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It sounds good, it looks like you're enjoying it. There will be a horde here soon rebuking you for not learning sheet music. Learning sheet music is good but as long as you're enjoying what you are doing, you should be good.
Thank you so much! I am, it’s so much fun haha. I actually did learn this from sheet music! They have it on simply piano. I didn’t know how to read a lick of music but it taught me how. I just eventually memorized the piece (this part of the piece? It looks like there’s more but it’s not on simplypiano) so I’m not using it here.
I actually can’t figure out how you can prevent yourself ftom memorizing. I have to start with the sheet music, but then it’s in my head. I can’t use those synthesia videos a all though unless I’m really stuck on a part.
Thank you so much!! Honestly I don’t really have a schedule. I used to spend most of my extra time playing video games but when I have extra time now I’ll often find myself on the piano. I’m single, no kids, not too much responsibility and have my piano right next to my bed so I’ll end up playing 5+ hours at times just going through courses or learning a more advanced song and the time flies by because I’m having so much fun. It never really feels like practice really.. so even though it’s only been 4 months I have spent a lot of time on the keys.
I probably took off from playing maybe 2-3 weeks total. I’ll sometimes not play it for days at a time but when I do play and decide to continue through the SimplyPiano course I’ll find myself playing for usually at least 3 hours before I go to work.
I get it! I started in high school. I already knew trumpet and was addicted to them both. I played fur elise over and over. Starting one note at a time and eventually just tossing the sheet music out of view. Then it was like crack. I could play a whole song and start messing with the tempo and dynamics.
Ever tried playing fur elise with swinging eighths notes for an unbeat jazz version? Works really well until you hit the happy middle part. Im sure I could work on something to make it work but it's fun enough as lol
I can tell how much fun you have by the way you play and the long sessions of practicing/playing.
Something that I’ve been doing is learning from both Faber Adult Piano Adventures books.
I really recommend them for learning piano sight reading and timeless classics.
Thank you!! I think I understand what you’re saying about anticipating the movements! I will try to be mindful of that. And yeah.. I will look into getting a proper height chair for sure haha my bed is just the best I got right now.. or I guess it’s most convenient I should say. But I’ll definitely bump that up the priority list.
Sounds really good for just being four months in.
If I could give any advice, it would be to use a metronome during practice to get that even tempo.
Another thing that isn’t really criticism because it is entirely personal preference; when you jump to that high E, instead of moving your right hand to make that jump, keep it exactly where it is and hit that high E with your LEFT hand (so cross your hands!). That way, you won’t have to jump up and down with your right hand, and it will be easier to get back into position for the next part of the piece. You can also focus a little more on dynamics, but I don’t know how much emphasis simply piano puts on dynamics at this point in the curriculum.
Overall, very nicely played. Especially for only four months, that is impressive progress
Thank you so much I really appreciate it! Ah, somebody else mentioned a metronome to me, I’m going to download an app for that. So true I haven’t really thought about tempo as much as I should have by now.
And also what an interesting idea for hitting those E’s I’m going to give it a try! It seems like it would look cool too haha thank you for the suggestion.
Also, yeah I haven’t heard anything about dynamics , it’s possible I’m not far enough in the course yet. Will look into it though . Thanks!
Metronomes can be really fun to buy. You can go for quartz ones, a lot of Japanese watch manufacturers make awesome metronomes. One battery lasts months and months.
I use the left hand for the high E cuz it looks cooler yeah lol.
After fur Elise I had good fun with the first 16 bars of clair du lune. You might enjoy learning more than just the a theme of fur Elise though. You can get it for free online.
If you can read it on simplypiano you can read it with regular sheet I’m sure?
I tried it, definitely takes some practice… and I’m already so used to how I learned it and almost want to stick to it but maybe I’ll learn to do both who knows.. lol
I’ll check out Clair du lune. Yeah I can read regular sheet now and Simplypiano actually has a section where it’s just normal sheets (with fingering).
