@@BillHiltonbill you have the greatest talent I ever seen u are a inspired me too never give up now I’m playing with 2 hands and I’m really happy for that thank u bill your the best pianist I ever seen❤
Hello, Bill. I would just like to tell you how grateful I am for these videos. I got my piano several years back, and I've attempted to self-learn multiple times (I couldn't really afford piano lessons), and I couldn't really get far. Your way of teaching really works for me, and this is the most progress I've had so far. Thank you so much!
Hi bill, i got my first keyboard about 10 days ago and I have been following your lessons and now im at lesson 6, im 17 years old and i don’t have any musical background, but your lessons are teaching me alot , thank you so much❤
You're really welcome, and congratulations on having got to lesson 6! You'll probably find things get a bit harder from lesson 8 onwards, so make sure you've got all the earlier stuff really well nailed down. Good luck, and give me a shout if you run into any problems!
I''m following your structured lessons from previous years and your Exercise,Ideas & Inventions; which is new in 2023. Amazed how well you had the style nailed of teaching and recording even then. Thank you.
These lessons are outstanding and taught at just the right pace. I studied classical piano growing up for a few years but stopped playing for many years. Just getting back into it now and these lessons are perfect. Thank you So much!
Hi Bill I had started on keyboard lessons in a music school closeby in February this year which came to a halt with Covid - 19 lockdown in March. I have been trying to learn with You tube lessons since then and progressing through slowly. Last week , happened to hit upon your lessons and in just 5 lessons, I think I have learnt so much about keyboard music which I hadn't known earlier. I really appreciate the way you have done these lessons . They are very informative and quite easy to follow. Doing lesson - 6 right now and thanks a million. Can't wait to do more!!!!
Oh, yeah... Now, things are getting challenging! I'm still reeling from taking 3 weeks off at #5. It is amazing how I am finding the bass clef a bit more difficult to memorize than the treble. I played a concert baritone in 6th thru 8th grade, but that was eons ago. I think I'll be bouncing between #5 & #6 for a while, until I can associate the page notes with the keys, more readily! . Bill Hilton, I can relate to your teaching style, very well! Thoroughly enjoying these intro courses!
Glad to hear it, Jim - I hope you keep making progress. Give me a yell if you get stuck (I'm sometimes a bit slow to reply, as I get a lot of messages, but I always will eventually...!)
Hi Bill, in my 50's and brand new to the piano, in fact I have never played any instruments in my life. I have to say your lessons are excellent and I have made some great progress. I will certainly make a donation to you. Thanks
Hello Bill, My name is Grant. I'm from Egypt. Unfortunately, I have no availability to learn appropriately because I need all my energy to build competencies for my career. Yet I need some music basics that help me learn to play religious chants for the church. Your learning playlist really helps. Thanks a lot.
Bill these beginners lessons are great, please keep up the good work! Finding them really useful and easy to follow. Thanks for putting in the effort with these
Thanks Matthew! Up to lesson 8 now. I've just been saying to someone else that I think we're going to end up with around 20 or 25, and with a bit of luck they should all get done by the end of 2017... better get my skates on!
*UPDATES, DECEMBER 2022:* If you have any trouble accessing the PDFs, make sure you're using the links at www.billspianopages.com/beginners - they're all live and working. If you enjoy the series, you might also like my new book, How To Be A Better Musician: it's jammed with ideas, advice, practice strategies and exercises for every kind of musician, from beginner to pro. Right now it's available as an ebook (PDF and/or EPUB) with a print edition coming in 2023. Learn more and buy and download your copy at www.bettermusicianbook.com
On lesson 7. Need something to do when I retire next year, so am starting early. It's not easy but I am going to persevere. If I get stuck I go on settings at bottom of you tube then adjust the speed of playback then I can see what your fingers are doing slowly. It's a great help. Many thanks
Am university student and I don't have my own piano nor I am bale to afford to take a class. I am taking classes online and will practice at university, where there are many pianos. All of them are digital pianos. Thanks for your great effort Bill I really appreciate you
You’re welcome! You should find that digital pianos are fine to get you through the course (and indeed quite a long way beyond it). Let me know if you get stuck and need help at any stage!
@@BillHilton Bill sorry to bother, I have a question. For C major when I practice notes single which finger Am I supposed to use ? For example For right hand, we shift our fingers into middle to tap F ? When I use the order you play them, I accounts for my first finger yet when I play C scale, I just put my first finger on C and F accounts for 4 ? It confused my mind. How should I practice them ?
@@dewrimsirine If you're playing a C major scale, then thumb on the C, then 2 on D, 3 on E, then put your thumb under your third finger to land on the F - then carry on up the scale. If you hit F with your fourth, you'll run out of fingers! The tutorial I published just the other day might help to clarify this for you: ua-cam.com/video/ml2F5mmrhDo/v-deo.html - come back to me if that doesn't make sense!
Thank you, Bill. I am really enjoying your lessons and tutorials. hand synchronisation is still, a little bit challenging (especially with full scales) I have been playing the guitar for more than 20 years, when I picked the piano (recently) I remembered the challenges I faced at first with the guitar. nostalgia :D... it is always about consistency and persistence. Practice precedes perfection. Thank you Bill.
Great to hear, Marwan - glad you like them. Keep practising away at the hand independence thing: it takes a while, but you'll get there if you're persistent!
I started playing piano a few months ago, but I've really struggled with how to go about learning. Your lessons are pretty much exactly what I was looking for. But this lesson was the 1st one I've had some trouble with. For some reason, my left hand hates having to miss the 2 beat in the 1, 2, 3... It took a few hours of playing at very slow pace to finally get both hands going. No idea why it seems so much more difficult for me, but I'm slowly getting it I think. It was giving me flashbacks to playing 3/4 songs on drums in high school, which always made my brain melt. 😝😝 I really can't explain how much I appreciate the help Bill, I'm hopeless without some direction or a person to guide me. Thank You. ❤️❤️
You're really welcome - delighted to have been able to help! With that left hand thing, just keep working away at it. The thing you'll find is that often it takes your body/brain/nervous system/"muscle memory" or whatever you want to call it longer to grasp something like that than your rational, conscious brain thinks it ought to. Conscious brain grasps the concept, and it seems straightforward **as a concept**, so it's fatally easy then to assume that it should be correspondingly easy as a physical action. It never goes away: I've been playing the piano since I was 8 and I'm now 47, and I STILL find myself saying "aaarggggh why can't I get this!?" on a pretty regular basis. Once you realise that's the way it all works, it becomes a real defence against getting demoralised. Does that all make sense?
Glad my homework from the previous lesson ended up sounding similar to the version you gave here. Except I'm a lot slower. Think I'll spend a few more days practicing the previous lessons a bit more before giving this lesson's song a go.
Glad to hear it! I’d strongly agree with your idea of consolidating what you already know. A really common problem (which I would have made more of in the tutorials if I’d anticipated it...) is of people racing through the early tutorials and then coming unstuck because they don’t have the basics down as well as they should. You’re taking exactly the right approach!
