Beautifully constructed of 88 black and white keys, the piano is something to enjoy and love not only for the holidays but for the whole year long. Yet the piano has also proven itself to be an intimidating instrumental piece, due in part to its amazing adaptability to play all types of musical pieces from classical elegance to a rough and tumble boogie in no time flat.
Still, the piano is actually an easy instrument to play and a welcoming addition to compliment other instruments as well as singers since it bears a rich, well-rounded tone that is astounding on its own accord.
So if you are ready to learn how to play the piano, let’s set some ground rules to go by:
Decisions, Decisions
While you are eager to get going on your future endeavor as a concert pianist, a piano bar player, or even a recreational pianist, it is very important to know that you have to be serious about the piano. You can’t become a pianist overnight and it takes years to become a great pianist. It is not a whim, like flying out to Vegas or Atlantic City for a couple of days.
The piano is a piece of art that is a part of you that could lasts forever, a great skill to possess, as well as a fun instrument to learn to play on. The piano requires your full attention, demands you to practice on it in order for you to become a true pianist even though the first full weeks depends a lot of your time and effort to the lessons being given to you.
After you have finally decided that you do want to learn to become a pianist for real, the next step is to finding the piano that is right for you. Pianos, in general, are very expensive (which is why I stressed that you should be very sure about wanting to play the piano) and if you cannot afford one, that’s okay.
You can buy a keyboard (an ideal alternative that is easier on your wallet, especially if you have to be economical), which is ideal for you to learn your piano lessons from; another alternative is the digital grands which are not as expensive as the pianos but higher than the keyboards in price.
If you can’t afford a piano or keyboard but still have what it takes to learn the piano then by all means borrow a piano from someone who is willing to part with his or her piano for your lessons (including learning to play his or her piano at his or her house) or get an old piano from a thrift store, maybe an estate sale, or someone who is getting rid of his or her piano.
But before you plunk down a nice chunk of change for your piano or keyboard or digital piano, ask yourself these few questions: Am I willing to practice for fifteen to thirty minutes (a better choice in the matter of taking piano lessons) or more each day? Once again,
I stress the importance of being serious about taking piano lessons because this isn’t one of those hey-let’s-do-these-lessons-once-a-week type of lessons. But (and this is a big BUT) if you are not serious, then just don’t splurge on a piano, lessons, books, and stop reading right now.
Teacher, Books, and Piano Lessons
Ah, good, you are still here. Let’s focus on the hardest part of beginning your journey to learn how to play the piano: finding a teacher who will teach you how to play the piano in the first place. Arranging to take music lessons with a teacher who will direct you to the right direction by pushing you to do you best in a constructive way. If you are on a budget, then check out the colleges and some schools who are more than willing to teach you how to play the piano at a reasonable cost.
You can even check out The Music Teachers National Association to find a music teacher who is in your area or ask a friend, a piano student, or a relative for a good referral as well as feedback on his or her music teacher; one word of caution in regards to the referral option: do not (absolutely DO NOT) go to a music teacher or get a music book because your source says that he or she or it doesn’t make him or her work very hard at all.
If you don’t want to get a music teacher, then give a piano lesson book a try. By teaching yourself to play the piano, not only it is cheaper but you have your work in learning your piano lessons cut out for you as long as you keep a structured schedule of practicing in order to keep yourself on the road towards becoming a pianist. Should you decide to take this route, you should practice playing the piano for at least 30 minutes every day, even during those “lazy day” times when you don’t feel like practicing because the longer you practice playing the piano, the better you will become.
As with every lesson (from math all the way to music), you have to spend some time learning everything about the piano (including scales, chords, theory, improvisation, and musical pieces by note). Your teacher and/or your lesson books should cover all of these with you as you go through your lessons. If you are learning your lessons with a teacher or by yourself, you should find some sheet music that is very, very simple to play as well as a musical piece that you really love and want to play on the piano.
Keep practicing on the piano with your sheet music and/or the required lesson sheet music that your teacher wants you to play (if you have a music teacher) until you can play it in front of your family and friends (they are your first support as well as your first critics) to the point that you are confident to play some more musical pieces, including those musical pieces that will become more challenging to you, like the maestro you want to be.
Playing the Piano
The next step between finding the perfect teacher and/or lesson book is to how to actually play the piano without hurting yourself in the long run. As with sports, it is considered a good idea to warm up at the beginning of every practice lesson session in order to get both you and your fingers relaxed. Although scales were traditionally played as part of a music student’s warm up, you can find some books that address warm up exercises that are fun in nature with mental and finger exercises that kind of reminds you of those tongue twisters you had to say at school.
By having a favorite yet simple musical piece that could stretch your fingers and hands into a beautiful relaxed state so that you could play your piano better because when you play the piano, your hands should just hang above the keys and let your fingers do the moving. That way, you should be able to see how your hands and fingers move in fluid unison by noticing how your finger bones move along the keys.
Practice, Practice, Practice
As I mentioned before, you have to practice in order to achieve your dream as a pianist. After all, you have to learn how to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, right? The same goes for your piano lessons. You can start by practicing playing on the piano for 15 minutes or go the full 30 minutes (which is a better route for you to go by) or even more (if you like) every DAY.
Just don’t play the piano for one day, stop playing the next day, and then follow up with playing the piano the day after you haven’t played because your fingers are prone to be “rusty” even if you haven’t played the piano for over the week and you will have to learn how to play the piano all over again.
Of course, some may find practicing playing the piano a tedious chore, making it a frustrating 30 minutes at first. But remember this: the more you practice, the more your piano playing grows, making you a better piano player to the point of having so much fun that you are actually looking forward to playing your piano any time of the day.
Even though there are many ways to practice the piano successfully, you should find one that is perfect for you because nobody else can play the piano for you other than you. So relax and remember that practice makes perfect, that practicing to play the piano is worth the effort in the long haul, bringing you closer to your goal of becoming a pianist. Besides, who knows?
You might become the next Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart…any pianist you can think of, you can aspire to become. You can do it because it is all up to you. You are the king or queen of your destiny and only you can achieve your dreams.
