[goldphoenix]

Randy,


Congratulations on taking on the challenge of developing a new talent!


I learned piano as a prepubescent and by my early teens was playing complicated classical pieces.


The keys to my learning experience were indeed akin to "target practice." Learning where the notes on the paper in front of you are on the keys in front of you. At first, it's a lot of looking back and forth from paper to keys. Eventually, similar to typing (in more ways than one), you come to know exactly where the keys are without looking down from the sheet music. Timing goes along with the eye-hand coordination mix. One little trick I learned with pieces which required staccato and other fine-tune methods of expression, such as various volumes of playing, were the pedals. You can disguise your mistakes at first (to a certain extent) with the pedals, until you get the particular piece of music down (via repetitive practice). This little trick I used was more for my own ear than for others.


Musical theory is a whole other ball game. One which I only delved into a tiny bit.


Repetitive practice is, of course, important. When you go without practice, it is a bit like riding a bike. You don't really forget totally how to play, however, the longer you go without playing, the more warming up it takes to get back to the level of playing where you once were.


I encourage you not to give up easily as it does take a few years at least (for me anyway) to get to the point where you can play with some proficiency.


Take care,


goldphoenix