How to Teach Yourself Piano Music

Developing your skill to play the piano takes time and patience.

In order to teach yourself the piano, you need to have an ear for music and basic knowledge of musical concepts such as clefs, staffs, duration of notes, counting techniques, hand technique, and the ability to understand chords and inversions.

Things You'll Need

• Piano
• Music theory book
• Hand technique book
• Aural skills book

Instructions

1. Purchase a quality music theory book for piano. You must have some type of music knowledge.

2. Invest in a quality Junior Hanon book for hand exercises on the piano. These piano exercises help you develop your speed, accuracy and strength in the fingers for both hands. It also develops flexibility of your wrists. You will learn how to play major and minor scales, chromatic scales, arpeggios and more.

3. Invest in an aural skills book for beginners. Aural skills help develop good ears for music. You will learn how to identify intervals, chords, rhythms, and other basic elements of music.

4. Go to Ricci Adams' Music Theory website (see the link in the Resources). This site has music theory lessons as well as an ear trainer, a note trainer, a keyboard trainer and also other materials to help develop your music skills.

5. Watch videos online to develop your piano skills. Visual aids are great tools to help you learn new concepts for piano playing as well as piano hand techniques.

6. Ask any friends you have who play keyboard instruments to show you a few beginning pointers, or ask them if it's OK to bring any specific questions you have to them when you run into a point in books or online lessons that you need help with or clarification on.

Tips & Warnings

• Maintain good posture when you sit at the piano.

• Keep your hands leveled and fingers naturally curved.

• Don't sit too close to the piano.

Resources

• Ricci Adams' Music Theory: Online lessons