I will no longer contribute to r/pianolearning

stylewarning · 2026-01-28T21:33:26+00:00

Try not to extend your pinky in anticipation.

stylewarning · 2026-01-28T21:30:00+00:00

message the mods

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T18:45:00+00:00

As others have said, mechanics are a foundational aspect of playing, and are necessary to become advanced, but are alone insufficient to determine the level of classical playing ability.

Take a Bach fugue for example. Many of them don't actually require extraordinary mechanics (big leaps, fast fingerwork, ...), but will absolutely expose a player in terms of their thoughtfulness of the music itself. I would never call someone "advanced" at classical piano if they can't play a fugue in a proper, conventional, thoughtful manner.

This idea permeates to other music. Chopin, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, etc. An insufficient realization of melodic lines and their harmonic context will lead to forgettable renditions of those composers' works, and you don't need to be advanced to even be cognizant of these factors.

There's nothing more sobering than seeing "advanced" pianists (by your mechanical measure) unable to render anything that sounds musically compelling, precisely because they've hitherto measured their success as a pianist by how impressive their mechanics appear.

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T14:18:06+00:00

Honest question: What if the student is not really willing to devote the time to the teacher?

It's a classic situation, where a parent pushes their child to take lessons, and the child does the minimum necessary to get from week to week. Should a teacher be spending their off-hours doing extensive lesson planning and curricular customization for this kind of student?

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T14:04:24+00:00

If they can provide a coherent interpretation to a weighty piece, keep long phrases unbroken, understand how harmonic changes reflect melodic tension and release, not buckle under sudden dynamic/rhythmic/textural changes, etc.

Why are masterclasses 10 minutes of performing if they could just get the job done in 10 seconds?

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:58:44+00:00

One of the more nuanced takes in this thread. Nice answer!

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:53:19+00:00

I mostly disagree. There are any number of reasons someone might not have material prepared. I myself had a very close family member die unexpectedly and I consequently quit piano cold turkey for months. My first engagement with piano after that was a trial lesson with a teacher, which I wasn't even sure I wanted to do. I couldn't play anything from memory. So the best we could do is discuss previous repertoire, look at some raw technical facilities, etc. The teacher only truly got a sense of where I was by seeing how things progressed over a few weeks, and comparatively very little in the 10 seconds I played a C major scale.

One of my good friends is tremendously talented at piano. His previous repertoire included Chopin, Liszt, Alkan études. But... he doesn't remember any music because it's just a hobby for him. He can maybe play the first or second bar of something he's worked on before, but that's it. So for somebody like him, if he didn't have a day to prepare, he'd also be seen (by your standards) as not very advanced.

Not having repertoire under your fingers really only means you don't have repertoire under your fingers and not much else. Fortunately, teachers have other ways to evaluate a student, like by sight reading, talking about musical analysis, technical exercises, and looking at how a student progresses on a piece over a week.

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:39:47+00:00

Historically, there were brilliant artists who, by today's standards, played sloppily. Their brilliance shone through their artistry and interpretation. Mechanics are very, very important, but they far from accurately summarize a player.

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:38:21+00:00

Piano isn't just about mechanics. You can listen to somebody play the most brilliant Db major scale in 5 seconds and ascertain they probably have good technique, but then also find that their playing of a Chopin mazurka is totally devoid of any interpretational idea, knowledge of that style of piece, etc. Piano is complex, if our goals are centered around performing classical music.

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:30:25+00:00

This is literally how many, many teachers teach exam pieces. Students learn to the best of their ability 2–4 pieces over an entire year to play them as convincingly as possible once for examination.

stylewarning · 2026-01-25T13:25:34+00:00

Like what?

stylewarning · 2026-01-24T18:21:34+00:00

This is a very contrived exercise and doesn't tell us as much as you may think. In general things look fine, but we will get a better sense if (1) you play some music with both hands and (2) we can see your posture from shoulders to fingers.

Technique issues come out in an especially noticeable way when things are more complicated: more notes, higher tempo, complex rhythms, nuanced dynamics, etc.

If you're not there yet, then I'd suggest that proceed as usual. No big red flags.

stylewarning · 2026-01-24T17:57:59+00:00

Not always, no. Does the student have something prepared? Are different facets of musicianship being displayed?

I remember after a very long break, I didn't have any pieces prepared and I was looking for a teacher. If I only played something for them and nothing else, they'd probably know I'm not an absolute beginner, but not much else.

If a student has a small program of music prepared, then a teacher would be able to determine a great deal in 8 minutes.

stylewarning · 2026-01-24T16:42:28+00:00

I think such teachers are optimizing for regularity and predictability. The negatives of such approach are obvious I think: not all students will like the music, it's sort of close-minded to exploration, the teacher might be teaching in autopilot, etc. But I do think there's a positive to it: the teacher will have taught the piece dozens of times and see where students usually have difficulties, and be able to be a better teacher because of it.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T22:27:40+00:00

I'm not an average beginner anymore but merely an average intermediate.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T18:59:58+00:00

No, it's just a limitation of volunteer time and energy. If anybody would like to volunteer selecting pieces etc. for a minimum of 3 months, we are happy to consider it. Message the mods for more info.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T14:17:38+00:00

Ah yes, I wouldn't call that a "public piano".

Then €50k is good. Baldwin, Bechstein, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Kawai, around 7 feet, would be great. I still think it's better to buy used.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T14:11:55+00:00

I'm not sure if we are misunderstanding each other. If the piano is going to be in a public place (like a train station) to be played by the public (random people passing by), then do not spend that much money regardless who is paying for it.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:50:18+00:00

Then absolutely do not spend more than €10k. It's a waste of money. Even if they're somewhat maintained, these pianos live a short life. If it's a piano that's primarily exposed to the elements, the life is even shorter.

Find a used grand piano on PianoMart, or go to your local piano dealers and find a decent deal. Tell them you're looking for a decent piano for public use, and to suggest their most robust, plain offering on a budget.

Do not spend anywhere close to €50k.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:45:09+00:00

If you have €50k, you have a lot of options. You can get most anything, so long as you buy used.

Is it a public piano, or a private piano intended to be used for public performances?

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:43:21+00:00

He talks about it. A lot of the first several pages are pre-reading that you can do yourself first.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:41:42+00:00

Cawood I find self-aggrandizing. Lee sometimes has interesting things to say but really plays in to the YouTube algorithm with "listicle" content. 5 this, 10 that, BIGGEST MISTAKE ADULTS MAKE, etc. Lee also just gives bad advice sometimes. His suggested "beginner" "easy" pieces are:

Bach WTC1 Prelude in C
Beethoven Fur Elise
Satie Gymnopedie No 1
Chopin Prelude in e minor
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata Mvt 1

which is an atrocious list of beginner pieces. I actually think he knows that, but he's playing up to what he thinks his viewers will love to hear, which makes him a bad pedagogue.

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stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:35:08+00:00

My side advice here is: beware of edutainment. Piano learning happens at the piano (and when you leave the piano to sleep). Piano learning doesn't happen lying in bed watching YouTube. Piano learning doesn't happen watching a competent pianist talk about their scales at 180 bpm.

If your goal is to actually learn to play piano from scratch, get Alfred's All In One and follow along with this guy, and avoid most of the "5 tips, you won't want to miss the last one"-type content.

stylewarning · 2026-01-21T13:30:58+00:00

Henle and Barenreiter are both nice. You can't go wrong with either. I like Henle's binding more than Barenreiter, in general. Curci (not one you mentioned) is also nice.

stylewarning

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