Learning how to play piano is an extremely rewarding endeavor, but it can be challenging to fit lessons around your schedule and budget. If you can’t commit to regular piano lessons, it doesn’t mean you should give up; it means you have to find another way to learn.
In this article, I’ll discuss the practicalities of teaching yourself and some core elements of learning piano that you can’t ignore.
Can you learn to play piano by yourself?
The short answer is yes, absolutely! However, it’s more difficult without traditional piano lessons or a good online piano course.
The thing that makes it more difficult is a lack of accountability. If no one holds you accountable for your results, it’s easier to develop bad habits in how you practice and play. Once bad habits sink in, correcting them can be very difficult.
With that in mind, it’s possible to teach yourself, but there are a few core principles that you should adhere to.
1. Practice regularly
Time and money are the two main restrictions when it comes to formal piano lessons, but we can work around those.
Regular practice sessions are vital to any aspiring pianist, but the definition of regular depends on your schedule. You don’t have to commit to hourly lessons at a set time every day/week, but you should make time to play piano every day.
It doesn’t matter if it’s morning, noon, or night, and it doesn’t matter if it’s only 20 minutes at a time. All that matters is that you make enough time to keep the things you’re learning fresh in your mind.
2. Choose the right learning resources
Obviously, I hope you keep coming back to Pianist’s Compass as a source of information and inspiration as you learn to play piano, but there’s lots of great content online; the trick is finding the right content.
YouTube is an absolute treasure trove of valuable information, but it’s also full of potential pitfalls. The number one pitfall is the lack of structure that you’d get from a well-organized course.
Music, like most creative arts, has rules that we can break, but you have to understand when and how to break the rules. Otherwise, we hit the wall pretty soon, and our progression slows drastically or stops altogether.
YouTube offers ample opportunity to run before we can walk, and if you want to become a well-rounded pianist, you have to avoid that by creating a structure around your learning.
While I don’t expect you to write yourself a detailed course plan, there are some core elements of music that self-taught musicians can prioritize and some steps you can take to get the most out of your time and money.
3. Be patient with yourself
Managing expectations doesn’t just mean you should know your limits; in fact, it’s almost the opposite. I mean that you should be patient with yourself and give yourself time to develop.
I like to think I was a good student with a natural passion for music, but I wasn’t a Keith Jarrett or young J. S. Bach. I’d love to say I was, but very few musicians are, and that’s OK.
Some people appear to have prodigal talents and are destined to be a savant from day one, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- If you’re one of those people, appreciate it and work hard.
- If you take a little more time to learn, don’t be disheartened; you’ll still reach your goal with hard work.
- You don’t need to be a prodigy to reach a professional standard.
- Becoming a professional doesn’t have to be your goal; music is fun, and you should learn for your own reasons.
4. Pick the right piano for you
The first step for any aspiring pianist is choosing an instrument. I constantly repeat that the best piano/keyboard overall isn’t automatically the best choice for everyone. You have to think about features that benefit you as an individual and always keep value for money in mind.
Check out my reviews and suggestions for the best beginner keyboards and pianos before you buy.
5. Learn major and minor scales first
There’s no getting away from it; whether you are self-taught or a full-time student, scales are key to your success.
As a self-taught student, getting into modes and advanced scales like diminished or bebop scales is not a requirement. You can do so if you take your journey that far, but a firm understanding of basic diatonic scales is a must, in my opinion.
Check out my article on major and minor scales to get started.
6. Understand chords – Don’t just memorize them
While being a self-taught pianist won’t always mirror the path of traditional learning, there are some things that you shouldn’t ignore.
Many self-taught musicians prioritize chords because it allows them to play more songs quickly, and that’s fine. But one of the most common bad habits is to learn chords without any fundamental structure.
What that means is to learn piano chords as individual items rather than as part of a universal concept.
Some pianists focus on learning chords on a per-song basis, and much like many aspiring guitarists, they get used to memorizing shapes. Memorizing shape is fine to a certain extent, but if that’s all you do, you won’t understand the theory behind constructing chords.
Now, here’s the interesting part. Music theory isn’t just about passing exams; it’s about developing a fundamental knowledge base that allows you to make creative decisions on the fly. It’s a common misconception that music theory isn’t directly related to performance, but it is.
By learning the major and minor scales mentioned above, you can learn to harmonize them and understand diatonic chords (chords that occur naturally within a scale).
Understanding diatonic chords means that in addition to playing lots of songs, you can play them in any key (something that’s terribly difficult when you focus on learning shapes).
7. Learn common chord progressions
As an extension to learning diatonic chords, common chord progressions provide a shortcut to working out your favorite songs (one of the rare shortcuts that I encourage).
Some of the most popular songs in most genres share the same chord progressions. Knowing these common progressions and being able to identify them by ear means you can jam along with almost any song in seconds.
8. Start playing by ear
Playing by ear doesn’t stop at identifying common chord progressions. Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have perfect pitch (if you do, congratulations!), but we can develop a high standard of relative pitch.
Relative pitch is the ability to identify one pitch in relation to another. The best way to develop good relative pitch is interval training. Play a reference note (middle C, for example), close your eyes, play another note, and see if you can identify the note and the interval.
For example, if the reference note is C, and you play the E above it, your answer is a major third, and E. Use one pointed finger to play the notes so you can’t get clues from feeling the surrounding keys.
Check out my article on playing by ear that will help you get started.
9. Learn to read music
Reading music is the aspect of music that self-taught musicians avoid most, and they shouldn’t.
Learning to sight-read music doesn’t mean you need to do it at the same level as a concert pianist, but learning to do it at some level will improve your overall musicianship immeasurably.
Self-taught musicians can become great artists or session players, and there are countless real-world situations where reading music is essential.
For example, in a rehearsal or recording session, you might have someone hand you chord charts, give general directions, and let you do your thing (after all, they probably hired you because they like your style). But you’ll also encounter situations where you’ll have specific lines to play (melodies, counter-melodies, intros, etc.).
In those situations, you don’t want to be the one holding things up because you have to work out what to play. Even if you don’t go down the professional path, reading music is beneficial; you can read melody lines and add your own chords.
10. Practice, practice, practice!
It’s the most cliché saying in teaching, but it’s true: practice makes perfect. So, I want to finish off by reaffirming what I said earlier: regular practice is vital!
Don’t worry if you can’t dedicate hours each day (it’s fantastic if you can), but try to make sure you practice every day. Twenty minutes every day is better than an hour once per week.
11. Don’t just play what you’re good at
Lastly, practice time is valuable, so don’t waste it. Playing the things you’re good at on repeat is one of the most common and most damaging bad habits for piano students.
Self-appreciation is essential, and you should never lose sight of that. But, overindulging in playing the things you do well and forgetting anything that’s still difficult is the beginning of the end.
Remember the accountability I mentioned at the start? Here’s where it comes into play: you need to hold yourself accountable to the standard you aspire to in every practice session, every exercise, and every song.
Playing what you’re good at on repeat is a sure way to halt your progression.
Final thoughts
Whether you are looking into formal music education or teaching yourself, I’d encourage anyone to bring music into their life. Teaching yourself has various pitfalls, but if you’re dedicated, there’s no reason you can’t make it work.
Some of the best pianists in the world are self-taught, but it doesn’t matter if you want to be a superstar, a pro, or just have some fun; all that matters is that you get started.
