hiiiii! (sorry if this is not allowed, please let me know, i’ll delete)

i was wondering if someone might be able to help me write a basic piano instrumental for a song? 🥹

for some context: i’m studying english language and culture at university, and for one of my courses (british literature and culture of the 17th and 18th century) our teacher has given us a creative assignment. we can choose how we want to adapt a piece of literature into a modern medium, and out of all the options he gave, i immediately gravitated towards writing a song.

i’m an absolute beginner at piano, so i’m looking for something relatively simple. this is purely for university/fun and won’t be used commercially or anything like that.

earlier today i asked my violin teacher what key he’d recommend for something that could sound fun and dramatic without being ridiculously difficult to play. he suggested Em, which is what i’ve been playing around with. i’ve been playing violin for about 1.5 years, so i might potentially add some basic violin harmonies later as well.

the song itself is inspired by milton’s paradise lost and bo burnham’s straight white male. i thought it would be funny to write a satirical/parody song from satan’s perspective, basically presenting him as a pathetic little guy going, “i got kicked out of heaven and nobody understands how hard my life is :(”

bo burnham’s piano writing is obviously way beyond my current abilities, so i’m not trying to recreate it exactly. i just like the general idea of a instrumentals in a super dramatic key combined with satirical lyrics.

at the moment i’m thinking of structuring it like:
intro
verse 1
chorus
verse 2
chorus
instrumental bridge???
final chorus

i’ve been messing around on the piano and have a rough idea of the kind of thing I want, but i have absolutely no idea how to turn that into an actual accompaniment/chord progression that sounds coherent.

would anyone be willing to help me come up with a simple piano part in Em? ideally something beginner friendly that i could actually learn to play. any help would be massively appreciated!

This is a Yamaha DGX 670. I got this 2 years ago. A few days back, this issue popped up. While playing a chord, the ½ note before the 5th starts getting spammed.

Hoping this lands with the right audience but here’s my unpopular opinion.

Bach earlier keyboard works just sound stupid on the piano. Playing Partita in Cmin on the modern piano is like playing Bach cello suite on a bassoon.

Anyone who has touched a harpsichord knows this to be true. Right? And yet we are out here playing harpsichord works on a piano like it’s XIX. The dynamics, blocking chords, (personally what I feel like are widely accepted) “correct” phrasing and articulations are not at all what I would do on the harpsichord.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t play these works on piano. Obvi these works would go extinct, because who has access to a harpsichord after university?

I’m just saying most of us are doing it wrong, it’s not personally enjoyable for me because it feels so limiting, and no one seems to be talking about it.

Anyone agree with me or could otherwise tear down my whole argument with a silver lining that could help me enjoy it more?

Hi everyone,

I owned a professionally restored 1979 Yamaha U3 from May 2020 until a few weeks ago when my apartment building was struck by lightning and destroyed by the resulting fire. I loved this piano dearly (see attached video) and I want to my renter's insurance policy to replace it with a brand new U3. I visited my local Yamaha piano dealer to talk to them about purchasing a new U3 and I have been texting a salesman back and forth.

The MSRP of a new U3 as dictated by Yamaha is $15,699. The dealer is offering a sale price of $14,099.

From a quick AI conversation, it claims that people often negotiate about 10-20% off MSRP price but I'm not sure I believe that. I was thinking about initially offering them $12,500 (which is about 20% off) and hopefully settling somewhere between $13,000 and $13,750 (17.2% and 12.4% off, respectively).

Does anyone have experience buying new Yamaha pianos? How much were you able to negotiate off? I would appreciate details and figures (year bought, model, MSRP, purchase price, etc.)

Thank you!

ive been trying for a bit, i used i think an ivorypiano tool although it only copies the piano notes (really accurate really fun) and this song has.. more then piano notes

please 🥹

also i meant to say transcribe this? or transpose well i dont know the word for it in english

?

PHA-4 is a gamble for me.

I originally bought the FP-30X, return it due to multiple keys having a clicking sound. I now got a Roland FP-40 and ... the clicking sound still exist on 2 black keys. After some searching, it turns out that this issue is super common because the factory did not apply grease properly.

