New Old Guy Needs Help

[Adspin]

First as a newby on this forum a little about myself. My name is Adrian, and i live in West Wales in the UK, i'm 71 so time is precious.
  I have last week bought a secondhand PSR S770 and would like to learn to play it, there are so many informative video's on youtube but i don't know where to start.  I have admired the various youtube keyboard players and would be happy with a fraction of their skills. My aim is to be able to play Santana songs like Black Magic Woman. I would appreciate any guidance in pointing me in the right direction.

Adrian.

[moshe israeli]

this is one way to learn play on keyboard
you write in youtube a name of a keyboard for exemple psrs770 and there will be videos to watch .
hope this can help you.

[hammer]

Go here and download the user manual.  That is how I learned to use my first yamaha arranger.
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/437565/psrs970_en_om_b0.pdf
Deane

[BogdanH]

hello Adrian,
If this keyboard is your first instrument, then, to save you a lot of precious time, there's only one way: try to find someone nearby who can play piano. A student in music school maybe, who would do that for small fee and cup of hot tea. Don't expect that person can or will teach you everything. Just to give you an initial "push", so you can start by yourself.
It was mentioned before, the other option is, to watch videos (lessons) about playing piano. Even I like Black Magic Woman too... It's quite complex song, so I suggest you start with some easier melodies.
As you probably realized meanwhile, changing musical voices and accompaniments is simple. Still, regardless of all these welcome features, a musician is needed to make a music out of this.
Wish you a lot of fun with your instrument 

[Adspin]

Go here and download the user manual.  That is how I learned to use my first yamaha arranger.
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/437565/psrs970_en_om_b0.pdf
Deane

Thanks for the suggestion, i was fortunate to have the user manual with the keyboard and i have downloaded the reference and data manual.
  As i have never played a note in my life, where should i start? is there a "you should learn this first" tutorial, bearing in mind i would prefer not to learn to read sheet music, more of a "play it by ear" approach before senility rears its ugly head. has anybody been in a similar position a couple of years ago ? and how did they manage.

[Adspin]

hello Adrian,
If this keyboard is your first instrument, then, to save you a lot of precious time, there's only one way: try to find someone nearby who can play piano. A student in music school maybe, who would do that for small fee and cup of hot tea. Don't expect that person can or will teach you everything. Just to give you an initial "push", so you can start by yourself.
It was mentioned before, the other option is, to watch videos (lessons) about playing piano. Even I like Black Magic Woman too... It's quite complex song, so I suggest you start with some easier melodies.
As you probably realized meanwhile, changing musical voices and accompaniments is simple. Still, regardless of all these welcome features, a musician is needed to make a music out of this.
Wish you a lot of fun with your instrument 

That's a good idea Bogdan, that's what i'm looking for="the initial push" to set me on the right track, I must have looked at countless video's.

[BogdanH]

he he, watching some videos can make one feel desperate... so many guys playing great music with such ease. Keep in mind: what you see is, besides talent, a result of many years of practicing.
What you need is really basic things, like.. which keys you need to press to play (simple) music in C chord -many video tutorials explain these things.
Pick some melody you know well, a waltz is good for that purpose.. say Lara's theme from Dr.Zivago (also known as "Somewhere my love") and try to play that melody with one finger... repeat until you learn what keys are used to play the melody. Remember: pick a melody which you can whistle -that's a simple melody. Hard to whistle Black magic woman, though 
After a short while, you will learn which two keys you need to press at the same time, to make your melody to sound richer. In short: the more you practice, the more "ear feeling" for which keys fit together you will become.
You don't need to feel embarrassed if you don't use your left hand much (or not at all) at beginning. When learning, it's very hard to keep left and right hand independent. Especially if you start older.. no matter what, left hand will keep doing same moves as left hand does (and vice versa).
About reading key notes... no, I think it wouldn't make sense you start learning that... you said you have "musical hearing" right?
Thinking again... you're in advantage actually.. Beethoven was deaf when he made some great music in his late period. 

[Roger Brenizer]

Hi Adrian,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for becoming a member.  I'm sure you'll learn a great deal about your PSR-S770 keyboard here on the forum and will experience many pleasurable hours playing it.

