A stressed Pipa beginner

[abcdefg]

No pipas. Saw one blind erhu player and a shop selling gourd flutes 葫芦丝。

[G_String]

It'll be great to hear of your travels. Planning to go to Suzhou and hopefully see a few concerts. Seeing a pipa player perform is really amazing.

[Glowing Schwarz]

Reading this makes me think: "I'm screwed."

I'm brazilian and want to learn to play pipa, but I'm almost sure there's no pipa teachers where I live.

Funny how I found this forum and thread, while trying to find study material in english so I actually can try to learn.

[Meng Lelan]

You're not screwed. Initially I thought I was screwed until I found out there is a Chinese orchestra here with the city's only pipa teacher playing in it! First thing you should do is seek out the Chinese community in Brazil. Some Chinese pipa players turn to teaching piano when they go to western countries so try to see if any Chinese are teaching piano and then start asking who also knows the pipa.

[Glowing Schwarz]

The problem is, I live in the south, I think the Chinese community in Brazil is maybe wide near São Paulo.

[Meng Lelan]

Now I understand. Are you in a large city, medium size city, are you near a university by chance? Another pipa player I found here (!) was a university student from China. She even had to borrow my pipa for a performance at a new year party.

Any music schools nearby? I would suggest you try to get to know the Chinese community where you are and near where you are. Just make sure they know you are looking for a teacher. It could be possible to teach yourself, but to play really well would need a teacher, I think.

[G_String]

It is harder withoutna teacher but there are internet teachers if you are really stuck.

Some youtube players play the pipa like a plucked guitar ... the tone of the pipa is very different than other guitar lutes so I suppose...why not

I like chinese repertoire but its painful trying to read and play at the same time.

Don't give up until you've started!

[Glowing Schwarz]

I'll probably start teaching myself anyway. But I have a bigger problem now (not really), I'm not sure if I get a pipa or guzheng.

And there are some universities nearby. Some well known ones. Maybe I can find people there.

But I don't have idea if there's an Chinese community in my city, hah.

Maybe I'll look at some of the Mandarin Schools.

[Meng Lelan]

Just start with one in the lower price range, the student model. If and when you get more proficient you can upgrade to a better one....especially if you go on a trip to China to shop :-)

[abcdefg]

Saw a musical instrument store that had pipas displayed when I went to visit Yu Garden 豫园 in Shanghai last week. Right off An Ren Jie 安仁街，between the main road and the garden. It's a major tourist zone however, and they are bound to be overpriced.

[Meng Lelan]

They wouldn't be able to get my pipa-plucking fingers away from their displays.

[Meng Lelan]

I know G_string posted this in here http://pipalearning.tumblr.com/ and weirdly I found out just now the pipa teacher who does that site lives in Austin....90 miles north of me.

[G_String]

Nice shop images!

But those pipa are basic models. Their tuning is so so and the sound is so so. Not bad for 960Rmb...but not competitively priced for Shanghai where the whole city has an extra 0 mark up price

Good news Meng! You have a pipa community around you and there must be other students nearby who might wish to play together.

Schwartz - look up the free pipa lessons on youtube. Some are in mandarin and some have english. All have images so you can work out how to play. It is a harder instrument than guitar to play.

[Meng Lelan]

I must attract pipa players wherever I go. When I was at Middlebury last summer one of my classmates there plays pipa and was a student of Lin Shicheng.

[hanhtam]

hi! i'm italian as well and i'm learning pipa by myself, it's 2 months  

i already can play a little song "可爱的家“ （选自英国歌剧《米兰的少女》）

it's an easy one but it's ok since i can exercise very little during day.

If ur chinese is not bad u could choose a book called 青少年学琵琶 there is a vcd inside.. 

they speak very clearly! and there are also lil kids inside making exercises! u can understand easily how to make the exercises!

if u want we can meet somewhere sometimes and exercise together! hehehe

i dont think a teacher is strictly necessary..just it will be more difficult without and it'll take more time..

有志者事竟成！

[hanhtam]

Hi Nottefonda! you wrote me privetly but seems i cannot because of some profile restriction.. seems i must post few times before i can be able to write to u privetly.

i'm a girl too~ we can practise together sometimes i'm often around tuscany or in rome..tell me ur email ^^

[G_String]

"i dont think a teacher is strictly necessary..just it will be more difficult without and it'll take more time.."

 

 

Youtube videos, or else it isn't true! 

 

haha you're right about how difficult it is.  I've been without teacher.  Cannot.

Well I can play if a deaf audience who has never heard a pipa listen, then they

think I'm great.   But I know I'm not.

 

Have you tried uploading any youtube clips for learning feedback? 

 

Maybe we should try.    I'm annoyed at how slow I am learning but no teacher.  What to do ..?

[hanhtam]

well i dont know..

i'm kind of used to be without teachers XD i made almost everything without teachers.. i'm getting degree without teachers, because i can't go to lessons (too far too expensive for me, so i just go to take exams)  i always studied Chinese by myself.. 

i dont think learning pipa is any different d: 

of course, if there is a teacher always correcting ur mistakes it would be much easier! but i'm not in a hurry at all xD even if it takes 3 months to make something that with a teacher i would make in a month i dont care at all. i just enjoy the Present moment, and enjoy my little understanding of pipa little by little, step by step everytime i understand by myself something, even the more little thing, it feels like a conquer

 

Actually i have learned music before in a conservatory (not a stringed instrument tho, i've learned liturgic organ) and i think i have a method, more or less, for understanding if i can go on, or keep studying on something and i'm objective,(the more i can) i would never say i'm capable of doing anything i'm not.

Of course i'm the most beginner of beginners with pipa! (i just do the little exercises of my book, when i understand them) but i enjoy the feeling i'm not going to do any concert with that anyway for now and i dont care, nor if anyone/deaf thinks i'm good, nor if anyone thinks i'm the worst I'm not learning pipa for anyone but myself, for my joy. that's it

 

about videos on youtube asking for feeds.. i thought about that actually! but for now i dont need it (i dont feel i need it ) maybe i'll do it in the next future

[G_String]

Wow - a liturgical organ.... that is one great sounding portable instrument

 

When I can like this, I'll consider my self-teaching method good enough:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3pFdJMLzdg

 

I have quite a few books.  Some of the Shanghai Conservatory books are the broadest.  The elementary level one, has 'Ambushed From All sides in it'.   I thought this would be incredibly difficult for a beginner, but the first musical phrase is actually really easy, as long as you have mastered lun zhi.  Shame about the rest of the 10 pages

 

I think you're probably right about Youtube.  It just seems to attract trolls.  Not many pipa learners without a teacher.

[Codibugnolo]

Dear Nottefonda, dear hanhtam,

 

I am Italian as well. I have just come back from China and now I live in a small town not to far from Milano, Piacenza, Pavia. I have been studying pipa for two years. I took lessons in Shanghai Conservatory of Music and now I am also looking for an advanced teacher who could help me to improve my playing in Italy, better, or Europe. If you're interested in playing together or discuss about the possibility of organizing workshops, please contact me at puragnina@yahoo.it. 

 

Thanks!