studying music, alone or with teacher.... which one?

transistor

yup, got a silly question here, some people say when you are going to start learning music from scratch in your 20's (yeah it's extremely late for me too) you have to learn things really quickly, is a teacher really needed?

ok, i mean i know a teacher will guide you and teach you the proper way of playing a musical instrument, but.... what if you just want to be able to play piano like stuart during PSII? especially Mambo de chocobo Smile

not aiming for orchestra (at least not yet), is practising alone enough to achieve that level? any comment, negative, prositive, neutral are very very appriciated, thanks for your attentions Smile

Santa · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:33 am Post subject:

I say if you want to go further than just playing a few songs and learning slowly, it is better to have a teacher. A teacher will teach you the correct technique and give you far more insight to how you are playing (and if you are playing correctly) than reading a book.

transistor · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:23 pm Post subject:

hhhmmm, yeah looks like a teacher is needed by us the late comers to music world eh? yeah mentioning that i remember that i played few songs with flat tone, didn't realize it until a friend of mine couldn't put up with them anymore and started teaching me a bit hehe

ehm yeah anyway, is there any kind of music school here? i mean in Asia you have heaps of them, but i can't seem to find any for some reason, or do we have to find our own teachers?

athira · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:25 pm Post subject:

I used to learn piano with a teacher for 2 long years, on and off...

Up until now, I am still not able to read music notes.
I am blind in music notes! ><

jyrds · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:52 pm Post subject:

I found it easier to play with some1 you are friends with, so increase in competition so you want to practise more. Or you have good self motivation then single classes are alrite. Single is more expensive, but better..

saibot23 · Newbie Joined: 02 Oct 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Home

hmmm a teacher would def be the way to go but i dont think it is entirely necessary. for example, if you want to play something that badly that u will practise until you can play perfectly then you will do just that, practise until you have it. early this year i bought a keyboard because i just had to play FF songs. one in particular was Troian Beauty from FF IV. i have perfected the song because i wanted to that badly. also, i lot of sites now are putting sheet music out in a scorch file format which plays it how it should be, giving you the correct notes and so forth. that does help for sure....

saibot23 · Newbie Joined: 02 Oct 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Home

hmmm a teacher would def be the way to go but i dont think it is entirely necessary. for example, if you want to play something that badly that u will practise until you can play perfectly then you will do just that, practise until you have it. early this year i bought a keyboard because i just had to play FF songs. one in particular was Troian Beauty from FF IV. i have perfected the song because i wanted to that badly. also, i lot of sites now are putting sheet music out in a scorch file format which plays it how it should be, giving you the correct notes and so forth. that does help for sure....

chocohi · Mega Forum Addict! Joined: 09 Sep 2005 Posts: 526

A bit late i think... but...
I'ld definately say go find a teacher. I've always learnt with a teacher, but you also still have to really really practice a lot. Chocobo songs from FF can be complicated in rhythm and finger patterns, especially for a beginner.
I'm sure if you find a teacher and hand them the sheet music to the song, they would be happy to help you learn it.
Also a tip, keep practicing reading music, it will come more naturally to you later and faster if you concentrate on just reading and naming notes. ( It gets to the point where you just read it like how you are reading this post right now)

menchi · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:11 am Post subject:

It also depends what you're learning... (like guitar for instance... some people teach themselves) and also how motivated you are on your own.

But yeah... even with guitar I started off with a teacher... however I'm not a very self motivated person so I didn't really get that far. ^^;;

transistor · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:52 am Post subject:

well... on the motivated factor, yeah very motivated so, i agree with mechi that motivation is a critical factor in learning music and progressing (btw if you consider orchestra musicians have been playing music for 90% of their lives, amazing!).

btw saibot mentioned something about scorch file, ive seent them a few times, and used it a couple of times to read music scores but for some reason i didn't realise i can use it to play music Sad

, thanks for the info, i better try it and compare if it's better than MIDI or not (MIDI sounds like a robot playing to me, not a lot of expression going on i reckon)

hhhmmm from what i've been seeing from everone's reply
1. having a teacher is definitely better for learning proper techniques, etc and if you have time to practice
2. If you are motivated enough, you can practice by yourself, but will take longer time

hhhmmm, does anyone know the average price teachers charge per hour?

sorry for the long post

menchi · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:27 pm Post subject:

With the prices... It's more expensive now a days...

I did violin about 3 years ago... that was uhm......... >.> hmm.... $30 half an hour I think... >< argh... can't remember! but yeah... I'm pretty sure you can find someone cheap (find a friend! =D yay!) but if you want someone professional you're looking at about the same prices as getting a driving instructor I think... as with everything... like gym instructors.. bloody $70/hr) T_T

Aikurushii_Lulu · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:46 pm Post subject:

I would definately insist on you getting a teacher Very Happy

I learnt piano for 10 years with a teacher and did pretty well. My mum says now because i'm 20 i should pay for it myself so i decided not to continue lessons (because i dont have a job) and now i hardly play at all because i'm not motivated to work towards something.
When i try learning Final Fantasy songs by myself i do ok, but my teacher always helped me with the little bits i was getting wrong.
I don't think it's too late for you Smile

maybe you could try with a teacher for a little while and see how you go?

transistor · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 12:05 am Post subject:

10 years? oh wow, the last time i learned from a teacher was nearly 15 years ago ouch >_<, well.. i dun know many people in music and i'm applying for a job during summer break, uuggghhhh better find some time to spare for the piano lesson first before looking for a teacher... btw lulu which ff pieces are you trying to play?

