Duveyoung wrote: > I taught myself how to read music and play piano and guitar. > > I got pretty good on the piano -- could play any of several hundred > songs by memory -- learned the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata > one note at a time. > > But finally I hit a wall -- the passages I wanted to next learn to > play were becoming impossible for me because I had self-taught "bad > fingering." I had bad habits that prevented me from the next step up > in keyboard skills. Shudda had a teacher, shudda learned by using the > correct fingering on the basic scales etc. > > It didn't stop me from learning more songs, but I was always looking > over the fence to greener pastures I would never roam. > > So, heck with re-inventing the wheel, learn from someone who's been > there, save yourself a lot of time lost building bad habits etc. > > You know, stand on the shoulders of giants. > > I had bragging rights -- could say the magic words "self taught," but > I'd rather be able to say, "My parents forced me to take piano lessons > from seven to 13 years old." > > Edg > There are lots of people who've learned to play by "ear" without any lessons. But as a musician and music teacher who has taught keyboard technique is mainly vital to allow for playing with ease and without physical tension. Good teachers though can be hard to find and one may not even "click" with a good one. So even there it is a bit like guru searching. The main key especially for teaching children is getting them to play something early on that inspires them to keep learning. They need a "muscial shaktipat" so to speak. :)
