Learning To Play The Piano 2
In the old days, learning to play piano was a one-choice prospect, and that choice was to find a decent teacher nearby, take lessons from him or her at least once a week, and practice for at least 45 – 60 minutes each day between lessons. Most teachers taught classical-only styles from regimented curriculums built around the succeeding grade-level books of well-established course guides like Michael Aaron or John Thompson or Jane Bastien.
I’m old enough to remember those days, and that’s precisely how I got my start. I had an endearing teacher I nicknamed Aunt Alice (even though she was not related to me,) and those were the materials she used, along with finger-exercise books and occasinal separate sheet music pieces. Since it was the 60s, the era of pop’s explosion with the Beatles and the Stones, Aunt Alice was patronizing enough to occasionally throw in a “pop” song or standard from a Broadway musical, to sweeten the deal. Not all teachers of the day were that kind. Some insisted on a strictly classical approach, and rapped their students fingers with a stick if they didn’t come prepared with an excellent performance every week.
Today (thank God) the list of methods to study piano are almost endless, and while having a real teacher can be invaluable, there are many excellent courses in books and on DVD that you can tackle at home, and still turn out quite competent.
Personally I would say, if you wish to play Carnegie Hall, you’ll need a top-notch human teacher who will refine your skills and help keep you on track. But if you’re self-disciplined enough, and can make sure you get to your piano with your choice of home-study course in front of you, at least a few times a week, you’ll see steady progress. This home teaching advancement will be further enhanced if you keep an accurate journal of your weekly progress, with honest notes about where you’re good, where you’re stuck, what you need to work on, and so forth.
The good news is, the pressure’s off. And since I’m a firm believer that everyone who wants to play, should play the piano, at any level, then this is a good thing. The truth is, the number of serious students who are going to wind up as virtuosos who actually play professionally (and make any kind of living at it,) are few and far between. Even within the hopefuls working their poor little fingers off at fine conservatories like Juliard and Peabody, or at contemporary-playing institutions like The Berklee School, those who will actually graduate to any level of renown in the music business isnunder 15%.
So, driving yourself crazy trying to be the next Rubenstein or Horowitz or Art Tatum (who was blind and self-taught) is only for the over-serious. Start with the goal off just wanting to play nicely enough to really enjoy yourself and entertain some of your friends and family. If you find you have an extraordinary gift and really want to go “all the way,” find a master mentor and give it everything you’ve got.
Otherwise, the choice between a live teacher and a home study approach is totally up to your taste and temperament. In either setting, you will have to practice with some regularity and application, to make any progress. But there’s no timeline except the one you place on yourself, so make progress but make it enjoyable
In our next post, we’ll break down some of the actual methods and approaches out there.
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