r/piano • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Weekly Thread 'There are no stupid questions' thread - Monday, October 12, 2026
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u/xrhstos_ 1d ago
Hey guys! I'm a total begginer and i wanted to ask whether you would buy a YAMAHA PSR-E363 (used, excellent condition, ~100$) or CASIO CTS-S300 (new, ~200$). I'm a student and i really appreciate something more affordable but worthy. Let me know your thoughts
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u/DoSombras 2d ago
i want to start playing but i dont know anything about pianos is THIS good for its price in general
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u/Advanced-Extension64 2d ago
Hi. My problem is I cannot concentrate fully when playing piano, and I've noticed that may be why I always stumble and make mistakes during my practice/performance. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to get rid of that, please? 🙁
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u/airplaneoutofstone 2d ago
There's not really a good answer for this haha because sometimes taking away difficulty is the answer (the brain has too much to focus on) and sometimes adding difficulty (there's not enough stimuli to make it interesting) is the answer.
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u/Ok-Cold-3346 2d ago
Hoping I can ask this here: My child has been playing piano for about four years. He started with Piano Adventures, but is now using Alfred level 3. I think we both liked the music better in the Faber books; however we had to switch teachers due to a move and this one prefers Alfred. Anyway…
The newer teacher uses Alfred’s lesson, theory, and Notespeller books. He spends a good portion of our lesson doing bookwork. Our previous music school (we had several teachers there depending on schedules) had him use only the Piano Adventures books and he didn’t really do a workbook. I know there is value; however my kid is not going to be a music major nor is he musically gifted. He has progressed slowly and steadily. He enjoys playing when he loves the music. He hasn’t really connected with the Alfred music the way he did with songs in his old books. I hate to switch teachers (I like ours), but I don’t love all the bookwork and I don’t love the books the teacher uses. I am worried it’s sucking the fun out of it. Child is 11.
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u/airplaneoutofstone 2d ago
Talk to the teacher, talk to your kid, switch if you'd like. I prefer Piano Adventures to teach kids but no method is perfect and the teacher matters more than the method book. There is a possibility that your old music school didn't focus much on theory so your current teacher feels a need to close the gap and then once he's gotten up to level you'll see more playing during lessons.
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u/MelodieDesTouches 3d ago
Hello!
I’m learning Scriabin’s Prelude, Op. 11, No. 10, and I have a question about the left-hand part (the opening is shown below).
I can reach the notes, but I can’t play them legato without using the pedal because my hand can only span an octave plus one key.
My professor suggested transferring some of the left-hand notes to the right hand (the notes marked in orange in the picture).
Does this seem like a reasonable approach? I find it a little easier, but it means I’d have to play some of the same notes with both hands.
Would you recommend this redistribution, or is there a better way to approach this passage?
I’d appreciate any advice. Thank you!
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u/mikiiiiiiiiii 1d ago
Yes, since by redistributing you would be playing maximum an octave only on your right hand.
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u/naelisio 4d ago
Hi /r/piano I’m looking to see what kind of piano I have and how much it’s currently worth. Has some damage in terms of sounds because it was in a house that caught on fire, but other than sounding a bit high and needing a tune-up it’s perfect. See my pictures below:
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u/stuck_in_a_doorway 4d ago
Hello, I am a beginner piano player with 2 years experience, I can play about 12 songs including martha miers just strutting along off by heart.
I feel like my progress is slow, my question is - how much should I practice daily at a minimum to make serious progress? Thanks you.
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u/mikiiiiiiiiii 1d ago
The real question isn’t how much you should practicing but what are you practicing? What skills are you focusing on? Like Florestana says, you need a goal. Then you can end off the practice with a song that you’re learning or already know, since practice should be fun as well
For eg, are you focusing more on finger dexterity or strength? Are you practicing to improve touch and dynamics? Or are you playing for fun and just want to learn a song to whip out at parties? Once you set your goal, the. you will know what to practice
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u/stuck_in_a_doorway 1d ago
I am focusing on learning songs, but I am practising scales each session for 5-10 mins (stated on C major)
My overall goal is to be good enough to perform.
