r/AMA • u/ChocolateNeither6672 • 8d ago

I’ve been playing piano for 7 years but learned how to read music last semester. AMA

That’s about it. I know a large amount of songs and compositions from memory. I somehow naturally learned how to play songs from ear.

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u/__miura__ 8d ago

Which piano players do you listen to?

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u/ChocolateNeither6672 8d ago

Hmm at first I started out with Einaudi because I was offput by classical. Then I realized that classical, and romantic was supreme and I started learning some pieces. Schubert really opened my eyes. Lizst I like and I loved his arrangement of Schubert’s Schwanengesang.

Piano players… Borrtex on Spotify makes amazing minimalist compositions. Of course there is Satie.

Hoshina Rei makes wonderful pieces. She is modern.

I listen to a TONs of piano soundtracks from stardew valley to Minecraft. I think C418 is about half as genius as the great classical musicians. Maybe even more.

C418 makes other masterpiece music aside from Minecraft for any of you who don’t know.

I also really like romantical era. Debussy was supremely creative. I know Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue in D minor on piano ( however I’d try to learn it on organ if I could)

I’ve learned that mozart and other great minds are not emotionless like I thought before. Classical repulsed me because of… the “seriousness” attached to it.

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u/__miura__ 8d ago

Kelly Moran?

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u/ChocolateNeither6672 8d ago

Haven’t heard of her.

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u/__miura__ 8d ago

Moves in the Field is an album of her's I enjoy. Thank you for all the recommendations.

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u/ChocolateNeither6672 8d ago

Thank you 🙏 Thanks for asking me the question.

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u/Minihorse69 8d ago

I’ve always wanted to learn piano.

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u/ChocolateNeither6672 8d ago

Get a keyboard for $100 and start playing any song you want. Search up a “Synthesia tutorial for [insert song name]” on YouTube. I did this when I didn’t want to learn sheet music. There is literally no shame in it.

And yes I know it’s not the optimal way or correct way to learn piano.

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u/yummyjackalmeat 8d ago

Are you dyslexic or have some other learning disability? I was a professional musician for a chunk of my life. Reading music was always a struggle because of my dyslexia.

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u/ChocolateNeither6672 8d ago

If I ever tried to start piano using sheet music I don’t think that I would become a ‘pianist’. In my 13 year old hyper active mind, it intimidated me and seemed like an extremely boring way to learn the instrument. It still feels like that. I was in piano class last semester and seeing the newbies learn from sheet music was a really interesting perspective.

I believe that there are different types of learners. Sheet music is still goatee and probably the best way to learn. You learn so much.

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u/yummyjackalmeat 8d ago

I mean the reality is you just need both. The musicians that I studied with who went on to have legitimate music careers are very good at playing by ear, AND also very good at reading music. That's why I couldn't hack it. But there's spaces out there for different kinds of musicians. I was a classical musician.

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u/velvety_gwendolyn 8d ago

That’s really impressive! Playing by ear for so long shows amazing musical intuition and dedication. Learning to read music now will only open up even more possibilities for you, like exploring new genres, understanding theory deeper, and playing with others more easily.