Aikurushii_Lulu · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 6:47 pm Post subject:

Well, i learnt 'melodies of life', i started learning 'Suteki da ne' and my sis would play on violin, that was pretty...
Ummm i've also got the entire ff8 OST sheet music, i tried to learn ummm one of the ones at the end, i can't remember the name. and i gave up because it was too hard. Actually, i did learn a few of the songs from disc 1, which were fairly easy. 'Eyes on me' was pretty easy too, but i couldn't play it as pretty as the original...
Oh! I've also got the FFX-2 OST sheet music, i learnt the intro song, it's sooo pretty Very Happy

But yeah it's easier to learn them with a teacher. *sigh*

funkyseefunkydo · Newbie Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 49

teachers for sure, you'll learn heaps faster. hot teachers, you'll be a virtuoso in no time hehe. also, where do you guys get your final fantasy sheet music? theres a few at kinokuniya, but they're all creased, worn out and have bookmarks Mad

Santa · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:56 pm Post subject:

I have yet to figure out where kino have their final fantasy sheet music. Where is that department? Embarassed

CCJc · Hmmm... Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 1011

reading a few profiles, it mentioned quite abit how they were learning under a teacher that has a high level of credentials, if that makes sense

so you can think of them as a tutor, or in a sense in uni, a supervisor right?

Guest · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:57 pm Post subject:

I would love to get my hands on "Tatakau mono tachi" Piano solo from Advent Children... or even hear someone play it.. :p

Alexey~~ *dreamy eyes* hahaha

Except......... T_T there is none.

FF sheetmusic. Gee I've realised I've stopped playing FF music. O_O Oh but then, thats cuz some of my sheetmusic's gone.. *glares at someone* Razz

But go hisaishi music all the way.

And yeh, i'll just repeat what everyone else says. Get a teacher at least at the beginning for you to learn the basics, how etc. Smile

Haven't had a teacher for 8 years. :'( $$ Yet I play almost everyday. It's great.
Except, if I DID have a teacher all the way up until now, I believe I would be 50x better. *sigh*

funkyseefunkydo · Newbie Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 49

mysterious_x · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:28 pm Post subject:

Def get a teacher if you're beginning. After that, if you think you can still get a lot out of lessons, go for it.

If you get a teacher, make sure you learn at a comfortable pace - but not so quickly you won't enjoy it. I had lessons for about 11 years and haven't had a teacher for two and a half years now. The only reason I stopped having lessons was because I figured I needed more time to study in Yr 11. I have friends who were put under tremendous pressure when they learnt, and now they're just not motivated to play anymore... which is a real shame.

I guess the moral of this story is to enjoy it ^^

I like stories. Cool

Aikurushii_Lulu · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:04 pm Post subject:

i find sheetmusic from sites such as animenation.com and ummm *scratches head* .... yeah animenation mostly

bb haha · Eminence Staff Joined: 10 Sep 2005 Posts: 435

i bought the book of ALL ff piano solos from japan last year!!! yep, thats right... ALL ff music!!!! teeheehee =D it was on sale too so i got it for a good price!!! *hugs music book*

Aikurushii_Lulu · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:56 pm Post subject:

i... am... sooooo.... jealous... Evil or Very Mad

transistor · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:18 am Post subject:

yup that's right folks, just in the japanese section, bring along somebody who can read japanese to find them, actually there will a book with words FFX or FFX-2 if you are patient enough to find them, it should be the third column of the big book shelve, just right next to the glass casing containing figurines, if i remember correctly

hhmm music teacher eh? goosshh it's really silly of me, i want to but it's always the time, not money that matters, i need to manage time better arrgghh

funkyseefunkydo, hot teachers? hhhmmm I dun mind if i can ask one of the eminence member to teach Razz

bb haha · Eminence Staff Joined: 10 Sep 2005 Posts: 435

^ lol you mean ayako don't cha transistor? Wink

CCJc · Hmmm... Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 1011

transistor · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:44 am Post subject:

bb haha · Eminence Staff Joined: 10 Sep 2005 Posts: 435

you're easy to see through =P [ don't ask how it works online cuz technically i can't SEE you....aish.. just go with it.. lol... ]

transistor · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 1:17 am Post subject:

Guest · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:44 am Post subject:

eminence ppl cost too much *SOBS SOBS SOBS*

yah i have all the original ff piano books too Very Happy

and some joe hisaishi ones Very Happy

Muahuahahaa

Hungry.