When it comes to learning a musical instrument, the piano is one of the very best. It’s incredibly diverse and enables you to play a wide variety of music. Learning the piano may seem daunting at first since there are so many keys on a full size piano, however if you go about learning it in the right way, you can make progress much faster than you think.
#1. Familiarise yourself with music theory
Music theory is often one of the most daunting aspects of learning to play a new instrument but it’s a vitally important part of it. Knowing what a key is and how to play the different notes within it will help you gain a much better understanding of how music works and also make it easier for you to write your own songs on the piano.
#2. Practice scales and chords
Scales are essentially a set of notes that make up a certain key. The easiest scale to learn at first on the piano is the key of C major. This is because it contains all natural notes and has no sharps or flats (the black keys). The great thing about scales is that they’re all made up of the same intervals so once you have memorised the steps in one scale, you transfer the same pattern to another scale.
Chords are equally important when playing the piano. A Chord is when play two or more notes at the same time. Chords are usually played with the left hand whilst your right hand plays the melody.
#3. Learn some of your favourite songs
Whilst learning scales and chords is certainly important, you also want to know how they work in the real world. Learning some of your favourite songs will help with this tremendously, as well as keeping your learning fun and rewarding. Just be sure to pick songs that aren’t too advanced for the level you’re at.
#4. Get a good teacher
It’s definitely possible to get proficient at playing the piano by learning on your own, especially with all the great online learning tools there are now. However there really is no replacement for a good teacher. A good piano teacher helps in a multitude of ways. Firstly they’ll ensure that you’re learning at the right pace and that you’re not skipping ahead too first without getting a good grounding in the fundamentals.
Teachers are also great for getting feedback on your playing. They can monitor how you’re progressing and let you know which aspects of your playing need improvement as you go.
#5. Make sure you’re always progressing
With any kind of musical instrument, it can be quite easy to find yourself get stuck in a rut and only play certain songs that you’re comfortable with and never really challenge yourself. This is why many people quit – just assuming they don’t really have the talent for it. Again this is where having a good teacher is priceless since they’ll ensure that you’re always progressing and learning new things each week.
About the Author: David has a keen interest in music and associate with Broughton Pianos. His articles cover topics such as the things you need to do to learn piano well.