I've just started playing the piano as i've been playing the clarinet for 3 years.

Whats the best way to introduce playing both hands at the same time? I can play each part fine seperately, but as soon as i try to put them together i can't do anything and just get totally confused.

I was told that the piano is one of the most dificult instruments to learn, especially when you are teaching yourself (like I am), and i just can't get my head around it. I can do all the scales for grade 1, but stuck with everyhtinh else.

Any help will be really useful!!!!!!

SLOWLY.......... and in small bits (a bar or 2 at a time)

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SLOWLY.......... and in small bits (a bar or 2 at a time)

That's exactly what my advice would be. Don't be disheartened thinking that if you can play each hand you should be able to play them together; that's not the case: in my experience it takes longer to go from being able to play both hands seperatley well to two hands together; than from scratch to playing each hand seperatley. Just persevere and you'll manage; it's an essential stage of learning every piece you do.

get a teacher - you really need the professional/musical experience

optimism - good since you're going by yourself. however, you won't get where you want unless you ask others (besides this) and teaching yourself is really, really . . . uh . . not what you think it might be.

QUOTE (obvious_outlawed_pianist @ Apr 14 2004, 08:39 PM)

and teaching yourself is really, really . . . uh . . not what you think it might be.

Are you so experienced that you can say that?

QUOTE (DavidMusic @ Apr 14 2004, 09:22 PM)

QUOTE (obvious_outlawed_pianist @ Apr 14 2004, 08:39 PM) and teaching yourself is really, really  . . . uh . .  not what you think it might be. Are you so experienced that you can say that?

Yea, are you?!

no one is ever experienced in anything, but the point of talking on these forums is to provide advice from one's perspective, no matter how it differs from another's.

as for my experience, i'll leave you to ponder that.

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no one is ever experienced in anything

As soon as anyone has even started something they have some experience; someone that has been doing something for a long time has a lot of experience. Your comment makes no sense: a teacher that has been teaching for 40 years is certainly experienced: not necessarily good but definltey experienced.

I think teaching yourself is possible although will be difficult if you don't have experience of learning another instrument with a teacher so know how to learn. For quite some time I taught myself the piano however I was not particularly successful at learning 'to play the piano'; I was reasonably successful at learning to play a certain pieces however I did not improve in general playing really: the next piece was just as hard to learn as the previous one; my technique wasn't improving and I just didn't realise certain things (I was playing on a non-touch-sensative keyboard so didn't realise to bring the melody out, I used any fingering I wanted, didn't do scales etc.) so I wasn't getting any better although I was learning more pieces. When I came to play properly I started from the beginning since that's where my sightreading was.

I think, however, that if one understands the system and has experience of being taught another instrument then one could be more successful: there is no substitute for a good teacher (otherwise they would be out of a job!); but depending on the person I think that teaching oneself can work to a certain degree especially if one has teaching experience.