Piano Learning FAQ

After many years of playing piano, I have realized that many of the questions that people ask me are the very same questions that I used to ask other piano experts before I learned how to play the piano. So I decided to dedicate an entire section of my website to answering some of the most commonly asked piano questions. Feel free to submit your own questions to me by emailing me at info@how-to-play-the-piano.info and I will be sure to post it here and answer it to the best of my ability.

Q. Is it hard to learn how to play the piano?

A. That is perhaps the most common piano question asked by people interested in this elegant instrument. Actually, learning how to play the piano does not have to be such a difficult task. You see, the old traditional ways of learning piano involved a teacher handing you tons of piano sheet music and he would force you to learn how to read the music from the sheets. You would then have to invest countless hours studying these musical sheets, understanding how to read them, and then when you finally were able to sit infront of the piano, you were forced to practice scales and drills that were monotonous and boring.

Now, this is not to say that traditional ways are obsolete, I believe that practice makes perfect. However, when you limit yourself to playing off of sheet music, you are limiting your creativity and are not expanding your musical ear. Don't get me wrong, if all you are looking for is to play other people's music then go ahead and learn the traditional way. But if you are interseted in learning how to play the piano so that you can write your own songs and music and not have to follow old composer's music sheets, then you must start training piano in the modern way.

The modern way of learning how to play piano involves training your ear to listen to the tones of the piano keys, and being able to play a song by just hearing it and figuring it out on the piano. It involves learning piano chords and scales and getting a grasp of their relationship so that you can begin to compose your own songs.

This is why using a piano learning software is the best way to go because it is all about the modern way of teaching piano and you will not be limited to whatever an expensive piano instructor dictates to you. When using a piano learning software, you will immediately start playing songs on the piano without going through the redundant traditional ways of learning piano. Click here to read my reviews of the top piano learning software.

Q. Should I take piano lessons with a piano teacher or use a piano learning software?

A. Again, it all depends on what type of piano training you desire. A piano teacher who charges for piano lessons will be expensive because he is taking up his time to come to your house and give you lessons. He must put up with the frustrating events of dealing with a beginner student and repeating the lessons over and over again when the student fails to practice. Usually lessons are for 45 minutes to an hour long only and the rates are pretty high. Also keep in mind that you will be learning how to play piano the traditional way and the piano teacher will most likely start teaching you music theory and have you reading sheet music and performing countless tedious exercises. It will be a while before you even begin to play a real song.

A piano learning software on the other hand allows you to pause and rewind the lesson as often as you like. You will have the ability to train at any given time of the day at your speed. A piano learning software also comes with numerous audio and video lessons that sometimes can be more comprehensive because you do not have the pressure or intimidation of an instructor. The best part about a piano learning software is the fact that you will be playing piano songs almost immediately. There are some really interesting and fun piano games that come with a piano learning software which makes learning how to play piano a truly exciting and modern way to learn. Plus, a piano learning software comes already built in with quizzes, interactive lessons, and even complete tests and exams which you must pass before moving on to the next level.

I would say that all any one would ever really need as far as learning piano goes, is a piano learning software. It is far cheaper in cost and the convenience and plus you have the ability to even try some free online lessons from these very same piano learning software before you buy them. Good luck finding a piano teacher that would be willing to give you some free piano lessons before making the decision to hire them.

Q. Are piano learning books any good?

A. Well, it is not easy finding a really good piano learning book because learning from a book is just not as good as listening or watching someone taech you because there is no audio or visual relationship within the lesson.

If you are really interested in buying a piano learning book, the first thing I would recommend would be to skim through the book and make sure that it covers all the basics of piano learning. By this I mean the piano book should have a deep explanation of how to construct piano chords and what they are, what the piano scales are and how to practice them. It should also dive deep into the area of music theory because after all, books are all about information so the more information you can get your hands on, the better.

Ofcourse your best bet is to just go with a really good piano learning software. These complete interactive piano courses are much better than learning only from a book and you can bet that they are full of audio files and video lessons for you to fully understand how to play the piano.

If you are truly willing to purchase a piano book, my suggestion to you would be to only get a piano chords book or a piano scales book. But do not spend your money trying to learn how to play the piano through a book. It is almost as worthless as trying to learn martial arts or how to dance off of a book. It just cannot happen.