For students, initiating piano study can lead to fresh, new musical vistas. Knowing where to start is important, and doing it right from the beginning is essential to build good form throughout your studies.
The learner can choose to study from books initially or to be taught by a music teacher. Studies of any kind will develop your skill as a pianist, but many students benefit greatly from piano lessons with an experienced music teacher.
However you begin, there are fundamental musical concepts and principles involved in piano playing that are essential to becoming a skilled player. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the most key lessons to pursue in your studies.
Starting With the Basics
Beginning studies focus on getting familiar with the keyboard and identifying the notes associated with each key, understanding keyboard fingering and hand techniques, establishing correct posture and hand shape and simply having fun getting acquainted with the piano on the whole. These are the basic foundation from which the student can develop good technique as a pianist.
Piano lessons can cover instruction at this basic level, and getting instruction from a skilled teacher from the beginning is a sensible way to ensure good piano playing form throughout your studies and performances. Finding the right teacher for you from the beginning can help build your skills for great ability as a pianist.
The Next Step Beyond Getting Familiar with the Piano
Beyond those very first lessons in piano playing, students begin to learn slightly more advanced skills like understanding chords, sorting out how to play songs in different time signatures, and sight reading. These are still basic concepts, and they are also essential for building great skill as a pianist.
Chords are an essential part of music, and time signatures are integral elements in every piece of music. There are other more advanced concepts like music scales beyond this level. But, a skill that is needed very early on is sight reading.
Progressing as a Pianist: Learning Sight Reading
Reading a piece of music from the page is an essential skill for musicians. And, this is particularly true for pianists. If you want to reach the level of playing in a symphony, or in a school recital, picking up sight reading skills up from the beginning will prepare you for a bright musical future.
Learning to sight read initially involves reading easier pieces like “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” In the process of learning sight reading, there is a lot to take in. Learning piano playing skills from a professional teacher can help to smooth out the process. The teacher can guide the student through the essentials and get them up to speed more quickly than trying to do it on their own.
Learning sight reading involves understanding time signatures, sorting out the difference between notes on the page like whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, and seeing the correspondence between notes on the page and the keys on the keyboard. These are essential skills that are needed to advance to playing your favorite pieces from the written page.
Regular Study Will Lead to Greater Ability with the Piano
As a beginner, you need to lay the groundwork for skilled playing into the future. Whether you build your skills with piano lessons or seek to learn on your own, the final payoff is becoming a trained pianist, with the ability to play your favorite musical pieces for yourself and others. Keep at it, and you will one day reach this point. It’s worth it.
For more information on this topic, contact Ben Kromholtz at Kenmore Piano Studio.
The learner can choose to study from books initially or to be taught by a music teacher. Studies of any kind will develop your skill as a pianist, but many students benefit greatly from piano lessons with an experienced music teacher.
However you begin, there are fundamental musical concepts and principles involved in piano playing that are essential to becoming a skilled player. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the most key lessons to pursue in your studies.
Starting With the Basics
Beginning studies focus on getting familiar with the keyboard and identifying the notes associated with each key, understanding keyboard fingering and hand techniques, establishing correct posture and hand shape and simply having fun getting acquainted with the piano on the whole. These are the basic foundation from which the student can develop good technique as a pianist.
Piano lessons can cover instruction at this basic level, and getting instruction from a skilled teacher from the beginning is a sensible way to ensure good piano playing form throughout your studies and performances. Finding the right teacher for you from the beginning can help build your skills for great ability as a pianist.
The Next Step Beyond Getting Familiar with the Piano
Beyond those very first lessons in piano playing, students begin to learn slightly more advanced skills like understanding chords, sorting out how to play songs in different time signatures, and sight reading. These are still basic concepts, and they are also essential for building great skill as a pianist.
Chords are an essential part of music, and time signatures are integral elements in every piece of music. There are other more advanced concepts like music scales beyond this level. But, a skill that is needed very early on is sight reading.
Progressing as a Pianist: Learning Sight Reading
Reading a piece of music from the page is an essential skill for musicians. And, this is particularly true for pianists. If you want to reach the level of playing in a symphony, or in a school recital, picking up sight reading skills up from the beginning will prepare you for a bright musical future.
Learning to sight read initially involves reading easier pieces like “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” In the process of learning sight reading, there is a lot to take in. Learning piano playing skills from a professional teacher can help to smooth out the process. The teacher can guide the student through the essentials and get them up to speed more quickly than trying to do it on their own.
Learning sight reading involves understanding time signatures, sorting out the difference between notes on the page like whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, and seeing the correspondence between notes on the page and the keys on the keyboard. These are essential skills that are needed to advance to playing your favorite pieces from the written page.
Regular Study Will Lead to Greater Ability with the Piano
As a beginner, you need to lay the groundwork for skilled playing into the future. Whether you build your skills with piano lessons or seek to learn on your own, the final payoff is becoming a trained pianist, with the ability to play your favorite musical pieces for yourself and others. Keep at it, and you will one day reach this point. It’s worth it.
For more information on this topic, contact Ben Kromholtz at Kenmore Piano Studio.