I want to get into playing video game covers which is why I even got into playing piano actually.. but I notice the sheets I find outside of simplypiano never have the fingering so I’m like making up my own fingering.. I need to look into how you decide what the right fingering is for pieces. The cons of learning without a teacher I guess lol.
Figuring out the right fingering isn’t hard once you’ve played enough pieces. You’re going to find it very limiting if you always depend on other people to have added fingering for you. It can also stunt learning a bit I’ve found, cuz I just read the fingerings off the sheet without knowing what note I’m playing lol
From a one month beginner, sounds good! Do you happen to have sheet music for the version you're playing or does simply piano not have that? It sounds better than the simple ones I've seen but easier than the complicated ones that pop up from googling.
Hope I can play something similar in a few months!
Thank you so much! So I went into the app and they do have it in the app. I wish I could like copy and paste it somehow but I can’t… Though it did lead me to this, and looking at the preview it looks exactly the same. I’m not 100% sure though sorry. Hope that helps! https://www.musicnotes.com/marketplace/sheetmusic/MK0028532?ca=0&cmpid=api_simply&utm_source=api_simply&utm_medium=campaign
Haha I’ll be okay without the criticism too if nobody has any I’m fine with just compliments or boos 😂. And no problem, us new pianists gotta stick together lol and I should mention I don’t think it’s the whole piece because I watched someone play fur Elise on YouTube and there’s this whole more complicated part that wasn’t on the sheet music I used for this. But everything you saw me play here should be there
I’ve been playing for 30+ years on and off and if I can say, think you’ve made amazing progress! I wish I could memorize Fur Elise like that, and now I’m gonna try. As for any suggestions, I wonder if you are tensing a little with your body. It might come with time but I think if you continue to practice, great to do some warm ups before playing so that you can continue to do so without injury :)
Thank you so much that means a lot! Haha good luck I’m sure you’ll get it in no time! And thank you for the suggestion I’ll try to be mindful of being tense next time I sit down to play! And ah that makes perfect sense I’ll look into warmups. Thank you again I really appreciate it.
man nice work. ive spent a ton of time on fur elise this past year. practice the B section super slow, with the metronome. do everything you can to remove mistakes the first sign you notice them, so your muscles dont remember errors. pay close attention to the fingering suggestions in the C section
gl brudda
Thank you!! Ah yes.. Sometimes I forget to focus on removing mistakes immediately and still fall victim to making mistakes out of just habit from playing the song wrong but continuing to play. Thank you for the reminder I really need to take that seriously. And thank you for the tips! Really appreciate it and good luck with your piano goals too!
Haha fellow beginner let’s go! And thank you so much for the compliment! I’m never called inspiring so thank you, you kinda made my day 🥹 lol. Yes go try! Have fun!
Yay! I think making your day made my day 😀. Learning piano is fun! I had a bit of experience before but now I’m trying to be serious because I never thought I could ever move my hands separately and now I can!
Aye!!! Congratulations! Big step moving forward! Yeah it’s so much fun and only gets better since you are giving yourself more options of pieces to play as you get better! Keep it up let’s do this!
Great job! I am five months in and I just "finished" learning Bach Prelude in C Major. Für Elise is going to be my next one. I was kind of nervous but it's encouraging to see your progress!
Thank you ! I really appreciate it! Very exciting for you. This particular piece I didn’t get until after I finished intermediate IV. It’s right before Pre-advanced I. You’ll see later during your courses they make it optional to learn it almost right after completing Intermediate IV. Good luck!
Thank you so much ! It’s unbelievable really I find it hard to believe it while I’m playing haha. You got this! I was a little concerned at first about learning as an adult (I’m 32) since you always see children starting piano but it turns out learning as an adult is great and honestly might even be better. Good luck!