You'll want to be sure to visit the Home page and check out some of the tutorials you will find links to there.  The following link will take you to the Home page of the website:

http://psrtutorial.com/

Should you later decide to become a supporting member, which will include lifetime membership, other forum boards will become available to you, as well as a wealth of additional musical knowledge; however, there is absolutely no obligation to do so.  You may also use the following link to discover the full benefit of becoming a Supporting Member of the PSR Tutorial.

http://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php/topic,15536.0.html

You'll also gain access to an Excel Song Index database, made available to supporting members by our good friend Peter (XeeniX), which presently contains almost 73,000 song titles in over 2,000 indexed books.  This index is updated often.

In lieu of making a donation only, you may also order any of the websites resources, which can be found at the following link:

http://psrtutorial.com/cdrom/productsum.html

Joe Waters updated "Supporting the PSR Tutorial", on August 27, 2017, which can be found here:

https://psrtutorial.com/cdrom/index.html

We're so glad you've decided to become a member and very happy you've decided to become a part of this great forum family.  If you have any questions, then please just ask.  Many of our members are always very willing to help you.

[mikf]

Adrian
Welcome. I lived in South Wales for a while some years ago. Hope your weather is starting to improve, because I am coming to the UK in a few weeks for the summer.   
Bogdan is giving you some good advice. And you have to temper your expectations otherwise you will get disheartened and give up. Playing keyboard is not simple, even with the technology of the arranger.  The arranger makes getting to the point where you produce some kind of music easier, but its a relative term. Its still not actually easy. You are going to find this out very soon for yourself, so I don't need to labor it, but I want you to understand you are on a journey here, and not give up when you realize its harder than you thought. Learning the basic operation of the keyboard is necessary, but that is easy, especially since to begin with you don't need much more than how to switch it on and select a voice. Playing is the hard part.
My advice like Bogdan is to start by taking some music lessons. You need to start with some basics. You need to understand about chords, keys, musical notation and how to read a simple melody line. I would not go to a typical piano teacher though, because there is a danger they would start you down the classic learning path, and frankly you would not cope with that at your age. You need to find the kind of teacher that teaches the modern easy play techniques using chords. If you bought your keyboard at a store ask them where you can go for some help.
Also the idea that you can choose to learn to play by ear and not music is a bit unrealistic. We have many members here who play reasonably well that would love to play by ear but cannot. There are also some who play by ear and not read music. It is something that might or might not develop, but you still need some musical knowledge, even when playing by ear.
Videos of people playing would not be very useful, but there are one or two short cut learning courses on the internet that might be a reasonable alternative to a local teacher. In the USA there is a guy called Scott Houston - The Piano Guy - who pioneered the short cut learning methods based on melody / chords, and these are good for the arranger player. I am sure there are several similar people available.
Please be assured that you can fire questions here about the keyboard operation or playing techniques. We have helpful people well versed in both.
Mike 

[Adspin]

Thank you all for your words of encouragement, it's good to know that i can call on people like yourselves for help when needed

[rdiazhin]

I found some videos I made 15 years ago with some basic finger exercises for beginners students of piano/keyboard. These videos were part of a project I did for a  computer program to self teach piano/keyboard based on computer at that time where Youtube did not exist.

These are very basic exercises that I recommend you to master before trying to start with songs.

Try to follow the exercises in order until you get them right and then gradually increase the tempo.

Repetitions is the key to sucess, try to do each exercise for 3 to 5 minutes without stopping, take a little break, and do it again, many times.

Hope that help you.

Link for the videos:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pjJctyVsYVjEKWMkFuu0JNuJuLHW_fTD

Regards.

Rodrigo Diaz.

[Adspin]

Many Thanks Rodrigo.

[travlin-easy]

Here's a song specific style for Black Magic Woman, one that I have used many times in the past with a great deal of success. I think you will have a lot of fun with it.

