Learn the piano as an adult: the real guide

Learning the piano as an adult: the question of the starting level

Adults who want to play the piano fall into two categories: either they are adults who studied the piano when they were children, and who gave up once they left the family nest.

Either they are adults who have never touched a piano in their life, but who, after having heard River flows in you over and over again on YouTube, want to get serious about it.

Whatever your situation and your level, the question of learning is universal: if you want to play the piano, you will have to practice on a regular basis, even in small doses, every day ideally.

Adults who learned the piano during their youth still have a major advantage: knowledge of music theory , which today is called “musical training”.

Yes, to learn the piano effectively and seriously, you have to know how to read sheet music.

That said, don’t worry, it’s not insurmountable either.

Anyone, can decipher the notes in the score. The secret? Start by learning very easy scores (beginner level), to gradually learn the notes. For this, arm yourself with piano methods for beginners, as we have many of them in our Library.

The trap is to write down the notes on the score (A, B, C …) or on the piano keys (definitely, not!).

It’s a trap because this technique is a short-term shortcut that will prevent you from properly assimilating the notes on the score. Your brain and your memory will be too lazy to memorize.

Now let’s talk about the hardware issue.

The question of the choice of the piano is important when you start, because the piano is, as you can imagine, a very important investment in the life of the family.

Luckily for you, you live in the 21st century , and unlike Iin the old times, you won’t need to spend an astronomical sum on the acquisition of an acoustic study piano.

You can get started with a digital keyboard, some of them are an ideal entry level to start the piano at a lower cost.

A digital keyboard of this type can accompany you during your first years of piano learning.

You won’t take too many risks if ever the passion wanes, or on the contrary, if you want to quickly move on to a superior model.

What learning to choose when learning the adult piano?

As I told you earlier, you live in the 21st century, so you have access to a plethora of options for learning piano as an adult. Here are the choices you can make to learn the piano, your new lovely passion, that will accompany you for the rest of your life:

• Private piano lessons with a teacher
• Virtual piano lessons, with a “remote” teacher
• Piano lessons on YouTube or apps
• Piano lessons by yourself, using piano methods

WONDERFUL LIFE – BLACK (Easy Piano solo sheet music)

Piano lessons with a real-life teacher

This is the best option. Indeed, nothing like the opinion of a mentor on his work to progress and avoid mistakes.

Beginner pianists often make mistakes when starting out, such as how to position their fingers, how to touch the keyboard, etc. full of small details that become habits and that are very difficult to correct years later.

It is therefore better to have the opinion of a professor on his work to progress effectively.

And if you get tired, if you lose motivation, you will be more conscientious in your learning, since every week, for example, you will have to show your progress to your teacher. You will be less likely to give up the piano.

In addition, you can ask all the questions you want, having a real relationship with your teacher is a human relationship, which for me will never be replaced by the virtual.

The only drawback, if I may say so, is the price and the fix scheduled time with your teacher.

But if you find a small music school near you, you will see that the price per hour is not that high, since smoothed over the year, you pay much less than a private lesson at the card with a private teacher. And about the time, well, you’ll need to make your priorities, and, except if you travel quite a lot, you will find a couple of hours per week to make your dream come true!

Virtual piano lessons

We do not recommend this method for several reasons (unless you live in the deep countryside).

The prices are almost the same, if not higher, with virtual teachers.

In addition, there is this question of latency that makes it quite difficult: when you study the piano, it is still important to get along well and to be in harmony in terms of sound.

With courses by Zoom or Skype, there are always phenomena of latency, sound bugs, and that is very annoying and frustrating indeed.

In addition, virtual classes do not correct posture or piano touch as effectively as with a real-life teacher.

Finally, in the age of the virtual that floods our world, wouldn’t this be an opportunity, when you learn the adult piano, to disconnect and leave the screens to enjoy the real world?

In conclusion, except if you have problems finding a private teacher near you, or if you work hours that make classes incompatible with a traditional music school, choose other options more rooted in human life.

Piano lessons on YouTube or apps

So, to learn piano on YouTube, you have several options:

• Either you learn by watching the keys go by and little by little, starting with easy tutorials, then progressing through the difficulty levels, you will get better and better at playing and gaining confidence on the keyboard. To do this, search for “easy piano tutorials” on YouTube.
• Second option, you follow the lessons of passionate pianists who deliver piano lessons to you like at home, but by way of video. If you don’t have the budget to treat yourself to piano lessons with a teacher, don’t hesitate to watch the complete videos of these budding teachers, who will allow you to take giant steps in your learning, at a lower cost.

Still, learning the piano on YouTube has some drawbacks.

Certainly, you will learn to play certain pieces well, and with a little work, you can even succeed in impressing those around you. But the problem is that you skip the steps, and you won’t really know the basics.

You will play the keyboard, but not the piano. You will play notes to create melodies, but you will know nothing about the world of music theory, nothing about the dynamics of the keys, nothing about nuances, nearly nothing of well understanding the MUSIC written down in the sheet music.

Learn piano on YouTube should instead be called, learn keyboard on YouTube . But if that’s what you want to do, then go for it!

Because in any case, you can always come back to the basics later with a teacher or independently by yourself, if you want to dig the basics of your learning.

On the other hand, you should be prudent about the advertisements for the piano applications, because many of them are still quite misleading about the “fast” results you’ll obtain.

Learn the piano as an adult: stay motivated and progress

Anyone can play the piano, at any age. That said, you need to be motivated to practice, practice and practice. So, you need your motivation to be in the high level every day! It’s better to study and practice a little (half or an hour) every day (or nearly), than a lot of time (for hours), once a week.

So, be patient and focused: step by step, measure by measure, slowly but permanently dedicated, and you’ll soon enjoy the music in your hands, and in your body and mind.

Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No 3 Theme from 1st mov. Easy Piano Solo arr.

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