If you're finding this course useful, remember to check out my Patreon page at *www.patreon.com/billhilton* - supporting me on Patreon doesn't cost very much (from as little as $2 USD per tutorial I post on UA-cam, which means no more than $6 per month). In return you get *priority support* from me personally, access to my very popular *Piano Packs* (great if you're learning improv) and *previews* of upcoming projects. Plus my Patreon community is really *friendly, supportive and fun*. Please do check it out when you've finished watching the tutorial! ~Bill
Thanks for your uploads bill, the lessons are so easy to understand, im going to practise the first 2 pieces but im also going to have a crack at this new one.
Hey Bill, I am enjoying your lessons immensely, however, I am struggling with being able to look at a piece of music and instantly recognize the notes. A few come easy at a glance, but others don't. I know the staves and can figure the notes out rather easily, but I have to look at it for a second or two. I am 62 and didn't start reading music until now , but I was wondering if everyone has this struggle at first. Sometimes I have to really look hard at ledger lines to figure them out unless it a C on the bottom of a treble stave or a G on the top. Again, I am learning a lot and really don't believe I could learn any more sitting beside a teacher. I did take one 30 min. lesson, but at my age, and at that rate I would never learn the piano, the pace is too slow. With your lessons I sometimes spend a couple of hours per day and can learn a lot more much quicker!
hello randy , if you like can send you a book with images of piano chords and show first second and third position. this book is from 1978 isbn 0.86001.528.9 compiled by roger day , the pianist picture chords. you may find it as well in a good shop maybe . best regards roberto
Hi Randy! Glad to hear you're finding my stuff useful! I see one or two other people have already pitched in to help here (thanks, guys). I don't have a great deal to add except that you have probably hit on one of the (actually relatively few) areas where your increased age will make things a bit trickier. When you look at a note on the page there's a pretty complex, multi-stage process going on to transform that to a note pressed - in the right way and for the right length of time - on the piano keyboard. An older brain is going to take longer to lay down the circuits to do that. Now, the important point is that although it'll take longer, it will *still work*. You just need to make use of the reserves of grit and willpower you've developed over six decades ;)
I print out two copies of pieces, on one I write in all the note names above the notes. Once I've practiced it enough to have it memorized I go back to the version without note names and look at the page while I play sections, naming notes as I play them. Go slow, be patient, but be persistent, it'll click eventuality.
Hi Bill, I am 76 and want to get serious with my piano. I have been flirting with various tutorials for several months, but with this lockdown I decided to start a course and hopefully gain the ability to play the piano purely for myself and my family, with Christmas in mind. Like most beginners I am struggling with playing both hands, I have almost mastered note recognition, but it took me many attempts to play the 1st piece to a level that I could move on. I am busy with the 2nd piece at the moment, but thought I would ask you will the ability come gradually as I am prepared to put the practice in every day, but I would like to see some improvement and not feel that it is beyond me. I would appreciate any comments as to methods you could recommend for a senior. Thank you Ron
Hi Ron: glad to hear you're getting to grips with it! As with anyone, it's all about steadiness and consistency: a relatively short amount of time _every_single_day_ is the ideal. The thing to remember about your age (and you're not that old compared to some learners: I literally have nonagenerians watching the channel...) is that although you'll learn the skills slower than, say, a 10-year-old would, you can still learn them just as surely. It's pretty unlikely you'll ever become a concert pianist (!) but you can still do pretty well. The advantage you have over the 10-year-old is a lifetime of learning stuff will have given you much better motivation and attention span. Good luck, and give me a yell with any questions: it sometimes takes me a while to reply (I get a lot of messages....) but I always do!
I love your lessons! I have started to use my free time during the Coronavirus quarantine to learn the piano. The new song in this video is the most difficult one for me so far. My fingers want to press a note all the time even though it is a rest on one side. Any tips? I have been practicing for two days now...
High Five. Same here, I've been following his tutorial for 1 month now since the quarantine. I'm still doing the 2nd and 4th lesson as well just to register the notes into my head. I don't have any tips, but what works for me is just do lessons 2-5 everyday before starting a new lesson
Hi Bill, first of all I would like to thank you for your lessons. It is a boon for many adult learners like me who never had a chance of formal piano training. I would like to draw your attention to one issue which I face (guess many others also face it). When I hear a song/tune I can play it with my right hand (more or less accurately). The problem is I cannot decide which chords to play and at what intervals should I change the chords. If in any of your tutorials, you can explain this it will be of great help. Thanks !!
Sir, Goodday.. I love the way you teach, I am really learning.. I am having trouble recognizing a key on the stave instantly. After playing slowly several times, eventually, I get used to how each of my fingers are to play each note by looking at the numbers above or under the staves without looking at the notes on stave but I still can't just see a note on the staff and play it immediately with my fingers(After figuring out the first note on the stave, I do calculations in my head like "its on the next line above it, so I should play 2 notes after that first note" and I continue like that without even knowing what exact notes I play till I get to a place where the technique changes and I repeat the process again till it changes again. I don't know if it is a good thing or that is how it normally is for beginner pianists.. I really hope you know what I mean...
Hi Daniel! Thanks very much: glad to hear this is working for you! Basically what you're describing is *exactly* how it normally is for beginners. You'll find you spend quite a bit of time at the "figuring out" stage before things gradually begin to become automatic. It takes patience, but it will come. Good luck!
Hey Bill! First of all, I'm loving this series, but I had a question. For 5 years I have been playing piano, but I hadn't taken any lessons (I learnt pretty much everything on youtube). I can play a lot of pieces now, including Nuvole Bianche, Turkish March, Rush E, Pachelbel's Canon etc. I have been wanting to get myself a degree in Piano for a bit now but I am kinda lost. I never learnt how to read sheet music and hence feel a bit weird whilst playing in my school band. I'd really appreciate if you could guide me to the correct path. Thanks a lot!
Glad you like it, and well done on your progress so far - it sounds like you've achieved a lot! In terms of the correct path, I would definitely drill down on the music reading skills, because they're going to be massively useful whatever you end up doing. Maybe a good course of action might be to work on learning those for yourself (maybe using this series and whatever other online stuff you can find) then get yourself in front of an actual, live human piano teacher, if only for a couple of lessons - he or she will really help you sort out your technique as you progress. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
Hmm, I'll try as much as I can to hone my piano skills, maybe even with a teacher, but for now school has been a toll and among the few institutions I go to for academics I feel as if it would be hard to get myself an actual teacher (mostly because I don't have a lot of time). But I will try to learn sheet music. Thanks a lot Bill!
I guess this is only tangentially related, but as a part of my piano practice, what I've been doing is play the major and natural minor scales in all the keys, and then the chords and then the inversions, then go to actual pieces of music, but at this point I already know my scales so it's starting to feel like busywork. Would it be a good idea to instead just pick a few keys, maybe 3 or 4, and do more exercises with those, like seventh chords, improvisations and other stuff like that, instead of doing a few exercises in all the keys at once?