Gary

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Soh]

Hi Adrian,
I started learning the keyboard some 14 years ago, after I retired. Never touch a KB, or read notes before that.
IMO, the keyboard is very easy to learn if you are happy to play as an amateur.
You need passion to enjoy playing, discipline to practice while learning, and a 1-1 instructor to 'kick' start the learning curve. (I had a weekly lesson).
In my case, after the first lesson of 45 min, I could play the song at home, playing single finger at left hand chord, with right hand melody. (That shows how important it is to have an instructor). I was also taught to read simple sheet  notes, so that I could practice the song to be taught the following week.
I too do not have the desire to play with sheet notes. So about 6 months into the course, I started practicing on my own 'playing by ear', with pop songs that I was familiar.
Overall, I had one year of learning from the music school.
I have not played with sheet music notes ever since, and have almost totally forgotten how to read them, but do agree that if I had not been taught the basics I would not be able to progress to 'playing by ear'.
I am still an amateurish home player, ... timing out, wrong key, wrong this, and wrong that, but am still happy able to play a fraction of what the professionals can do. Cheers!

[Adspin]

Here's a song specific style for Black Magic Woman, one that I have used many times in the past with a great deal of success. I think you will have a lot of fun with it.

Gary

Thanks for the style Gary. If and when i get good enough i will use it.

Adrian.

[Adspin]

Hi Adrian,
I started learning the keyboard some 14 years ago, after I retired. Never touch a KB, or read notes before that.
IMO, the keyboard is very easy to learn if you are happy to play as an amateur.
You need passion to enjoy playing, discipline to practice while learning, and a 1-1 instructor to 'kick' start the learning curve. (I had a weekly lesson).
In my case, after the first lesson of 45 min, I could play the song at home, playing single finger at left hand chord, with right hand melody. (That shows how important it is to have an instructor). I was also taught to read simple sheet  notes, so that I could practice the song to be taught the following week.
I too do not have the desire to play with sheet notes. So about 6 months into the course, I started practicing on my own 'playing by ear', with pop songs that I was familiar.
Overall, I had one year of learning from the music school.
I have not played with sheet music notes ever since, and have almost totally forgotten how to read them, but do agree that if I had not been taught the basics I would not be able to progress to 'playing by ear'.
I am still an amateurish home player, ... timing out, wrong key, wrong this, and wrong that, but am still happy able to play a fraction of what the professionals can do. Cheers!

Thanks for the encouraging words Soh.
  You seem to have the same desires as myself, to be able to play a song and be satisfied with the result.

Adrian.

[panos]

Hi Adspin,
I have started to play the keyboard by myself when I was around 28 years old.
The very first thing to start with was to learn the rules that build the music scales,
what is a tone, what is a semitone and where are those things on the keybed.

A melody(right hand) is written in notes of a scale so they are not just accidental notes.
Remember that notes have different durations.

Chords (left hand) are also parts of a scale and played accordingly to the melody notes and they are not accidental chords.

And then there is the rhythm.
Two basic rhythms: 4/4 rhythm like "Black Magic Woman" and ¾ rhythm like "The Blue Danube waltz".

As for the tempo, everybody who never played music already knows that is the speed.

So up and down the C major Scale so your fingers will be familiar with it and your ears recognize how a major scale sounds.
Up an down the C natural minor scale for the same reasons
Then, up and down the C melodic minor scale.
Then continue with some more scales that begin with a white key.

Learn just the basics of music theory.
Not so much need to do all the practice exercises for your fingers unless you want to grow up and play Rachmaninof in a piano concert.
Practice with easy tunes at first with one finger as already have been said.

No need to read music if you cannot or try to find out by yourself what notes to press to play a melody.
You can watch tutorial covers for songs on Youtube or downlad thousand of free midi files and just play the notes they are playing.
There are programs like synthesia that they show you what notes to play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40TY2einWfQ

Your keyboard also can play midi files but unfortunately it displays them only in sheet music.
Only entry models of Yamaha show also the keys to the keyboards screen.

Just remember for the same song there are dozens of different versions in sheet music,midi files, live playing etc.
Find the easy one.

A teacher, even if he is the worst teacher in the world, he will save you time.

