How to Teach Yourself to Play the Piano
Find a piano or keyboard to use., Sit down at the piano or keyboard and familiarize yourself with it., Learn the major keys., Learn the chords., Notice patterns., Master humming., Review finger placement., Practice.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Find a piano or keyboard to use.
If you don’t have one at home, perhaps you can borrow one from a friend.
The benefit of learning to play on a piano is that the sound is authentic because it’s generated by a string.
It also contains all 88 keys.
Keyboards don’t have either of these features.
Keep that in mind when making your selection.
Pianos are much more expensive than keyboards, but they can be rented to own at some piano stores.
Tune the piano if it is an antique or vintage piano so that you can train your ear to hear the notes correctly.
Older pianos are usually out of tune especially if they are not played regularly.
If your piano hasn't been played for ages, you may want to have it tuned professionally before going any further.
If you're unable to find a piano, a keyboard is a great alternative.
They're affordable, never go out of tune and have lots of sounds and features that can enhance your music.
Not to mention, they're a lot easier to move around and don't take up much space.
A keyboard is a great tool for a beginner.
You can always start out on a keyboard and then upgrade to a piano.
Get a learning keyboard.These specialty instruments light up in a specific order to help you learn songs more quickly.
Typically, they come with books and videos that will help you learn musical notation. -
Step 2: Sit down at the piano or keyboard and familiarize yourself with it.
Play with it and identify the middle tones ( middle of piano), flat tones ( left black keys), sharp tones (right black keys), bass tones (low sounds) and high tones (high sounds).
Really listen to each of them, and note how they are different from the others.
Keep practicing until you can tell the difference between them. , You’ll have to study the major keys if you want to be able to identify the sounds that you hear.
Some people do this by learning the major keys and then assigning a number to them.
For instance, 1 is C; 2 is D; 3 is E; 4 is F; 5 is G; 6 is A; 7 is B; 8 is C.
Notice how the numbers 8 and 1 both represent the note C, but number represents a lower or higher C.
The number 1 represents middle C.
Once you know how to do this, you can label songs by numbers instead of letters.
For instance, Mary Had A Little Lamb would be E
- D
- C
- D
- E
- E
- E.
This would be represented as 3
- 2
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 3
-
3.
If you don’t have any musical knowledge at all, you will have wing it and figure it out by trial-and-error. , Songs are mostly composed of variations of chords.
You’ll hear them in different keys, but the chords are composed of the same notes.
Identifying those notes is crucial when you’re figuring out a song by ear.
So, learn how to play the basic chords and find out where they are located on the piano.
Play the chords to familiarize yourself with the sound of them so that you recognize them.
Even if you don’t know the chord’s name, you should know what they sound like.
You should also be able to recognize if the chords are a bass tone or high tone, and from that you’ll know where they are located.For instance, C, E, G is a simple chord that you should learn to recognize in C Major first.
However, it can be played in lower and higher keys as well., All songs are composed of musical patterns.
Chords repeat themselves often in a steady beat or rhythm.
If you can identify the patterns that you hear, it is much easier to play a song that you hear.
You’ll be able to learn which chords are combined with others.
This helps you to understand how melodies and baselines are constructed, which helps you to make your own. , Humming helps you remember or compose the song.
Then, you’ll be better able to repeat it on a piano.
In other words, hum the tune.
Then, sit down and the piano and repeat it.
Once you know the chords and what the notes should look like, you should be able to duplicate them by ear. , To really play, you need to know which fingers to play the keys with.
The best way to do that is to get a basic understanding of finger placement from a beginner’s piano book.
Normally, the fingers are numbered.
For instance, the thumb is one and the pinky is five.
These books will teach how to play each note by telling you which finger to play it with. , Listen to songs.Then practice humming them and see if you can duplicate the song on your piano or keyboard.
Or, select a song that you like and using the techniques that you’ve learned, attempt to play it by ear.
Becoming a good piano player requires lots of practice.
