Teaching Piano to Guitarists

So they don't have problems with the composition?

Jokes aside, in my opinion you should insist on ABC and have him start with the ball and rapid Mozzati (the first exercises)

I don't think the problem is that he plays the guitar, especially since he has to start from scratch.

Perhaps the hand musculature has undergone a mutation due to the setup on the guitar, but I don't think so.

I'm sorry but I cannot be of use to you, I also have my own unresolved problems

Eagle wrote:

So they don't have problems with the composition?

Joking aside, indeed those who do not play a keyboard instrument struggle to make the verticality of music their own ... a couple of years ago, more than one, someone advised me to get a good grasp of the piano subject and indeed after several things change.

Eagle wrote:

Cut short in rapid succession (the first exercises)

Cut short? What is it that interests me?

suonileganti wrote:

i happened to give piano lessons to a boy who studies guitar at the conservatory; his hand position is atrocious, especially the left one with the wrist in a "hump" and the knuckles flattened, absolutely contrary to the natural position of the hand and, obviously, set up like this he cannot articulate his fingers.

But maybe he has some problem, try to insist

suonileganti wrote:

I have tried in every way to make him maintain a rounded position, but the situation doesn't change, do you have any advice? or are the two instruments incompatible?

I also made the dramatic transition, clearly, I don't have the ambition to become Pollini but to move as best as possible because everything is aimed at composing.

I struggled, but my hand position isn't that bad

suonileganti wrote:

years ago the same thing happened with another student who didn't have major positioning problems except for the fact that the piece sounded like it was played on the guitar; it was a very strange effect, practically he was continuously arpeggiating the downbeat of the measure, making the hands descend with a minimal fraction of a second difference; has anyone here had similar experiences and has advice to give?

Do you mean he couldn't play simultaneously?

I agree with Eagle, insist on the basic technique and, if it were really necessary, try to take a break with the guitar (like this summer) to see if it goes better.

I have never come across former guitarists who wanted to become pianists... barring any dysfunction, it seems a bit strange to me that one cannot find the correct hand posture. After all, playing the piano is the most natural thing in the world.

I would insist on basic technique

I wouldn't know. One would have to see. It is difficult to give recipes blindly. One must also see the young person's actual interest in learning the piano.

Do you mean he couldn't play simultaneously?

no, I mean that his idea of execution was strongly influenced by the sound response of the guitar and at the piano he reproduced the same type of perception, practically upon listening it seemed like one was hearing a guitar

suonileganti wrote:

I happened to give piano lessons to a boy who studies guitar at the conservatory; his hand position is atrocious, especially the left hand with a "humped" wrist and flattened knuckles, absolutely contrary to the natural position of the hand and, obviously, set up like this he cannot articulate his fingers. I have tried in every way to make him maintain a rounded position, but the situation does not change; do you have any advice? Or are the two instruments incompatible?

Years ago, the same thing happened with another student who didn't have major positioning problems except for the fact that the piece sounded as if it were played on the guitar; it was a very strange effect, practically continuously arpeggiating the downbeat of the measure by making the hands descend with a minimal fraction of time difference.

Has anyone here had similar experiences and has advice to give?

thanks

I think I understand where the problem lies...

I imagine he makes the left hand sound a fraction of time before the right, correct?

It is due to the fact that in guitar, the left hand must have already pressed the strings on the fret before the right plucks the string. This offset becomes natural for the guitarist and therefore, when moving to the piano, it is easy for this problem to occur. Regarding position, I imagine the right hand is quite correct, just a bit tightly curled, and the left with a very high wrist. It would be typical of guitar positioning.

I don't think there are incompatible instruments; I only think that it takes practice, as with all things. It is a matter of cerebral switching—being able to position the hand and move on the guitar and piano keyboards easily.

I also agree with basic, non-difficult exercises so that your student focuses on hand position more than on notes. The guitar is an asymmetrical instrument both in terms of position and gestures. With the left you press down, with the right you pluck, so there is a tendency to pull the fingertip back. One must re-establish the equality of the pressing gestures on the piano.

I would recommend very slow pressing exercises, with the finger always in contact with the key both during the pressing phase and the return... Therefore, try to always maintain contact with the key in both phases and take care of the hand and wrist position. You could suggest the exercise on page 17 of Cortot that I posted some time ago, which is very useful in these cases, perhaps having him play it initially without holding the note. Usually, I am a bit against finger gymnastics aimed solely at this purpose, but in this case, it doesn't seem to me there is any possibility of adding piano repertoire until this problem is resolved.

The link to Cortot:

http://www.pianoconc...__fromsearch__1