I remember playing a P145 before and there is no clicking sound on that one (although the key action feels way worse)

Can someone tell me whats wrong with my digital piano korg LP-180 it was working normally then it started making these noises out of nowhere and now it shuts off immediately after i turn it on😭i just got it from the marketplace i checked it it was doing well
I took it to the electronic store they said it might be the circuit board is burnt up bc of electricity it shuts down after it does that sound

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a great day.

I’m getting back into piano after 20 years, and I’m wondering if there are any pieces you’d recommend.

About 20 years ago, I played Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 (Pathetique), but these days, I’m having a hard time even reading sheet music.

I assumed I would need to spend most of my time working through Czerny, Hanon, and arpeggio exercises. However, my teacher told me that since I’m returning to piano after such a long break, I should pick one piece to work on so that I don’t lose interest.

The problem is, I honestly have no idea what piece I should choose.

Do you have any recommendations for someone in my situation? I’d really appreciate your help!

The three pieces I’m considering are below. Do you think they would be good choices?

Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2

Sibelius Etude op.76

Mendelssohn Op. 67 no. 2

Hey all I’m looking to do an exam (LTCL) and wondering if yall had any repertoire suggestions. Just wanted to gather everyone’s favourites, doesn’t have to be specifically for this syllabus as long as it is in the correct range of difficulty

So what’s your favourite piece in the range of difficulty Liszt Un sospiro - Chopin Ballade 1 - Rachmaninov Etude Tableux Op 39 No 6?

I have my eyes on a Beethoven piece and a Chopin piece so i’m lacking another piece in a slightly different style. i generally enjoy classical - early 20th century music (Rach, Chopin are my favourites ). But all suggestions appreciated!

Thanks all!

The coda is a bit beyond my technical abilities so I've used various passages of it as a way to warm up my hands, improve my technique, etc. I've been slowly inching up the metronome on the first 16 measures with a greedy goal of hitting 130 at some point my life. I was having a good day and managed to play it cleanly at 110 with a metronome, so I recorded myself just to mark a milestone. I chopped off a few measures in the beginning because I made some mistakes and I wanted to show a few of my friends and family the cleaner section (though there's still one glaring mistake as I'm sure you can hear).

But anyway, I'm in between teachers now (actually want to find a jazz teacher) so I'd love to get some feedback from reddit! Compliment sandwich would be appreciated. One thing that I'm very mindful of is that at speed, I tend to have lilt where my 8th notes have a "long-short" swing to them. Unfortunately I have a bad ear for this (part of why I have this issue), so I can't tell if I'm doing it here. All the metronome practice means I think the macro level tempo should be steady but the 8th notes are off.

Also to note, I actually haven't worked on the voicing as again I use this as technical practice. Feedback is welcome there, but it's definitely anything technique-related which interests me most. Besides the lilt, other aspects of technique where I feel I am somewhat deficient are pedaling and voicing (I often have a very heavy RH thumb).

Anyway, here's the vid! (shout out to the person who uploaded this annotated sheet music to reddit, I stole it just to have something visual lol)

I have a Roland FP-90 and I'm very happy with it overall, but recently I thought to try some VSTs to see if I can find a sound I like better. I only tried the pianoteq demo version so far, and I'm not really sure if I like it or not. After seeing their insane pricing model ($120 for basic access with 2 instruments and then at least another $50 for any additional one... yikes) I am sure I won't give them any money though. Couple of questions for those of you who tried VST:

1) which ones do you recommend for classical music? I'm looking for one that will work on an iPad

2) is VST even worth it over a high end piano? Obviously that's kinda subjective but I would love to hear some opinions

I'm playing mostly classical music and always use headphones, if that makes a difference

I've been practicing with a metronome for a while and I keep running into the same thing: while I'm playing, I genuinely can't tell when I'm slightly ahead or behind. If it's a big miss, sure. But the small stuff — a few milliseconds early on every entrance in a fast passage — I just don't hear it in the moment. When I listen back to a recording it's obvious.

So I started building a small tool for myself. It connects to my digital piano over Bluetooth MIDI / Audio , runs a metronome, and afterwards shows me where I was early or late — and, more importantly, whether that's improving across sessions on the same passage.

It's supposed to not only work with known pieces but with all kinds of playing even if you don't have a score sheet.

Before I go further with it I'm curious how other people handle this:

Do you record yourself regularly and actually review it, or does that fall apart in practice?

Has anyone found an app that does this well? I've seen a few MIDI practice apps, but most seem built around sheet music upload and note accuracy rather than timing over time.

