5 ms·

I just started learning the piano again, and using modern apps (such as Simply Piano) makes it actually fun. Ten years ago, I couldn't bear through reading shee

I just started learning the piano again, and using modern apps (such as Simply Piano) makes it actually fun. Ten years ago, I couldn't bear through reading sheet music, making mistakes and got discouraged. But now, learning to play is like playing Guitar Hero. You get instant feedback, guidance on what and how to play. It's great. We'll see how long it stays "fun", but atm I'm making progress every day.

zubspace 4y ago
I'm on the fence about apps like Simply Piano. I have a subscription since more than half a year and yes it's fun and I'm making progress albeit slowly. But I have the impression that it focuses too much on simple songs or techniques. When I look at the introductory piano books of my wife I'm completely overwhelmed. Like my mind is unable to process the notes without an app that tells me what keys to press. Can't really explain it. I won't cancel my subscription yet. but I think that at some point 1-to-1 interactions with a teacher is invaluable.
- addandsubtract 4y ago
  I get that, too. I struggle to even play "Over the Rainbow". Moving the hands, coordinating the hands is still a big brain fuck in week 1. But, I'm not sure how much a teacher would help me at this stage. I think I just have to practice more, recall which key plays which note, and nail down the individual parts. A teacher might be more valuable later down the line when I somewhat know what I'm doing and correct my path.
  - fsw 4y ago
    He would help you in preventing you from learning the wrong things that can take a long time to "unlearn" again later.
- mrbombastic 4y ago
  Same to be honest, I am pretty grateful just for the fact that the app got me back into piano but I was pretty alarmed when I tried to play some beginner’s songs from a songbook and really struggled. I just finished Pre-Advanced so I was kind of thinking it would be a cake walk. I think the downside of the immediate feedback is you can kind of guess a few times until you get the note right and then just do it from memory and don’t really have to learn to read at sight, I noticed my reading of the bass clef is really not there at all when you take that away. Thinking of finishing the program and getting a real teacher. I am sure they will also tell me my technique is crap but all part of learning I guess.
fsw 4y ago
"Learning the piano" is nothing like Guitar Hero, though. These apps just tell you (and check) which key to press in what order. They don't teach you anything about musicality like dynamics or articulation. They often can't even tell if you played multiple notes simultaneously or if your timing was correct. If you cannot already play the piano, what you get is just a fancy way to learn reading (parts of) sheet music with the ability to connect a MIDI keyboard.
cousin_it 4y ago
As your music ambition grows, at some point you'll get to the hard part: building the 5-way translation between what you hear, what you play, what you sing, what notes you see on the page, and what sounds you imagine in your mind. The more time you spend on only one line in this pentagram (for example translating from notes on the page to playing an instrument), the bigger the "imbalance" will be when you eventually realize you need the entire pentagram. You'll turn to sight-singing, dictation, audiation and all these other exercises everybody hates, your progress will be slow and difficult, but by then you'll know why it's necessary.

zubspace 4y ago

I'm on the fence about apps like Simply Piano. I have a subscription since more than half a year and yes it's fun and I'm making progress albeit slowly. But I have the impression that it focuses too much on simple songs or techniques. When I look at the introductory piano books of my wife I'm completely overwhelmed. Like my mind is unable to process the notes without an app that tells me what keys to press. Can't really explain it. I won't cancel my subscription yet. but I think that at some point 1-to-1 interactions with a teacher is invaluable.

addandsubtract 4y ago
I get that, too. I struggle to even play "Over the Rainbow". Moving the hands, coordinating the hands is still a big brain fuck in week 1. But, I'm not sure how much a teacher would help me at this stage. I think I just have to practice more, recall which key plays which note, and nail down the individual parts. A teacher might be more valuable later down the line when I somewhat know what I'm doing and correct my path.
- fsw 4y ago
  He would help you in preventing you from learning the wrong things that can take a long time to "unlearn" again later.
mrbombastic 4y ago
Same to be honest, I am pretty grateful just for the fact that the app got me back into piano but I was pretty alarmed when I tried to play some beginner’s songs from a songbook and really struggled. I just finished Pre-Advanced so I was kind of thinking it would be a cake walk. I think the downside of the immediate feedback is you can kind of guess a few times until you get the note right and then just do it from memory and don’t really have to learn to read at sight, I noticed my reading of the bass clef is really not there at all when you take that away. Thinking of finishing the program and getting a real teacher. I am sure they will also tell me my technique is crap but all part of learning I guess.

fsw 4y ago

"Learning the piano" is nothing like Guitar Hero, though. These apps just tell you (and check) which key to press in what order. They don't teach you anything about musicality like dynamics or articulation. They often can't even tell if you played multiple notes simultaneously or if your timing was correct. If you cannot already play the piano, what you get is just a fancy way to learn reading (parts of) sheet music with the ability to connect a MIDI keyboard.

cousin_it 4y ago

As your music ambition grows, at some point you'll get to the hard part: building the 5-way translation between what you hear, what you play, what you sing, what notes you see on the page, and what sounds you imagine in your mind. The more time you spend on only one line in this pentagram (for example translating from notes on the page to playing an instrument), the bigger the "imbalance" will be when you eventually realize you need the entire pentagram. You'll turn to sight-singing, dictation, audiation and all these other exercises everybody hates, your progress will be slow and difficult, but by then you'll know why it's necessary.