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... as a postscript ... I've just watched Lang Lang on Sky Arts, and having done so, in addition to the 'depends on who you are' comment in the previous post, I'd like to add that not only does it depend on who you are, it depends on what you're playing: which is to say that the bottom line seems t...

Yep, that's the fingering I'm using, straight from the Green Book. No need for the apology: anything that might make this any easier is always appreciated. My problem with the stretch from the 4th to the 3rd finger is that it just doesn't feel natural; consequently, although it's do-able at relativ...

Where to start ... Well, you don't see a spider moving with it's legs out straight, it's true. By the by, speaking as a devout arachnophobe, thanks for that particular analogy! I'd have to say I haven't seen too many spiders playing the piano either ... plus which I don't know that spiders actually...

Well, just my humble contribution, but as someone who has never sight-read, playing from memory is second nature to me. To be fair, having never had classical training, I've never attempted any of the more challenging classical pieces, so I can't comment on what it would be like to try and memorise...

Anyone who's read the thread about the correct speeds at which to practise may well have shied away from reading this one, but still, I'd be curious to know what people think about this. When I first started practising 'properly', i.e. in a disciplined, regimented and regular way, I played scales u...

I'm well aware that people reading this, if there are any who have actually indulged me this far (!) may well be thinking, 'if he just had a teacher, then the teacher would be telling him all this!'. Since I've addressed the reasons why that isn't the case earlier in the thread, I won't labour it f...

It must be me: I must just be mind-numbingly dense. At grade 4, the beat changes from crotchet to minim and the value from 80 to 52 - presumably, if the actual scale is played as quavers, meaning that the amount of notes played per minute changes from 160 to 210. To me, 210 still seems fast, but at...

My biggest problem: not nearly enough hours in the day. Second biggest: probably concentration. Depending on what you believe, you should either be completely focussed on every note you play ( which is virtually impossible because hand-eye co-ordination takes around 0.5 seconds, which would mean th...

I absolutely love the idea that I'm considered 'eccentric'! It was, I know, a huge post; basically just for the purpose of explaining where I'm 'coming from', as it were. To the great misfortune of anyone reading this, I learned to type long before I learned to play keyboards ...! As regards the 80...

For the benefit of anyone who has the patience and inclination to indulge me, I should perhaps explain the back-story in order to clarify my situation. I first started playing keyboards - by which I mean the electronic organ - at the age of about fourteen. I played keyboards ( primarily organ, a li...

I've been trying to find out what are considered the 'correct' speeds at which to play piano scales to a standard that would be accepted by the Associated Board grading system in the UK ( I understand, obviously, that the speed would vary according to what grade you were being assessed for ). This ...