Q&A for How to Teach Yourself to Play the Piano

Learning the basics is quite simple if you have a good resource, however, becoming proficient usually requires a teacher whether online or in person.

It is generally not considered an easy skill to master, but becoming a proficient player in a year or so is doable if you have a good teacher and practice regularly.

The best way is to get a good teacher with whom you get along and to create a method that works for the student.

It generally takes longer than it would for a child, but it depends on the frequency of lessons and how much one practices.

The three pedals from left to right are the una corda or soft pedal, which as its name suggests makes the instrument softer, the sostenuto, which sustains only the notes that are being pressed when the pedal is depressed, and the third pedal (and most commonly used) is the damper or sustain pedal, which raises all the dampers off of the strings so that they keep resonating after one releases the key or keys.

I'm not sure if they are downloadable but Suzuki, Hal Leonard, Alfred's, and Bastien all have beginner books for both children and adults (except in the case of Suzuki which is geared more towards children).

When I started piano in elementary school I used this series of books called "Piano Adventures". I think this would be good for beginners.

Know your notes. Whether this is sheet music or by ear, you have to know what you're doing to play. Start with simple songs with three or four notes. Practice! This is the most important thing if you want to get anywhere.

Absolutely! Just because you have small hands doesn’t mean you can’t play. It might be a bit more challenging, but it's possible. Your hands will actually get more flexible as you progress in your learning and you'll probably be able to reach farther than you can now.

Close your eyes and compare the original's and your-version's music. Listen for mistakes, especially pitch and tone variations.

I would highly suggest looking for a piano teacher, or if you don't have access to that, use YouTube. People use the app "Synthesia" to learn as well.

One pedal makes the notes sustained, meaning the notes keep ringing until you lift the pedal again. Another of the pedals makes all the notes quieter. Your piano may or may not have a second pedal.

Because most pianos are pitched to the key of C, memorizing scale names won't be the hardest thing you've done. The note that you start with should be the name of the scale. Example: Concert Bb scale starts on a Bb.

The right pedal is the damper pedal. This pedal takes the felt dampers away from the strings (in regular pianos) so the sound continues for a longer period of time. The middle pedal is the sostenuto pedal. It allows you to control each key separately. And the left pedal is the soft pedal. It's basically its name: it makes the keys softer, or quieter. It limits how loud each key is.

Start by learning how to play with one hand at a time, then use both hands.

A minor is a scale, which is a series of notes ranging from A-G (returning back to A). It has no sharps or flats, and is the relative minor of C major.

Find a song, practice both hands individually, and then put them together, slowly and in pieces at first. Then speed it up and put it together.

The purpose is the left hand in piano is to give the piece more meaning and emotion by providing half of the music to your song. If you only played with one hand, then your song would sound much emptier. The main hand (which is usually the right hand) plays the melody and the other hand focuses on the harmony.

If you know that C is to the left of the two black keys, the C# key will be a semitone higher, meaning that it is the black key to the right of it, the first of the two black keys.

A minor chord is a chord with a root base, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. You can make a chord minor by lowering the third by a half step.

Piano is not just something you "pick up". It takes years of practice to master the basics. If you really just want to learn the one song, find yourself a piano teacher to teach you.

Probably not. If you can't afford a real piano, try looking into a cheap keyboard. You want to start with something smaller, just in case you decide you don't want to play.

Try Hoffman Academy (hoffmanadademy.com), a site that offer free piano lessons. Many subscription sites also offer free 30-day trials.

There is a great app called "Piano Maestro." It's easy to use and makes learning fun and entertaining.

Practice! Just go at your normal pace, then slowly go faster as you get better.

It is a diminished 7 chord with either "o" or "dim" as a symbol (e.g. Bdim or B o).

You can still play! Even if you have a small keyboard or piano, you can play whatever you want! You might have to use a lower octave, though.

This is a great online learning book called Learn Piano Online, written by Jan Durrant. Simply google those 2 terms together to find the page. More info: Learn The 4 Music Keys To Learn Piano Quickly 1. Music Symbols and Music Notes (Treble and Bass Clef Line and Space Note Names) 2. Piano Chords (C Major, G Major, F Major and more) 3. Music Intervals (How to Read Music) 4. Rhythm Basics (How to Count Music).

If you don't want to take lessons, buy a "method book" that walks you through all the steps of playing piano. Accelerated Piano Adventures by Nancy and Randall Faber is an excellent series for the older beginner. Once you gain enough confidence, transition to a repertoire series. Keith Schnell Piano Repitoire is a good series. Lastly, you will need a book on theory and technique.

You can always play simple songs by playing a tune in one hand and playing basic chords in the other. You will need to take some time to learn the basic I, IV, and V chords for every key. So yes, you can play the piano by ear, but some theory knowledge is required. If you want to expand your skills, you will need to know even more theory. Many pieces aren't just comprised of chords, though, so if you want to play any of the great composers you should probably use the music.