Self Teaching Piano

I've been trying to, by taking some book I found, teach myself piano. So far, however, its not working at all. So, as a question, is their a way to do this?

There is, but I wouldn't recommend. You'll teach yourself all kinds of bad habbits that your teacher would be able to spot and correct you of. Learning with a teacher, whenever possible, is MUCH better.

Yea.

I was basically self taught (apart from a small stint when i was alot younger) until late last year, and I've improved a massive amount.

Personally I think you'd be very lucky to teach yourself correctly.

Did Alfred Brendel do something like that?

Anyway, it's much better to have a teacher. I've only just started to get a reasonable tone and sense of touch on the piano.

I personally only took lessons for around 4-5 years. I kind of hated the piano, but now I've realized how awesome it is.

So I've been teaching myself for the past two years, learning harder and harder songs, and getting my sister (who took lessons until she graduated high school) to see if I'm getting my stuff right.

It should probably be better if you get a teacher, but there are many famous musicians who taught themselves their instruments. I'm particularly fond of some of the jazz pianists out their who taught themselves. I'm sure they might've taken lessons later in life, however. Don't quote me on that.

Well, I would get lessons, but I really dont have time I'm willing to spare to take a specific lesson time is all. Suppose I should wait till summer.

I personally only took lessons for around 4-5 years. I kind of hated the piano, but now I've realized how awesome it is.

So I've been teaching myself for the past two years, learning harder and harder songs, and getting my sister (who took lessons until she graduated high school) to see if I'm getting my stuff right.

It should probably be better if you get a teacher, but there are many famous musicians who taught themselves their instruments. I'm particularly fond of some of the jazz pianists out their who taught themselves. I'm sure they might've taken lessons later in life, however. Don't quote me on that.

Those famous musicians are the exception, not the rule; there are many more famous musicians who in fact took lessons on their instrument before they became famous.

^I never said it was the rule, did I? In fact, I even said it should be better to get a teacher. I'm haven't 100% taught myself, right? Nor did I say ALl famous pianists taught themselves. I just said some of my favorite musicians have. Not ALL. Right? NOT ALL.

I couldn't give you a really definite answer to this question.

I self-taught myself on the piano, just fiddling around, and having nothing but the knowledge of how to read music at first. For two years I played this way, and just in the middle of last year did I get a teacher.

I'm now playing music like Claire De Lune and Fantasy in D Minor by Mozart, and just recently started playing Fantasie-Impromptu in C# Minor by Chopin. I don't know whether it was my two years of occasional self-teaching or the 6 months of formal piano teaching that got me this far...

So really, I believe that you could teach yourself piano if you did indeed apply yourself.

Are you a complete beginner? If so, get a teacher because you will just be confused and you may mess up the notes or not read the notation correctly.

If you are not a beginner, and know the notes, and notation, then:

Teachers are ok, but they can restrict student. They assign boring work, and the student usually never practices the desired amount of time anyway. Unless of course you get an expensive piano lesson, but even then, it is up to the performer to do all the work. The point is, if you have a good ear and a high passion, you don't need a teacher because you can hear and correct all of your mistakes yourself. Most people can't do this, but it is possible with the above requirements.

Also, another way to help motivate yourself is to play music you really enjoy. Make sure you know what it sounds like, this is important. Even if it is beyond your level, give it a shot. If there is no hope, try playing easier pieces, but memorize them. See if you can memorize the music. If you can't, that means you are playing music you don't enjoy, or you are most likely not practicing the piano correctly, teacher, or no teacher.

I am a piano player of 15 yrs., and I've self taught myself from day 1 until last year. I must say that I was able to successfully learn some famous works, such as Clair de Lune (Debussy), Liebestraum (Liszt), To Spring (Grieg), 6 Poems after Heine (MacDowell), Moonlight Sonata and Sonata Pathetique (Beethoven), and more by the age of 12 (that's 7 years of playing.) Comparatively, a friend of mine took beginning piano lessons for a year and learned Clair de Lune, playing it much better than I initially did (technically speaking.) However, he could not perform it as musically as I could.

To learn something most efficiently, I recommend lessons, as the teacher can guide your technical skills best. I decided to get lessons when I was 19 (last year), and I drammatically improved in my abilities to read and perform pieces which were deemed impossible by my technical experience to play. (In example, I mastered Chopin's Revolutionary Etude in two months, whereas the most difficult piece I could play decently before that was Grieg's To Spring.)

After taking lessons, my technique became refined and my site reading skills dramatically improved. AND: my musical horizons were expanded. I learned several new artists, composers, and styles that I was previously unaquainted with (ie. Rachmaninoff, Barber, Vladmir Horowitz, Jazz).

However, self-teaching taught me something valuable: memorization and playing by ear. I've developed an uncanny ability to memorize a piece, whatever length, in a maximum of three days. Within a week I would have sufficiently mastered it, and within two weeks, improved it enough to perform. What is more, I will never forget what I've learned. Unfortunately, as a teacher, I have no idea how to teach my students how to memorize. I personally don't know how I do it, therefore can't teach them.

