In this lesson, I want to tell you how to start studying piano, starting with the choice of an instrument and a music teacher, and then moving on to your first piano lesson.
Although taking piano lessons is absolutely recommended, I also want to give some tips for those who want to try to do it themselves, without the help of a music teacher. I hope you find this introduction to studying the piano both useful and interesting!
Playing the piano, how to start? Getting ready
Before you start studying piano, you will need to prepare yourself. First, you will need to get an instrument, acoustic piano or keyboard. Secondly, you will need to choose a piano teacher or music school. If, on the other hand, you want to try studying piano as a self-taught learner, you will have to choose the right study materials for you.
Here are a few tips on all these different aspects, which are necessary to start studying piano in the right and most effective way.
Choosing the instrument
To learn to play the piano, music lessons are not enough; it is essential to have an instrument at home and to practise a little every day. The first thing to do is therefore to choose and get a piano. If space (and pockets) allow, the choice of an acoustic piano is certainly the best.
An upright piano is an instrument that vibrates under your fingers; starting to play on a real instrument is a real thrill. Upright pianos are not overpriced and there is also a very attractive second-hand market. To buy a second-hand instrument, however, you need the advice of an expert, because old instruments can need very expensive repairs, the cost of which sometimes exceeds the value of the instrument.
Some music instrument shops also provide pianos for hire, which is also an option worth considering.
If you cannot buy or rent an acoustic piano, you can just get an electronic keyboard. In this case, it is essential that the instrument has a weighted keyboard. The weighted keyboard in fact imitates the hardness of the keys of a real piano, and this is crucial for exercising your hand properly from the start. In fact, if you practise on a keyboard that is too soft, e.g. those found on all synthesisers or electronic keyboards, you will not develop your fingers properly.
In any case, before buying a keyboard or acoustic piano, always ask for advice from your teacher, if you already have one. If you have not yet chosen a piano teacher, here are some tips for doing so.
Choosing the teacher
Later on we will see how you can try to study on your own, but you should know that it is much more difficult. If you don’t get help from a music teacher, you are very likely to fail to make progress and then give up after a few months. You may think that you are not good at music, while this may not be the case at all.
I therefore advise you to choose a teacher and take lessons regularly, at least for the first few months or the first year. A music teacher will be able to guide you on an orderly and gradual path, to tackle the difficulties one at a time and make gradual improvements.
Here are some tips for choosing the right teacher for you.
- Before enrolling in a music school, go and meet the teacher with whom you will be taking lessons. Have a chat and try to see if he seems like the right person for you. Consider whether he is someone you like and who will inspire you.
- Think carefully about your commitments and your timetable. If you are unable to meet a weekly schedule, do not commit yourself to a school but choose a private teacher who can have more flexible teaching hours.
- Do not trust schools that offer group piano lessons, even if they are very cheap: individual lessons are necessary to start playing the piano. If you cannot afford one lesson a week, stick to fortnightly lessons. But the piano lesson must be individual.
- If you don’t have time to attend a music school in person, consider my online piano lessons on Skype. If you cannot find a teacher near you to attend in person, online lessons may be an alternative.
Once you have acquired an instrument and chosen the music teacher who will accompany you in your first steps, you will be ready to start! However, I want to warn you about some difficulties that you might encounter in the first few months. Here are what they are, and how you can try to overcome them.
The main problems with music lessons
Here are the main problems you might have with piano lessons:
- Private music lessons cost too much.
- Attending a school takes time and making a firm commitment to a piano teacher can be complicated. Some people have jobs with irregular or unpredictable schedules.
- Dealing with a teacher can be stressful. Some people have a reserved personality and find it difficult to play in front of someone else.
Let us try to analyse these issues one by one.
Private lessons cost too much
Music lessons can be very expensive, certainly a major expense for those starting out. However, music is a very special discipline, a mix of theory, coordination, and music ear.
To play the piano you need to develop skills that are physical and mental at the same time, but above all you need to learn a method of study, and for this a teacher is really important.
