study steadily but a lot the days before exams).
This has really opened my mind, in addition to being satisfied with the piano path of these 3 months, I have applied this theory to other kinds of learning, including work and sports, and I must say that it puts me in the psychological condition to think that I could learn to do anything, even where I fail, I know that with perseverance I will reach my goal. It's a good way to put yourself in everyday life.
Forgive the offtopic and I extend yet another thank you, both as my piano teacher living on the other side of the world :) and for the advice that I have applied more generally to everyday life.
Grazie mille
I just hope to be able to be independent hands / play at different tempos without thinking about both hands in the next 6 months. I want to be able to play my favorite music through the piano.
Having a specific goal like that is great. Jazer didn't mention it, but I think being too vague about goals can definitely hold a person back.
thanks for the advice
Ive been playing for 10 months now, I am alone , and 60 . I hate to say I started with super easy , the easy play today Hal Lenard, I’m doing the Alfred’s books , finished level 1 , I read music very slow , and don’t do well with much more than left hand chords right hand melody . I understand chords and using them in different positions. But I don’t feel like I am progressing much, I understand sight reading but again I am slow, I had a lot of tension the first few months but don’t any more .
Update , it’s been 15 Months now and I am sight reading better , gave up the super easy books, and on Alfred’s end of adult book level two . Doing more with both hands together and reading simple sheet music . I feel like I understand music theory (I actually enjoy studying it) better , than actually playing, which is still slow going
I started playing Piano 2 years ago. Personally I started with learning music for Ludovico Einaudi, which was surprisingly easy since apparently his music is very formulaic and somewhat simple. Last I learned to play was the 3rd mvmt of the Moonlight Sonata, which I never expected to be able to learn within 2 years when I initially started. Learning definitely goes a lot faster than people make it out to be, granted it's more flawed. My main issue currently is that I dont retain songs very well. I tend to forget the more complicated songs very quickly when I dive deeper into a new song, which is currently my greatest frustration, definitely hope that improves in the future. I'd say my biggest weakness is currently playing scales quickly, but I guess that's because I never sat down to practice it, which I really just have myself to blame for xd
Love your thoughts. Thank you for sharing your skill and techniques with us, simplified and easy to understand.
Its so true bro 😂 i used to not practice piano at all but after i start practicing, im moving so fast wif my lesson book
I like the fact that you are still making video's about coaching and teaching beginners and rookies on the piano. Besides that you are a good teacher and a good coach. I haven't seen all your video's but I hope you have several practices on Hannon; in a gradual timeline like this video for instance. Thanks for all your work, effort and kindness Jazer!
Great tips:
6:23 a little slip up saying the "Prelude in C" by Bach or Petzold. Normally we'd attribute the "Minuet in G" & Gm from the Notebook for Anna M to Petzold. The Prelude in C came from the Well-Tempered Clavier which was by Bach and not Petzold.
2 years in and i would say learning music theory earlier is a must! Otherwise you hit the nail on the head and you get stuck playing the same pieces and not pushing yourself to learning new ones, great video 👍
Im hoping that some day you’ll post for us the book titles you have on your shelf 🙏🏻🥰
What a blessing you are !!! So glad I found this video just when I was at a tearful standstill !!! I am learning Cello, and will apply these wonderful principles to my journey. I am so grateful to you. So far, I've seen what you teach to be applicable to all instrument learning. I love your channel.
Excellent overview. I connect with your teaching, practice and musical style. Thank you. 😊
Your hand independance exercises are a terrific drill. Thanks for them. ;-)
Thank you, good review for players trying to "come back"!
Jazer Lee is great. What a teacher! Thank you, Jazer!
Thank you for the kind words, Bruce!
So...if you are a slow learner like me, it will take me about 4- 5 years to get at the same level , as you with 3 years.... thats no problem for me, still progressing after 2,5 years... never play a full song...I pick a song a bit higher than my current level, take the most difficult part of it, and use it as kind of an etude.... that is allways my challenge and keeps me motivated... thanks for the vid! 👍
Same here. Would probably take twice as long.😅
@@hyperseah hahaha doesnt matter if the trip takes some time longer, as long as you enjoy the trip itself!😉👍
Always good to define checkpoints. Helps break down the goal and tracj progress
Very good presentation. I've been thinking of learning to play the piano but have been hesitant mostly because of the stiffness in my hands and fingers, (I'm 83). But, I just might try it now because of your encouragement. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Hello Sabato, you would be surprised that there's a lot of my followers who are in their 70's and 80's and are just starting to learn the piano.
That's so encouraging - I'm 64 and worried I was too old. I started with a few lessons over a year ago with a very nice piano teacher. Sadly my husband's cancer got worse and I had to stop. He died on New Year's day '23. I resumed piano playing almost immediately - as a form of grief therapy. It's been a life-long dream to play. Then I broke my left hand wrist quite badly and had to stop again. Got right back to it as soon as I could with the same wonderful teacher. It's a great form of recovery exercise, it turns out! I love it so much I practice at least 3 x 15mins a day. Impatient to be better. This is a great channel - like having a resident piano teacher on call!
Your videos helped me. Thank you
Thank you so much, I just ordered my first piano and this video gave the right mindset to start my journey!
Oh my gosh i can totally relate to the mistake at 12th month!! Thank you for that insight! Now it is clear to me what i have to do to keep moving forward. Thank you Jazer Lee!
