Avoid This Big Mistake When Learning How to Play Piano Songs

If you want to learn how to play piano songs and you’re about to take up the piano for the first time, you’ll no doubt want to play just like a professional musician. You may also want to improvise around your favorite tunes, so you can give reign to the full power of your imagination. But, there’s one BIG mistake you really must avoid when learning to play the piano, or any musical instrument. And, if you fail to heed this warning, your career as a musician will be stifled at birth.

THE BIG MISTAKE

There are many reasons why people learning to play a musical instrument lose their enthusiasm almost as soon as they’ve started. The following list serves to highlight just a few:

· Picking the wrong music teacher

· Playing music they have no interest in learning

· Not practicing frequently enough

· Underestimating the amount of discipline involved in learning to play

But the surest way of killing stone dead your enthusiasm for playing the piano is being over ambitious and trying to play beyond your ability.

HOW TO AVOID THE BIG MISTAKE

To avoid this mistake and the frustration that comes with it, you need to make sure you start to practice at the beginning and not the end. In other words, start by playing simple songs and get yourself familiar with scales and chords. Then work your way up, gradually, to learning more complex arrangements as you become familiar with how music works.

Yes, I know this sounds like common sense, but you’ll be surprised how many people think they can leave out the basic building blocks of music and immediately try to learn the arrangements of songs they hear on records, or CD’s, or see bands perform on stage.

The simple truth is that, unless you are a hugely talented musician, your playing will never sound as good as that of the musicians you admire and want to emulate. So, be realistic from the beginning and the progress you make will be steady and rewarding.

Part of the process of learning how to play the piano is regularly practicing chords and scales, as well as songs. If you’re ever going to play piano as well as you want to play, you have to know how music is put together. And that means studying at least some of the basics.

It doesn’t necessarily mean reading the music every time you sit down and play, but knowing your scales and chords are essential if you’re to get the most out of your playing.

WHAT TYPE OF SONGS TO PLAY FIRST

You can find any number of books containing easy arrangements of popular tunes aimed at the beginner. Most are written by piano teachers, so you get an expert’s view on how to start learning piano. Many will also include step-by-step instructions on how to construct chords and will show you which chords combine to make up a song.

You can also buy music books that concentrate solely on scales and chords and this is something you’ll need to do separately from playing tunes, if you’re in any way serious about playing the piano.

Starting out on piano by playing simple arrangements of your favourite songs makes it easier to learn to play and easier to enjoy your playing. At the same time, it lays a solid foundation for your understanding of how a song is put together.

Later on, when you become familiar with the basics, you’ll be able to play more demanding arrangements of the same songs and, hopefully, make up your own versions of them, or write your own songs. This is when playing becomes really exciting.

The best way to learn a song is to listen to it and follow it on the manuscript or the notes sheet. This way you learn something about the musical notes that make up the tune and become familiar with the sound each note makes. When you play the tune on your piano, an association is formed in your mind between the notes on the page and the sound made by your piano. PRACTICE REGULARLY

At first you will find all this difficult to take in. But keep at it and practice regularly. Don’t just play songs, but learn all the scales in both major and minor keys. Play them each day so they become second nature. Learn about chords and which ones can be used together and, just as importantly, which ones are incompatible.

CONCLUSION

Be determined to play the piano and don’t be put off if you don’t achieve the goals you set yourself at first. Just go back to the beginning and refocus. If you learn how to play piano songs in this way you’ll be able to move up to the more difficult ones when you’ve learned the basics. Concentrate on building a better musical sense and slowly graduate to more intricate songs and arrangements, and how to interpret them. In this way you’ll be able to chart the progress of your musical journey and get to really enjoy your piano playing.

Source by Tony Dunne