Hmmmmmm - good question. Standard practice has always been few exercises/all keys. So, for example, when I was a kid having piano lessons the first part of every lesson was always running through major and minor scales in all keys. I think there is something to be said for that, as there's always something you can be improving on - tone, touch, control and so on - irrespective of the key, and getting an equal feel for all keys is handy. It's a seriously good pianist who can play all his or her scales perfectly (I certainly can't) so if it feels like busywork (and I see where you're coming from) then probably you need to focus harder on getting even better. There isn't really a law of diminishing returns at work: tiny incremental gains have a positive effect across your playing In other words, I think classical teachers usually do it that way for a reason. That said, if you're getting bored there's probably something to be said for mixing things up, too. What I'd try to avoid is just focussing on a small number of keys, even if the majority of the stuff you're playing is in those keys. Best to try to be as universal and key-independent a pianist as you can, I reckon. Make sense?
Hi Bill. I am in the US and learning via your tutorials to play the piano on my keyboard. I am confused on how to play softly or louder on my keyboard. All keys sound the same for volume. Will a sustain pedal help with volume? Do I also need a volume pedal? I have one jack that reads Sustain. I think that I cannot add two pedals. Will you comment?
Hi Lora: well, on a regular piano you'd play softer or louder just by hitting the keys with slightly varying amounts of force. Keyboards imitate this with touch sensitivity. Now, not all keyboards have touch sensitivity, but if yours has a jack for a sustain input it would surprise me if it's not also touch sensitive. Have you noticed whether there's an option to switch sensitivity on and off, or to control its level? If you're not sure let me know the make and model of the keyboard and I'll look into it for you. (A sustain pedal shouldn't make any difference to loudness, btw.)
08:52 I am a bit confused at this part, when you are done with the first bar and about to enter the second there is a little pause. Is there a sign that says you are supposed to have that little pause? Cause I can't see it. And when you are done with the second bar and you enter the third bar it's smooth with no pause, and both of them look the same, so why did you take a pause between 1-2 but not between 2-3. Also at the 5th bar you played the notes very short like dots, where as before everything was connected. Is this all preference and play-style? Or am I missing something? Also the wierd sign in the 4th bar just means you are not supposed to play anything there right?
Nope, it's just an expression thing - when you're playing solo like this you don't have to be *absolutely* rigid on the time, and it's more important to dig into the expressive possibilities of a piece. There's also a certain amount of randomness at work: even with pretty simple tunes like this it's hard to play them exactly the same each time (and you probably wouldn't want to). Again, in the fifth bar the notes aren't marked as "staccato", but you have to play them a little detached because they are consecutive notes (all Fs) which are harder to play smoothly than different notes (you can't give them any overlap because your fingers have to come off and on again to play them). Yup, the sign in the fourth bar is a crotchet/quarter note rest: it lasts for one beat. You'll find more stuff that should help you firm up your understanding of rests in subsequent tutorials. All make sense?
I know I’m too much late but struggling at first for playing with two hands is normal I think cuz it won’t be as easy as playing with one hand for sure,with more practicing playing with two hands the beginner will find less hard to play with 2 hands but still not easy
Yes and no, Anne-Marie. I would say once you can play it competently, by all means move on to the next lesson, but keep practising this in the background until you have it up to a decent speed. Make sense?
Hello, got a question! In the video, you start the G major scale for the right hand from the G placed on the left from middle C? The stave in the pdf file states the G to the right of middle C. Is there much difference? Can I just play a scale from any G? Got a piano in january and I'm slowly making progress. There is a ton of videos out there, but this course "speaks" to me, so decided to stick with it. Never thought I will be able to read notes one day...
Good day, you have so many vidéos! I am starting but i don't read (and don't plan to...) i need to know what to do with the chords... I use to play organ so i know some basic chords. But i don't want to play melodies with my right hand cause i want to accompany myself while i sing. Just want something simple i can do while i sing. Which serie of your videos do you recommand? thanks
Absolutely - a problem adult learners tend to have is that they understand how things work but then get frustrated when their fingers won't do what they want. The trick is to grind out some practical work. Good luck!
Is it bad that after a couple of days of practicing this piece I now mainly play it on muscle memory, rather than reading all the notes? Basically, are you meant to be able to play the homework instantly or is it okay if it takes a couple of hours?
The muscle memory thing is fine - the only thing I'd say is follow the score even if you can remember it properly and don't need to. That really helps to reinforce reading skills. And it's absolutely fine if it takes you a while to play the homework tasks - in fact, if it's only taking you a couple of hours I'd say you're doing pretty well!
hey bill have you ever tuned a piano? i recently was given a really old beat up piano, its fully functional and the sustain pedal (right one) is working, mostly just the exterior thats damaged but the left pedal is missing anyways the piano is horribly out of tune and id like to tune it myself but have no idea how to go about it im playing it as is but its probably bad for my ear development
I haven’t, mostly because it’s a very tricky job (and, I believe, can be a bit dangerous on old pianos, as there are a lot of pounds pulling on some of those strings, so take care of you try it!). The fundamental problem is the relative inharmonicity of metal strings - basically they sound out of tune when they’re strictly in tune - and because of that you can’t just get a wrench and a tuning app and do it yourself as if you’re tuning a guitar (or you can, but it won’t sound perfectly in tune). The Wikipedia page on piano tuning has a good (if slightly dense…) explanation. How are you getting on with the tutorials, by the way?
@@BillHilton good! ive been really enjoying this series my left hand has adjusted well (since ive played guitar for a few years) but my right hand hasnt so its a really weird dynamic to play the melodies with my right hand and my left just having to be the bass since i have much more control/strength in my left hand makes me wonder if there are left handed pianos im looking for a piano tuning kit, but maybe should just save to have a professional take a look at tuning/servicing
Hi bill I just wanted to thank you for your efforts But it seems that my digital piano casio CTK 469 doesn't have touch sensitive keys And that I can't apply the dynamic play on it This feeling of limitation demotivates me as whatever i do. my play will always be inferior
Don't be demotivated, Lucy - the secret is to work with what you've got! For example, my hands are screwed on the wrong way (literally, because of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioulnar_synostosis which means I have trouble with hand position and legato. But I just do what I can with my weird hand/arm structure. Now, I'll never have normal arms, but you have, and one day you might have a normal piano, too. So for now... just keep working away and doing the best you can with the setup you have. The people who come through and succeed are the ones who work with what they've got! Good luck, and give me a shout if there's anything else I can help with.
@lucythemotherofathests1465 You’re welcome! It doesn’t actually bother me at all - I didn’t even realise I had it until I tried learning the guitar and discovered it was a bit awkward 😂
Bill, i have a question or more like an eternal doubt. When it comes about reading the sheet, do you thing the goal should be memorizing the entire piece (after practicing it over and over again), or it's more about getting a constant reading and playing at the exact same time. I know that the musicians like you literally takes a few minutes to get into the piece and then playing it, but do you think that the people that starts learning the piano at an adult age (for example, i am 25) has the posibility, at least, to reach a little bit of that ease? I also know that the answer may be, of course, no, because it would be stupid to undesestimate the power that learning an instrument and music theory from a little age, has. Anyway, i ask you this, because i remember that the teacher that i had two years ago told me that the main goal is to memorizing every new piece that i wanted to play, but i always found it pretty weird, like it's a weird way to get to the music itself. It's like i can play it automatically, but it feels like a stubborn way to actually play the music. Bill, i won't get tired of telling you thank you so much for all the knowledge and the great vibes you give to us. It's such a luxury and pleasure to have people like you on youtube. Send a big very big hug!
