Have you ever wanted to learn how to play the piano? Piano lessons are an excellent way to boost your musical abilities and knowledge, as well as improve your discipline, memory, and hand-eye coordination.
Moreover, the piano is one of the most versatile instruments out there, which has helped define the landscape of entire genres of music, from jazz to classical to rock and pop.
When you’re first starting out learning how to play the piano, you may feel unsure of what to expect. It can be intimidating if you’ve never taken music lessons before, or maybe it has been quite some time since you were last in music class, and you’re feeling rusty! Here are some things to look forward to in your first few piano lessons for beginners, so you can set realistic expectations and get started on the right foot as soon as possible.
As excited as you might be to start your piano lessons, as you enter the class, you won’t be expected to play Bach or Freddie Mercury. Instead, one of your goals during your first few piano lessons is to build a rapport with your teacher. Most teachers want you to come to class feeling comfortable and inspired, so it’s important that you introduce yourself and get to know your instructor before diving into technique. The more comfortable and confident you are during your first few piano lessons, the easier those classes will be.
Musical keys are made up of seven unique notes, and these seven notes create the foundation upon which all other music is composed. They also function as our musical alphabet; the combinations and melodies we build with these seven notes define all Western music, from classical to pop. The easiest way to understand key signatures is by first understanding the major, sharp, and flat keys and how they differ from one another. A sharp key is directly related to a flat key by raising one-note and lowering another by one semitone (half-step).
After taking a few piano lessons for beginners, you’ll learn about scales. A scale is a list of notes that follow a certain pattern and are used to create melody and harmony. Scales are an essential part of any musician’s vocabulary as they form melodies, chords, or just simple lines and help develop your ear. A major scale is a group of eight notes broken into two sets (one with five notes and one with three). Together, these seven different tones make up the major scale that serves as a foundation for so much of Western music.
Learning how to play piano chords is important and essential if you’re looking forward to learning how to play different kinds of music. Learning your first few chords will help you gain a sense of musicality and flexibility as a pianist, which is especially helpful when playing songs that require changing between different keys or chords. Learning piano chords might feel challenging at first, but after some practice, it will get easier and more intuitive over time.
There’s a learning curve to everything, and the first few piano lessons are no exception. Don’t expect to come home after your first session with Beethoven’s Für Elise stuck in your head. Remember, you’re starting from scratch here, so take it slow and make sure you’re getting the hang of things at your own pace. If you’re looking for a private piano teacher, get in touch with us today!
