<< Back To Home
Many different people want to start learning how to play the piano, because they think of it as a beautiful instrument that requires diligence and skill to become proficient at playing. This is definitely true. Playing the piano is something that can potentially be a lifelong hobby. Many people pick it up at a young age. Lots of children probably recall piano lessons that their parents forced onto them, to mixed enthusiasm. Some people, unfortunately, believe that the piano is a simple instrument to play and that they can quickly learn how to play well. Partially true – the piano can be easily learned, but it’s much more difficult to master.
Can someone learn to play the piano quickly? Well, it depends on individual things – your own willingness to learn most importantly. Everyday diligent practice is required before you can really gain skill in playing the piano. A solid training regimen generally includes a warm up, scale practice, techniques for fingering and a good session of sight reading written music. All of these are necessary components for your musical education to be well-rounded. Generally, practice at least half an hour to an hour every day to get the most effect from your sessions – more can work, but don’t overdo it and burn yourself out. This is another reason people give up practicing piano – they burn themselves out and simply get tired of doing it every day, when they feel like they could be doing something else that’s more tangible.
Ten minutes or so of your session should be given to warming up to get your hands and fingers accustomed to the simple physical act of playing the piano. Start out slowly with a few scales to get your hands and fingers warmed up properly. Different kinds of scales would be best, both major and minor. Experiment with assorted scale patterns by shifting key signature, and learn the associated chords.
To learn how to find given notes on a piano without having to hunt, fingering techniques are useful. Basically, fingering techniques are learning how to find notes in relation to the black piano keys. After learning these patterns, you can easily pick out any note on the keyboard without needing to look. Especially when you start playing at a faster tempo, this is an important skill. Think of it like typing on a computer keyboard. You can type much faster if you aren’t needing to always seek out the correct key and can instead shift over to it.
Practicing your major and minor scales will increase knowledge in musical theory related to tone, and you can also use these different scales to understand how accidentals affect music. Major scales are used during songs with a lighthearted and happy feel, but minor scales are used mostly in songs that are meant to be darker and more subdued. It’s easy to switch from a major scale to a minor one - just lower the third interval a half step. No matter what accidentals you have originally, this will work.