dipole wrote:
I'm enjoying it although my tutor could be a bit more organised.
I take the lessons with the aim of not being a Piano player but to learn musical theory and rhythm time for my singing.
I learned classical guitar but looking on it now I never learned properly, learned no theory, learned no rhythm, in fact my technique was rubbish too and went uncorrected; it was just a case of here's another etude in another key, play that! I didn't learn piano as a child; the local teacher had a reputation of being impatient and slamming lids on young fingers and there wasn't exactly an oversupply of teachers at the time being the uncultured rural midlands. People seem an awful lot more "cultured" over here to be honest so I don't have to make excuses for taking classes.
I'm happy with both my tutors and get what I want out of them. I'm started late and I'll never be a great talent (I top out at an A but the quality and quantity of the voice is better than most)but I enjoy myself and it is an nice productive way to spend my time rather than working later or going out and getting drunk(getting drunk here or going for meals would be cheaper than taking classes).
Anyhow, my advice to you is to try it. I'm seated at a musical keyboard for under 80 quid. classes cost me 27 euro per 3/4 hour. Sheet music can be either free or very expensive depending on your luck. Try it. If you like it, you like it, if you don't it might make clearer to you what you actually like or want.
Oh, I know what I like and what I want. I want to be Rachmaninoff!

Joking aside, ta for the advice. As a youngster there was always a dilapidated old upright knocking around the house, which I hacked around on. I taught myself chords and played Beatles songs from a library book. I suppose I can play a poor parody of any tune by ear. Nowadays I'm very fortunate to own the gorgeous beast below (a Kawai GE-30), in addition to a very decent digital piano to practice on. Over the last few years I've taught myself to read more serous classical music (very slowly), and done an online course in music theory. But I'm a horribly bad player and generally take on pieces that are way too difficult for me. I've never taken a lesson in my life, and only play the piano for relaxation. But I'm wondering if I should go right back to the beginning and learn all the basic (and possibly boring but necessary) techniques that I missed out on, like playing scales and arpeggios and developing better finger independence 'n' stuff. Is that the sort of stuff your lessons cover?
P.S. My German nephew is learning the violin and his mother played the clarinet, and yes, it does seem our European brethren are more cultured in that way.
