Re: Piano lessons advice (O.T.)

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Hi, Luis,

I'm not an accomplished pianist but I have played a bit of piano every 
since I have
formal piano lessons for a couple of years fifty years ago.

I think that  using C major (and all of it's resultant  7 Greek modes) 
as a point of departure and a way of understanding how to play in any 
key is the fastest way to get a handle on the instrument.

In a very cool way,  the keyboard makes you think, specifically, of 
intervallic relationships
in a way that the guitar doesn't.    Precisely because each scale is 
played slightly differently
one needs to concentrate on intervallic relationships when forming 
scales and spelling chords.
The relative ease of moving chord shapes on guitar seems to take away 
from this approach.
(again,  I plead not being an expert at all, but as a generalist: one 
who has tried to play dozens of different
instruments competently).

The one important thing to learn on the piano is the fingerings of 
scales, because there are several
different approaches to scalar playing from key to key (and from hand to 
hand)

as an example,  when you play in C Major  the right hand plays the 
upward run
C D E F G A B C  by playing thumb , 1st finger, 2nd, then reaching under 
the 2nd finger to
play thumb, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

whereas the left hand plays the same run  4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, thumb, 
then reaching over the thumb
with the 2nd, 1st, thumb

A simple book of Piano Scales will give you this way of getting around 
the instrument.
You should be able to find one of those pocket guides (that fit in 
guitar cases) with
Piano Scales and their relative fingerings.

*****************
One last thing,  Luis,    another approach to all of this (unless you 
intend to master the piano)
is to use the white keys for everything and use your transposition 
buttons on your electric keyboard
if you want to access other pitches for your Tonic note.

That's how I always think about it, frankly.    I see a chord or scale 
beginning in C
and then transpose it, either literally on an acoustic piano or 
virtually, using a transposition
button on my electric keyboard.

Real piano teachers would be aghast at this idea but I find it useful 
for composition.
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