Hi Julian! Basically it depends what you’re trying to do. Most of the time, most people don’t practise with the aim of memorising: that would be very labour-intensive. I think most musicians memorise a few things (maybe for concerts, show pieces for playing at parties etc etc) and the rest of the time learn them well enough so that they can always play them back when they have the music in front of them. Some people (usually kids...!) find memorising very easy, but for most of us it’s hard, and means investing time that we could spend learning and practising other pieces/skills. Does that make sense? Really glad you like my stuff, by the way!
Exactly Bill, memorising a piece is something so hard to do, i don't know why my teacher told me that, because my goal it's not to learn a music piece just by memorising it. I really want to be able to understand what i am doing when i see a music piece, and internalize it correctly (that's why i stopped learning them by memory, and focused instead on practicing and understanding the minor and mayor scales and diferent chord progressions, for example). Maybe that's why you'll understand how important and usefull your videos are for me Bill haha 😅. Send you a big big hug!
Randy I teach music and I have some ideas that might help you. I'm going to try to expedite your learning. I am doing this on a phone so I hope there are no mistakes. this may seem silly, most of it you know ,but I have to be exact so there will be no misunderstanding. if you know your staves your way ahead of many. I know people are taught the menonic ways to remember notes. Use the note itself . get you a piece of paper .. draw two sets of five lines .. make this big . find all your C's there will be three for now .. notice that the note in the middle is a c..it is shared it is middle c and I think c4.. now it's probably obvious but the highest c will be 2 ledger lines above the treble stable.. the lowest will be 2 lines below the ledger line.. now this is day one get that down solid. imagine learning one thing a day. I would hazard to say that you will know all your within a month. you can make up your own system. just don't use mnomics use this cheat sheet when you practice use a pencil and paper and write them out longhand.. this tactile experience. will reinforce your learning. now I would take a guess you know trebble the best try to equal that out.. maybe look through the song minuet in g by Mr. Bach.. start with treble don't try to play basically your diagnosing where your weeknesses are.. you can download copies and write on them..probably a note you have to think about is the note right below middle c which is b .. another one to notice and remember .. there is nothing wrong with doing pieces above you.. but it serves no purpose of they are far above you. This will just cause frustration.. use this humble method which is based on sound principles.. also don't k ow at what level your are in chords notice any patterns, eg. the upper trebble c is the start of a ceg which is a c triad.. imagine if you do this every three days of the year.. also know the notes in third backwards and forwards in thirds .. write out cegbdfacegbdfac up cafdbgecafdbgec. down
Stick with it for now, but as soon as you can either get one that is touch sensitive or find a real piano/full size digital piano you can practise on. You’ll manage OK with the keyboard you have now until the later lessons in the series - you’ll probably manage up to tutorial 14 or 15 just fine. But try to get access to something touch sensitive, full size and with a sustain pedal as soon as you can!
That's probably to do with the make and model of your keyboard, Edmond - not all are touch-sensitive. If yours is, there'll be a setting somewhere that allows you to switch the sensitivity on. If not, then at some point you should probably consider upgrading to a keyboard/piano that is touch sensitive (though you can still learn a lot without doing so).
I am confused on the G major scale. When I watch Bill play it with the right hand, he starts with the G below middle C. I printed the PDF and it shows the starting point as the G above middle C. Any comments anyone. I have googled the question, but it is not answered.
Basically it doesn't much matter where you start it: in the PDF it's notated starting on the G above middle C for clarity (i.e., to minimize the number of ledger lines above or below the staff) but you can start it below middle C, above it, or really from any G on the piano keyboard within reason!
@@BillHilton Thanks Bill. I am 67, just retired and was given the keyboard as a gift (my wife knew I wanted one) to keep the mind sharp in the years to come. I am really enjoying your lessons and learning to play the keyboard and reading sheet music. Cheers.
After weeks of practice I still can't play the c scale or others properly, the loudness varies, I sometimes hit the side of the key, the timing is wrong. A bit frustraing.
Keep plugging away at it - it'll gradually get better, but it always takes time. As long as you practise often and consistently, the improvement will come!
Keep practising, Lucas - sticking at it and pushing through the difficulty is the secret of success. If you're really struggling it's probably because you haven't yet got some of the stuff from the earlier tutorials fully nailed down, so it might be worth revisiting them and doing some work on that foundational stuff. The big lesson I've learned from making this course then watching people go through it is that those who succeed really focus on getting the basics right at the early stages. You need a strong foundation! Good luck, let me know how you get on, and give me a shout if you need any help. Also well done on being the King of Cheese, your Majesty - that's the sort of monarch I can really get behind 👍🧀
Excellent! Keep working at it and you'll gradually get smoother. Do give those fingers a break, though: there's nothing worse than a repetitive strain injury, because they can take months to heal. Have a few days off every now and then, and don't overdo things on any one day. Ideally you should end your practice sessions *before* things start to get sore. Good luck, and hit me up with any more questions/things I can help with!
Thank you for teaching us for free
Thanks, Bill. I really enjoyed your course so far. Will keep practising.
Thank you very much indeed, Suzie - let me know how you get on, and also if you have any questions/get stuck at any point!
@@BillHiltonbill you have the greatest talent I ever seen u are a inspired me too never give up now I’m playing with 2 hands and I’m really happy for that thank u bill your the best pianist I ever seen❤
Hello, Bill. I would just like to tell you how grateful I am for these videos. I got my piano several years back, and I've attempted to self-learn multiple times (I couldn't really afford piano lessons), and I couldn't really get far. Your way of teaching really works for me, and this is the most progress I've had so far. Thank you so much!
Hi bill, i got my first keyboard about 10 days ago and I have been following your lessons and now im at lesson 6, im 17 years old and i don’t have any musical background, but your lessons are teaching me alot , thank you so much❤
You're really welcome, and congratulations on having got to lesson 6! You'll probably find things get a bit harder from lesson 8 onwards, so make sure you've got all the earlier stuff really well nailed down. Good luck, and give me a shout if you run into any problems!
I''m following your structured lessons from previous years and your Exercise,Ideas & Inventions; which is new in 2023. Amazed how well you had the style nailed of teaching and recording even then. Thank you.
You're welcome, Marti - I started in 2009 and there's been a lot of trial and error (mostly error 🤣) since then...!
These lessons are outstanding and taught at just the right pace. I studied classical piano growing up for a few years but stopped playing for many years. Just getting back into it now and these lessons are perfect. Thank you So much!
You're welcome, Suzanna - I'm really glad you like them. Let me know how you get on, and shout if you have any questions or run into any problems 👍
Hi Bill
I had started on keyboard lessons in a music school closeby in February this year which came to a halt with Covid - 19 lockdown in March. I have been trying to learn with You tube lessons since then and progressing through slowly. Last week , happened to hit upon your lessons and in just 5 lessons, I think I have learnt so much about keyboard music which I hadn't known earlier. I really appreciate the way you have done these lessons . They are very informative and quite easy to follow. Doing lesson - 6 right now and thanks a million. Can't wait to do more!!!!
