Can You Teach Yourself to Play Piano?
You may be thinking that teaching yourself to play piano is the most difficult thing in the world to do.
And you know what? You're right, it is...
if you have no previous experience of playing a musical instrument.
Even if you do, learning how to play the piano isn't necessarily going to be easy.
And, even if you've played piano before, picking it up again can still be very demanding.
So, is there any good news? Well, yes and this article is all about providing you with the information you need to make that first step a bit easier.
THE STARTING POINT The first thing to do is a little self-assessment.
Ask yourself the following questions: · Have you played the piano, or any other musical instrument, before? · How far did you get: Did you have a teacher?...
Did you learn at school?...
Did you play with others? · How did you learn: Were you taught to read music?...
Did you pick it up on your own?...
Did you learn through the collective experience of playing with others? Finding answers to these questions will focus attention more closely on where you need to start now.
For example, if you've played piano before, but didn't take lessons, you need to think very seriously before you decide on the 'teach yourself' route.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is they adopt a method of playing that feels right to them at the time.
They pick up tunes, or a method of playing from the musical sounds they hear, but don't learn what it is about music that keeps it all together.
As a result, they pick up bad habits and lack the discipline that would enable them to make greater progress.
If your purpose in learning to play is just to entertain yourself and family and friends by playing piano at home, that's fine.
But if you're a bit more serious and want to learn to play as professionally as you can, you probably need help with your learning, although that doesn't necessarily mean taking lessons from a music teacher.
The following tips should help you decide how to start the process: 1.
Learn the rudiments of music, including scales, chords and notation.
And, especially if you intend to play with other musicians, it's important you can play in time with them, so learn about time signatures.
2.
Be realistic and start off learning simple tunes.
You'll only be able to start out by playing complicated pieces of music if you're a naturally gifted musician.
And if that describes you, the chances are you won't need this article.
3.
Get hold of some written music that interests you.
Start with simple scores of your favorite pieces or songs.
Whether it's classical music you want to play, or songs from a whole range of different musical genres from jazz to folk music, you can find it all on the internet, and much of it can be downloaded directly onto the hard drive of your computer.
4.
Having learnt the basics, you can start to be a bit more adventurous.
You might want to look at more complicated arrangements, or, perhaps, explore different methods of playing, such as playing by ear, or having a stab at improvising around the chords you've already learnt.
Or, you might want just to keep learning more of the basics, by practicing slightly more elaborate chords and arpeggios.
5.
If you feel you need more help, there's nothing to stop you taking lessons from a teacher.
Make sure you match the teacher you choose to your own personality and the music you want to play.
If you get this right, your teacher will inspire you to greater things and will also ensure you don't pick up bad habits.
6.
Finally, if you don't find the prospect of a teacher very appealing, you can do a search on the internet for a suitable video course.
However, don't make the mistake of thinking you can get the kind of tuition you need from free online lessons.
You'll need to pay out some cash to get the depth of training you need.
But the costs of online lessons are nothing like as much as paying a music teacher and the interactive nature of the technology is improving all the time.
CONCLUSION If you are to teach yourself to play piano, you need the time, commitment and patience to do it well.
That doesn't mean you can't have lots of fun in the process.
In fact, many of the tips mentioned above will give you the edge that will enable you to really enjoy your learning.
And you know what? You're right, it is...
if you have no previous experience of playing a musical instrument.
Even if you do, learning how to play the piano isn't necessarily going to be easy.
And, even if you've played piano before, picking it up again can still be very demanding.
So, is there any good news? Well, yes and this article is all about providing you with the information you need to make that first step a bit easier.
THE STARTING POINT The first thing to do is a little self-assessment.
Ask yourself the following questions: · Have you played the piano, or any other musical instrument, before? · How far did you get: Did you have a teacher?...
Did you learn at school?...
Did you play with others? · How did you learn: Were you taught to read music?...
Did you pick it up on your own?...
Did you learn through the collective experience of playing with others? Finding answers to these questions will focus attention more closely on where you need to start now.
For example, if you've played piano before, but didn't take lessons, you need to think very seriously before you decide on the 'teach yourself' route.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is they adopt a method of playing that feels right to them at the time.
They pick up tunes, or a method of playing from the musical sounds they hear, but don't learn what it is about music that keeps it all together.
As a result, they pick up bad habits and lack the discipline that would enable them to make greater progress.
If your purpose in learning to play is just to entertain yourself and family and friends by playing piano at home, that's fine.
But if you're a bit more serious and want to learn to play as professionally as you can, you probably need help with your learning, although that doesn't necessarily mean taking lessons from a music teacher.
The following tips should help you decide how to start the process: 1.
Learn the rudiments of music, including scales, chords and notation.
And, especially if you intend to play with other musicians, it's important you can play in time with them, so learn about time signatures.
2.
Be realistic and start off learning simple tunes.
You'll only be able to start out by playing complicated pieces of music if you're a naturally gifted musician.
And if that describes you, the chances are you won't need this article.
3.
Get hold of some written music that interests you.
Start with simple scores of your favorite pieces or songs.
Whether it's classical music you want to play, or songs from a whole range of different musical genres from jazz to folk music, you can find it all on the internet, and much of it can be downloaded directly onto the hard drive of your computer.
4.
Having learnt the basics, you can start to be a bit more adventurous.
You might want to look at more complicated arrangements, or, perhaps, explore different methods of playing, such as playing by ear, or having a stab at improvising around the chords you've already learnt.
Or, you might want just to keep learning more of the basics, by practicing slightly more elaborate chords and arpeggios.
5.
If you feel you need more help, there's nothing to stop you taking lessons from a teacher.
Make sure you match the teacher you choose to your own personality and the music you want to play.
If you get this right, your teacher will inspire you to greater things and will also ensure you don't pick up bad habits.
6.
Finally, if you don't find the prospect of a teacher very appealing, you can do a search on the internet for a suitable video course.
However, don't make the mistake of thinking you can get the kind of tuition you need from free online lessons.
You'll need to pay out some cash to get the depth of training you need.
But the costs of online lessons are nothing like as much as paying a music teacher and the interactive nature of the technology is improving all the time.
CONCLUSION If you are to teach yourself to play piano, you need the time, commitment and patience to do it well.
That doesn't mean you can't have lots of fun in the process.
In fact, many of the tips mentioned above will give you the edge that will enable you to really enjoy your learning.
