4 Piano Tips for Beginners
Guest Writer - Sadia Alam
Plato once said: “Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul,” and we can’t agree more!! Music is something that many people hold dear to their hearts. It can lift the mood and make any day happier. Steam education and our culture have made music an essential part of our lives. While there are different genres of music, there are also different instruments that music lovers prefer.
A very popular musical instrument is the piano which is string-based and is acoustic. The keys pressed cause vibrations and the sweet sound as a result. So if you have a piano and you finally want to start learning or have bought one recently, then here are four tips for you.
We also recommend using a piano teaching app and hiring a piano teacher. Piano Marvel is the best app for teaching piano because it was created by piano teachers for piano teachers and their students. You can begin using Piano Marvel on your own if you want to try out the instrument, but we do recommend hiring a teacher when things get more complicated. Teachers are great motivators, and no software can teach musicality. It’s also essential to get some personal instruction on technique.
- Understanding the instrument
This tip may seem too simple and obvious, but it's the most important one. If you want to master training cats, you need to understand how cats think. In the same way, you need to understand how a piano works to master it! The example might be a little funny, but it helps in conveying the message.
So first things first, ask your teacher to explain the structure and working of the piano. Then try to inspect one yourself. A piano has notes where each note indicates the pitch of a sound. The notes range from “A” to “G” in alphabetic order but start from “C.” The notes repeat in cycles where each cycle has eight notes.
There is much more to the piano, but we will leave that for you to explore!
- Hand position and finger numbers
Now comes the 2nd phase. After you understand how the piano works, it’s time to learn how to make music with it. You should start with one hand initially and then use both hands when you are a little more confident. Many teachers advise that you start with the right hand first.
It is important to learn what number is associated with each finger. These are called finger numbers. Piano Marvel teaches this early on in the beginning piano method. This step is important as you play because finger numbers will help significantly in hand placement. When positioning your hand, your hand should be in a semi-circle shape with the keys at the floor level, and your wrist should be loose.
- Warm-up and go slowly
One should warm-up before exercise. Why? Because your muscles and bones don't get enough time to prepare for exercises, this can result in pain and injury. Warming up one’s muscles with light exercises prepares them for more challenging exercises of higher intensity and endurance.
The same goes for pianists. One should warm-up their fingers before starting to practice. You are destined to make mistakes initially, but you will feel more confident with warm-ups and with practice, and your performance will improve faster. Warm-ups for playing the piano are usually scales or arpeggios. You can learn these in Piano Marvel as well. Just search for Scale Ninja or Arpeggio Ninja in the music library. The Technique portion of the software will also teach you beginning scales and arpeggios.
As for the speed at which you play, don't go too fast in the beginning. Instead, take your time on each note and then increase your speed to see if it sounds ok. With digital keyboards, you can even playback your practiced version at a faster pace. If you are learning with Piano Marvel, your rhythm will be automatically assessed when you are not using Practice Mode.
- Start small, don’t lose hope!
This tip is excellent for a beginner willing to learn any skill! You need to start from somewhere, so start small initially and increase as you go along. The beginning is the hardest and the most frustrating. You will doubt yourself, you will feel insecure, and you might even think you aren’t good enough, but keep calm! These feelings are natural! Everyone feels nervous and lacks confidence. What makes a difference is your determination and consistency. Start with a 20 min session each day, and don’t skip days. Once you are comfortable, increase the duration. You can even split your classes into 2 or 3, 20 min sessions a day.
Just be consistent and keep going with a plan that keeps you motivated. Piano Marvel is excellent at guiding you through your learning logically and technically. Besides the Method and Technique portions of the software, you can search for pieces by level in the music library to find fun and exciting pieces to learn. This can help a lot with motivation.
Conclusion
In this article, we shared four tips that every piano beginner should know. Firstly, try to explore the structure of the instrument and then try to understand how it works. Then set your finger and hand position right and start with one hand. Finally, take it slowly and don’t overload yourself with practice material. The last thing you want is to burn out!
References
https://hub.yamaha.com/pianos/p-how-to/eight-great-tips-for-practicing-piano/
https://www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/piano-for-complete-beginners-5-tips-to-get-you-started/
https://www.merriammusic.com/school-of-music/tips-and-tricks-piano-beginners/