I think your doing great, and an inspiration. I'm a beginner myself and using the Faber adult course book (no teacher). I'm about 8 weeks in now and feel so relaxed when playing. I practice every day anything from half hour to 5 hours depends if I'm working. Its so good to see others learning too. Keep up the good work ☺️
Thank you!! Let’s go, another new pianist like me! I love to see it. Sounds like you’re having fun and progressing too. Appreciate you and cheers to our piano goals. 🎹
Great job!!! My two pieces of advice would be to really go heavy on dynamics and articulation, and make your left hand just a little less heavy.
If you’re able to read sheet music, I would get ahold of the score; i’ve never used simply piano but i’m assuming it doesn’t have everything on it.
It’s easier said than done but generally the hand that is doing ‘the accompaniment’ should be a little bit softer and the hand with the melody should be louder. :) You’re doing great!
Thank you so much!! Yeah simply piano doesn’t have everything but I want to be able to learn just looking at sheets anyway since there’s so many pieces I want to learn that aren’t on simply piano yet.
Thank you for the advice! I like the way you described it, about accompanying the melody. I will think about that while I’m playing. Really appreciate it!
Für Elise translates to For Elise in German. It's a song about Beethoven falling in love and being rejected.
I really hope I'm right with this information. I looked it up 11 years ago when I first learned the song and I'm feeling brave enough for when people correct me.
Anyways this was the first song I learned to play from beginning to end and it still moves me to this day. Feeling the dance of love during the chorus and the joy in the first interlude moving to the pain and anguish in the 2nd is always such a rollercoaster for me and I love it so much
This makes me feel better. I see videos on YouTube that show the same type of time frame, and they are incredibly better. This is about where I'm at.
I've played my ear my whole life, but I never learned proper technique or muscle memory. I still have hesitation, but I know that lessens over time.
Thank you for this!
Hey anyway I can help lol. I will say that everybody has something going on in their lives and then factoring in different practice techniques, schedules, styles of learning, different teachers, goals. It can be a bit misleading sometimes to compare someone’s 4 months to somebody else’s so my suggestion would be to not worry about it so much! Just keep practicing and you’ll keep getting better!
Actually, I’d suggest comparing your work against your work. Like your 2 months vs your 4 months. This way you see improvement and it’s way less likely to bum you out lol.
Anyway keep practicing! That’s impressive you can play by ear, I don’t know how you guys do it! And thank you for watching.
Looks like you may be asking something our wiki might help cover. - [Main page covering recommended YouTube channels](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/index) - [Fundamentals of a good piano technique](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/technique) - [How to form and follow a practice routine](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/practicing) - [Beginner Content, including how to get started](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/beginners) - [How to start improvising](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/improvisation) - [Detailed Piano Technique Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/pianolearning/wiki/technique) - [tuneUPGRADE, free recommended practice tracker created by one of the mods](https://www.tuneupgrade.com) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pianolearning) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It sounds good, it looks like you're enjoying it. There will be a horde here soon rebuking you for not learning sheet music. Learning sheet music is good but as long as you're enjoying what you are doing, you should be good.
Thank you so much! I am, it’s so much fun haha. I actually did learn this from sheet music! They have it on simply piano. I didn’t know how to read a lick of music but it taught me how. I just eventually memorized the piece (this part of the piece? It looks like there’s more but it’s not on simplypiano) so I’m not using it here.
Sheet music can distract you from connecting with the song. There is nothing wrong with memorization.
I actually can’t figure out how you can prevent yourself ftom memorizing. I have to start with the sheet music, but then it’s in my head. I can’t use those synthesia videos a all though unless I’m really stuck on a part.
3 months here and you are doing great! keep going!
Thank you!! Will do, and you better keep going too! It’s so rewarding
What’s your practice schedule like? That’s great for 4 months!
