The piano may be one of the best instruments to master. The king of all instruments, classical music’s manifesto is challenging and time-consuming to learn.

The most important thing is to have fun while conquering this majestic instrument. Luckily, we are here to help. If you are considering learning to play the piano but need help figuring out where to start, you can read our guide below. You will gather all the materials and knowledge and be ready to apply it to your piano-learning journey.

1. Choosing the right Instrument

First, learn to differentiate between keyboards and pianos and choose the one you need. When talking about learning to play the piano, many people think of professional acoustic pianos when, in most cases, most musicians begin to learn on keyboards. These are similar to traditional pianos but have fewer keys (49 vs. 88).

Additionally, pianos produce acoustic sounds rather than electrical ones, which you can find in keyboards. Nonetheless, beginners usually decide to learn to play piano keyboard first before starting their classical piano-playing journey. Since keyboards have lighter keys and fewer of them, you can conquer the basics faster and learn how to position your fingers.

You can also find digital keyboards with displays that will teach you how to read notes and play your favorite songs. You will see the similarities and know how to handle the piano keys. However, after you master the basics, you should switch to the acoustic piano.

2. Perfecting your Posture

You may have seen videos of professional pianists and wondered why they sit straight. Good posture is essential when playing the piano because it will make you feel comfortable and give you better flexibility. It will also enable you to extend your shoulder range and reach even the furthest keys.

When you sit by the piano, ensure you don’t slouch – your shoulders should be relaxed and lifted, and your spine should be straight. You can also put both feet on the floor to improve your posture, giving you better motion control.

If you need to improve your posture, you can do exercises to help you sit straight. Before every piano session, you should stretch your body (especially the back and hands) to ensure comfort. Moreover, you can purchase chairs that will help your posture – but you should ensure that these chairs don’t have armrests as they can restrict the motion of your hands.

3. Learning the Alphabet

Playing the piano is like learning a new language. Each of the keys is the letter of the alphabet you should learn to form words and sentences. The piano’s syntax may seem complex at first, but once you get a hold of it, you will speak the most beautiful, universal language.

We can consider the keys to be letters and the chords to be words. The combination of keys (letters) will give us chords (words), and the combination of chords (words) will provide us with sentences (musical pieces). To learn this language, you will need a “dictionary”, musical books, and other materials to teach you which key is equivalent to which letter.

Once you learn the letters, you can move on to learning similar words and sentences. It will take some time to master the syntax of pianos, but once you do, you will become a piano-speaking professional. If you want to avoid books, you can also use online tutorials and courses.

4. Learn Hand Coordination

You will need a lot of practice to learn how to coordinate your movements, as you must use both hands to play the piano like a professional. However, using both hands simultaneously to play different melodies may seem confusing and complex at first.

That’s why you should start off playing with one hand. Start by playing simple chords with one hand, and play the same chord with the other to practice motion control. Many of us have a dominant hand, so it’s crucial to force the non-dominant hand and make it as fast as your dominant one.

It is essential to position your hands properly on the piano to avoid injuries – don’t try to reach keys by moving only your wrist, as it may not end well. Once you learn to switch between your hands, you can use both hands simultaneously. The melody might be challenging at first, but with enough practice, you will get a hold of it quickly.

5. Read the Rhythm, Time signatures, and Dynamics

Once you cover the basics, start playing your first piece. The rhythm is the length and the time of the notes you are playing. Each note will have a duration that contributes to the melody you are playing. However, to execute the part correctly, you must learn how to read the rhythm, time signatures, and dynamics.

Time signatures will tell you when you need to pause and how many beats there are in your piece. You will see two numbers: the top one signals how many beats there are, and the bottom one signals which notes the beat applies to. Lastly, the dynamic will tell you how to play the piece, whether it is loud, soft, or in between.

You will see all these markings in the score (sheet music) – you just need to learn what each means. For example, mezzo-forte implies that you should play medium loud, which regards your piece’s dynamic.

6. Practice Patience

Learning to play the piano may be one of the most complex tasks. Many people starting their musical journey with this instrument develop a negative attitude toward playing because of how complex it can seem initially. However, you must be patient and practice as much as possible. You will have your good and bad days, but the key is to be persistent.

To thrive in the musical industry, you need to be passionate about what it offers. To become a musician or play for your soul, you must be music-driven and patient. Thus, the most important advice we can give you is to learn to be patient and not give up on your musical dreams.

Conclusion

Everyone enjoys music and connects with it on an emotional level, and the language of the piano may be one of the universal ones. If you want to learn to speak this language, be sure to follow the tips we have mentioned. Remember: the road to becoming fluent in this language may be bumpy, but you will be thankful that you didn’t give up on it.