Can You Play The Piano?

.... If you are an aspiring pianist, some common concerns you might want to explore include the kind of piano or piano keyboard that best matches your musical tastes, whether you are too old to learn to play, the kind of piano lessons that might best suit your temperament and abilities, whether online piano lessons are any good and if you are capable of teaching yourself to play. You might even be wondering if you have the talent to put together even the simplest of songs and play them with any degree of satisfaction or authenticity.

To gather the information you need, it is necessary to do a little heart searching and carefully think through how you want to proceed. For example, there may be some practical considerations about the kind of piano best suited to the space you have available to keep it. Obviously, if you live in a small flat, buying a grand piano will be out of the question even if you can afford one, so you need to think about where you're going to play and how that might limit your options.

There is a huge amount of information available about the different kinds of pianos on the market, including grand pianos, upright pianos (either overstrung or strung vertically), digital pianos or electronic piano keyboards.

The most basic decision to make before purchasing a piano is whether you want the features of a traditional instrument, or one that samples the sounds from such an instrument. Simply put, the former is the one normally associated with classical music and gives the pianist the greatest range of touch and feel, depending on the expression of the musical piece and the interpretation of the musician. And the longer the strings inside the piano's cabinet, the richer the sounds produced by the instrument.

Digital pianos and electronic keyboards, in contrast, produce sounds sampled and recorded from the natural sounds produced by these instruments, normally grand pianos. Sampling technology is getting more sophisticated all the time and the sounds produced by these pianos can be very convincing. Indeed, some are so convincing that it is difficult to tell the difference.

The only way to make your decision is to go to your local music store and try out a range of different pianos to see which one you feel responds best to the kind of music you want to play. You can always learn to play a few chords and scales on your computer initially (via music software you can download onto your hard drive), so you know something about the piano keyboard before you try.

One of the most confusing issues relating to learning to play piano relates to those who teach piano. Who are piano teachers; what kind of music do they teach; how do they teach it; who do they teach and will they teach me to play the kind of music I want to play?

The only way to assess potential piano teachers is to do your research in advance and prepare a number of questions for each. Things you need to know include details about their qualifications; their musical experience; whether they just teach or perform as well; whether they take on individuals only or would introduce you to other piano students and expect students to do performances together; what kind of instrument(s) would you be learning on, and so on.

It is especially important that students feel comfortable with their piano teacher, so personality is important too. You should not be afraid to make your choice based on your personal feelings about a teacher and, of course, this is directly related to the kinds of music being taught and the methods used.

Finally, if you are uncertain about whether you are capable of learning to play the piano, the short answer to your dilemma is that almost anyone can be taught to play the piano. You are never too old so long as you are realistic about your abilities.

Learning to play a musical instrument is an extremely rewarding experience and there is no reason why you should not be able to learn to play the kind of music that inspires you the most. Just don't try to play arrangements of your favorite musical pieces that are beyond your capacity to play at any given point in your musical journey. This can kill your enthusiasm stone dead. Be prepared to play an arrangement that leaves out the most thrilling ornamentations until you have developed the skills to play them properly.

Tony Dunne is an internet marketer with a passion for pianos and all things connected to them. Although not a talented musician, he is dedicated to helping others learn to play the piano, whatever their musical tastes or ambitions.

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