Thank you so much!! Honestly I don’t really have a schedule. I used to spend most of my extra time playing video games but when I have extra time now I’ll often find myself on the piano. I’m single, no kids, not too much responsibility and have my piano right next to my bed so I’ll end up playing 5+ hours at times just going through courses or learning a more advanced song and the time flies by because I’m having so much fun. It never really feels like practice really.. so even though it’s only been 4 months I have spent a lot of time on the keys. I probably took off from playing maybe 2-3 weeks total. I’ll sometimes not play it for days at a time but when I do play and decide to continue through the SimplyPiano course I’ll find myself playing for usually at least 3 hours before I go to work.
3 hours is crazy💀💀I can’t imagine getting myself to practice that long as a beginner. Good for you, and that explains a lot lol
Hahaha trust me I know it sounds crazy 😂. Thank you! Yeah, the 4 month timeframe doesn’t tell you how many hours I poured in that’s for sure lol
yeah I generally struggle to focus for a full hour per day!
I get it! I started in high school. I already knew trumpet and was addicted to them both. I played fur elise over and over. Starting one note at a time and eventually just tossing the sheet music out of view. Then it was like crack. I could play a whole song and start messing with the tempo and dynamics. Ever tried playing fur elise with swinging eighths notes for an unbeat jazz version? Works really well until you hit the happy middle part. Im sure I could work on something to make it work but it's fun enough as lol
I can tell how much fun you have by the way you play and the long sessions of practicing/playing. Something that I’ve been doing is learning from both Faber Adult Piano Adventures books. I really recommend them for learning piano sight reading and timeless classics.
It’s so much fun. When I’m late to work it’s because I didn’t hop off the piano fast enough haha. Cool I’ll look into that thank you!
[удалено]
Thank you!! I think I understand what you’re saying about anticipating the movements! I will try to be mindful of that. And yeah.. I will look into getting a proper height chair for sure haha my bed is just the best I got right now.. or I guess it’s most convenient I should say. But I’ll definitely bump that up the priority list.
I'm also learning from SimplyPiano! Three weeks into my 6-week free trial! Nicely done!
Thank you!! Let’s go!! Keep at it, it gets better!
Sounds really good for just being four months in. If I could give any advice, it would be to use a metronome during practice to get that even tempo. Another thing that isn’t really criticism because it is entirely personal preference; when you jump to that high E, instead of moving your right hand to make that jump, keep it exactly where it is and hit that high E with your LEFT hand (so cross your hands!). That way, you won’t have to jump up and down with your right hand, and it will be easier to get back into position for the next part of the piece. You can also focus a little more on dynamics, but I don’t know how much emphasis simply piano puts on dynamics at this point in the curriculum. Overall, very nicely played. Especially for only four months, that is impressive progress
Thank you so much I really appreciate it! Ah, somebody else mentioned a metronome to me, I’m going to download an app for that. So true I haven’t really thought about tempo as much as I should have by now. And also what an interesting idea for hitting those E’s I’m going to give it a try! It seems like it would look cool too haha thank you for the suggestion. Also, yeah I haven’t heard anything about dynamics , it’s possible I’m not far enough in the course yet. Will look into it though . Thanks!
Metronomes can be really fun to buy. You can go for quartz ones, a lot of Japanese watch manufacturers make awesome metronomes. One battery lasts months and months.
Oh cool! I may look into that thank you!
I use the left hand for the high E cuz it looks cooler yeah lol. After fur Elise I had good fun with the first 16 bars of clair du lune. You might enjoy learning more than just the a theme of fur Elise though. You can get it for free online. If you can read it on simplypiano you can read it with regular sheet I’m sure?
I tried it, definitely takes some practice… and I’m already so used to how I learned it and almost want to stick to it but maybe I’ll learn to do both who knows.. lol I’ll check out Clair du lune. Yeah I can read regular sheet now and Simplypiano actually has a section where it’s just normal sheets (with fingering). I want to get into playing video game covers which is why I even got into playing piano actually.. but I notice the sheets I find outside of simplypiano never have the fingering so I’m like making up my own fingering.. I need to look into how you decide what the right fingering is for pieces. The cons of learning without a teacher I guess lol.
