how to Play the Piano
- Make certain you are willing to practice for thirty or more minutes each day. If you're not, save yourself the expense of buying the piano, books, and lessons, to say nothing of the time. The first few weeks are quite an effort.
- Be forewarned that pianos can be very expensive. If you can't afford to buy one, keyboards are an excellent, cheaper alternative. (There are also some great crossovers, such as digital Grands from brands like Roland and Yamaha.) If you can afford one, make sure you know which criteria you should consider when buying yourself a piano. With some luck or dedicated searching, you can often borrow a piano from someone or get an old piano that someone is getting rid of.
- Arrange for music lessons with a teacher in your area. The classifieds or a referral from a friend are good places to start. Many schools and colleges offer piano lessons at a subsidized cost. Ask other piano students for feedback about their books or teachers.
- Make certain your teacher or lesson book includes time spent learning all aspects of the piano (including chords, theory, and learning pieces by heart) in the curriculum.
- If you do not want to take piano lessons, you can learn by yourself. However, you do have your work cut out for you. Teaching yourself how to play well is a tremendous task, but it can be done.
- Use technology to your advantage. There are free internet games, such as Jayde Musica and Grand Staff Defender, that can help you with both reading music and playing piano. There are also electronic devices that can aide in your piano practicing. For example, the PianoMaestro is a strip of lights that rests on top of the black keys of your piano. The lights guide you on which notes to play, enabling you to progress faster and stay motivated.
- Practice daily for at least thirty minutes or more. Your fingers will "rust" if you do not play for even a week. However, you may find that a short break or holiday is alright, provided you practice diligently. At first, practicing might be a pain and you might get very frustrated. As your skills grow, you will become better and playing piano will become pure enjoyment. It's best to warm up at the beginning of every practice session with a relaxing finger exercise. This will stretch your fingers and hands and help you play with your hands relaxed. When you play, you should be able to see your finger bones move. Let your hand just hang and move only your fingers.
- Play covers of songs that you like. Chances are you won’t like a lot of the songs that your instructor or lesson book use to teach you piano basics. Don’t be afraid to mix it up by covering more enjoyable songs on the piano, even if they’re typically played using other instruments. Consider it an opportunity to learn from the greats while motivating yourself to play.
- Warm up. Practice the arpeggios, chords, scales, and other basic things at the beginning of your practice sessions. Your fingers will be "warmed up" and ready for all of your songs.
- Improve your technique by learning in segments. First, try to sightread the piece without worrying if you make mistakes; then, practice each hand separately. Break the music into segments and learn the right hand part. Learn segment by segment, then connect them together. Keep practicing until you've mastered the right hand. Play through the entire piece. If you make a mistake, try to pick up from the beginning of that measure. Starting from the beginning each time you make a mistake will mean you learn the start of the song very well and perhaps never reach the end! Be patient, as this process will enable you to get through the entire piece flawlessly. Once you've mastered the right hand, repeat the process with the left hand. Then, repeat the process again, this time for both hands. Do not try to play at normal speed until you are secure in your fingering and notes. Then increase the speed gradually. Play the piece until you memorize it and you can play fluently.
- Improve your understanding of the piece by learning in measures. Take a new piece apart by learning one or two measures at a time, and going over it again and again. The next day, do the same thing with the next few measures, and then include the last measures and play them all together. By practicing this way, you can spend quality time listening to how they sound and making sure your fingers know where to go and when.
- Try not to repeat your mistakes. Practicing the wrong way many times over will cement a mistake into your mind and muscle memory.
- Think notes and improvise. "Thinking notes" means that you know every single note you're playing. While that sounds easy, it can be very challenging. Play a piece that you have memorized and can play very well. Now, name every note that you played without looking at the piano. Then, take a melody you've heard on TV or somewhere else and try to play it using your ear. Aim for knowing every note you play. While playing by ear is good, it's a lot better if you know every note that you play.
- Play whenever you can – even if you don’t have a piano. Borrow someone else’s, tap out a few notes on the keyboard at the store, or just play from memory on the blank desk in front of you. Be like Paul McCartney, who can't walk by a piano without a very strong urge to play it; the only time he doesn’t is if he would get in trouble!