Eric F

https://www.pianogroove.com/

Mainly looking to learn some blues, r&b, gospel, jazz, etc. I was mainly a harmonica player, a very good one but unfortunately my TMJ is quite bad and I can no longer play. I bought a used Yamaha electric piano and am looking for online lessons. Any recommendations? Piano Groove looks interesting.

andicus

I'm a terrible piano player, but I love it. I took lessons, for a while, as a child, but grew tired of it. It was the typical "these aren't the kind of songs I want to play" issue. Not realizing, as a child, that the principles would apply when I WAS learning the stuff I did want to play.

I was a music software developer for a few years, which got me back into it.

Not sure what I'd suggest, for online courses, as I've never done them. There are a lot of free videos, certainly, but the website you linked to looks interesting, as does the software they use. The only caution I would have, with online courses, is that you don't have an instructor watching you, to correct bad habits, early.

Do you understand chord structures, scales, timing, etc., and can you read sheet music?

Eric F

Somehwhat. As I said I was mostly a harmonica player (chromatic and diatonic) and frequented the local blues jams since I was old enough to go to a bar. I basically understand I-IV-V, and the various blues forms. I learned how to read sheet music as a child but I’ve forgotten.

I know I would do better to find someone in person, at least to get me started, but what I want to do is so specific I think I would do better seeking it out online. Basically I would like to be able to participate in a blues jam again, so learning some basic Chicago blues piano and boogie-woogie would probably be the best place to start. I tried to take some singing lessons at a local music store last year and I was a more experienced singer than my teacher, and she knew nothing about blues.

For myself I’m more interested in the gospel-blues style because I enjoy singing. I also really enjoy the New Orleans style of blues piano (Professor Longhair).

https://youtube.com/c/BrendanKavanaghDrK

I’ve been watching a lot this guy’s videos lately. He’s freakin’ awesome. He can play many different styles of blues piano proficiently as well as classical and the organ as well.

davidh777

Years ago, I took a group class at a community college on jazz piano, which included learning the blues (the instructor’s mantra was “play ballads to learn chords, play the blues to learn improv”). You may also be able to find specialized instruction via Zoom, which would be a middle ground between online and in person.

Eric F

I’ve been looking. The instructors (course creators) on Pianogroove participate on their forum. I looked, it seems to be well frequented.

Their instructors are quite good, I checked out a few of their free courses on YT.

Paff

Man, can I ever relate to this. I mentioned in the musician talk thread that I played clarinet for 6 months back when I was like 9 or 10. At first it was fun, they teach you some basic stuff, but after you get past the basics then they start piling on the really hard notes to hit, specifically the ultra high and ultra low notes, the ones that really give you range on the instrument. And I really tried, I drove my parents crazy trying to find the right kind of reed that would allow me to hit those notes, but instead it was just a bunch of squeaks and noise. It ain't the reed, you gotta get skilled at hitting those notes. I couldn't do it, I was just a kid, so I just quit. I remember both my music teacher and my regular teacher asked me to reconsider, but I was just too frustrated.

Really wish I hadn't quit though, only because I remember that they could drop a piece of sheet music right in front of me and I had no problems sight reading it. Today? I'm picking out notes using the old EGBDF and FACE mnemonics (I play guitar now...badly) one at a time, and still getting it wrong.

story

My kids grew tired of practice but I'd like them to get back into it. They did better with in-person lessons and correcting bad habits early than over adapting to Zoom in pandemic, so I don't know how the "made for online" lessons truly work.

Thanks for sharing that link, i subscribed. Sorry to hear your TMJ is in the way, it would be a blast to hear you play. We had a vacation out in South Dakota this summer and we saw this guy, a 13-year-old blues guitarist, play at a restaurant as the live music act. I think he could go places, he was fun.

Eric F

I’ve had TMJ since I was a kid, I clench and grind while I sleep. I’ve tried everything, but have only gotten so-so results. The only thing that really works is to be loaded up on psych meds, but I don’t want to go through life as a 300lb zombie. Practicing and playing only exacerbate it, and I got to the point where I could barely eat.

It’s unfortunate I don’t know of any accessible blues piano players around here. Blues guitarists are a dime a dozen, I could take lessons from Duke Robillard or Ronnie Earl if I wanted.