Thanks Komathi - glad to hear my stuff is helping. Let me know how you get on, and shout if you have any problems/questions that need answering :)
Oh, yeah... Now, things are getting challenging! I'm still reeling from taking 3 weeks off at #5. It is amazing how I am finding the bass clef a bit more difficult to memorize than the treble. I played a concert baritone in 6th thru 8th grade, but that was eons ago. I think I'll be bouncing between #5 & #6 for a while, until I can associate the page notes with the keys, more readily!
. Bill Hilton, I can relate to your teaching style, very well! Thoroughly enjoying these intro courses!
Glad to hear it, Jim - I hope you keep making progress. Give me a yell if you get stuck (I'm sometimes a bit slow to reply, as I get a lot of messages, but I always will eventually...!)
Hi Bill, in my 50's and brand new to the piano, in fact I have never played any instruments in my life. I have to say your lessons are excellent and I have made some great progress. I will certainly make a donation to you. Thanks
Thank you very much indeed! I hope you do well with the rest of the course - let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems!
Just stopped the video to say thanks for the awesome contents! :)
You're very welcome - good luck with the rest of the course!
Bill, thanks for cracking the whip. I'm working hard.
Hello Bill,
My name is Grant. I'm from Egypt.
Unfortunately, I have no availability to learn appropriately because I need all my energy to build competencies for my career. Yet I need some music basics that help me learn to play religious chants for the church. Your learning playlist really helps.
Thanks a lot.
Bill these beginners lessons are great, please keep up the good work! Finding them really useful and easy to follow. Thanks for putting in the effort with these
Thanks Matthew! Up to lesson 8 now. I've just been saying to someone else that I think we're going to end up with around 20 or 25, and with a bit of luck they should all get done by the end of 2017... better get my skates on!
*UPDATES, DECEMBER 2022:* If you have any trouble accessing the PDFs, make sure you're using the links at www.billspianopages.com/beginners - they're all live and working. If you enjoy the series, you might also like my new book, How To Be A Better Musician: it's jammed with ideas, advice, practice strategies and exercises for every kind of musician, from beginner to pro. Right now it's available as an ebook (PDF and/or EPUB) with a print edition coming in 2023. Learn more and buy and download your copy at www.bettermusicianbook.com
Thank you for all your knowledge that you share, it is truly a big help on this journey
No problem, Brian - thanks for taking the time to say so!
thank you very much for those series of videos, extremely helpful! you are the best
It's a pleasure - glad you like them!
On lesson 7. Need something to do when I retire next year, so am starting early. It's not easy but I am going to persevere. If I get stuck I go on settings at bottom of you tube then adjust the speed of playback then I can see what your fingers are doing slowly. It's a great help. Many thanks
You're really welcome, Jean - give me a yell if you get stuck on anything!
Am university student and I don't have my own piano nor I am bale to afford to take a class. I am taking classes online and will practice at university, where there are many pianos. All of them are digital pianos.
Thanks for your great effort Bill
I really appreciate you
You’re welcome! You should find that digital pianos are fine to get you through the course (and indeed quite a long way beyond it). Let me know if you get stuck and need help at any stage!
@@BillHilton thanks Bill
Look after yourself bro very well
@@BillHilton Bill sorry to bother, I have a question.
For C major when I practice notes single which finger Am I supposed to use ?
For example For right hand, we shift our fingers into middle to tap F ?
When I use the order you play them, I accounts for my first finger yet when I play C scale, I just put my first finger on C and F accounts for 4 ?
It confused my mind.
How should I practice them ?
@@BillHilton I should be specific. How should I practice F on s scale solely ?
Which finger should I use in numeric system ?
@@dewrimsirine If you're playing a C major scale, then thumb on the C, then 2 on D, 3 on E, then put your thumb under your third finger to land on the F - then carry on up the scale. If you hit F with your fourth, you'll run out of fingers! The tutorial I published just the other day might help to clarify this for you: ua-cam.com/video/ml2F5mmrhDo/v-deo.html - come back to me if that doesn't make sense!
Thanks!
Thank you for teaching and sharing everything in detail and clearly! I appreciate it and can't wait to play!
You're welcome, Samantha!
Thank you, Bill. I am really enjoying your lessons and tutorials. hand synchronisation is still, a little bit challenging (especially with full scales) I have been playing the guitar for more than 20 years, when I picked the piano (recently) I remembered the challenges I faced at first with the guitar. nostalgia :D... it is always about consistency and persistence. Practice precedes perfection. Thank you Bill.
Great to hear, Marwan - glad you like them. Keep practising away at the hand independence thing: it takes a while, but you'll get there if you're persistent!
You are a Legend mate
Very specific, very instructive, very impressed. Thankyou Bill.
You're welcome, Lucas!
I started playing piano a few months ago, but I've really struggled with how to go about learning. Your lessons are pretty much exactly what I was looking for. But this lesson was the 1st one I've had some trouble with. For some reason, my left hand hates having to miss the 2 beat in the 1, 2, 3... It took a few hours of playing at very slow pace to finally get both hands going. No idea why it seems so much more difficult for me, but I'm slowly getting it I think.
It was giving me flashbacks to playing 3/4 songs on drums in high school, which always made my brain melt. 😝😝
I really can't explain how much I appreciate the help Bill, I'm hopeless without some direction or a person to guide me.
Thank You. ❤️❤️
You're really welcome - delighted to have been able to help! With that left hand thing, just keep working away at it. The thing you'll find is that often it takes your body/brain/nervous system/"muscle memory" or whatever you want to call it longer to grasp something like that than your rational, conscious brain thinks it ought to. Conscious brain grasps the concept, and it seems straightforward **as a concept**, so it's fatally easy then to assume that it should be correspondingly easy as a physical action. It never goes away: I've been playing the piano since I was 8 and I'm now 47, and I STILL find myself saying "aaarggggh why can't I get this!?" on a pretty regular basis. Once you realise that's the way it all works, it becomes a real defence against getting demoralised. Does that all make sense?
@@BillHilton Yea that makes sense. I'll keep working on it. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it mate!
Glad my homework from the previous lesson ended up sounding similar to the version you gave here. Except I'm a lot slower. Think I'll spend a few more days practicing the previous lessons a bit more before giving this lesson's song a go.
Glad to hear it! I’d strongly agree with your idea of consolidating what you already know. A really common problem (which I would have made more of in the tutorials if I’d anticipated it...) is of people racing through the early tutorials and then coming unstuck because they don’t have the basics down as well as they should. You’re taking exactly the right approach!
If you're finding this course useful, remember to check out my Patreon page at *www.patreon.com/billhilton* - supporting me on Patreon doesn't cost very much (from as little as $2 USD per tutorial I post on UA-cam, which means no more than $6 per month). In return you get *priority support* from me personally, access to my very popular *Piano Packs* (great if you're learning improv) and *previews* of upcoming projects. Plus my Patreon community is really *friendly, supportive and fun*. Please do check it out when you've finished watching the tutorial! ~Bill
Bill have done an excellent work doing piano lessons for beginners. I love your videos because they have helped me to improve!! Thank you so much!!
You're welcome Cristina - really glad to have helped!
Thanks for your uploads bill, the lessons are so easy to understand, im going to practise the first 2 pieces but im also going to have a crack at this new one.
Best of luck Jaye - let me know how you get on!
