Learning Piano Basics
Friday, February 12th, 2010 | Great Sites
Have you often dreamed of playing the piano, but feel it is a dream out of your reach? I was exactly like you before I stumbled upon some basic piano lessons which totally transformed my view. Not only did I learn to play the piano, but it had a true impact on my life.
The first lesson that really opened my eyes to how accessible the piano actually is was a simple explanation of how the piano keys make a very important pattern. It turns out those white and black keys are separated into sections which makes it much easier to learn how to play them correctly. I never really thought about the piano in this manner before.
It all started with simple lessons in material I already had before me. I realized that it was quite fun to try out the new ideas presented in each lesson and later on even test myself to see how much I had improved. I learned to practice playing and writing notes, clapping rhythms, and eventually stringing together melodies. The more I practiced these things the more improvement I could hear.
I always thought learning the piano was a slow process because that is how children are often taught, but I discovered that moving at my own pace I could advance quite rapidly. That satisfied me enough to make room in my daily life for regular practice sessions. I found wiggle room in my work and home schedule to make this happen.
Eventually, I wanted to play music beyond what I was learning through these lessons. I wanted to play something recognizable and familiar. That is when I headed to the store and purchased exactly what was suggested in my lessons: one Easy Piano Book and one Fake Book.
I went through the Easy Piano Book, learning to sight read without too much difficulty. That was when I began playing songs I had heard all my life. This particular Easy Piano Book was based on Broadway musicals. I knew most of the songs already, so it was great to be able to play them.
It was when I opened the Fake Book that I really had a challenge before me. I didn’t know all of the chords used so would have to look the new ones up before I started a song, and since they were modern pop songs it was more difficult to get them down.
Eventually, I found myself playing songs directly from the radio and my friends would have a blast singing along with me. Finally, I was playing real songs that I loved to sing and was creating a fun time for my friends.
I am by no means a piano expert today, but I do play quite happily on a regular basis. I never really wanted to turn myself into a star or know all there is to know about piano basics. I simply wanted to learn to play the piano to brighten my own world a little bit. I am quite surprised that I was able to do it so quickly, and all on my own!