Best Way to Learn the Piano

Post Reply New Topic

I have decided to learn the piano this summer. I am only taking one class at university this summer, and plan to fill the rest of my time with teaching myself the piano.

I have attempted to learn the piano in the past, but grew frustrated with translating the written music into a visual of the keyboard and gave up. But I am determined this summer to be able to play. So what is the BEST way to teach one's self how to play the piano? The university doesn't offer a piano class in the summer, but it does offer one hour a week private instruction. Other than that, I have access to a piano and a computer and I am trying to figure out the best way to learn.

Are there programs out there that people have used that work well? What instruction books work best for teaching piano? Is it easier to learn the basics first and then memorize songs, or just sit down and learn how to play a song at a time? I have some money saved, but I'd rather not spend it all. I am convinced I can teach myself how to play if I have the right kind of instructional materials.

What is the best way to learn how to read sheet music?

Start with easy stuff and work your way up. Memorize the positions of the keys and try sight-reading while playing. If you sit down and try to learn a more challenging song, you'll eventually either give up or get it but with many problems and hardships. Also try to learn a little music theory, either online or in class. Any instrument takes a long time to learn, but just keep at it and practice regularly and eventually you'll get the hang of it.

EDIT - I forgot the most important thing! Stay inspired! Listen to songs that utilize piano at least once a day. If you don't absolutely love your instrument, you'll neglect it sooner or later.

I agree with Todd, if you lose inspiration, it's useless. Happened to me with the piano a while ago. But now I'm obsessed with that and my guitar.

Don't forget to get a bloody good teacher too!

I only started 2 years ago (year of self training, year of lessons) and I've gained decent experience so far... but I'm far from being pretty good, even though average joe thinks otherwise.
Like normal exercise, your fingers (and brain) need building up, so you need plenty of practice and patience, so don't be expecting to be the next modern-day Mozart in a few months, unless you're some child prodigy/savant!
The theory, although can be frustrating, is an important key to learning the piano IMO... not for the sight reading, but for helping you to get used to fingering etc. I'm VERY lazy at this part, but my piano teacher seems to be very patient on this matter though.

Hey, thanks for responding! So what is music theory? And I guess the opinion of the board is to NOT jump straight into the Rach 3?

Music theory is, basically, knowing what those little lines and dots and symbols mean. It extends into a lot of concepts and ideas like chords, modes, and scales, but you shouldn't need to worry about those until you've been playing for at least a year. For now I would advise you to purchase a beginners guide to piano with sheet music so that you can familiarize yourself with your instrument and basic written music concepts. Piano makes music theory very easy to understand, so after you've been playing piano for a few years other instruments will be easy to pick up and play. Just remember, you can't teach yourself. Read articles, buy books, and hire teachers if you want to get anywhere.

Really there are no "self-taught" musicians. Sure, there are some popular rock bands who just jam around with power chords until they stumble across something catchy and end up making tons of money off of it, but those guys aren't the ones who are going to be remembered for centuries. Unless you're some kind of musical genius, you're going to need lots of help and practice to become a noteworthy (excuse the pun) musician. And above all, practice! Never surrender to things like television and video games. Allow yourself at least a half hour of practice time each day, preferably on a same-time-each-day schedule.

Here are some random thoughts and advice:

You should really start with the basics. Learn how to play scales and chords with the right fingering. You can look at your hands and not worry about reading music. You need to practice first technical/physical playing then you can practice sight-reading. It's tough to do both at the same time when you're just starting. It's important to get the feel of where your hands should be first.
The key to sight reading is DON"T LOOK DOWN or take your eyes off the page, even if you hit wrong notes. Move on and keep a steady beat, even if the beat is 10 times slower than it should be.