It was really hard for me to read piano 🎹 but now I can a little bit 😁😁. Thanks 😊 I learned a lot from you!🤗🤗 🎹 🎵🎶
That's great, Cherry - glad to hear it!
Thanks
Thank you very much indeed - much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
Thanks for teaching my kid
Thankyou, as a mature learner I have trouble with the counting of the beats to keep them in time!
I think that's tricky for most beginners on the piano, Linda, so I wouldn't worry about your age too much! Stick at it!
Thank you for the Lessons Sir, Really Usefull, Thank you soo much. : )
No problem - really glad it's useful for you!
Hey Bill, I am enjoying your lessons immensely, however, I am struggling with being able to look at a piece of music and instantly recognize the notes. A few come easy at a glance, but others don't. I know the staves and can figure the notes out rather easily, but I have to look at it for a second or two. I am 62 and didn't start reading music until now , but I was wondering if everyone has this struggle at first. Sometimes I have to really look hard at ledger lines to figure them out unless it a C on the bottom of a treble stave or a G on the top. Again, I am learning a lot and really don't believe I could learn any more sitting beside a teacher. I did take one 30 min. lesson, but at my age, and at that rate I would never learn the piano, the pace is too slow. With your lessons I sometimes spend a couple of hours per day and can learn a lot more much quicker!
hello randy , if you like can send you a book with images of piano chords and show first second and third position. this book is from 1978 isbn 0.86001.528.9 compiled by roger day , the pianist picture chords. you may find it as well in a good shop maybe . best regards roberto
Hi Randy! Glad to hear you're finding my stuff useful!
I see one or two other people have already pitched in to help here (thanks, guys). I don't have a great deal to add except that you have probably hit on one of the (actually relatively few) areas where your increased age will make things a bit trickier. When you look at a note on the page there's a pretty complex, multi-stage process going on to transform that to a note pressed - in the right way and for the right length of time - on the piano keyboard. An older brain is going to take longer to lay down the circuits to do that. Now, the important point is that although it'll take longer, it will *still work*. You just need to make use of the reserves of grit and willpower you've developed over six decades ;)
Thank you Bill for the excellent tutorials.
Randy
I am 72
You may find this useful. www.musictheory.net/exercises/note
I print out two copies of pieces, on one I write in all the note names above the notes. Once I've practiced it enough to have it memorized I go back to the version without note names and look at the page while I play sections, naming notes as I play them. Go slow, be patient, but be persistent, it'll click eventuality.
Hi Randy, It's three years later and i hope you're rocking it!!
This was very helpful for me thank you very much
thank you so much Bill
I try my best every time, but some your totals are hard, but you are so good of making
Hi Bill, I am 76 and want to get serious with my piano. I have been flirting with various tutorials for several months, but with this lockdown I decided to start a course and hopefully gain the ability to play the piano purely for myself and my family, with Christmas in mind. Like most beginners I am struggling with playing both hands, I have almost mastered note recognition, but it took me many attempts to play the 1st piece to a level that I could move on. I am busy with the 2nd piece at the moment, but thought I would ask you will the ability come gradually as I am prepared to put the practice in every day, but I would like to see some improvement and not feel that it is beyond me. I would appreciate any comments as to methods you could recommend for a senior. Thank you Ron
Hi Ron: glad to hear you're getting to grips with it! As with anyone, it's all about steadiness and consistency: a relatively short amount of time _every_single_day_ is the ideal. The thing to remember about your age (and you're not that old compared to some learners: I literally have nonagenerians watching the channel...) is that although you'll learn the skills slower than, say, a 10-year-old would, you can still learn them just as surely. It's pretty unlikely you'll ever become a concert pianist (!) but you can still do pretty well. The advantage you have over the 10-year-old is a lifetime of learning stuff will have given you much better motivation and attention span. Good luck, and give me a yell with any questions: it sometimes takes me a while to reply (I get a lot of messages....) but I always do!
I love your lessons! I have started to use my free time during the Coronavirus quarantine to learn the piano. The new song in this video is the most difficult one for me so far. My fingers want to press a note all the time even though it is a rest on one side. Any tips? I have been practicing for two days now...
High Five. Same here, I've been following his tutorial for 1 month now since the quarantine. I'm still doing the 2nd and 4th lesson as well just to register the notes into my head.
I don't have any tips, but what works for me is just do lessons 2-5 everyday before starting a new lesson
Thank you so much for making these lessons i find them extremely helpful
You're very welcome!
Thanks for the lesson mate ❤️
You're welcome
Hi Bill, first of all I would like to thank you for your lessons. It is a boon for many adult learners like me who never had a chance of formal piano training. I would like to draw your attention to one issue which I face (guess many others also face it). When I hear a song/tune I can play it with my right hand (more or less accurately). The problem is I cannot decide which chords to play and at what intervals should I change the chords. If in any of your tutorials, you can explain this it will be of great help.
Thanks !!
Thanks for the kind words, Anirban! Re: working out chords, have you seen this tutorial?
ua-cam.com/video/ilcfgQ3lZus/v-deo.html
Thank you !!!!
Good lesson.
Thanks.
You are welcome, Ant!
Wow im really loving this beginning course! Thanks for making it:)
Are the birds real in the background? Lovely to listen to
Sir, Goodday.. I love the way you teach, I am really learning.. I am having trouble recognizing a key on the stave instantly. After playing slowly several times, eventually, I get used to how each of my fingers are to play each note by looking at the numbers above or under the staves without looking at the notes on stave but I still can't just see a note on the staff and play it immediately with my fingers(After figuring out the first note on the stave, I do calculations in my head like "its on the next line above it, so I should play 2 notes after that first note" and I continue like that without even knowing what exact notes I play till I get to a place where the technique changes and I repeat the process again till it changes again. I don't know if it is a good thing or that is how it normally is for beginner pianists.. I really hope you know what I mean...
Hi Daniel! Thanks very much: glad to hear this is working for you! Basically what you're describing is *exactly* how it normally is for beginners. You'll find you spend quite a bit of time at the "figuring out" stage before things gradually begin to become automatic. It takes patience, but it will come. Good luck!
thank u bill ❤
You're welcome!
Hey Bill! First of all, I'm loving this series, but I had a question. For 5 years I have been playing piano, but I hadn't taken any lessons (I learnt pretty much everything on youtube). I can play a lot of pieces now, including Nuvole Bianche, Turkish March, Rush E, Pachelbel's Canon etc. I have been wanting to get myself a degree in Piano for a bit now but I am kinda lost. I never learnt how to read sheet music and hence feel a bit weird whilst playing in my school band. I'd really appreciate if you could guide me to the correct path. Thanks a lot!
Glad you like it, and well done on your progress so far - it sounds like you've achieved a lot! In terms of the correct path, I would definitely drill down on the music reading skills, because they're going to be massively useful whatever you end up doing. Maybe a good course of action might be to work on learning those for yourself (maybe using this series and whatever other online stuff you can find) then get yourself in front of an actual, live human piano teacher, if only for a couple of lessons - he or she will really help you sort out your technique as you progress. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
Hmm, I'll try as much as I can to hone my piano skills, maybe even with a teacher, but for now school has been a toll and among the few institutions I go to for academics I feel as if it would be hard to get myself an actual teacher (mostly because I don't have a lot of time). But I will try to learn sheet music. Thanks a lot Bill!
