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Learning piano: where to start?

Beginner pianists must learn different exercises for coordination when they are introduced to the piano. These exercises for training the independence of both hands or the coordination between them can take many forms.

One is scales: scales are a sequence of notes, usually seven for what is known as the diatonic scale or five when we talk about pentatonic scales. One example of a diatonic scale is what you already know as the Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. This  is what we call an octave.

The piano encompasses seven of these octaves. When learning a scale you have to learn the fingering for that scale, which is a type of sequence for the fingers, and each hand has a different fingering.

You can also learn chords and arpeggios. Chords are constructions in music that involve two or more notes played at the same time. The most common chord is called triad, which is a three note chord, you have also heard this before probably, it is the Do, Mi, Sol singing you might have done in choir or heard from someone practicing singing. These notes of the triad can be played at the same time, or in a sequence, one after another, this is what we call an arpeggio.

You can train coordination then learn scales or arpeggios of chords.

One last example of something a beginner pianist might learn at the beginning is music notation and how to read music. Learning to read music on the piano is very simple and intuitive, and every student should take advantage of this opportunity, because some other instruments, such as guitar or trombone are instruments that the link between what is on the page and how to play it is not as clear and logical as with the piano. Therefore, reading music on the piano is quite simple and very clear.

What you need to know before learning piano

You really do not need to know anything before learning the piano. In fact, that is what learning the piano is all about, learning what you need to know in order to play the piano.

But the question could be, how do you acquire the things you need to know in order to play the piano. Learning the piano is quite simple at first and compared to other instruments is quite a joy.

Take the violin for example. It may take years for someone to make the violin sound good. The piano sounds great right away, just by pushing on one key you get a nice sound immediately. A violin student might spend years of training before one note sounds great. But the piano, just like any instrument, has its own challenges.

So the first thing to know before learning the piano is what your goal is, what type of music you would like to learn and how you are going to go about it. The answer to the latter has many alternatives: videos online, forums, a method book or learning with a teacher.

Learning with a teacher is the best option since a teacher can see your progress and address your individual challenges. The teacher will tailor the lesson to fit you. If you are looking for piano lessons in Lower Hutt, visit Superprof and find the teacher that fits your personality best!

What skills do you need to learn the piano

The first thing to know is that all skills, no matter how complex may look or how impossible it may seem to be, all skills can be trained and achieved.

This is why learning music is like learning anything in life. You will have some natural tendencies and gravitate towards things that come easy to you, and that is great, but you also have to know that skills that might be hard, such as rhythm, is not something that you are either born or not with, it is something that is trained.

So that being said, let us start with the most important skill to have: coordination.

Coordination is a great skill to have if you would like to have piano lessons in Lower Hutt. Coordination between left and right hand, and also feet, is very important when learning the piano.

Another skill very much needed is rhythmic sensibility. Rhythmic sensibility is the ability of playing in time and with a good sense of duration: music takes place in time, and each note has a specific duration, these are what we call rhythmic figures, such as quarter notes, eighth notes, and so on.

Being able to play in time is very important and is a very important skill to have. If you are looking for piano lessons in Lower Hutt, visit Superprof and find the best teacher for you.