The piano is one of the most unique, fun, and interesting instruments to play. However, unlike other instruments out there, trying to learn how to use a piano may also require you to be familiar with a music sheet.
Trying to understand the music can be easy if you put your mind to it, but it is definitely not for everyone. But don’t worry, with a music sheet or not, you can still play the piano even if you are just a beginner and here’s how you can do it. Read more down below.
Method #1: Learn to Play by Hearing
You’ve read it right, you can sit down in front of a piano and play an entire song that you’ve learned just by hearing.
Here’s how you can learn to play by hearing:
1. Familiarize the Keys
Play with the piano and try to familiarize yourself with the flat tones or left black keys, middle tones which is the middle of the piano, the sharp tones or the right black keys, and the high and bass tones.
Keep listening and practicing until you know their differences.
2. Learning the Major Keys
If you want to easily identify the sounds you hear, you’ll have to study the piano’s major keys. Some people learn the major keys and assign numbers on each of them to make it easy for them to follow.
And once the learners master the numbers, they label a song by numbers rather than letters. For example, the Mary Had A Little Lamb song has E-D-C-D-E-E-E, and when assigned in numbers, they’ll be represented in 3-2-1-2-3-3-3.
3. Learn the Chords
All songs are composed of different chords, therefore, you’ll always hear them in different keys. However, they are also composed with similar notes, and identifying what the notes are is important if you are figuring out a song by ear. Learn how to play the basic and familiarize yourself with their sounds.
Aside from learning the keys and chords, you’ll also have to notice their musical patterns. If you can identify those patterns by hearing, it’ll be much easier for you to play a song that you heard or hearing. Humming a song also helps a lot in remembering or composing a song.
Method #2: Learn by the Basic Piano Teaching
Aside from hearing, you can also play the piano by learning in a traditional way. And by traditional, it will require you to learn the following:
- Learning about the Piano
If you have a piano, you’ll have to learn about all its 88 keys and the kind of notes that they create whether if they’re sharp, flat, or a natural note. In a keyboard, unlike the piano, it only has 7 natural keys.
- Using Instructional Books
Now unlike learning by the ear, the traditional way of trying to learn how to play the piano is by reading their instructional books. Now if you’re not a reader, or find it hard to understand the book, then learning in a traditional way is definitely not for you.
- Learning the Placement of Fingers
And of course, if you want to play the piano in a proper way, you’ll have to learn where you’ll place your fingers while playing. Hitting the notes with the right fingers is also important as trying to learn where the notes are located.
- Practice Scales
Playing scales will help you familiarize yourself with the notes and their sounds. If you are teaching yourself how to sight read, playing some music while sight reading will help you learn where the notes are located and what they look like.
And that’s just about them. Now let’s move on to the last method of trying to play the piano for the first time.
Method #3: Hiring an Instructor
If you can’t find yourself playing a decent song on the piano by trying to learn on your own, then it would be best for you if you got yourself a piano instructor. This may be costly, but it is also the easiest way for you to learn how to play the piano.
Here’s how you can find the right piano instructor:
1. Looking for the Right Instructor
If you are looking for a piano instructor, look for the one that has a proven track record of helping the beginners to learn to play the piano. Not only that, but they should also be able to teach you the basics correctly and how to play different types of music such as jazz, pop, classic, and others.
2. Schedule a Day
Once you got yourself a trusty piano instructor, schedule a day on how often you’ll see your instructor. It may 2 to 3 times a week or maybe even daily. This way, you’ll quickly learn how to play the piano or keyboard independently.
3. Practice
And lastly, practice and practice until you can finally play a song comfortably and independently. This, of course, is also applied to the previous methods.
Conclusion:
Learning the piano might take a while for you to learn, especially if you have zero knowledge when it comes to music and on any kinds of instruments. It can also be quite frustrating at first, but once you patiently understand the notes, chords, and keys of the piano, you’ll find yourself enjoying learning the unique instrument.
Are These lessons free?