I guess this is only tangentially related, but as a part of my piano practice, what I've been doing is play the major and natural minor scales in all the keys, and then the chords and then the inversions, then go to actual pieces of music, but at this point I already know my scales so it's starting to feel like busywork.
Would it be a good idea to instead just pick a few keys, maybe 3 or 4, and do more exercises with those, like seventh chords, improvisations and other stuff like that, instead of doing a few exercises in all the keys at once?
Hmmmmmm - good question. Standard practice has always been few exercises/all keys. So, for example, when I was a kid having piano lessons the first part of every lesson was always running through major and minor scales in all keys. I think there is something to be said for that, as there's always something you can be improving on - tone, touch, control and so on - irrespective of the key, and getting an equal feel for all keys is handy. It's a seriously good pianist who can play all his or her scales perfectly (I certainly can't) so if it feels like busywork (and I see where you're coming from) then probably you need to focus harder on getting even better. There isn't really a law of diminishing returns at work: tiny incremental gains have a positive effect across your playing
In other words, I think classical teachers usually do it that way for a reason. That said, if you're getting bored there's probably something to be said for mixing things up, too. What I'd try to avoid is just focussing on a small number of keys, even if the majority of the stuff you're playing is in those keys. Best to try to be as universal and key-independent a pianist as you can, I reckon. Make sense?
Hi Bill. I am in the US and learning via your tutorials to play the piano on my keyboard. I am confused on how to play softly or louder on my keyboard. All keys sound the same for volume. Will a sustain pedal help with volume? Do I also need a volume pedal? I have one jack that reads Sustain. I think that I cannot add two pedals. Will you comment?
Hi Lora: well, on a regular piano you'd play softer or louder just by hitting the keys with slightly varying amounts of force. Keyboards imitate this with touch sensitivity. Now, not all keyboards have touch sensitivity, but if yours has a jack for a sustain input it would surprise me if it's not also touch sensitive. Have you noticed whether there's an option to switch sensitivity on and off, or to control its level? If you're not sure let me know the make and model of the keyboard and I'll look into it for you. (A sustain pedal shouldn't make any difference to loudness, btw.)
08:52 I am a bit confused at this part, when you are done with the first bar and about to enter the second there is a little pause. Is there a sign that says you are supposed to have that little pause? Cause I can't see it. And when you are done with the second bar and you enter the third bar it's smooth with no pause, and both of them look the same, so why did you take a pause between 1-2 but not between 2-3.
Also at the 5th bar you played the notes very short like dots, where as before everything was connected.
Is this all preference and play-style? Or am I missing something? Also the wierd sign in the 4th bar just means you are not supposed to play anything there right?
Nope, it's just an expression thing - when you're playing solo like this you don't have to be *absolutely* rigid on the time, and it's more important to dig into the expressive possibilities of a piece. There's also a certain amount of randomness at work: even with pretty simple tunes like this it's hard to play them exactly the same each time (and you probably wouldn't want to). Again, in the fifth bar the notes aren't marked as "staccato", but you have to play them a little detached because they are consecutive notes (all Fs) which are harder to play smoothly than different notes (you can't give them any overlap because your fingers have to come off and on again to play them). Yup, the sign in the fourth bar is a crotchet/quarter note rest: it lasts for one beat. You'll find more stuff that should help you firm up your understanding of rests in subsequent tutorials. All make sense?
Two hands playing at the same time - this is where I struggle. Any tips for getting over this hump?
I know I’m too much late but struggling at first for playing with two hands is normal I think cuz it won’t be as easy as playing with one hand for sure,with more practicing playing with two hands the beginner will find less hard to play with 2 hands but still not easy
Hi would you recommend we practice until we can play the piece as quickly as you, as I was quite a bit slower. Thanks
Yes and no, Anne-Marie. I would say once you can play it competently, by all means move on to the next lesson, but keep practising this in the background until you have it up to a decent speed. Make sense?
9:20 9:38
9:38
Hello, got a question! In the video, you start the G major scale for the right hand from the G placed on the left from middle C? The stave in the pdf file states the G to the right of middle C. Is there much difference? Can I just play a scale from any G?
Got a piano in january and I'm slowly making progress. There is a ton of videos out there, but this course "speaks" to me, so decided to stick with it. Never thought I will be able to read notes one day...
Good day, you have so many vidéos! I am starting but i don't read (and don't plan to...) i need to know what to do with the chords... I use to play organ so i know some basic chords. But i don't want to play melodies with my right hand cause i want to accompany myself while i sing. Just want something simple i can do while i sing. Which serie of your videos do you recommand? thanks
I cannot play the homework as fluid as you! :(
Keep practising - you will!
Hi Bill. I feel left behind because I haven't bought the keyboard yet. I think I understand the basics just need to be practical.
Absolutely - a problem adult learners tend to have is that they understand how things work but then get frustrated when their fingers won't do what they want. The trick is to grind out some practical work. Good luck!
0:51
Is it bad that after a couple of days of practicing this piece I now mainly play it on muscle memory, rather than reading all the notes? Basically, are you meant to be able to play the homework instantly or is it okay if it takes a couple of hours?
The muscle memory thing is fine - the only thing I'd say is follow the score even if you can remember it properly and don't need to. That really helps to reinforce reading skills. And it's absolutely fine if it takes you a while to play the homework tasks - in fact, if it's only taking you a couple of hours I'd say you're doing pretty well!
Hey Bill, What Kind Of Keyboard Is That?
hey bill have you ever tuned a piano? i recently was given a really old beat up piano, its fully functional and the sustain pedal (right one) is working, mostly just the exterior thats damaged
but the left pedal is missing
anyways the piano is horribly out of tune and id like to tune it myself but have no idea how to go about it
im playing it as is but its probably bad for my ear development
I haven’t, mostly because it’s a very tricky job (and, I believe, can be a bit dangerous on old pianos, as there are a lot of pounds pulling on some of those strings, so take care of you try it!). The fundamental problem is the relative inharmonicity of metal strings - basically they sound out of tune when they’re strictly in tune - and because of that you can’t just get a wrench and a tuning app and do it yourself as if you’re tuning a guitar (or you can, but it won’t sound perfectly in tune). The Wikipedia page on piano tuning has a good (if slightly dense…) explanation. How are you getting on with the tutorials, by the way?
@@BillHilton good!
ive been really enjoying this series
my left hand has adjusted well (since ive played guitar for a few years) but my right hand hasnt so its a really weird dynamic to play the melodies with my right hand and my left just having to be the bass since i have much more control/strength in my left hand
makes me wonder if there are left handed pianos
im looking for a piano tuning kit, but maybe should just save to have a professional take a look at tuning/servicing
Hi bill
I just wanted to thank you for your efforts
But it seems that my digital piano casio CTK 469 doesn't have touch sensitive keys
And that I can't apply the dynamic play on it
This feeling of limitation demotivates me as whatever i do. my play will always be inferior
Don't be demotivated, Lucy - the secret is to work with what you've got! For example, my hands are screwed on the wrong way (literally, because of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioulnar_synostosis which means I have trouble with hand position and legato. But I just do what I can with my weird hand/arm structure. Now, I'll never have normal arms, but you have, and one day you might have a normal piano, too. So for now... just keep working away and doing the best you can with the setup you have. The people who come through and succeed are the ones who work with what they've got! Good luck, and give me a shout if there's anything else I can help with.
