WieWaldi Didn't work. And it cost me a long time to re-learn with fullsize keys. My fingers constantly hit the wrong notes. This is the true reason why I avoid mini-keys while I am in a beginner level.

Ok, late reply to this but... I have been thinking. Maybe you experienced the difficulty because you went from mini keys to full size? Perhaps it's like going from automatic to learning stick shift car: apparently that's hard. Or from electric guitar to acoustic, same. But the other way around is perhaps 5 minutes of adjusting, then you feel comfortable.

Of course with only 2 polycatic notes to play, it may be not the best litmus test. But it honestly wasn't hard - in fact the hardest part was to get the black keys to sound because they are very heavy to play. Now I want a "proper" mini keyboard just because I'm weird 🤣

      Sophia Why not? A mini keyboard has some big advantages. It is cheap, it is lightweight, and you can take it with you when you visit friends. Just think about christmas or birthday parties of relative's kids. And on top of that, you can reach a 10th, easily. Seriously, you will be able to play advanced music on the mini keyboard, but you can't do with the Clavinova.

      The comparison with the guitar fretboard is good. Still, I think in my beginner stage I should not mix up key sizes. One day in my life I want to play stride piano and ragtime, LH constantly jumping octaves. This needs a lot of burned in muscle memory.

      As a 12 year I played a lot on a mini keyboard. Right hand only. The left hand was pressing the buttons of the trekharmonica. I didn't enjoy this nealy as much as I enjoy piano today... I played enough minikeys for my lifetime.

        Sophia Wow, that was a great combination, you were very creative with your use of the kitty keyboard. That piece has some nice trills and you're really getting the hang of this style of playing now.

        As for lesson 9 - I'm with you on this piece, it it just not pleasant on the ears and has few redeeming features, except for maybe it helped you to play lesson 10!

        WieWaldi It's good you have that recording as a record of the early stages of your playing. The keyboard does sound a little tinny, definitely more of a toy than a proper instrument, but it gave you a head start when you could not get a piano during the pandemic, so had real value at a dark time.

        I am considering getting the Yamaha PS50 keyboard, as a way to change things up a bit. It seems to have some of the quality of a full size keyboard and a reasonable sound, plus ways to create background rhythms/harmonies (which are a mystery to me as I'm not very tech minded, but maybe it would do me good to experiment).

        "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

              Nightowl You have a full size digital piano. Why do you want a keyboard with 37 mini keys. I am still the opinion, that mini keys may screw up your muscle memory. Your hand forms a shape for a chord, but this shape is different with mini keys.
              @Sophia might disagree with me. Looks like she is on the run for a better mini-keyboard.
              🎹
              🛒🏃🏻‍♀️

                  WieWaldi @Sophia might disagree with me.

                  Never 😃 I haven't decided yet, because funny enough I was eying up a foldable 61 keyboard with full size keys. Then I went into the "Fun keyboards" thread and saw that I eyed up the same keyboard in the summer and got talked out of it because apparently it is very heavy, and garbage to boot. The search continues for something that is lightweight and portable - not necessarily with mini keys but definitely between 40-60-ish keys and rechargeable or battery powered 😃 (a recent power outage convinced me even further of that necessity, lol!). Oh and I also want lots of voices and rhythms, AND I want touch sensitive keys. All for a price that won't match what you pay for a cell phone these days ^_^

                    WieWaldi Nightowl You have a full size digital piano. Why do you want a keyboard with 37 mini keys.

                    To be honest, I'm not really sure! Just novelty value, and the freedom to play it in different settings - slouched on the sofa or out in the garden, or maybe I could take it when I visit my mother in law and play some old songs that she might sing along to.

                    It's all Navindra's fault really, when he showed a pic of his cute mini keyboard some of us got a bit jealous! 🙃

                    "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                        Nightowl I don't find this picture anymore. But I reckon, it wasn't minikeys. Just a regular portable spring loaded keyboard with fullsize keys. Something like Roland Go:Piano, or one of the Casio CT series or a Yamaha PSR.

                            Well, I made my decision 😁 For the longest time, I was eying up one of those $50-ish Chinese pianos. I actually picked one and started the process... then I listened to some samples from reviews and it sounded just dreadful. Plus they conveniently left out the polyphonic specs which makes me suspect it's no better than the cat piano. Just a toy and I don't really want another toy.

                            So I picked the Yamaha PSR-E373 61-Key Electric Keyboard instead. It gets awesome reviews and ticks most of my requirements... especially concerning built in voices and rhythms.

                            It was on sale somewhere to fit well into the budget I set for myself. It is also touch sensitive which is nice. It will enhance my blues lessons and allow for some creativity I'm sure 😁

                            And no switching to mini keys needed... it's full size (which means it isn't quite as portable as I had in mind, but you just can't have it all in life).

