how to play piano? I remember seeing him sitting at a piano as a young man with a child beside him. I heard thatkid was the child of his piano teacher. Anybody got that picture?

Dayclear said:

Old story. When Francis left Mattie circa 1965, he left his piano behind. Prince started playing around on it and taught himself to play. The first song he learned was the theme from "Batman and Robin".

I think that kid was the record exec's or photographer's son.

Okay.
[Edited 5/13/09 20:59pm]

Supposedly he still doesn't read music. On the other hand, several band members have said he has "perfect pitch." He clearly knows some chords because in various rehearsals you can hear him chastising members of his band for not playing the right ones.

"E FLAT! E FLAT!" -Prince

stanleylieber said:

True, he can't read music but he obviously knows the language and how to write things down to some extent. I'm horrible at reading music for piano, as I learned music on violin initially. But I can play piano with my eyes closed.

ernestsewell said:

Uh Ernest Prince's dad was John L. Nelson. Francis was the father in "Purple Rain".

ernestsewell said:

Francis? don't you mean John? Francis was Prince's dad in Purple Rain lol

sunlite said:

oops you beat me to it

sunlite said:

He had Purple Rain playing while he was responding. LOL

Please!

he can read music

He has said he can't with a theatrical pause after it.
this was just a dumbass ploy to appear cute and yet, relevant, or to up his street credibility.

He's learnt to speak fluent French, as an adult.
He's old and smart. no-one can be that deep into music, after so many years and not read music.
It'S easy to learn.

i also think prince knows how to read music just because its very simple and he is too long in music not to know it

thebanishedone said:

I also believe this, however...

I can read music but not fluently. That is, if you give me a piece of sheet music I can tell you what it says. What I can't do, is sit at the piano and play it straight off, as it should be played. I still have to learn to play the piece, even though I can read it.

I suppose it would be the same as being able to read French, but not knowing how to pronounce it properly when speaking.

Maybe this is what Prince meant when he said he couldn't read music?

Rightly said:

Don't get it twisted....

He can read and has done it for years!

(I can't, however--well, not really)



j-

Do you guys really have a concrete reason to believe he learned to read music or are you just assuming? I based my comments on the testimony of former bandmates. They could be lying or he might have learned it since they were around him, but I'm not just making this up.
[Edited 5/14/09 7:19am]

Rightly said:

I disagree. Prince has said in interviews before that he can't read music, I think some of his bandmates also attested to this in the biogs that have been written on him. If it was a joke he wouldn't keep saing this and people wouldn't corroborate this.
Its also incorrect that he is fluent in French - he isn't, he just knows a few phrases according to accounts by bandmates in biographies I've read on Prince. Marie France i believe assisted with translations around the Parade era and probably taught him a little bit.

Rightly said:

Paul McCartney supposedly can't read music either.

Do you have a source for the "fluent French" thing, or are you just assuming? Do you know if he speaks Spanish?

It's no great sin to not be able to read music. Prince obviously knows chords and how to put them together.

ernestsewell said:

That's interesting...although I don't believe it...I think Prince probaly learned..."My Bonnie lies over the ocean," first. Or..."Mary had a little lamb."

sunlite said:

OMG LOL Talk about a brain fart. hahahahahaha TOOOOOTALLY my bad.

Tame said:

haha Sorry, ,but by Prince's own admission it was the theme to the TV show.

Hey folks. There's a difference between being able 2 read music, and being able 2 sight read music.

I'm sure he can read it, but reading and playing what you're reading real-time (sight reading) is another story.

With that said, his ear is so far advanced, it doesn't matter.

Giovanni777 said:

Thank you.

The fact that he can't sit down and sight read Chopin's Mazurka No. 2 in F Minor doesn't mean he can't read music.

I studied piano for eight years and wouldn't be able to sight read that piece, either - and I "read" music fluently.

Rightly said:

this is an untrue, unverified statement. Prince does NOT know how to read music. Being able to play by ear and know the different keys is not the same as being able to read sheet music. Get your facts straight. and also with speaking French, there is no proof and he has never said that he can, either. Maybe this response is a dumbass ploy to appear cute and yet relevant.

I don't think it's important if he can't sight read sheet music, I'm just saying that according to what we know, he can't. If anyone has contrary information, cool. But just saying, "Gee, he must know how to read music because his music is so awesome!" isn't really contributing anything useful. We're dealing with tiny scraps of info, it's true; but at least it's really real info.

If it was well known that Prince could sight read totally unfamiliar pieces of music people would be recounting it as one of his many talents. We don't think he can do that, but there's no reason to make excuses for it. It's no big deal.

Prince reading music is up there with Michael playing piano. I'll believe it when I see it.

Keep in mind that you don't have to know how to read English in order to speak it, and music is no different. Prince plays brilliantly, but has no need to read or write music. His ears "read" & his studio "writes"

But yes he knows what an Fm7 chord is on the piano. That's different than reading one on a staff.

kenlacam said:

First, what's with the name calling? You 12 or something?

Second, let's get YOUR falsehoods straight. Let's skate: Prince can probably READ music, knowing what note is what, read the key it's in, time signature etc. He IS a musician, ,and knows the ins and outs of it.

But can he look at the sheet music to a song, sit at the piano and play it note for note? Probably not. Can he play it by ear? Sure.

As stated, there's a difference between reading and sight reading. A lot of people can read Spanish on paper, but can't speak a lick of it.

What id like to know is how did he learn to play guitar, and how he made so much progress in just a few years.

Real answers, please. If you dont know, skip this post.

leafar said:

He learned it like anyone else. You pick it up, learn the strings, and start fuckin' around with finger placement, etc. I'm sure people like Andre and others around him showed him a lot about playing. He was playing by junior high or high school, so it's safe to assume he was a quick learner even back then. He stated on Tavis that the guitar is frustrating to learn, and even he had moments he was frustrated with it, but he kept on and kept on practicing.

I was hoping for something more detailed. I know youre trying to help but i need something that tells me exactly how he practised. I play guitar and when i hear "practise" it doesnt tell me anything. Id like to know what it is that he did and how he did it that makes him what he is, and which ive not been doing, which makes me what i am (mediocre).

Seriously, there has to be some real actual information about this. Ive searched but i cant find anything. I need some sort of article or interview that tells me what his approach was.

Thanks for your input but i would like something more substantial.