Started a month ago. I practice a few pages ahead, get comfortable with the songs so my piano teacher and I can go over it and not a single time did I play those practiced songs well🤣 A person being with you changes everything, I’m sitting next to her tensed and even sweating by the time I’m done the song which is less then a minute🤣
You’re really good at explaining this
Thanks for this video :) I hope to improve my playing with these tips
Only three years to play Beethoven Monlight Sonata or Mozart Turkish Marsh. Wow, I did not expect this.
The timing! I am just getting unmotivated because I got a piano 3 months ago and I can't play anything. It makes it worse that my family is really invested in my progress. Every day they see my playing and ask how I'm doing, I break a little bit because I'm having almost no progress. I might get encouraged again and might download this video to show them every time they ask about progress 😂 lets see 🤞
Nah just kept playing, is normal not everybody keep it up at the same speed than others, after years passes you will eventually became a pianist
If you can, try recording yourself. You may feel you're not making progress, but if you can look back and see how you were compared to now, you'll see more progress than you thought.
Hang in there. Focus on a little at a time and try not being too hard on yourself. Perhaps find a song you love and practice it measure by measure. It's ok if it takes time.
I started piano 1 year and 8 months ago, not from 0, but after 10 year the only thing i remembered was the names of the notes, and with daily practice, even only 1 hour, it really adds up.
It may come in 1 month, in 3, a year, but the results do come.
Believe in yourself, work your ass off and enjoy music. HF
@@XxCombatitaxX Love this!
Great video! Came at the perfect timing, I'm been learning piano for about 1 month, and started to ask myself these questions.
Thanks for your great videos. Has been following and watching your videos all along with my journey since the very first days. Now it is around 12th month. I am exactly like what you mentioned. Hang to what I achieved for so long. I will need to move on to new pieces. Thanks for inspiring.
Things I really can’t do now.
1) Sight reading and play at the same time. I started to be able to understand what on the sheet but it is way tooooooo slow and also will need to look at the hands. Really can’t.
2) No matter how much I practice. I keep doing mistakes here and there. I don’t know how to fix this really
But I will keep on. Thanks again.
The questions i didn’t even know i want to ask. Thank you.
Thanks for the advice. I just started and counting plus coordinating my hands makes me so confused. Hope this will get better with training.
As always Ilearned a lt from your lesson/tips. thank you 😊
Very glad, you're back :)
Thanks for this. Great advice!
I started learning the piano at age 40 from absolute zero, didn’t know how to read music, hand no finger dexterity, had zero hand independence, had no teacher, had to write the letter of each note on my sheet music and slowly read it practicing bar by bar.
Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, however I practiced consistently for 45min to an Hr a day every single day.
It’s been exactly 1 yr now, I can play about 5 different pieces of music from memory.
However, the problem is I still can’t read music, so learning new pieces i start to forget a lot of the songs I learned months ago, since your brain can only fit so much from memory. Nevertheless, Being able to play some of the music that I would have never imagined at the start of my journey has been extremely rewarding and a great sense of accomplishment.
The key is to make it apart of your life, have to do it every single day.
I am in my 50s. Been playing for over a year, after I took an early retirement and finally have the time to commit to it. I am always adding new pieces to my repertoire even though I have to keep playing my previously learned pieces so I don’t get rusty. I use ForScore on my iPad and annotate pieces so I can go back and work on passages that are a bit tricky. I feel that the most important thing is to “read” as much new music as I can. I have a neighbor who also started piano last year and we encourage each other. Keep up the hard work.
Thank you so much for this. Picked up the piano again about a year ago and I am in the slump for a few months now, and now I know why. The pitfalls of being self taught I suppose. I’m going to take your advice and move on and learn new pieces and skills
This is very helpful!
Im having lessons soon just on Saturdays just to put me on the right path!
Jazer, I really enjoy your tutorials and learn a lot from them. Thank you.
That 1/16th note rubato at the end of Moonlight Sonata.... Overall solid tips!
Great work 🎉
Very helpful. Thank you 💫
This thumbnail of video not only shows the progress in his game but also the progress in his jersey
thank you so much for these tips! I’ve only been playing piano for a little over a week (so I’m very much a beginner) but your videos have helped me get into good practice habits :”)) and I can play with two hands now, which I’ve never been able to do! it’s very satisfying :D currently piano is only a hobby to help relieve stress and ground me, but I’ve been loving it a lot so far. I also found it’s been good for my adhd, since it gets me out of waiting paralysis and allows me to focus on something long enough to clear any cluttered thinking. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, but I thought it would be cool to share!
anyway thanks again for these videos, I hope you’re having a good day/night !!
Valuable and thoughtful, thanks!
i realise why my piano teacher that i learn very fast, after 12 month i learn some rach, chopin, liszt and bach piece and that i started learn la campanella, prelude in g minor and 5th synphomy at the same time
Great video for a beginner like me who is a couple months in and excited to keep going. Also, btw, I’ve heard it many times including from you, but when you played the segment of moonlight sonata that really struck me as extra beautiful. Well done!
I just want to say thank you ❤❤❤
Ok Jazzer, I can count to 5 and I know my letters CDEFGABC. So what books should I get to be able to play classical music like moonlight sonata, etc. in 3 years. Wish to play for personal enjoyment.
Great video like always!