[HANASHIR:13519] Re: Learning Instruments

[Gordon Lustig <gordonza...>]

I agree. For everything I do, I visualize the piano. I took piano lessons
from age 6-9. I made sure we had a piano in the house when my child turned
2. Didn't make a big deal about it, just let him discover it. Piano is the
way to go.

gordon

> From: sholom (at) aishdas(dot)org
> Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 09:14:28 -0600 (CST)
> To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
> Subject: [HANASHIR:13499] Re: Learning Instruments
> 
>> Start with piano to give the kid a general knowledge of music, chords,
>> etc.
> 
> I can't agree with this strongly enough!
> 
> I have a vague recolletion, somewhere, that Charlie Parker (considered one
> of the greatest jazz sax players ever) was told by a mentor to stop sax
> and learn piano for a while, and then go back to sax, as it would improve
> him tremendously.  All the jazz horn greats -- Dizzie Gillespie, Miles
> Davis, Sonny Rollins, drummer Art Blakley, etc., learned piano.
> 
> Is there any other instrument where you can *see* an octave?  Where you
> can *see* the difference between an all natural scale (C) and others?
> Where you can *see* chord structures?
> 
> I started learning piano around age five, and went to guitar at age 9, and
> became a guitar song leader.  But even though I've now been playing guitar
> for 3+ decades, I understand _chords_ because of my piano playing.
> 
> (And for song leading -- some songs just sound better with a piano than
> with guitar -- it's great to be able to switch).
> 
> FWIW,
> 
> Sholom
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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