You’ll need to practice at least three times a week. -
Step 3: Learn the major keys.
-
Step 4: Learn the chords.
-
Step 5: Notice patterns.
-
Step 6: Master humming.
-
Step 7: Review finger placement.
-
Step 8: Practice.
Detailed Guide
If you don’t have one at home, perhaps you can borrow one from a friend.
The benefit of learning to play on a piano is that the sound is authentic because it’s generated by a string.
It also contains all 88 keys.
Keyboards don’t have either of these features.
Keep that in mind when making your selection.
Pianos are much more expensive than keyboards, but they can be rented to own at some piano stores.
Tune the piano if it is an antique or vintage piano so that you can train your ear to hear the notes correctly.
Older pianos are usually out of tune especially if they are not played regularly.
If your piano hasn't been played for ages, you may want to have it tuned professionally before going any further.
If you're unable to find a piano, a keyboard is a great alternative.
They're affordable, never go out of tune and have lots of sounds and features that can enhance your music.
Not to mention, they're a lot easier to move around and don't take up much space.
A keyboard is a great tool for a beginner.
You can always start out on a keyboard and then upgrade to a piano.
Get a learning keyboard.These specialty instruments light up in a specific order to help you learn songs more quickly.
Typically, they come with books and videos that will help you learn musical notation.
Play with it and identify the middle tones ( middle of piano), flat tones ( left black keys), sharp tones (right black keys), bass tones (low sounds) and high tones (high sounds).
Really listen to each of them, and note how they are different from the others.
Keep practicing until you can tell the difference between them. , You’ll have to study the major keys if you want to be able to identify the sounds that you hear.
Some people do this by learning the major keys and then assigning a number to them.
For instance, 1 is C; 2 is D; 3 is E; 4 is F; 5 is G; 6 is A; 7 is B; 8 is C.
Notice how the numbers 8 and 1 both represent the note C, but number represents a lower or higher C.
The number 1 represents middle C.
Once you know how to do this, you can label songs by numbers instead of letters.
For instance, Mary Had A Little Lamb would be E
- D
- C
- D
- E
- E
- E.
This would be represented as 3
- 2
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 3
-
3.
If you don’t have any musical knowledge at all, you will have wing it and figure it out by trial-and-error. , Songs are mostly composed of variations of chords.
You’ll hear them in different keys, but the chords are composed of the same notes.
Identifying those notes is crucial when you’re figuring out a song by ear.
So, learn how to play the basic chords and find out where they are located on the piano.
Play the chords to familiarize yourself with the sound of them so that you recognize them.
Even if you don’t know the chord’s name, you should know what they sound like.
You should also be able to recognize if the chords are a bass tone or high tone, and from that you’ll know where they are located.For instance, C, E, G is a simple chord that you should learn to recognize in C Major first.
However, it can be played in lower and higher keys as well., All songs are composed of musical patterns.
Chords repeat themselves often in a steady beat or rhythm.
If you can identify the patterns that you hear, it is much easier to play a song that you hear.
You’ll be able to learn which chords are combined with others.
This helps you to understand how melodies and baselines are constructed, which helps you to make your own. , Humming helps you remember or compose the song.
Then, you’ll be better able to repeat it on a piano.
In other words, hum the tune.
Then, sit down and the piano and repeat it.
Once you know the chords and what the notes should look like, you should be able to duplicate them by ear. , To really play, you need to know which fingers to play the keys with.
The best way to do that is to get a basic understanding of finger placement from a beginner’s piano book.
Normally, the fingers are numbered.
For instance, the thumb is one and the pinky is five.
These books will teach how to play each note by telling you which finger to play it with. , Listen to songs.Then practice humming them and see if you can duplicate the song on your piano or keyboard.
Or, select a song that you like and using the techniques that you’ve learned, attempt to play it by ear.
Becoming a good piano player requires lots of practice.
You’ll need to practice at least three times a week.
About the Author
Cynthia Sanchez
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in pet care and beyond.
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