Learning Piano
Let’s talk about learning to play the piano! I’ve recently started learning myself.
Playing the piano improves coordination, encourages creativity and even improves mathematical ability and memory.
Although playing the piano is often associated with reading sheet music, you can learn to play without traditional theory knowledge. This is known as playing ‘by ear’.
This is what I do! I can’t read sheet music. The reason I can’t read sheet music is that it’s just not something I’m super interested in. There are a whole bunch of things in music I am interested in, so I want to spend my time making music in a way that is enjoyable and fulfilling to me.
Learning to play by ear is a great way to learn piano - it encourages critical listening and means you won’t rely on sheet music to play a song. Having said that, it also gives you a head start if you do decide to learn sheet music at a later stage.
The first step towards learning piano by ear is understanding the keys on a piano.
Different pianos will have different numbers of keys, but these keys all follow the same, repeating pattern of 12 black and white keys - otherwise known as an octave.
When black keys are played, they give off sharp or flat sounds.
When white keys are played, they give off more natural sounds.
The white notes follow the alphabetic pattern; C D E F G, A B C D E F G, A B… and so on.
The black notes act as the sharps, or flats, of the adjoining white notes.
There are 2 main areas that a new pianist can learn in order to successfully play songs by ear:
Scales - A scale is a set of musical notes that make up a key. Basic knowledge of major and minor keys can help you learn a lot of popular songs. Learning scales can be a bit of a workout for the fingers, as you’ll need to practice running them up and down the keys!
Chords - A chord is a set of notes - usually 2 or more - that are played at the same time. Like scales, learning basic major and minor chords can help you learn many popular songs. Once you have learned your chords, you can learn chord progressions; how to put different chords together.
For learning scales and chords quickly, I have really enjoyed using the ROLI Lumi Keys which lights up the notes in a scale and has visual cues for learning great chord progressions too.
Top Tip: The chord progression C G Am and F is known as the ‘magic progression’. You can play hundreds of popular songs using this same progression, including:
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
Don’t Stop Believing - Journey
Someone Like You - Adele
and loads more!
It’s also important to train your ear to recognise intervals (the distance between notes) and rhythm. You can learn more about this in the blog; ‘Finding Rhythm’.
If you’re at the stage where you’re looking to buy your first piano or keyboard, here’s a few things to think about before you splash the cash…
Functionality - Does your piano really need to have a ‘wow’ factor or do you just need it to be able to practice?
Space - Where are you going to practice? For example, if you’re going to be practising with YouTube tutorials in front of the TV, make sure there’s space, or it’s portable enough to position it there.
Budget - The cost of acoustic pianos and digital keyboards varies greatly! Remember that a high price tag doesn’t always mean good results and if you’re buying second hand make sure you study the instrument carefully before buying.
Noise - If noise is going to be an issue, a keyboard that you can plug headphones into might be the best solution for you.
Sound - If you’re looking for an acoustic piano, be aware that some have a bright sound, and some have a very warm sound. Determine which best suits your playing style. If you want to be able to play different sounds with your piano, then a keyboard might be a better option for you. If you’re a music producer, then a MIDI keyboard is probably a better option!
Key weight - Weighted keys are great for beginners as they help to build up finger strength, which enhances your playing technique and encourages good playing habits. A traditional acoustic piano has weighted keys, and if you’re looking to play one of these for the majority of your playing time in the future it’s a good idea to spend some time learning on an acoustic piano. Semi-weighted keys such as the NI Komplete Kontrol A25 is a great option for a natural feel with MIDI capabilities. Or completely unweighted keys (common in many digital/MIDI keyboards) are good for encouraging precise playing, which is beneficial in many rhythmic, contemporary styles. If you’re planning to travel a lot with your keyboard, then an instrument with unweighted keys will be much lighter for you to carry.
Appearance - If you are looking to buy an acoustic piano, then you might want to take appearance into account. A large, acoustic piano essentially becomes part of the furniture and so you might want to consider how this will fit in with its surroundings.
Like any instrument, learning piano takes a lot of practice and discipline.
Here are a few tips that can help you get started:
Practice to high-quality music recordings through good speakers/headphones so you can hear all the notes clearly.
Don’t rush - try learning a piece of music in segments and be patient with yourself!
Work on separate hands first, start with the hand you use the most, I’m right-handed so I started with my right, then learned to play with both hands together.
Try humming as you play - this can really help with remembering a song.
Use keyboard diagrams or chord charts. There are loads of these online and they will help you remember the shapes of chords and scales.
If you want to gamify the process, consider investing in a gadget like LUMI Keys, or try apps like Simply Piano.
I hope you enjoyed this blog about learning piano. You can get more from me (including music every month!) at: https://www.patreon.com/hannahtrigwell