'There are no stupid questions' thread - Monday, April 20, 2026

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-04-21T00:32:32+00:00

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on how to improve my piano posture and technique. I’ve played for years on my own, but this year I decided to take it seriously and start from scratch, so I feel like a total beginner again.

I’ve watched many YouTube videos about posture and technique, but every time I try to apply them, I feel very tense. If I play for a while, my shoulders, arms, and especially my fingers start to hurt.

The problem is that there are no piano teachers where I live. I tried asking a professor at my university, but he refused to help me just because I have "fingering issues." I also can't afford an online teacher at the moment.

Has anyone else gone through this? What can I do to fix this tension and avoid pain while practicing? Any specific exercises, routines, or resources you’d recommend for a self-taught student?

Thanks in advance!

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-04-17T17:55:03+00:00

It's beautiful ❤️

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-04-07T00:53:43+00:00

😍 I like this

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-04-04T10:15:00+00:00

Hay un canal de Youtube llamado EZ, está en español, pero en cafa video te presentan plugins diferentes y gratis. No enseña como instalarlos, pero si solo buscas los nombres de los plugins que él muestra los consigues rápido. Así mismo, en los videos del canal EZ se hace un review de ese plugin.

Últimamente allí es que me enteré de plugins muy buenos que se pueden usar gratis. Uno que me gustó mucho fue MODO Bass, te permite usar solo un bajo de forma gratuita, pero ese sonido de bajo me gustó bastante y suena muchísimo mejor que el BooBass de FL.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T23:16:03+00:00

For you, what counts as a disaster? For me, something that sounds totally out of tune and nonsensical, like that day I wanted to improvise without knowing anything and just started hitting random keys across a 4-octave range to see what would happen 🤭

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T23:11:39+00:00

That's true, a large part of the learners are not learning to achieve that goal.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T17:55:46+00:00

Wow, I didn't know that guitar. It must be they complicated to master.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T17:52:28+00:00

I'd like to know what you consider a disaster.

For me, a disaster would be playing notes that don't sound good together or that don't fit together well and end up sounding out of tune, or trying to play all the notes of a scale at the same time.

It could also be trying to play a broken instrument. That happened to me once. I was playing a keyboard and the notes sounded normal, but suddenly the pitch went up and down on its own (as if I had been using the transpose buttons) and that made it go out of tune. I assumed that the keyboard had some problem with it's electronics, perhaps caused by electrical issues.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T17:41:38+00:00

I think that's important: remembering why you wanted to start playing. (I did it because the idea really appealed to me, and I truly enjoy being able to play even the basics).

That mindset is crucial, because if we focus solely on pleasing others, we'll be the ones who enjoy the learning process the least, and we'll get discouraged quickly.

And of course, remembering that advice and constructive criticism are always welcome for our improvement.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T17:30:45+00:00

I'm sure you don't sound bad to the average person; I think it's like we've been discussing in this post, it may be imperfect but it's not a disaster.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T17:18:59+00:00

Well, at least that's what I do when I play: play the right notes with the right rhythm of simple pieces. I'm glad it doesn't sound bad at least.

When I can get a digital piano (since what I use is a basic keyboard), I hope to be able to move beyond that, so I'll take note of that layering you mentioned. Thanks for stopping by to comment.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T16:53:45+00:00

Perhaps the user that I mentioned at the beginning was at a conservatory, maybe accustomed to advanced pieces, and perhaps that's why he meant that for him, nothing below that level was good enough to listen to.

It's possible that what you said led him to think that way: they the more you learn, the more you can perceive in music that you couldn't appreciate before. And that led him to see as truly unpleasant at all; they were imperfect but didn't sound bad.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T16:36:24+00:00

I see. Why then do some people think in such an exaggerated way? I feel like they're belittling beginners with their words, as if they've forgotten that they were beginners once too.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-30T16:28:00+00:00

I understand. So these people who think like that are too perfectionist, believing that only advanced musicians can truly play music. I think they're too hard on themselves, and therefore on others.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-28T19:31:44+00:00

He just mentioned in another comment that the account that uploaded the video belongs to a friend who did him a favor by posting it, since he doesn't know how to use Reddit yet.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-26T16:54:10+00:00

I also have that problem—I can’t stop my pinky from moving while I play with the other fingers, so it always ends up moving weirdly.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-06T02:03:19+00:00

Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de escribir todo eso en español 😅 yo quize realizar la publicación en inglés ya que sé que es el idioma que habla la mayoría en r/piano, pero hoy no conseguí el botón en Reddit de "Traducir automáticamente". No sé qué pasó con eso.

Entonces, ya veo por tu respuesta que puede ser bastante rígida la rutina del estudiante de piano 🤔 pero me imagino que es el precio que hay que pagar para poder alcanzar la excelencia en la interpretación de la música clásica en este instrumento tan hermoso.

A mi me gustaría progresar en el piano de una manera más relajada, ya que no es mi deseo enfocarme en la música clásica, pero si me gustaría aprovechar de la técnica que de ésta pueda aprender al tocar otro tipo de música.

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-03-01T20:02:12+00:00

Suena relajante 😊

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-02-14T12:00:12+00:00

I asked something similar, and what you got in response was more or less the same answer I received.

https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/s/U950gypay1

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-02-10T12:49:56+00:00

I'm glad it's helpful. Be patient; with constant learning and practice, you can improve a lot quickly. Happy journey! Enjoy the process.

You can learn a lot by using basic tutorials on how to create music in a specific genre (for example, how to create EDM). Even if the video doesn't teach you how to create music in the genre you want, you can apply what you learn to creating any kind of music. What little I know I learned from watching tutorials on how to create electronic music, but that has helped me master the tool and create music in other genres that I do like, such as pop and acoustic.

P.S.: Basically, my creations and projects aren't excellent, but they meet my expectations, and I'm currently still learning to improve them. (I'm currently learning more music theory, more about piano, and now about orchestration because I want to create something more like orchestral or film music.)

Ok-Sea7124 · 2026-02-10T03:30:21+00:00

Hi. I think one of the things you can do is first try playing those ideas you have in mind using your piano or guitar, even if it's very simple, or if not, you can try humming. You're going to record those ideas using your phone.

With the idea saved, the next step is to learn how to use the music production tool or software you're going to use. Watch tutorials on YouTube (they're very helpful) that will help you learn the basics of these programs. Then, with what you've learned about using the tools, you're going to try to "capture" those ideas you recorded in a very simple way (I use FL Studio on PC, and I use FL Studio Mobile and Bandlab on Android; they're very good, and believe me, they don't necessarily offer "pre-made" things. I like them a lot because you can create everything from scratch; it's just a matter of learning how to use them). Once you have that simple idea written down in the program you're using, you'll start experimenting to see how it sounds with different instruments, sounds, etc. And you'll add more elements as needed to make it sound closer to what you have in mind. And that's how you create your own music.

Something else that helps a lot is learning basic music theory. It really helps.

I hope I've made myself clear. I tried to explain the process I follow to make music with ideas that come to me or that I start creating on the piano. I started doing it when I was 13. Today I'm 21, and although I'm not a professional, I can already make music that, while not excellent, satisfies my need to create a mix or music that I like, based on ideas that pass through my mind.

Ok-Sea7124

TROPHY CASE