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u/Florestana 2d ago
Time is of course important, but I think structured practice is more important. It doesn't matter if you spend 3 hours every day, if all you're doing is retreading old ground, practicing with mistakes, playing faster than you can handle, etc.
I tend to make most progress when I have a clear goal and approach practice with an analytical mindset. "Where am I struggling with this piece? What's the technical problem? How can I practice this bit? Can I improve the fingering?", Etc.
As for the time question, I think it's ideal to have your motivation in place, before you think about that. If you set a vague goal of x amount of practice each day, it can be very hard to keep that up, without a clear goal. This is why having a teacher can be so beneficial. There should be some kind of immediate target, "I wanna get this piece done by next week", instead of some long term aspiration like "I wanna get good".
Just my advice, no concrete answer tho, sorry.
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u/stuck_in_a_doorway 1d ago
Thank you, well my piano teacher has made it my goal to learn new songs then move on to the next. I am hoping that is enough to improve overall. Some songs took my more than a month to learn but now I'm getting faster
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u/Advanced-Extension64 2d ago
This has been a really wonderful, revealing answer, at least tome. Thanks a lot! :D
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u/Emergency-Natural376 5d ago
How does one of the most popular instruments on planet earth have one of the smallest reddit communities ? It's genuinely puzzling if you think about the sheer number of piano players across the world
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u/darthteej 20h ago
It's not a very accessible instrument. Pianos are EXPENSIVE, even a decent cheap synth is 2-3 times the price of a cheap guitar. Acoustics are stupid heavy and thus a nightmare to move which doesn't work well even in the west where fewer people own houses. Combine it with a high initial learning curve and boom, lots of folks bounce of them
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u/CrownStarr Pianist of the U.S. Army Band (Verified) 1d ago
For better or worse this subreddit has ended up as mostly about classical music, so that’s probably a bit of a limiting factor.
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u/jillcrosslandpiano Concert/Recording Pianist (Verified) 1d ago
I don't know - and if you compare with guitar, that is a much bigger community when there are not THAT many more guitarists than pianists worldwide.
Maybe the piano is quite a self-contained instrument and people find it less useful to interact through social media, as opposed to just playing it.
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u/ponyboy3399 5d ago
I started playing back in February and I've got most of the major, minor, and 7th chords down, and now I'm moving into blues scales. Lately, I’ve been throwing on major and minor blues backing tracks on YouTube and just jamming out with the scales. It’s a lot of fun to practice, and it sounds pretty cool, but I still feel kind of stuck. I have zero desire to play classical music or learn to sight-read i really just want to learn how to improvise. I found this on YouTube and that's kind of what I'm trying to get to.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=RDH0nrRFPMH70&playnext=1&si=eYsuNuHtro7Gzm9C
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u/503Available 5d ago
I'm looking for a good keyboard on the go.
I got an 88key fully weighted keyboard in my apartment, but I'm now looking for something to be able to practice with on the go. I have ableton and wouldn't mind useing it with my laptop. Budget is flexible. I was thinking about in the 49 key range, but it seems all the options are just unweighted controllers. Anyone know any good options?
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u/flyinpanda 4d ago
They're all going to be unweighted. Weighted keyboards only come in 73 and 88. 61 and under will be unweighted or semi-weighted.
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u/503Available 4d ago
I've had a semi weighted before and it felt pretty bad. I reckon they vary in their quality? If you know any that feel decent I'd appreciate the tip
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u/No-Fish2132 15h ago
Hello, I am a basic level player i have a keyboard not a proper piano due to high costs and space issues but I like to play hence the keyboard situation I'm stuck at the level where I can play and figure out stuff but it takes a lot of time and I know music theory is important and all and I'm trying to get into it slowly but finger techniques and all everything seems to be very important hence I need resources to practise if you guys have any please share thanks 🤗