You don’t have time for lessons
Sometimes the problem is not the expense, but time. Work and family commitments can prevent you from planning lessons in advance and it is not easy to find a piano teacher with flexible hours.
However, this problem can be solved by taking lessons online. By taking lessons from your home, it will be easier to find a time during the week and it will also be easier for your teacher to reschedule your lesson if you have unexpected or last-minute work commitments.
You tried but failed
There is no such thing as the perfect music teacher. As in all teacher- student relationships, complicity and trust should be built up with your piano teacher. Lessons should be tiring but also rewarding and should help you make real progress.
In particular, your piano teacher should teach you how to study alone, at home. Learning to practise properly is the main reason why piano lessons are important.
If you have tried with one teacher but failed, don’t give up. Try a second time with someone else, and if necessary a third. Figure out the right characteristics of your teacher, and keep looking. When you find the right teacher for you, your progress on the piano will be much faster and you will enjoy playing even more.
The lessons are stressful
Playing in front of someone emotionally moves us, it is inevitable. If music did not arouse our emotions, we would hardly find it interesting to play an instrument. For some people, this becomes a real block, which prevents them from playing in front of others and even hinders piano lessons.
However, your piano teacher should help you to be comfortable and overcome this embarrassment, at least during the lesson. In time, when you feel more confident, then you can try playing something in public, perhaps in front of friends and family.
Sooner or later, you will have the desire to share your passion for music. Thinking that you will only ever play at home makes no sense: music is a form of communication, and one day you will want to share it with others.
Studying piano by yourself. Do-it-yourself piano guide
I must say it once more: starting to study piano as a self-taught student is not a good idea. You will most likely develop flaws that will then require a lot more work. However, if you are determined and still want to try, here are the main difficulties you will encounter, and how you can try to overcome them.
Studying piano alone is more difficult than studying with a teacher. In particular, it is not easy to learn gradually and effectively. You have to plan an orderly path, instead of living day by day jumping from one piece to another.
Another difficulty with DIY piano is developing a correct technique. Often those who study alone tend to stiffen their hand and wrist, without being aware of it. Particularly if you have just started playing the piano, it is very easy to acquire incorrect technique.
Finally, if you study alone, you will miss the challenge of performing: having to play the exercises in front of your teacher is undoubtedly an incentive to practice more, even when you are tired or have less motivation.
Studying piano alone has more disadvantages than advantages, yet there are also positive aspects. In the study of music, the discoveries we make on our own are often more lasting and profound. Studying alone means finding original answers to problems, and this can be very stimulating for someone.
Some tips for studying piano without a teacher
To study piano on your own, you need certain qualities: self-discipline, order, patience. If you believe you have these characteristics, then self-taught study may be within your reach. If, on the other hand, you do not have these valuable virtues, it will be very difficult for you to make serious progress on the piano.
Playing a few songs in a haphazard manner will get you nowhere, you will have to plan a study path and follow it with even greater care, since there is no teacher to guide and correct you.
- Write a study plan and try to follow it for at least six months.
- Keep a diary of your study
- Try to study at least half an hour every day.
Write a study plan of at least six months
Music, like many other things, cannot be learnt in a few days. If there is a teacher following you, he will adapt the study plan to your real needs. If, on the other hand, you study alone, it is even more important to establish a work schedule.
Choose which exercise books to study, or which songs, and try to set up an orderly and gradual study plan that is not too ambitious.
Keep a diary of your study
After each study session, make a note of what you played and for how long. Keeping a diary of your work allows you to check if you are neglecting anything in particular.
It is normal to have preferences, but you should not repeat a piece or song you already know every day. Try to work on the exercises you have chosen to study, even if they are less fun, and your study will be more effective.
Keeping a diary is also essential to know exactly how long you have been studying. If you realise that you only managed to study an hour or two in a week because the commitments of daily life prevented you from doing more, you will not suffer from the frustration of not having made much progress.
Study at least half an hour every day
Better to study little, but always, than to practise a lot in one day. This simple observation sometimes clashes with the needs of people who work during the week and only have time for music at the weekend.