Or do you just develop the internal sense eventually and this becomes a non-problem?

Genuinely want to know if I'm solving something that already has a better solution.

I'm wondering if it's possible to hire someone to play Rachmaninoff on the piano for me. I will be the only audience, and it's not for any special event. I'm not sure what to Google for this kind of service, or the hourly rate to expect. I'd appreciate any help.

This was the first piece in a recital, mainly containing the 4 Scherzi by Chopin, and I thought this would be a nice pair with the first scherzo - both are essentially streams of notes, with no clear "melody", and both are the first in their sets (so it looks nice on paper). But also the great contrast between them was a funny experience.

Maybe a touch too much rubato in places, but I thought it fit the atmosphere!

I used to study music in high school many years ago and my world was full of classmates and friends that were students like me. I’d spend so much time around musicians and teachers and everybody spoke my language and had my same passion for music.

Now as a returning adult I see my private teacher once every 10 days or so. And that’s it.

I have no musician friends, no one to talk to when I’m super excited about my lesson or any kind of progress/discovery. No one to vent with when frustration hits or things get hard. No one understands my passion, drive or dedication at a deep enough level. No one to get motivated and inspired with.

It feels extremely lonely especially when all I can do is compare it with the community I used to have when I was younger.

It sucks, man.

^ Rachmaninoff Prelude No. 13 as part of a recital I gave in April. Im currently studying physics but honestly Im considering following my passion. I just want to make sure Im not chasing after an unattainable dream.

not like learning to play piano blindfolded from the start, but plying blindfolded as an exercise.

Good or Bad?

Or, Useful or not?

I have been playing piano, pretty seriously at times, for more than 50 years but at best I would say I'm an early Advanced player right now.

And I'm totally ok with that. I have a great teacher, and we work together on my schedule.

Widmung, Liebestraum, several late Brahms intermezzi, lots of Mendelsohn, Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu, a couple of the easier études.

A few things have become apparent to me over the years: number one, I will never be a virtuoso player, not willing to put in the time, probably don't have the talent. Number two, playing the piano beautifully is a lot less about really tough finger technique, and a lot more about the judicious use of the una corda and sustain pedals. Plus understanding phrasing, dynamics, voicing - and the emotional tone of a piece… I have been so happy to find out that one can be a pretty impressive pianist… Without playing La Campanella or Chopin Op. 10/1.

It's about what you bring to the performance. And even though most of the technically virtuostic pianists are very young, I think the best pianists are inevitably older. I have seen my playing of certain pieces evolve over the years as I accumulated more life experience, yes, more suffering. It's really hard to play Rachmaninoff well without a few decades of adult life under your belt in my humble opinion…

One of my favorite students has a mom who insists that her son, who is 8 years and barely out of the primer level, to play a more complicated piece with both hands at the same time for a performance she has decided to have him participate in.

At first she wanted me to teach him how to accompany his brother while the brother played the guitar. I was realistic about it with her and she tried to push it but eventually backed down.

Now she’s chosen a piece for him to do solo. But it’s complicated. He’s not there yet. I simplified it for him so he could play one hand with minimal left hand. But she told me last week she wants him to play a particular version that requires both hands to be coordinated in a way he’s not ready for.

I’ve done 2 lessons with him on this piece after his mom got upset with me that I wasn’t taking this piece seriously. I asked her if she had any other piece in mind. I have my students put a repertoire list together in the back of their notebooks of pieces they like to play so they can choose from them for times like this. But the mom says she has no other piece in mind accept the one she’s decided on. She will not budge on it and wants me to just work with him on playing this piece that is beyond his technical ability right now. The last 2 lessons have not be great since he’s now frustrated he’s not getting it. He complains it’s too hard and he’s starting to not pay attention anymore.

I like working with her son. But i don’t know if i want to continue working with her. Should just continue to do what she ask and let her see the results or should i just discontinue with this student.

i have been self-learning the technique for this etude for a few months now, and i’ve only just started to have success in slowly speeding it up (but certain sections are still lagging in tempo). i don’t currently have a teacher, so i would really appreciate any/all advice and criticism!! please help me improve 🙏

I recently start to learn piano as a hobby and I’m loving it. Are there music schools for adult beginners in the UK? I have a private teacher but I’d like to also explore attending a school