Having just acquired a first-ever keyboard/synthesiser/whatever (a Yamaha PSR 400), and finding that, at the age of 65, my fingers just can't cope with the idea of striking
n notes at distinct and different times, I set out to try to find some guidance as to whether one can indeed hope to learn the piano (or similar) at such an advanced age. After a few scam hits, which almost put me off, I came across what /looked/ very much like a come-on :
two chapters and the prelims on-line, the rest (presumably) available at exorbitant cost. You can therefore imagine my joy and disbelief when I found that the author, Chuan C. Chang, has put all 260++ pages online, free of charge, in
a single, unprotected, downloadable PDF. Scarcely able to believe my good luck, I read further and found that not only does he write on ways to learn and practice piano, he also writes on a great deal of other topics as well. Sadly much of his work is currently unavailable, for reasons that are not yet clear, but his paper on the "
Theory and Practice of the Stir-fry" is still online, and well worth a read. I shall be skimming his online piano manual for a while, and if it seems as good as the critiques suggest, probably investing in a printed-and-bound version as well. His other (manifold) interests are documented (in part) in his "
Wisdom World".
** Phil.
Topic: "Theory and practice of the stir-fry" (Read 2277 times)