If this is your situation, make an effort to play at least 15 minutes two or three times during the week. In 15 minutes you won’t get much done, but your weekend practice will be more effective. Avoid spending a whole week without playing, otherwise your progress will be very slow and you may end up bored.
What about the piano lessons on YouTube?
The Internet offers an abundance of teaching materials and it is not easy to choose the right ones for you. You can find plenty of free piano lessons on YouTube, but if you go randomly, you will waste time and achieve nothing.
Always try to evaluate the competence of the person who created the lessons and give preference to structured and organised courses that try to define a precise path. Jumping on YouTube from one video to another will get you nowhere.
- Try to assess the trustworthiness of the resource
- Give preference to structured and organised courses
- Do not jump from one video to another
Remember also that the best courses are paid for. Anyone who has worked for months and months on producing a music course is unlikely to make it available for free on YouTube.
Your first piano lesson, a complete step-by-step guide
If at this point your determination to play the piano is even stronger, perhaps we can start together. From here on, I propose a real lesson, as I would with a new student of mine, who is starting from scratch.
So let’s find out what the piano looks like and play the first notes.
1. The piano keyboard
On the piano keyboard we observe the presence of white and black keys. The white keys are continuous, while the black ones are divided into groups of two or three. We use the black keys to find the position of the note C (also called Do) , which is on the first white key to the left of the two black keys.
Starting from the position of the note C, we can identify all the other notes on the white keys. The peculiar division into white and black keys has mainly historical reasons, however it has survived over time because it was effective and suited the shape of the hand.
In the piano, the C major scale is only composed of white keys, whereas all other scales use a combination of white and black keys. This peculiarity makes the piano particularly suitable for the study of harmony, which usually starts with the major scale.
2. Let’s play the first five notes
To indicate the position of your hands on the keyboard, numbers called fingerings are used: the thumb finger is indicated with the number 1, the index finger with 2, the middle finger with 3, the ring finger with 4 and the little finger with 5. Let us now try placing the hands on the piano, and in particular finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand and finger 5 (little finger) of the left hand on the note C.
We can thus play the first five notes, with both hands, using fingers 1-2-3-4-5 on the right and 5-4-3-2-1 on the left. Our hands are in fact specular, if we hold the palm of the hand facing downwards we will have both thumbs (fingers 1) on the inside and the little fingers (fingers 5) on the outside.
3. Your arms and body
To play the piano, you should hold a comfortable and natural position, with your arms and wrists soft and relaxed. The arm and forearm should form an angle of about 90° and the fingers should also be bent and not extended. An important point that is often overlooked is to adjust the piano stool appropriately to our height and that of the instrument.
If you still do not have an adjustable stool and are thinking ‘Can’t I play sitting on a chair?’ the answer is: no, it is not advisable to play on a chair. You need to be able to adjust the height precisely, so it is essential to have a stool or bench with adjustable height. Alternatively, if you use a digital stage piano, you can adjust the height of the instrument by raising or lowering the adjustable stand.
4. Pedals
The piano has three pedals but some upright pianos have only two, plus possibly a mute. Pedals are rarely used in the first months of study, but one of them is really important, so much so that it is also replicated in electronic keyboards and digital pianos: the expression pedal.
This is always the right pedal and its function is to make the sound broader and more immersive. Once you learn to use it, you won’t be able to do without it. But be careful not to abuse it!
Some exercises for your first piano lesson
Here is now a series of simple exercises, in progressive order of difficulty. These videos are taken from my ‘Beyer op.101’ course, available on this site.
Have you tried the exercises? I hope they were fun. Before saying goodbye, here are some final thoughts.
Studying piano, how to start the right way
Learning to play the piano takes time and patience. If you put your mind to it consistently and in the right way, the results will come almost immediately. However, it will take a few months for you to look back and see how far you have really travelled.
For this reason, the first year of piano is also the most difficult. Music, however, gives you back everything you give it: if during the first year of piano you are patient enough, you will soon start to love music more and more.
If you have already started playing the piano, tell me how it goes in the comments section below. If, on the other hand, you need my help, write me a message . I will be happy to answer your questions and help you start your journey of discovery on the piano.