Is there a piano teacher in the house?

[AndyRM]

Oh right, so you must be a qualified music teacher like the bloke who stuck the pins in the keys. I remember it well. it took him a while to do it, but to me and the rest of the class it did sound like a harpsichord.

Did he put them actually in/on the keys? Or on the wires/strings?

 

[Accy cyclist]

Did he put them actually in/on the keys? Or on the wires/strings?

Not too sure. It was nearly 50 years ago so the memory fades , but he had his head down in that piano for quite a while.🤔

 

[Lozz360]

Did he put them actually in/on the keys? Or on the wires/strings?

He would have pushed a pin into each hammer so that it strikes the string metal to metal, making the harpsichord sound.

To @Accy cyclist the question, “am I too old at 62 to learn?” Probably not if your goal is just to amuse yourself. Son of a classically trained piano teacher here. You will need regular access to a piano to practice. Most people completely underestimate the amount of time needed to practice to become just moderately proficient. For me, I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the time required for the practice. My job involved sitting at a desk for hours so then sitting for a couple of hours every day playing endless scales just didn’t seem the healthy thing to do, so I took up outdoor activities instead.

You will need your own piano to get the practice in. An electronic keyboard will not do. Someone has already mentioned that the keys are not weighted like a piano, so the technique in playing is very different. An electronic keyboard is more of an organ than a piano. With an upright piano, the sound will travel to other flats and probably disturb your neighbours. They weigh an absolute ton (pianos not your neighbours!) so it will be difficult to deliver to an upper floor. If the floors are wooden that is another consideration (landlord permission required?). They also need tuning twice a year. An electronic piano with fully weighted and full size keys with a decent range that mimics the traditional piano would be the solution. You can play with headphones so practice can be at any time of the night without disturbing anyone. Talk to your teacher before buying one.

 

[AndyRM]

Yeah, that makes more sense. The keys thing threw me completely. Nice one @Lozz360!

 

[vickster]

Can you already read music @Accy cyclist? That’ll certainly help, if not another thing to learn if you want to progress beyond 3 blind mice

 

[C R]

He would have pushed a pin into each hammer so that it strikes the string metal to metal, making the harpsichord sound.

To @Accy cyclist the question, “am I too old at 62 to learn?” Probably not if your goal is just to amuse yourself. Son of a classically trained piano teacher here. You will need regular access to a piano to practice. Most people completely underestimate the amount of time needed to practice to become just moderately proficient. For me, I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the time required for the practice. My job involved sitting at a desk for hours so then sitting for a couple of hours every day playing endless scales just didn’t seem the healthy thing to do, so I took up outdoor activities instead.

You will need your own piano to get the practice in. An electronic keyboard will not do. Someone has already mentioned that the keys are not weighted like a piano, so the technique in playing is very different. An electronic keyboard is more of an organ than a piano. With an upright piano, the sound will travel to other flats and probably disturb your neighbours. They weigh an absolute ton (pianos not your neighbours!) so it will be difficult to deliver to an upper floor. If the floors are wooden that is another consideration (landlord permission required?). They also need tuning twice a year. An electronic piano with fully weighted and full size keys with a decent range that mimics the traditional piano would be the solution. You can play with headphones so practice can be at any time of the night without disturbing anyone. Talk to your teacher before buying one.

Not sure how that would work. The harpsichord makes the sound by plucking the strings with a metal nail. The position of the hammer with respect to the string is wrong for that in a piano. A nail in the hammer would hit rather than pluck the string.

 

[Milkfloat]

There is a huge difference between a traditional piano and a keyboard - the difference between a traditional piano and a reasonably good digital piano with weighted keys is not so much. For by far the majority of people the ownership experience of a digital piano would be recommended over a traditional.

 

[ColinJ]

Not sure how that would work. The harpsichord makes the sound by plucking the strings with a metal nail. The position of the hammer with respect to the string is wrong for that in a piano. A nail in the hammer would hit rather than pluck the string.

Yes, it would just be a brighter metallic hammered string sound rather than a bright plucked sound.

Also, unlike pianos, harpsichords are not responsive to touch.

 

[C R]

There is a huge difference between a traditional piano and a keyboard - the difference between a traditional piano and a reasonably good digital piano with weighted keys is not so much. For by far the majority of people the ownership experience of a digital piano would be recommended over a traditional.

That's our understanding too. We bought a digital piano when our children started learning. Our children's teacher has a digital piano as well. The feel of the keys on a good digital piano is very similar to a real one, and our oldest daughter says that she can't tell the difference between the feel of our digital one at home and the real one at school.

 

[Lozz360]

Not sure how that would work. The harpsichord makes the sound by plucking the strings with a metal nail. The position of the hammer with respect to the string is wrong for that in a piano. A nail in the hammer would hit rather than pluck the string.

I never suggested that by inserting drawing pins in hammers of pianos was a way to accurately mimic a harpsichord sound! I was just responding to a question of where the pins would be placed to make a metallic sound.

 

[Profpointy]

Oh right, so you must be a qualified music teacher like the bloke who stuck the pins in the keys. I remember it well. it took him a while to do it, but to me and the rest of the class it did sound like a harpsichord.

John Cage sonata for prepared piano

View: https://youtu.be/TJhv_k4xkMI

 

[DRM]

View: https://youtu.be/Z_wgP8JwRcU


The first lesson was recorded and is now on YouTube

 

[ColinJ]

View: https://youtu.be/Z_wgP8JwRcU


The first lesson was recorded and is now on YouTube

I feel like I have just taken £2,000 worth of 1960s hallucinogenic drugs!

 

[Accy cyclist]

Can you already read music @Accy cyclist?

Of course I can.

 

[Accy cyclist]

John Cage sonata for prepared piano

View: https://youtu.be/TJhv_k4xkMI

I'm completely off the idea after listening to a few minutes of that.