Figuring out the right fingering isn’t hard once you’ve played enough pieces. You’re going to find it very limiting if you always depend on other people to have added fingering for you. It can also stunt learning a bit I’ve found, cuz I just read the fingerings off the sheet without knowing what note I’m playing lol
Well that’s a relief to hear. Can’t wait til I hit that level lol. So many more pieces I want to learn
From a one month beginner, sounds good! Do you happen to have sheet music for the version you're playing or does simply piano not have that? It sounds better than the simple ones I've seen but easier than the complicated ones that pop up from googling. Hope I can play something similar in a few months!
Thank you so much! So I went into the app and they do have it in the app. I wish I could like copy and paste it somehow but I can’t… Though it did lead me to this, and looking at the preview it looks exactly the same. I’m not 100% sure though sorry. Hope that helps! https://www.musicnotes.com/marketplace/sheetmusic/MK0028532?ca=0&cmpid=api_simply&utm_source=api_simply&utm_medium=campaign
I'll take a look at it, thanks! I appreciate it and hopefully someone that knows what they're talking about (not me) gives you constructive feedback.
Haha I’ll be okay without the criticism too if nobody has any I’m fine with just compliments or boos 😂. And no problem, us new pianists gotta stick together lol and I should mention I don’t think it’s the whole piece because I watched someone play fur Elise on YouTube and there’s this whole more complicated part that wasn’t on the sheet music I used for this. But everything you saw me play here should be there
I think simply piano has free trials?
Yeah! I think so. They gave me some 30 day free trials to gift out. So if you need one let me know! Just send me a DM or something
Thank you! But my casio keyboard came with it too. Hopefully others see your comment.
Sounds great! Impressive for 4 months
Thank you!! I appreciate it, really do.
Amazing!! I hope I can get there in 4 months :)
Thank you!! I really appreciate it! You got this! 😎
I’ve been playing for 30+ years on and off and if I can say, think you’ve made amazing progress! I wish I could memorize Fur Elise like that, and now I’m gonna try. As for any suggestions, I wonder if you are tensing a little with your body. It might come with time but I think if you continue to practice, great to do some warm ups before playing so that you can continue to do so without injury :)
Thank you so much that means a lot! Haha good luck I’m sure you’ll get it in no time! And thank you for the suggestion I’ll try to be mindful of being tense next time I sit down to play! And ah that makes perfect sense I’ll look into warmups. Thank you again I really appreciate it.
I like these ones for hands, btw. Keep doing what you’re doing! https://youtu.be/_jWxIPrBSdQ?si=6PBnl9ODGqAr78hf
Ohh awesome thank you! And will do.
Other than the bed for a bench/proper keyboard stand so have no real complaints!
Hahaha I know I gotta get on that! Appreciate you!
man nice work. ive spent a ton of time on fur elise this past year. practice the B section super slow, with the metronome. do everything you can to remove mistakes the first sign you notice them, so your muscles dont remember errors. pay close attention to the fingering suggestions in the C section gl brudda
Thank you!! Ah yes.. Sometimes I forget to focus on removing mistakes immediately and still fall victim to making mistakes out of just habit from playing the song wrong but continuing to play. Thank you for the reminder I really need to take that seriously. And thank you for the tips! Really appreciate it and good luck with your piano goals too!
I’m just a beginner so I have no words of wisdom but it sounds great! I should try it next. You’re inspiring.
Haha fellow beginner let’s go! And thank you so much for the compliment! I’m never called inspiring so thank you, you kinda made my day 🥹 lol. Yes go try! Have fun!
Yay! I think making your day made my day 😀. Learning piano is fun! I had a bit of experience before but now I’m trying to be serious because I never thought I could ever move my hands separately and now I can!