@@BillHilton thank you bill for having the time to respond to me
I am very sorry for your condition
Your words have motivated me to continue ❤️
@lucythemotherofathests1465 You’re welcome! It doesn’t actually bother me at all - I didn’t even realise I had it until I tried learning the guitar and discovered it was a bit awkward 😂
Bill, i have a question or more like an eternal doubt. When it comes about reading the sheet, do you thing the goal should be memorizing the entire piece (after practicing it over and over again), or it's more about getting a constant reading and playing at the exact same time. I know that the musicians like you literally takes a few minutes to get into the piece and then playing it, but do you think that the people that starts learning the piano at an adult age (for example, i am 25) has the posibility, at least, to reach a little bit of that ease? I also know that the answer may be, of course, no, because it would be stupid to undesestimate the power that learning an instrument and music theory from a little age, has. Anyway, i ask you this, because i remember that the teacher that i had two years ago told me that the main goal is to memorizing every new piece that i wanted to play, but i always found it pretty weird, like it's a weird way to get to the music itself. It's like i can play it automatically, but it feels like a stubborn way to actually play the music.
Bill, i won't get tired of telling you thank you so much for all the knowledge and the great vibes you give to us. It's such a luxury and pleasure to have people like you on youtube. Send a big very big hug!
Hi Julian! Basically it depends what you’re trying to do. Most of the time, most people don’t practise with the aim of memorising: that would be very labour-intensive. I think most musicians memorise a few things (maybe for concerts, show pieces for playing at parties etc etc) and the rest of the time learn them well enough so that they can always play them back when they have the music in front of them. Some people (usually kids...!) find memorising very easy, but for most of us it’s hard, and means investing time that we could spend learning and practising other pieces/skills. Does that make sense? Really glad you like my stuff, by the way!
Exactly Bill, memorising a piece is something so hard to do, i don't know why my teacher told me that, because my goal it's not to learn a music piece just by memorising it. I really want to be able to understand what i am doing when i see a music piece, and internalize it correctly (that's why i stopped learning them by memory, and focused instead on practicing and understanding the minor and mayor scales and diferent chord progressions, for example). Maybe that's why you'll understand how important and usefull your videos are for me Bill haha 😅. Send you a big big hug!
Randy I teach music and I have some ideas that might help you. I'm going to try to expedite your learning. I am doing this on a phone so I hope there are no mistakes. this may seem silly, most of it you know ,but I have to be exact so there will be no misunderstanding. if you know your staves your way ahead of many. I know people are taught the menonic ways to remember notes. Use the note itself . get you a piece of paper .. draw two sets of five lines .. make this big . find all your C's there will be three for now .. notice that the note in the middle is a c..it is shared it is middle c and I think c4.. now it's probably obvious but the highest c will be 2 ledger lines above the treble stable.. the lowest will be 2 lines below the ledger line.. now this is day one get that down solid. imagine learning one thing a day. I would hazard to say that you will know all your within a month. you can make up your own system. just don't use mnomics use this cheat sheet when you practice use a pencil and paper and write them out longhand.. this tactile experience. will reinforce your learning. now I would take a guess you know trebble the best try to equal that out.. maybe look through the song minuet in g by Mr. Bach.. start with treble don't try to play basically your diagnosing where your weeknesses are.. you can download copies and write on them..probably a note you have to think about is the note right below middle c which is b .. another one to notice and remember ..
there is nothing wrong with doing pieces above you.. but it serves no purpose of they are far above you. This will just cause frustration.. use this humble method which is based on sound principles.. also don't k ow at what level your are in chords notice any patterns, eg. the upper trebble c is the start of a ceg which is a c triad.. imagine if you do this every three days of the year.. also know the notes in third backwards and forwards in thirds .. write out
cegbdfacegbdfac up
cafdbgecafdbgec. down
PIANOSTYLE100 j
My keyboard doesn’t have velocity sensitivity, what should I do
Stick with it for now, but as soon as you can either get one that is touch sensitive or find a real piano/full size digital piano you can practise on. You’ll manage OK with the keyboard you have now until the later lessons in the series - you’ll probably manage up to tutorial 14 or 15 just fine. But try to get access to something touch sensitive, full size and with a sustain pedal as soon as you can!
How do I get my keyboard to play louder? It doesn't matter how I press the key, the intensity of the sound remains the same.
That's probably to do with the make and model of your keyboard, Edmond - not all are touch-sensitive. If yours is, there'll be a setting somewhere that allows you to switch the sensitivity on. If not, then at some point you should probably consider upgrading to a keyboard/piano that is touch sensitive (though you can still learn a lot without doing so).
hey um I'm trying to learn the moon light sonata by beethoven an I'm stuck can you make a video on the hole song with the bysick stuff please
How do you get soft
I am confused on the G major scale. When I watch Bill play it with the right hand, he starts with the G below middle C. I printed the PDF and it shows the starting point as the G above middle C. Any comments anyone. I have googled the question, but it is not answered.
Basically it doesn't much matter where you start it: in the PDF it's notated starting on the G above middle C for clarity (i.e., to minimize the number of ledger lines above or below the staff) but you can start it below middle C, above it, or really from any G on the piano keyboard within reason!
@@BillHilton Thanks Bill. I am 67, just retired and was given the keyboard as a gift (my wife knew I wanted one) to keep the mind sharp in the years to come. I am really enjoying your lessons and learning to play the keyboard and reading sheet music. Cheers.
Im , Going, To, Got, This , Help , of , God's,
I'm, Going, To , Got ,This ,Help, Of , God,
After weeks of practice I still can't play the c scale or others properly, the loudness varies, I sometimes hit the side of the key, the timing is wrong. A bit frustraing.
Keep plugging away at it - it'll gradually get better, but it always takes time. As long as you practise often and consistently, the improvement will come!
@@BillHilton Thanks Bill!
idky but the second piece so so hard ong
Keep practising, Lucas - sticking at it and pushing through the difficulty is the secret of success. If you're really struggling it's probably because you haven't yet got some of the stuff from the earlier tutorials fully nailed down, so it might be worth revisiting them and doing some work on that foundational stuff. The big lesson I've learned from making this course then watching people go through it is that those who succeed really focus on getting the basics right at the early stages. You need a strong foundation! Good luck, let me know how you get on, and give me a shout if you need any help. Also well done on being the King of Cheese, your Majesty - that's the sort of monarch I can really get behind 👍🧀
After a week being stuck between part 3 and 4 my fingers hurt a bit but hey, it feels more natural.
Excellent! Keep working at it and you'll gradually get smoother. Do give those fingers a break, though: there's nothing worse than a repetitive strain injury, because they can take months to heal. Have a few days off every now and then, and don't overdo things on any one day. Ideally you should end your practice sessions *before* things start to get sore. Good luck, and hit me up with any more questions/things I can help with!
Thank You!!!
You're welcome, Frances!
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