from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditThe piano is a very unique and interesting
instrument, and is also fun to play. While you may think that it is
impossible to become good without years and years of extensive, boring piano (keyboard) lessons, it's actually not. Get some musical knowledge about the notes, Keys and chords and with some free time, you can teach yourself to
play the piano. And quickly learn how to chord with
one hand to accompany a singer
on piano here. You can start playing while only knowing a few keys, and keep adding to that by practicing, going and growing!
Steps
- Find a piano to use. You may have one at home, or you may be able to find one somewhere else. You also need to make sure the piano is reasonably tuned. If your piano hasn't been played for ages, or has recently been moved, chances are, it's at least a bit out of tune. While the piano being a tiny bit off shouldn't matter much, if the piano is worse, you may want to have it tuned by a professional 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. And higher end keyboard models sound just as good or better than many grand pianos. Not to mention they're a lot easier to move around and don't take up much space.
- Acquire some prior musical knowledge. Teaching yourself to play the piano will be pretty much impossible if you haven't had some sort of professional teaching on some other instrument -- you need to know how to read and understand music before you can teach yourself to play anything. It does not matter if the other instrument you can play is, say, a Bb clarinet or an Eb alto saxophone, even though the piano is a C instrument. In fact, once you get better at the piano, you can do some really cool things if you play an instrument in another key.
- Figure out which keys on the piano are which. You can find a chart on the internet or in a book if you need to. Notice that there are two black keys, then a space, then three black keys, then a space, then two black keys... and so on. Starting from the note right to the left of the first of the set of two black keys, the natural notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then C again. The black keys between them are sharps and flats.
- Invest in a few trusted piano method books. Once you orient yourself on the piano keyboard purchase some practice method books, such as the ones by Hanon or Czerny. These will help you develop technique along with finger strength and dexterity. These exercises are a solid base upon which to build and all of your future playing will benefit from them.
- Find some music to play. You might be able to borrow some easy method books from friends or family, or you can go out and buy some. It may be easier to use books containing songs you know (such as common children's song or, no matter what time of year it is, holiday songs), so that you don't have to worry about rhythms, and you can just focus on notes. If you play a C instrument, you can also try playing some familiar music for that instrument. You can also do this if you play an instrument in another tuning, but the notes will sound "off" when you play. Gradually learn to play the simple music, then maybe exercise your fingers by playing the same melody two different octaves with two different hands. Simple things like that can help a lot in the future. For some simple sheet music and introductory theory lessons see [1].
- Gradually move up to more difficult music. You can also begin using your other hand to play a harmony or bass line part. For this, you can either find some piano music with a bass line on it (you will have to be able to read bass clef for this, though), or try purchasing some books with ensemble arrangements in them for other C instruments. If you do this, you can play the top line (melody) with your right hand, and then one of the one or more lines below that with the other hand (usually, in ensemble books with three parts for each song, the top line (or A part) is the melody, the second line (or B part) is the harmony, and the bottom line (or C part) is the bass line, which is usually more challenging). This may be difficult at first, but if you work hard, you'll sound really good once you get the hang of it.
- Consider getting a piano teacher. If you want to play piano as a career or seriously wish to go further into your playing, it is highly recommended that you do get a teacher, without one you may pick up many bad habits that will take years to unlearn. Also, basic music knowledge can only get you so far... eventually, to get good at the piano specifically, you'll need a teacher. It is very difficult to obtain a profession or high grade without an appropriate teacher/tutor. However, if you just enjoy playing for fun, there's no pressure to get professional tutoring.
Tips
- Don't stress out, remember it's just fun that way you will stay more interested.
- It is definitely a lot easier if you already play a melodic instrument, as you will have a familiar view on musical notes and will be able to work with your other instrument(s) for a guideline.
- Practicing scales is a good idea, as scales are the basis for every song. However, make sure your scale sheet is for C instruments -- for example, if you play the Bb scale from a scale sheet for a Bb instrument, untransposed, you're actually playing the C scale.
- As tempting as it can be, try to play without the sustain pedal pushed down as it will sound clearer and you will be able to hear your mistakes more. This can help you to improve a lot.
- Try to resist the temptation to play the melody with both hands. Sure, it may be easier when you're starting out, but if it becomes a habit, you'll regret it. Obviously, you can't play a harmony or bass line if both hands are already occupied, and you also look... well, like you taught yourself.
- If you play another instrument in another tuning (such as Bb, Eb, or F), you may want to learn how to transpose so you can play music for that instrument on the piano and have it sound correct. Bb is probably the easiest, because the notes don't shift very far. They all shift one note to the left, except for C and F, which end up on the Bb and Eb keys, respectively. You can find help with transposing on the internet. Being able to transpose opens a whole new window of possibilities, because you'll be able to play any piece of music on either instrument.
- You may also be able to play by ear. Some people may find this incredibly easy and favor it over reading music, while others will find it difficult. You may want to try it, though -- it's a great way to play music you don't have sheet music for.
- The use of both hands and feet simultaneously can seem daunting at first. When practicing a piece of music try to play the melody and bass lines for each hand separately at first. Once your playing of each improves, then practice playing them together.
Warnings
- Teaching yourself to play the piano can have its drawbacks, one of the biggest being that you can form some really bad habits that may affect your playing at some point, and will be very difficult to unlearn.
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Sources and Citations
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