                            Well done Sophia, it sounds like you weighed it all up carefully and decided what was important and what you could compromise on, and now you can look forward to creating lots of multi layered music. This instrument is not what I'd call truly portable, as it is heavier and larger than the mini keyboard, but if you set it up in another room away from your DP then you'll have two different places to play, depending on your mood. It won't be ideal for classical music due to its limited range, but 61 keys will be enough for most other types of music. I look forward to hearing what you produce with your new sound machine!

                            "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                              Nightowl It won't be ideal for classical music due to its limited range, but 61 keys will be enough for most other types of music.

                              Exactly, plus it doesn't have a pedal (though it could be added) and it doesn't feel like a proper piano according to most reviews. But that's what I have the Clavinova for 🙂 This will be something to feed my inner geek (I need lots of that) and have fun (I want lots of that too, otherwise why even bother with a hobby like this) 😃 I can't wait!

                                After some fun and exotic travel pianos with a crack in the keyboard, let's come back to on-topic:
                                "Beginners blues/boogie/rock discussion"

                                This is my take of lesson 5 of the Easy Blues & Boogie Woogie course.
                                It is not flawless. But hey(!) this video goes for more than 7 minutes in a single take. We beginners are not yet at the level to play a whole concert without some oopses and hrmfps, here and there.

                                This thread is called "blues/boogie/rock", but for now we are only swimming in the blues pond. An introduction into easy Boogie Woogie stuff for beginners, comes later this course. What is missing? Rock'n Roll!
                                I added some at the end (Yes, drone-lick). This was necessary to have some fun after the boring Blues-Hanon.

                                btw: Sophia - in Lesson 11 you will learn the walking bass line!!!! have fun!

                                Ahh! Yes that sounded familiar immediately!!! I was swinging along with the slow blues section - loved all of it, pretty harmonies, great sounds, loved the walking bass (mine is still a lot simpler than that).

                                But then oh my goodness, you weren't kidding with the Hanon part.... well played but YIKES! Endless misery basically... plonk-ee-plink-ee-plonk-ee, very grating to my ears indeed. But then around the 7 minutes mark it had a lovely ending.

                                Then of course the real fun started: ROCK & ROLL!!! Yeah!!! Jerry Lee Lewis, move over, WieWaldi is in town! With great hands of fire!

                                P.S. there was no risk of me submitting my lesson before you, I'm only at the left hand stage, trying to add the magic triangle... "I don't want to pay this, said the guest" 😅

                                  Sophia Let's call the lesson 11 bass line, the little brother of my version. This one needs a bit more concentration because it is longer and you have to pay attention to the index finger that is wandering around. But the biggest difficulty is the same on both lines: Coming from F7 down to C7, this is an 11th jump. And sometimes you can't look at your hands, because the right hand jumps, too. (Now you know why I consider mini-keys bad for the muscle memory training).
                                  IMO, this walking bass adds about 50 to 60 percent of difficulty to yours. The one Christian mentioned as the "full version" is indeed 5 times harder to play.

                                    @WieWaldi Wow, that was amazing! 👏 "Great hands of fire!" indeed - Sophia nailed it with that phrase.

                                    You play with fluency and confidence, to the point where small mistakes seem irrelevant because the overall performance is so enjoyable. Take a bow, maestro! 😀

                                    "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                    Started with next lesson, "The Quick Five Blues". I think this will be my next recital piece. 4 more weeks to go, just perfect.

                                    Turns out, Christian isn't very happy with my Rock'n Roll attempt 😂😂😂

                                    Pfft! What does he know! What was good enough for Mr Lewis, is good enough for WieWaldi! I still liked it 🤩

                                    8 days later

                                    Ooh! I am wrapping up lesson 11 (one more lick to get up to speed, probably a few more days). I was thinking yay, I'm catching up with WieWaldi... I will be a Bloody Lovely Total Beginner™ soon. Not so... the sheet music stops at lesson 11 but there are still more tutorials! That Christian is always full of surprises 👺

                                    Yea. The next sheet music is from lesson 12 to16, then you are awarded. Looks like you stay lovely for some more time! 🥰
                                    I always wonder how you manage to do both, the Alfred stuff for serious pianists AND toying around with Blues.💙

                                    Lol! I guess my mamma was like your mamma: first, you must eat the spinach and brussels sprouts before you can enjoy the ice cream and cookies. Now that I'm old and can decide for myself, I'm finally seeing the sense in that. So first 15 minutes of mandatory Alfred 🥱😬😵 and then I am allowed to do the blues lesson 💃🤸‍♀️🧚‍♀️