[EileenL]

A lot of Keyboard shops do offer lessons either group or individual. Worth enquiring. To start with you only need to learn three chords to play a lot of songs. They are C G F. To find these you take the 1st 2nd and 3rd note of each Key So C would be C E and G. That will be known as the root chord of C.
For G you play G B and D and for F  F A C. d when you know them well Get used to playing these and when you know them well then start to try and add a melody to them. A chord book will help here and most music shops will sell them.

[Adspin]

Hi Adspin,
I have started to play the keyboard by myself when I was around 28 years old.
The very first thing to start with was to learn the rules that build the music scales,
what is a tone, what is a semitone and where are those things on the keybed.

A melody(right hand) is written in notes of a scale so they are not just accidental notes.
Remember that notes have different durations.

Chords (left hand) are also parts of a scale and played accordingly to the melody notes and they are not accidental chords.

And then there is the rhythm.
Two basic rhythms: 4/4 rhythm like "Black Magic Woman" and ¾ rhythm like "The Blue Danube waltz".

As for the tempo, everybody who never played music already knows that is the speed.

So up and down the C major Scale so your fingers will be familiar with it and your ears recognize how a major scale sounds.
Up an down the C natural minor scale for the same reasons
Then, up and down the C melodic minor scale.
Then continue with some more scales that begin with a white key.

Learn just the basics of music theory.
Not so much need to do all the practice exercises for your fingers unless you want to grow up and play Rachmaninof in a piano concert.
Practice with easy tunes at first with one finger as already have been said.

No need to read music if you cannot or try to find out by yourself what notes to press to play a melody.
You can watch tutorial covers for songs on Youtube or downlad thousand of free midi files and just play the notes they are playing.
There are programs like synthesia that they show you what notes to play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40TY2einWfQ

Your keyboard also can play midi files but unfortunately it displays them only in sheet music.
Only entry models of Yamaha show also the keys to the keyboards screen.

Just remember for the same song there are dozens of different versions in sheet music,midi files, live playing etc.
Find the easy one.

A teacher, even if he is the worst teacher in the world, he will save you time.

Thank you for the info' I really liked the youtube video, is the left side played by a keyboard style?

[Adspin]

A lot of Keyboard shops do offer lessons either group or individual. Worth enquiring. To start with you only need to learn three chords to play a lot of songs. They are C G F. To find these you take the 1st 2nd and 3rd note of each Key So C would be C E and G. That will be known as the root chord of C.
For G you play G B and D and for F  F A C. d when you know them well Get used to playing these and when you know them well then start to try and add a melody to them. A chord book will help here and most music shops will sell them.

Yes Eileen, i have been thinking of enquiring at the local music shop, but at my age it's not the easiest thing to do.

[EileenL]

Hi Adspin,
  You are never to old to learn and at 83 I am still learning. Here in the UK we have a lot of retired people learning to play keyboards.

[billtracy]

Thanks for the suggestion, i was fortunate to have the user manual with the keyboard and i have downloaded the reference and data manual.
  As i have never played a note in my life, where should i start? is there a "you should learn this first" tutorial, bearing in mind i would prefer not to learn to read sheet music, more of a "play it by ear" approach before senility rears its ugly head. has anybody been in a similar position a couple of years ago ? and how did they manage.

There are many piano teachers on youtube and that is the way I would go as you can't beat the convenience. Two that I have used and recommend are Duane Shinn and "Piano Man" Steve Lungrin. You can search for them on youtube. Both do not require that you learn to read notation although they think it is a good idea. Shinn is an older gentleman and has been a piano teacher for years and focuses on traditional methods and learning music theory. His style could be described as "cocktail piano." Lungrin is younger and teaches mostly rock including Billy Joel and Elton John although he has a little something for everyone I believe. Both have material that they charge for, but offer a significant number of free videos.

[Soh]

Hi Adrian,
Agreed with Eileen: You are never too old to learn the keyboard.
When I first enroll for the course, my first concern was also was I too old to learn, as I was in my 60's. The instructor assured me that he had students who were in the 70.
The chords C,G, and F chords was taught to me on the 1st lesson, played with single finger. In fact on the first lesson, I was already taught to play single fingered chord on left hand together with melody on right. On the 3rd lesson, I was taught to play multi fingered  chord.
Learning to play at amateur level is actually quite easy. You need passion to enjoy playing, discipline to practice, and 1 to 1 instructor to 'kick' start the learning curve. It can be a life long hobby after retirement, as it is for me. The 770 is a good KB that produces good music which could be enjoyed at all levels of learning, even if you are just a beginner. So cheers!