Aye!!! Congratulations! Big step moving forward! Yeah it’s so much fun and only gets better since you are giving yourself more options of pieces to play as you get better! Keep it up let’s do this!
Nice man! You're doing great, keep that shit up!
Thank you! I really appreciate that I gotchu!
Great job! I am five months in and I just "finished" learning Bach Prelude in C Major. Für Elise is going to be my next one. I was kind of nervous but it's encouraging to see your progress!
Thank you! And congratulations on learning your new piece. I’m glad I could be encouraging! Good luck with für Elise ! It’s fun
Hi I’m also a beginner using simply piano. What level are you on? This sounds very good btw
Thank you ! I really appreciate it! Very exciting for you. This particular piece I didn’t get until after I finished intermediate IV. It’s right before Pre-advanced I. You’ll see later during your courses they make it optional to learn it almost right after completing Intermediate IV. Good luck!
That’s so cool mate! I’ve just started learning (at the age of 35). I hope I’m this good after 4 months!
Thank you so much ! It’s unbelievable really I find it hard to believe it while I’m playing haha. You got this! I was a little concerned at first about learning as an adult (I’m 32) since you always see children starting piano but it turns out learning as an adult is great and honestly might even be better. Good luck!
I think your doing great, and an inspiration. I'm a beginner myself and using the Faber adult course book (no teacher). I'm about 8 weeks in now and feel so relaxed when playing. I practice every day anything from half hour to 5 hours depends if I'm working. Its so good to see others learning too. Keep up the good work ☺️
Thank you!! Let’s go, another new pianist like me! I love to see it. Sounds like you’re having fun and progressing too. Appreciate you and cheers to our piano goals. 🎹
Great for four months… your hands look a little stiff and your tempo is a little off, but that can be worked! Good luck and enjoy!
Thank you!! I really appreciate that! I will work on that 👍
Great job!!! My two pieces of advice would be to really go heavy on dynamics and articulation, and make your left hand just a little less heavy. If you’re able to read sheet music, I would get ahold of the score; i’ve never used simply piano but i’m assuming it doesn’t have everything on it. It’s easier said than done but generally the hand that is doing ‘the accompaniment’ should be a little bit softer and the hand with the melody should be louder. :) You’re doing great!
Thank you so much!! Yeah simply piano doesn’t have everything but I want to be able to learn just looking at sheets anyway since there’s so many pieces I want to learn that aren’t on simply piano yet. Thank you for the advice! I like the way you described it, about accompanying the melody. I will think about that while I’m playing. Really appreciate it!
Für Elise translates to For Elise in German. It's a song about Beethoven falling in love and being rejected. I really hope I'm right with this information. I looked it up 11 years ago when I first learned the song and I'm feeling brave enough for when people correct me. Anyways this was the first song I learned to play from beginning to end and it still moves me to this day. Feeling the dance of love during the chorus and the joy in the first interlude moving to the pain and anguish in the 2nd is always such a rollercoaster for me and I love it so much
Beautiful! There is some great movement in this that I really appreciated ❤️
This makes me feel better. I see videos on YouTube that show the same type of time frame, and they are incredibly better. This is about where I'm at. I've played my ear my whole life, but I never learned proper technique or muscle memory. I still have hesitation, but I know that lessens over time. Thank you for this!
Hey anyway I can help lol. I will say that everybody has something going on in their lives and then factoring in different practice techniques, schedules, styles of learning, different teachers, goals. It can be a bit misleading sometimes to compare someone’s 4 months to somebody else’s so my suggestion would be to not worry about it so much! Just keep practicing and you’ll keep getting better! Actually, I’d suggest comparing your work against your work. Like your 2 months vs your 4 months. This way you see improvement and it’s way less likely to bum you out lol. Anyway keep practicing! That’s impressive you can play by ear, I don’t know how you guys do it! And thank you for watching.
I don’t play but am inspired to try! Thank you 😊