FAQ

Do I need a teacher?

Many people teach themselves how to play the piano with varying degrees of success.  As a teacher I see many students coming to me after teaching themselves the piano for a few months or so and have reached a point where they feel they need some tuition in order to progress. On the whole I would say that almost all of these students have had one or more problems which needs addressing in order for them to make progress at the rate I believe they potentially could. I can’t help thinking that these problems wouldn’t have occurred if they had guidance from a teacher from the beginning.

Some of the best pianists around are entirely self taught, but the overwhelming majority have had tuition at some point. So I would advise getting yourself a good teacher who will help you establish a good solid technique and strategy for learning to play the music that you want to play.

Do I have to learn to read music to play the piano?

It all depends on what you want to play one the piano and what you want to achieve. If you want to learn classical music such as Bach, Beethoven or Chopin then reading music is essential. You will of course find the odd exception to the rule where someone can play difficult pieces through learning by ear but on the whole, this is a very difficult and impractical thing to do. The downside to learning to read music is that your reading of music could be less advanced than your playing ability, which could be a little frustrating.

If, however you want to play some other styles of music which don’t rely on musical notation as much as classical music, such as pop or jazz etc, then no you don’t always need to be able to read music, but it would almost certainly help. You will find loads of tutorials on YouTube which attempt to teach you a piece parrot fashion i.e copying what they do. If this works for you then that’s great. I personally would find this method restrictive and unsatisfying.

A good learning strategy should include learning pieces by ear without written music alongside learning pieces with musical notation. That way, you get the best of both worlds and become a much more rounded musician.

How often should I practise?

You should make good progress if you manage four or five days practise per week. The important thing is to make sure practise is regular, so if you can only manage two or three days a week, that’s ok as long as you don’t take large breaks between practise days.

How long should I practise for?

If you are a beginner 15 - 30 minutes is fine but as you become more advanced you should aim to do at least 30 minutes per session. The main thing to remember is that ten minutes of quality practise is much better than 30 minutes of bad practise.

How should i practise?

There are loads of books written on how to practise the piano, so answering this question here is a tough one, which is why you will find a more detailed guide here. Practicing is the one thing that makes you better at playing the piano, it is as simple as that. To make progress on the piano you need to be good at practising,

Should I buy a Piano/Digital Piano/Keyboard?

As much as digital pianos and keyboards attempt to recreate the sound and feel of an acoustic piano (and some come very close) there is no substitute to the feeling of being connected to a real acoustic instrument. So although digital piano’s are improving all of the time, I would recommend an acoustic piano if it is a practical option.

If you think a digital instrument is right for you, check out the Yamaha YDP or CLP range - these digital pianos are just about as good as you can get at at all price ranges.

There are sometimes good discounts to be found here here

I find it hard to be motivated to practise, what can I do?

People lose motivation for many reasons, but it often comes down to the fact that it is hard work and you always feel like you are pedaling uphill and the downhill bits are very few and far between. This can usually be down to inefficient practise and the feeling that the results aren't matching the amount of time and effort being put in. The answer is learning music that you enjoy and develop an efficient practise method where you see results every time you practise. (see practise advice section)