You want to learn piano but are intimidated by the whole process — it is a big instrument with a lot of keys. When you see the pros playing, it looks so easy, and then you try, and it’s not as easy as it looks. You might be wondering how to go about learning piano quickly and easily.
People are different, and some learn better one way than another. Let’s talk about the different ways of learning how to play piano, and how to do so quickly and easily. What might work for you might not work for others, so let’s take a look at the different ways to learn.
From Sheet Music
Although learning to play piano from sheet music is not the quickest way to go about it, it is seen as the best way. When you learn to play from sheet music, you first have to learn to read the staff.
This can be somewhat difficult to learn at first, but most catch on quite quickly. There are not that many notes and symbols to learn, so it should get easier after a few days. Of course, learning to play from sheet music will be slower at first due to having to learn the basics.
However, once you have mastered reading sheet music, learning any new music after that gets easier. At that point, once you have mastered reading the sheet, you should be able to open up any piece of sheet music and play the song simply by looking at it. It may not be the easiest way to learn, but it does tend to be the most comprehensive and useful.
Personal Lessons
One of the much easier ways to learn piano is to take lessons from a professional tutor. Depending on the type of lessons, you should still learn how to read sheet music. If you are taking acoustic piano lessons, you will learn all about sheet music, just as if you were learning it on your own.
With lessons, you do have to pay money and dedicate certain hours of the day to scheduled lessons, but you will have a professional guiding you.
It is much easier to learn something when you have a knowledgeable instructor that can give you tips, help you out, and correct you when you do something wrong. Having a skilled piano tutor makes a big difference.
YouTube Tutorials
When it comes down to it, one of the easiest ways to learn piano, whether you want to learn the notes, octaves, how to read sheet music, chords, or playing by ear, is to go to YouTube and watch tutorials on the subject.
There are plenty of piano teachers and instructions on YouTube, and there are plenty of lessons which focus on specific aspects of the art of piano playing. This can be useful because you will have somebody showing you what to play, when to play it, and how to play it.
It’s like having lessons from an instructor, but without having to pay or leave your home for them. This kind of learning tends to not be the most comprehensive and it often teaches students to parrot music back instead of actually learning the fundamentals, but these tutorials can still come in quite handy.
By Ear
If you are seriously talented and have an ear for music, you might not even have to “learn” piano per se. Some people have a knack for being able to hear specific notes, melodies, and whatever else have you.
Once they hear something, maybe a few times over, they can then recreate the songs or notes simply by playing them on the piano and listening closely.
That said, this has more to do with pure talent and a natural ear for music rather than learning. People who play by ear really don’t have to learn much. These are the lucky people, the people who become prodigies.
Chords and Improv
If you don’t plan on being a professional piano player, and you just want to have a bit of fun and sound like you know what you are doing, then learning how to play chords and improvising is another good way to learn.
No, you won’t be able to read sheet music and play Beethoven, but you will learn what the different chords are and how to play individual songs. This is a good way to learn how to play songs without having to go through a full set of piano lessons.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different ways to learn how to play piano quickly and easily. Which method you choose to go with will depend on what your strengths and skills are, as well as your final piano playing goals.