[Toril S]

Hello Adrian. Much good advice here! One is never too old to learn! I believe you will have tons of fun with your new keyboard. Take it slowly, as the friends here say, and one day you will share Black Magic Woman with us on this forum, I am sure!

[gfraden]

Hi Adspin,

Congratulations on the great adventure you've started! You're never too old if you have a young heart. Music, and making music, makes our hearts young.

I'm 72 and started taking piano lessons 10 years ago. Before that I frustratingly fumbled around for a long time. My teacher requires that her students have an adequate instrument to practice on so I bought a YPG-635, which has 88 keys, and began. Carol has a baby grand and the latest, most expensive Clavinova, but her mainstay is the baby grand. She teachings classically and I've made decent progress in understanding and ability but I keep telling her that I don't have enough time to become a concert pianist. I just want to make music!

So, when I thought it was worth spending the money, in 2017 I bought a PSR-S970, which is just like your 770 but with a little bit more, and what a game changer. It is easier to make music with than the YPG because of the ease of access to styles. Styles are the key (no pun intended, well, maybe a little). You have a whole band in your 770 waiting to be set loose so open a style and start playing chords and listen. What's a chord? Do some reading and learn. Some chords use all five fingers but you can play chords on your magic machine with just one finger! Your manual will tell you how to set that up.

PSR Tutorial has helped me tremendously, and everyone here will help you too, in learning my instrument, one little step at a time. So, go, make music at whatever level you can. Keep your heart young.

The best to you.
George
Oh, by the way - I watch Doc Martin. Wales is a beautiful place.

[Adspin]

I honestly did not expect this level of support on a forum, it's very encouraging. I thank you all for your comments and look forward to interacting with you all in the future in my quest to learn to play.

Adrian.

[mikf]

Oh, by the way - I watch Doc Martin. Wales is a beautiful place.

Wales is a beautiful place. But Doc Martin is set in Cornwall on the south coast of England.
Mike

[DrakeM]

The Piano Guy .. he has a course online you can use.

This is a link to one of his videos (as an example)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-jiBtvIl1s

The three chords you need to learn to play most POP songs are: C, F and G.
The five chords you need to learn to play the rest of the POP songs are : C, F, G, Am and Em.

Here is a string of 22 of his videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBjsidEWG2w&list=PLcgvZAwZ_Xm3NTGHmDpS2qhyynTUSjsqK

Keep in mind when watching his videos ... YOU DO NOT need to learn the LEFT HAND. When using an ARRANGER keyboard, your left hand controls the BAND (that includes the bass player and rhythm player). So, you only have to LEARN the RIGHT hand (when playing).

He was originally on local PBS stations weekly with his show (15 years ago) and his lessons were totally free. Back then I watched him but never tried any of them until one afternoon he explained the key of C to the viewers.

He explained there were only 7 NOTES to use and they were all white keys that you had to use to figure out any song by ear. He then demonstrated how you would go about figuring out the song. Then he added two blues notes (black keys) to the original seven white notes.

After watching his show that afternoon I went into my basement sat in front of my old Casio keyboard and within 45 minutes I was playing the tune "Kansas City".

Then it just took practice, practice, practice .. to be able to figure the songs out quicker.

Regards
Drake

[DrakeM]

Here he explains where YOU CAN NOT play what is written on the Sheet Music and have it sounding correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO97Bf46LNw

He is explaining you actually have to play the piece by EAR.

Again keep in mind you do not need to play the left hand bass note ... ONLY the chords when using an ARRANGER keyboard.

[DrakeM]

Here is a string of free videos on YouTube that also helped me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOxo6V7HTSc&list=PLKYNAd1fui_ioqWChSXRZzbzoOdtKgu34

Karen Ramirez videos explain a lot of good stuff too.

If you really want to learn to play by ear .... THERE you GO.

Regards
Drake