Music beginners

[dueda]

Hints for music beginners - From hardware to inspiration. Instruments, basic concepts, methods, scores, learning tools, piracy, whatever.

Just got me a brand new CT-S200 keyboard and will take from where I stopped some 40 years ago... Page 4 of Baldwin home electric organ starter guide!
I'd like to receive some input on learning tools, preferably free or very cheap. Motivation and inspiration are an issue, as the almost-scrapyard-quality guitar I got last month is laying at the room corner.

Yup, it's an ultra-simplified system with a rotary knob and just 3 buttons under the tiny LCD, but that's the idea, advanced features will come after I drop the support wheels.
While I don't like the idea of a LKS (lighted keys guidance system), in my time learning typing was done with blinded typewriters, connecting the thing to a tablet or PC app could definitely speed up my pace.

I intend to play just for fun, not to become a professional or assemble a garage band.

[ill88eagle]

I upped a bunch of music theory (and practice) books long time ago, and the torrent is thriving quite well: https://thepiratebay.org/description.php?id=7233317 - Beginners guides dey inside

I'd get a free sequencer program and start composing beats to play along to. Something simple and unbloated.

If making your own beats is unviable, you could try out Band In A Box (winbloat alert) if the CT-S200 is GM compliant. A lot of instrumentalists use it for practice and I've used it for teaching with great success.

[dueda]

https://www.casio.com/products/electroni...ds/ct-s200
If you guys plan to get one, look hard for the (currently out of stock here in Casio's own homeland) CT-S300, includes sensible keys.

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Thanks, that was fast! Downloading now, will check later.

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PS: Although playing with framework composers like Lego blocks can be fun, I need to learn how to play some Do-Re-Mi first!

[theSEMAR]

...Motivation and inspiration are an issue...

You have to fix this before learning anything, including learning to play a musical instrument.

I will share my experience learning to play an acoustic guitar since I was in junior high school until now. there was nothing special in my process when learning acoustic guitar. All self-taught. My guidebook is just a middle school music book that lists guitar chords. One of the main key in learning a musical instrument is, you must like music. You have some favorite songs and then with the musical instruments you have, you learn to play your favorite songs. This is not a process for a day or two, learning a favorite song for a beginner musician can take weeks, and must spend time every day to learn it. Maybe sheet music (chord order list) will help, but most of all, you must have the intention to be able to play your own favorite song with your musical instrument. Then, the basics of music theory such as tone, octave and chords, you will master it as you study and can play some of your favorite songs.

Good luck @dueda. i hope you enjoy playing with your new music instrument

NB: fell free to share your progress every week in here.

[ill88eagle]

PS: Although playing with framework composers like Lego blocks can be fun, I need to learn how to play some Do-Re-Mi first!

You can translate this to do-re-mi (solfeo) by starting at C = Do and excluding all the black keys (das_racist.gif)

[dueda]

Thanks. I suppose it's a silly waste of time asking why the first note Do is the third letter C ?
Anyway, I used to like music long time ago, but the last two decades it was silence for me. Locked in a dungeon, my soul became dry, deaf, bitter.
I need to re-learn how to crawl before wandering around.

[ill88eagle]

Thanks. I suppose it's a silly waste of time asking why the first note Do is the third letter C ?
Anyway, I used to like music long time ago, but the last two decades it was silence for me. Locked in a dungeon, my soul became dry, deaf, bitter.
I need to re-learn how to crawl before wandering around.

The solfeo (do-re-mi) system widely used in latin countries was developed as a mnemonic system for monks in early medieval times, long before the notation and lettering we know today (the do-re-mi etc are abbrevations of saints). With those 7 notes you can create 7 different scales (or modes) depending on where you start. Starting from Do you get the 'natural' major scale (ionian mode). If you start from La, you get the natural minor scale (aeolian mode). More on musical modes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(music)

Whomever came up with the lettering (I'd look it up, but pretty sure it was a german) prolly favored the minor scale- Starting the letter sequence on La...

[theSEMAR]

also, skill need practice. will better if doing it everyday.

[dueda]

Ok I just gave it a look on Music Theory for Dummies - Sounded adequate to my case and needs. Sadly it doesn't come with the CD, just the book in PDF format.
But I also got some free intro to some mobile app / web courses looking good. Just got my hands full for a while.

To help other music newbies, a few initial conclusions:

- Casio's Chordana app is better on a big screen, like a 50" TV - so you can see the app's virtual keyboard 1:1 on top of your real life keyboard, for you to follow the notes; it will be a little hard if you use it on a small screen (like a mobile's); get a LK series (lighted keyboard) if you want to follow the notes and learn to play by ear.

Worth saying a tablet will help in case you want to learn musical notation to read written music partitures, and Chordana will shine only when connected to one of those LK keyboards, as it integrates with the lights on your keybord; when connected to a standard keyboard it will still detect if you're hitting the right keys as they scroll on the (mobile) device much like Guitar Hero. Besides that, it isn't a proper training course, like others, yet it's the only to integrate with your music keyboard in native mode (didin't test the USB MIDI mode on other apps yet).

Music notation is mostly used in the older, pentatonic form. The newer, using letters, is my preferred choice but not so popular, thus less offers (music, riffs, chords, etc) available.

Maybe the worst about Chordana is the fact it displays only the title of the available MIDI files, not any hint on tempo, style, difficulty level, etc, in no apparent logic sequence, that's a big problem for the beginners.

- Casio used an older mini-USB type B (also called "V8") interface instead of a more modern USB-C or, at least, a standard USB-A. Probably to discourage thumb-drives and other (future) more libertarian connections.

This is easy to work around with cable adapters, something Apple users probably are very used to.

[dueda]

This week I tried two apps: Flow Key and Piano Academy, on the iPhone. Both stream video lessons in chapters from the basic introduction to notes and keyboards, to playing one, then two hands, all the way up.

So far I liked Flowkey, but that can change as I progress. Problem is, both are subscription services, and even at around $20 per month, won't keep them two just to find out which fits me more.
Both say can work with any piano (via your mobile's microphone) or MIDI keyboard (using an adapter for the proprietary Lightning port). Didn't test yet, so far I used the apps' own (on iPhone's touchscreen).
As I guessed, I'm using my brain to relate notes and fingers and keys positions. Would like to test a lighted keys instrument like the LK-250 to see the difference.

Next couple of weeks I'll be reading and practicing on the full-size keyboard, if Apple allows me. My current Android device is a low-end Samsung A20, dunno if it can hold against real-time music.

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Update: App mentions some "Lightning to USB Camera Adapter" which costs over $50 here in JP. Don't know if I'm buying it...
As expected, my own adaptation with two generic mini-cables (Lightning to USB-A, Micro-USB to USB-A) and a very old double female USB adapter dongle, didn't work.
Neither those apps' microphone note detection. They suggest a quiet room, turning off air condition and keeping windows closed, etc... Deal breaker! It's freaking summer.