The other benefit is playing by ear. I find it very easy to pick up a piece from the radio and play it fairly close to what it sounds like. I don't know whether teachers can teach that to students, for my instructor doesn't need to teach me that.

To answer your original question: "Is there another way to do this?" Yes. Play the piano as much as you can. Pick up new music all the time. Read as much as you can, and, more importantly, listen to as much music from that genre as you can. That is my answer.

If you do decide on piano lessons, make sure you learn by intervalic teaching style, as opposed to middle C and the third style (whatever it is.) It is the easiest, most practical, and most efficient, as what you play after learning the basics is entirely based off that technique.

I hope this has been helpful!

Personally, I've always loved the piano. When I was little (4-5 years) I, like many other children played the piano whenever possible. But where they were banging on the keys, I was thinking about other pieces that I had heard. And I learned how to play by ear that way. Self teaching piano is very hard if you want to become proficient. However, if piano is just going to be a side... thing you do, I'd say go for it, buy a basic book and take it slowly and make sure you FOLLOW ALL THE RULES!!!!

-Jon

I think a great example of a fantastic player teaching himself is Ben Folds. Yeah, he's not a classical pianist, but he is really really good nonetheless.

I would say try to go by following a book, or else you're going to develop bad habits. I taught myself guitar by ear 7 years ago and I think it's starting to kick me in the butt. I notice my wrists start hurting every once in a while, so it can't be a good sign. Learn good habits.

There is, but I wouldn't recommend. You'll teach yourself all kinds of bad habbits that your teacher would be able to spot and correct you of. Learning with a teacher, whenever possible, is MUCH better.

I agree. Find a teacher - a very good one who will work with you in all aspects of technique, sight reading, theory, ear training, scales and arrgeggio exercises. You will always need to run through the infamous "scales and arrpeggios" even after college. If you stay fresh with those then you will be able to spot runs and things in music and be able to play it effortlessly with the correct fingering. Also, the more theory you know the better off you are. You can read chords and key signatures, time meters and modes much more efficiently with the theory. Do not strictly play by ear. It is so hard to reteach yourself rythmn and counting when you are stuck on playing by ear. Just don't do it. DO NOT DO IT ON YOUR OWN. You may be able to plunk out some notes afterwards, but you will not be able to recognize your own faults and you will not grow musically. If you also start to notice that your hands tire to easily and you seem to be loosing speed then you are in trouble. This means that your hands are not relaxed while you play; i.e. your hands are full of tension while stretching for octaves and playing the scales and arrpeggios. This is bad because you can start to develope joint/muscular problems in your hands - even carpal tunnel syndrome if you continue for a long period playing with poor techinique.

The only other thing is always play classical recital pieces. You can play something "fun" in between, but you should learn to play the masters works all the time. However I think the classical masterpieces are the most fun to play anyway. For instance, Chopin and Rachmaninoff - Beethoven and Mozart - Bach and Rachmaninoff all give you Etudes and things that are perfect studies within themselves. All you need to do is sit down with some great music and a well-educated piano teacher and give it all the effort you've got. :shifty:

I agree. I take piano lessons on occcasion to correct my technique. I've been playing by ear for 8 years until last year when I learned how to sightread. My reading skills are now intermediate, still below what I can play by ear, but worth it.

The most valuable thing one can learn from lessons is proper technique. It helps you play without getting tired, or straining your hands. It took a while for me to correct my fingering, but it's well worth it.

Alfred Brendel was self-taught for the most part... he has become one of the most known and one of the most well respected classical pianists to this day. He is most famous for his recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas (especially the Hammerklavier in Bb Major)... So, yes, it is very possible to teach yourself piano...

though, I must say, not everyone is an Alfred Brendel....

Learning something on your own can be a daunting task, especially if it is something as technical as the piano. After giving up the piano, I played every now and then because we had one at home. I have learnt really bad technique, but can get away with it mainly on baroque pieces because of their "walking finger" scales, etc. The best thing to is to get a teacher as this will speed up the process, but if you desire not to have one, one way I found that works for me is to pick a simple tune, be it one you like or listened to on the radio and try to figure it out and work up from there.

In response to Hieran Del's post about memorisation being an issue, simply get rid of the sheet music. The conductor of my school orchestra tried this in an attempt to improve our timing. It turned out that it improved more than just the timing. Another method is just keep playing the piece until it has been engrained into muscle memory, though this takes time unless you "feel" the music.

If you're going to play classical music you have to get a teacher. Lots of what you have to know comes from a teacher with experience who knows the music well, has played extensively and give everything they know to you. Your musical intuition and musicality is what will make you a good, natural pianist, but their instruction will make you just that much better. So my advice, get a teacher, practice a lot and you'll get good. The only problem is that if you start too, too late (late teens) it might be harder to learn than when you are small so you might need to practice extra. Still if you want to learn, it's necessary.