Fellow pianists?

[J. Crawford]

Any pianists out there? I plan on getting a Casio CDP100 for Christmas, as it seems the best bang for buck with weighted keys, 88 keys, etc. Plus, coupons and such.

Im totally new to this.. I can play the beginning and tidbits of Great Gig In the Sky by Pink Floyd.. and name middle C and the surround octaves and notes. Thats really it.

I plan to take lessons and become a better musician with it. Learn to read notes better than I do, theory, etc.

Im just inquiring! Thanks guys/girls!

[warwick.hoy]

I've got an old out of tune Betsy Ross Spinet. The only thing I can remember from 9 years of lessons is the Entertainer. I can sit down with a simple piece and usually learn it (taught myself the Rhodes part in Radiohead's Everything in it's Right Place).

It's good to have some sort of keyboard if you plan on taking any college theory/music courses and it's just a good tool to have around even if you aren't. Can help in the writing process.

Shouldn't this be in Misc though?

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

I've got an old out of tune Betsy Ross Spinet. The only thing I can remember from 9 years of lessons is the Entertainer. I can sit down with a simple piece and usually learn it (taught myself the Rhodes part in Radiohead's Everything in it's Right Place).

It's good to have some sort of keyboard if you plan on taking any college theory/music courses and it's just a good tool to have around even if you aren't. Can help in the writing process.

Shouldn't this be in Misc though?

I made a similiar thread about which piano to actually buy and it died almost immediately. No responses. OT gets lots of traffic, I thought it would be better here.

[Darkstrike]

I plan on getting a mini synth keyboard for Christmas, like the Alesis Micron, if that counts?

[J. Crawford]

Its got keys.

[capnsandwich]

I started out on piano at age 3, believe it or not. I was playing Chariots of Fire at age 5, again no lie. I played all the way up until I was 10 and we moved to Germany. that's when we sold the piano, lost a good piano teacher, and puberty started taking over. I haven't really touched it much but my wife is really good at playing. We have an old upright in our condo here and there are about 2-3 keyboards around. I use guitar as my main song writing tool but can still pick out notes and tunes on the piano. I just lost all my mechanical skills on it.

Piano is a great way to study theory because you have 10 fingers, as opposed to 4 on bass and guitar, to chord with. You can mix just about every possible chord and scale together and play bass, harmony, and melody at the same time. It does take some left hand/right hand training just like drums do but it's easier to train, IMO at least. I still can't get my left foot and my right hand to play on different beats on drums.

I say attack that instrument with everything you've got and learn to love theory. You'll become a song writing machine in a matter of time.

[Joe Gress]

Started learning piano this semester. It's kind of a pain sometimes, but the more practice and repetition you do, the easier it will be. Learn treble clef, and the grand clef. Oh, and your bass playing will probably improve as well since your knowledge of chords and their uses will improve greatly.

[geeza]

Piano was my first instrument - started at 4 and took lessons for about 8 years. My knowledge of piano helped me learn other instruments, many on my own, for example the bass. Take some lessons and stay serious with it, even if it's just a couple years. It will help immensely.

[J. Crawford]

And as some of you know, I take my music very seriously.

Ill definitely stick to it.

[DerHoggz]

Well, we have had a grand piano for my entire life, a couple years ago we got an old Hammond organ, and just this month an MM8. I've always meant to learn, but never made the time to. The synth really interests me though so I'm going to try soon.

Off Topic: I found an old classical guitar that I'm going to learn also. We used to have a banjo, but my mom thinks she might have sold it.

[Fassa Albrecht]

I play keys....
















...badly.

[Ground Pounder]

Semi-amateur pianist here, as I only play around once in a while.

I bought a digital last year - a Casio Privia PX-120. I played the CDP-100, but I liked the action and fluidity of the voicing a lot more on the PX-120. It feels more like an actual piano dynamically, and with MIDI, you can always move into the realm of virtual instrument tones if you ever want to do anything beyond what the internal sound engine can do.

[onewebfoot]

Using and flirting with a Yamaha PSR530 that I've had (bought used) for years. I even worked up to proficiency with several Hanon exercises. Chord progressions I've known for years, and that's where the therapy lies for me. I mean, I'd love to be able to pound out Elton John or classical classics at group parties, but it's playing chords with sustain pedal, and knocking out the arpeggios on fretless bass that's my most frequent application. Future keyboard ambitions entail chord progressions in composition efforts.

[EagleMoon]

I took piano lessons for a lot of years when I was a kid. I can sit down and sight-read if I have to, even though it would be really slow. I haven't played anything on a keyboard in a long time. I suppose it would be fun if you were playing stuff that you really wanted to play, but when I started out you pretty much played what they told you.

[doctorjazz]

I play a little. Just enough to pass my piano proficiency exam, although I'm a bit out of practice since then. I remember some fragments of a couple pieces by Schubert and Debussy, and I can generally come up with some sort of accompaniment for any set of changes.

[SelenaBassGirl]

I play...always had a piano in the house since I was about 7 years old.

[ameshokostreet]

I play some, I own the CDP100. It is cheap for a weighted 88 keys piano and sounds good as well. The in built speaker however, is weak and you might have to connect it to something else to get it to sound louder. The action and feel is pretty good but the keys makes a plastic noise whenever I press a little harder. Good enough for practice and it works well for me.

[SquierBender]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

I play keys....
















...badly.

Same here.

[L-A]

I can play synths & pads pretty well, but since I got used to those, the decay time of a piano always catches me off guard. I should go back to it for some time.

I know the required theory, but I'm not fluent with it, if that makes sense.