Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Reference

Your questions

answered

If you’re thinking about learning to play piano then you probably have loads of

questions. Here we try to answer some of the more common queries

Timescale

I have no musical background and have recently

considered buying a piano for the first time, so I

was wondering how long it would take me to be

able to play properly?

T hat all depends on how much time you are

prepared to invest. In most cases you will be looking

at years rather than months, but it also depends

greatly on what you want to play as you can easily

learn how to play a simple one-handed tune in a

day or two. Playing more complex pieces requires

a greater understanding of the instrument and we

would recommend a series of lessons – at least until

you pass through the various grades.

Some people say that the real learning, pleasure

and musical development comes after about Grade

eight. If you want to progress quickly you’re going

to need to practise at least 30 minutes to an hour

a day, the more time you put in the better. It’s also

good to break up your practice times into smaller

Getting started

Your hands may end up in

some tricky positions

Choose your

piano wisely

sessions throughout the day rather than one large

chunk all at once. If you just want to play for yourself

out of fun, you could expect to get to a pretty good

level within two to three years. By that time you

should be able to play things that really satisfy you,

stuff that you can really enjoy. If you want to be a

concert pianist, that will take decades and many

hours of work to accomplish.

Does it hurt?

Will my hands and wrists hurt when I start playing

piano? I’m worried about a repetitive strain injury

and cramp...

Adopting the correct posture is essential when

playing piano and, if done correctly, it’s no more

uncomfortable than using a computer keyboard.

The important thing is to stay relaxed whenever

you’re playing and don’t contort your hands into

strange positions in order to play chords. If it hurts

your hands reaching a particular chord then modify

your position so that you can reach it more easily.

You will also need to know the difference between

long-term and short-term pain. When starting out

your hands and arms will be in alien positions and

some discomfort will inevitably be felt as you adopt

and become used to playing your instrument.

Staying relaxed and playing with a softer touch will

help ensure that the amount of strain on your arms

is reduced. If you do start to suffer discomfort then

consult a doctor for the best course of action.

Keyboard or piano?

Should I learn to play on an acoustic piano, digital

piano or a keyboard?

When starting out, it is far cheaper to go for a

keyboard as, unlike real pianos, these will never

need tuning, take up much less space and be

considerably cheaper than a real piano. If you’re

really serious about learning the piano, have the

money and have the space, then invest in a piano

because the experience will be so much more to

savour. However, there are many good keyboard

and digital piano alternatives to suit any budget

from around £ 200 upwards so browse the

internet and see what models are around that best

suit your circumstances.