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Thursday, February 5, 2009

How to Learn Piano

By L. M. Ray

The most popular and useful instrument in the world is the piano. The appeal of the piano is worldwide as it attracts many people because of its adaptability to different forms of musical styles. People love to learn piano, but sometimes they are disappointed because it has so many confusing methods and styles of learning.

Is there an easier way to learning the piano? No, there isn't and anyone who believes that is fooling themselves if they think they can play Bach Inventions or Jazz piano like George Shearing. What will happen is that the student will become very frustrated and disappointed if they don't see that they are playing complicated pieces.

A beginning piano student needs to prioritize by learning how to recognize notes and hand position. When you try to learn a new piece, start with a simple one to gain confidence. Later, after you learn how to read notes you can concentrate on fine tuning rhythm, technique, and musicality in your playing.

Beginning piano students should learn how to write some goals. Most students who begin need to set some realistic and achievable goals for themselves. If a person begins to do some organized goal setting, they will be able to become a good pianist.

If you don't have a clearly marked goal, then why are you playing? Do you want to be able to play a certain song by a certain date or do you want to know all of the notes on the scale? Decide what it is that you want to accomplish first, then do it.

Set aside a certain amount of time every day to work towards your goal of building a foundation. Some beginning students want to find an easy way to get to be a good musician and pianist because practicing sounds too time consuming and boring. What they have to realize is that most excellent pianists have spent literally hours of practice perfecting their technique, sight reading, and musicianship.

You don't want to get burnt out by playing 16 hours per day, but you want to allow enough time to accomplish something because constant spaced repetition is critical to achieving your goals. If you need help, don't be ashamed to enlist the help of your teacher, as they have been through exactly what you're going through and can help. There's nothing that you can do that they haven't seen before as a teacher.

The last thing that you need to remember is to not criticize yourself. Negative self-talk has prevented some potential virtuosos to quit much too early because they were frustrated and impatient. Perseverance and determination are two key components that an aspiring pianist needs to have to master the basics and build a solid foundation.

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