How to Teach Yourself to Play Piano

Teaching yourself to play piano may seem like a difficult and time-consuming task at first. With a little bit of patience and practice each day, you can learn to play simple songs in less than one year. As with learning any musical instrument or skill, teaching yourself to play the piano requires dedication and forethought. When learning to play the piano it is very important that you master the basics before moving on to more complex techniques and songs.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Piano or electronic keyboard
• Easy piano sheet music
• Book of piano scales

1. Learn basic music theory if you do not already know it. A basic knowledge of chord construction, musical notation and rhythm will greatly enhance your ability to learn any musical instrument. Books like "Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music" by Jonathan Harnum and "Music Theory: A Practical Guide for All Musicians" by Barrett Tagliarino will be very helpful to you as you begin to learn piano and as reference material later on. Both can be found on Amazon.com.

2. Memorize and learn to play basic scales. The most important scales to know when you are starting to learn piano are major scales, major and minor pentatonic, blues scales and minor scales. Knowing scales will help you to understand the way music moves within a song, and practicing them is a great way to learn where the notes fall. Books like "Piano Essentials: Scales, Chords, Arpeggios," and "Cadences for the Contemporary Pianist" by Ross Ramsay can be helpful in memorizing your scales and more complex chords.

3. Purchase sheet music for beginning players. Easy piano books like "Popular Sheet Music Hits: Easy Piano" by Warner Bros. Publications and "The Ultimate Pop Sheet Music Collection" by Alfred Publishing can be found on Amazon.com.

4. Set a practice schedule for yourself. Begin your practice with the scales you have learned. Practicing one hour per day will be beneficial to most that are learning to play the piano for enjoyment. However, if your aim is to become a professional musician or to perform songs for an audience, it is necessary for most players to practice two to three hours per day. If you practice more than that, it is best to take frequent breaks to let what you are learning sink in.

5. Practice with a metronome. Using a metronome is will help your overall timing as a musician and allow you to play a difficult song at a slower tempo while learning it and to speed up the tempo to challenge yourself and make sure you know all the chord changes and patterns within the song.

6. Record yourself when you are practicing songs. You do not need sophisticated recording equipment to see where you are making mistakes or what particular parts of a song you are having trouble with. Recording yourself with a simple-to-use tape recorder can be a great way to see where you need to concentrate your efforts when practicing.

7. Practice songs by accompanying a singer or other musicians. Practicing with other musicians is a great way to work on your individual skills while having fun and learning to play with other people. Playing with others is a skill that can only be developed by practicing.

References

• Piano Essentials: Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, and Cadences for the Contemporary Pianist; Ramsay, Ross; 2005

Resources

• Keith Phillips Piano