Im curious.

[Guest AmbientMood]

I've been getting back into piano playing of late. It's actually an amazingly cool instrument, but the way it gets taught (along with probably every other orchestral instrument), especially to me when I was five, is just so boring. There is no encouragement to be creative and improvise but focus lies in learning works of the masters etc, which is challenging and takes you to new levels of ability, but really is a bit dull.

So where is the enthusiasm for new classical music players? Of anyone I have ever known who has played an instrument of orchestral / classical nature, they have never seemed overly keen on what they do. They general seem forced into it from an early age and too weak to have ever given it up. Man, I should have got the award for my higher music class. I was blatantly the best but this silly euphonium player (exactly, what the fuck is a euphonium?) who's composition consisted of bleeps from a computer (against my incredible guitar rock/jazz/funk epic masterpiece) was basically rewarded for just sucking teacher ass all year. Sure, she was a nice girl, but she had as much fun playing her malnourished tuba as me pretending to enjoy being eaten by a cow.

I just don't understand where the fun is in only playing what has already been written. This really comes from being in a class where the teacher has far too much respect for people who don't seem to realise that you can play what you want!

Does anyone have any thoughts or have I just written a page of totally worthless, uninteresting tripe?

[Child_of_bodom]

Sounds about right to me. I got pushed into learning trumpet and hated it. Then i picked up a guitar and taught myself what i wanted to play. Much more fun

[Jimmygoodein]

yea the musical teaching curriculum is pretty crappy. in generallity, there are a few good teachers out there, but most teachers just go by their books. Its a shame that in my school most of the musicians dont smile when they play and playing music is something of a chore. People arnt motivated to play, yea theres alot of clubs and stuff but all you do is read your music. My school jazz band went to a course a couple of weeks ago on improvising, everyone came back with a smile on their face and was motivated to play, cause they guy just had such a free approach to music, all his pupils at fife (i think it was fife) must be insanely good. this is not saying that people in my school arnt insanely good but they dont get motivated to play or to learn.

[psydoll]

I loved playing piano but I gave up the lessons I was doing for exactly the reasons stated here - the lessons were so boring they were sucking the life out of whatever I wanted to do. Then I started playing guitar.

It's something I definitely want to start up again (keyboard/synth/piano) but it'll be as and when finances allow. Beautiful instrument the piano

I'd just go downstairs to the piano shop and look around but after Alex and myself having a hardcore dancing day extravaganza which included the piano shop I dunno how advisable that is

[Child_of_bodom]

Keyboard players all seem to hide in Aberdeen. We could do with a good keyboard player but we could never find one

[psydoll]

If I had a decent keyboard any more you'd be sorted!

[Guest AmbientMood]

I've yet to an enthusiatic tuba player. I mean, how could you be?!?!