Learn play Piano

How Will You Learn to Play the Piano?

Kevin Sinclair

Is your passion listening to piano music? Would you like to be able to play just like your idols? Are you thinking of taking lessons but you are not sure where to start? It could even be that you have had some lessons but you have given up as it has taken longer than you thought to learn. Lots of other people may well be in your shoes at this moment and only need a push in the right direction.

The Various Ways to Learn the Piano

Before you do anything else, it is essential to know that there are two ways of playing a piano. These are:

1. Chords

2. Note reading

It is a good idea to know what you want to do when playing the piano. If you are happy enough playing music other people have written, all you have to do is learn how to read the notes. However, on the other hand, if you are more creative and you would like to write your own inspiring music, an understanding of chords is a must.

If you want to learn to play the piano fairly fast, it may be a wise choice to take a chord based approach. If you learn the chords on the piano, you can learn the sounds they make and, therefore, make your own music. You can always learn note reading afterwards if you choose.

The Pros and Cons of Learning from a Teacher

Finding a qualified and reliable instructor is the key to having successful lessons while learning to play the piano. You could learn at home or at the instructor s studio. There are advantages to both, so it all depends on where you would feel most comfortable. A lot of people try to find an instructor that is local to where they live.

When you are looking for an instructor, you will need to have a goal in mind. It could be that you want to play for fun and want to learn how to play from music sheets. However, if you want to be more creative, it may be a good idea to look for instructors that will give you chord based lessons.

If you hire a piano instructor expecting to make your own music and they teach you nothing but reading notes, you will obviously not be able to reach your goal. Make sure that you know exactly what you will be achieving. Otherwise, you could be wasting a lot of money on something that you, basically, do not want. Also, it can be a huge waste of money to learn something that you could learn online for a cheaper price, and it is just as effective.

Learning online

As mentioned earlier, learning online is a lot cheaper than piano lessons and it is just as good. It can be a great benefit to learn online as you can do it in your own time and at your own pace without someone breathing down your neck. It can also help to save time, too, so the benefits are quite good when learning online.

The only real disadvantage with learning online is that a person may not have enough motivation to learn properly. Also, with an instructor, if there is something that doesn t make sense, they can get help. When you are learning online, it may not make much sense and there is no instructor there to ask for help.

You can also learn how to play the piano with piano learning DVDs and computer software designed to help.

General Guidelines to Learning the Piano

Overall playing the piano should be something that is fun and it should certainly not reduce you to tears all of the time. If you take your time learning and have regular practice you will eventually achieve what you want. You should not give up if it is something that you have wanted to do for a long time. There may be times that you get frustrated, but just keep going and you will be able to play the piano just as good as anyone else can, and even write your own music in time.

Kevin is the publisher and editor of musicianhome.com. Visit here for more tips on learning to play piano.

Piano and Keyboard Method: the Easiest Way to Learn Piano! Vol. 1

American Music Teacher , April-May, 2004 by Alejandro Cremaschi

Piano and Keyboard Method: The Easiest Way to Learn Piano! Vol. 1. eMedia Music Corp. (664 N.E. Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105), 2003. $59. 95. Older teens and adults.

Piano and Keyboard Method is an impressive and thorough piano teaching program. The software, which is sold in a hybrid CD for both Macintosh and PC computers, contains about 300 lessons that include theory basics, technique, ear-training flash cards, an introduction to music history and more than 100 pieces with attractive audio and MIDI accompaniments. Visual help for important topics, such as hand posture and sitting position, is provided in several video clips featuring teacher Irma I. Justicia, M.A., one of the developers of this package. A 3-D virtual keyboard can be opened to show a performance of each song with finger numbers. There is no need to have an electronic piano to use the program, but if one is connected to the computer, the program can provide basic feedback after your performance through "clickable" help balloons that indicate missing notes or rhythms.

It is evident the creators are experienced piano teachers because the content is carefully planned and paced. The program covers the basics, including C, F and G playing positions and major scales, I, IV6/4 and V6/5 in these keys with guitar symbols, dynamics, articulation and pedaling. The repertoire includes traditional teaching tunes such as Ode to Joy along with a few Hispanic, Jewish and African-American melodies, and some arrangements of pieces by Bach, Joplin, Elton John and Billy Joel. The MIDI accompaniments are creative and fun and can be muted at will. Although the box indicates the program is intended for all ages, the approach to the material, the amount of written text and its overall "feel and look" make it more suitable for older teens and adults.

The software runs great on my PC, but it crashes my G4 Macintosh whenever I try using a connected electronic piano. (I use MacOS 9.1 and have not tried it on MacOS X.) Although I e-mailed eMedia about this in November, as of January, I had not received a reply.

Some useful features present in the competitor`s product--such as the ability to keep track of multiple students--are lacking in this software. But considering its sound pedagogical content and its careful design, these are just minor details. The final chapter promises the release of a second volume of Piano and Keyboard Method. It is definitely worth waiting for! Reviewed by Alejandro Cremaschi, Athens, Ohio.

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