I started playing popular rock music first because I knew how it was supposed to sound and didn't worry too much about sight reading. After I got better, I started practicing sight reading with the childrens pieces by Schumann (Album for the Young), Clementi (Sonatinas), and JS Bach (WTC). In fact, Schumann once said Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier should be a pianists daily bread. I agree. It's the most beautiful music plus it encompasses every technical problem to playing; it can never be outgrown. And, if you do not have much technical ability, a Bach fugue never loses it's charm, beauty no matter how slowly you play it.

Don't buy any music right now. Go to the library. All local libraries have how to guides plus you would be surprised how much sheet music you will find. I agree about sticking with it and having a scheduled time to exercise/practice. If you're tired, practice bass with the left hand only or work on fingering and melody with the right. Nothing wrong with upgrading your technical skills any way you can before bringing it all together. Good luck!

Hey, thanks for the help, guys! I really appreciate it. I am looking for a teacher now. Any advice on how to tell if a teacher is good or not?

i don't know for piano but for trumpets you have manuals with cd's, so can actually hear what is written, I think that is quite useful

for learning music notes, it does take some time, it is like learning to read actually, you have to learn to recognise the notes, just like letters. (just practise which note is which by drawing notes on a scale and say/read them aloud is the first thing you can do, like every day five minutes)
for the reading of rythm, you have websites with sound samples.
(i'm doing the fourth year solfège 100 minutes a week, but feel that the real learning happens when i practise my instrument)

i'm doing trumpet for the third year now, and have a teacher every week for 20 minutes and that's enough really, she merely checks what I have been practising and corrects my mistakes,
she has a very good ear.

strange enough, we now have keyboards and i don't feel lost with it at all (something i never had when i couldn't read notes) i don't mean i feel like a real pianoplayer of course, but if i'd really wanted to learn it it feels like i'd know how to start. (but then again i have got a few friends who do play the piano and i'm asking them questions(like how should i put my fingers) and observing them as well)

I would say learn sight reading from the get go. Its something like learning to read words when you were little. You need it embedded in your mind otherwise you will get lazy and just play by ear.

But start with easy stuff, so yeah you really need to practice those fingerings, but do sight reading at the same time. So for example when you are starting out, spend 10mins warming up playing scales up and down. Spend the next 20min learning a piece while sight reading. Never skip a day of practice, even if you are not going to learn something new, just practice what you did the day before, but never skip a day or you will get lazy!

The reason I say this is that Im a beginner too, only been playing a few months but when it coems to learning a new piece, if I play by ear and then come to learn sight reading, its like I gotta learn it all over again because I have to read while playing. I dont want to leatn a piece again, I want to move on and progress.

I would also say learn a bit of theory from the start as well. Im not saying everything. But if you are practicing a scale, learn what a scale is and the relationship between the notes. Once you have that down, you can then understand how chords are constructed and then practice arpeggios as well as scales.

It depends what you want though. To me, learning piano is not just about playing your fav songs, it is about technique and discipline, studying an art or craft, perfecting ability.

Anyway, most important thing of all - ENJOY IT! (hows that for a tip? )

(ok im not really saying you gonna get lazy, I was just give some pointers)

As for books, get a method book. No need to get a theory book yet as these method books should teach you the basics.

The 'Alfred' series of books are popular for beginners. Im working my way through it and its pretty cool! Each exercise demonstrates a new technique and in the beginning the pieces are really short and easy to learn.

The most important part about learning piano is to get a real piano. If you learn on an electronic keyboard, your technique will be off and your fingers won't develop the necessary strength and touch. Also, a teacher is highly recommended in order to show you proper technique. It doesn't matter what you can play if you don't have proper technique, it just won't sound right.

Ja, I figured that learning on an electronic keyboard would not be the way to go, even though it would be easiest on my family members' ears as I could just plug in some headphones. I am very excited about this new endeavor. I doubt that I will ever be great, but I am sure gonna do my best to be as good as I can get. I think that people have to be born with a natural aptitude for something in order to be great at it, but that anyone with the desire and drive to work hard can learn enough to be good at it. Leastways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.