So you may have decided that you want to learn Piano. At this stage, you already have gotten hold of a piano and now you’re looking to put in some serious hours and start to hone and improve on your skills. You may have looked into some courses like Pianoforall already but haven’t pulled the trigger just yet on a course.
And now you’re wondering how long will it take you to start seeing some good results? This article will look at this in a bit more details. So hang around, read on and let’s find out!
Is piano hard to learn by yourself?
I think there’s a few factors at play in this one. This mostly depends on you. How much time are you willing to commit to learn piano is a big factor in how hard it will be.
If you are unwilling to practice, then learning piano is going to be hard. To Learn piano at a reasonable pace, you need to be putting in around 30 minutes per day. That doesn’t have to be all in one sitting, you can come and go as many times as you please – That’s how I used to practice when I was younger. I actually think more frequent short bursts at the start may be a better method to learn piano. Particularly to build stamina also.
Another important factor in this topic I think is to set appropriate expectations of yourself. When you first start to learn piano you have to take baby steps. You’re not going to be playing concertos and sonatas after the first week.
Maybe check out some of our other posts, like how to play easy chords for beginners to help you get started.
Can you teach yourself to learn piano?
Absolutely you can teach yourself piano. You can learn how to do anything these days when you have access to a wealth of online resources. From free resources like YouTube, to paid courses like pianoforall
We have another post: Best Way to Learn Piano Online. You should check that out to see a whole range of resources for learning piano by yourself.
One of the main issues that people run into when teaching themselves is to keep themselves motivated. And this comes back to a point in our previous question. However if you are a very motivated person, you can 100% teach yourself how to play piano reliably.
Combining your own motivation with an online resource is a great way to keep some structure and keep you interested in learning piano.
How many hours do you need to learn piano?
This is a question I see come up a lot when discussing piano lessons. How many hours it takes to learn piano is different for everybody. It depends on your musical background, your discipline, natural ability, a wide range of factors, as you can imagine. Below I try to outline what each stage might look like and roughly how long it might take to get to each stage.
Beginner
Beginner pianist can range from anywhere from 0-2 years experience. In this range you would likely be grade 1-2 of piano exams. A beginner is getting a good grasp of the basics but getting to grips with instrument still.
Intermediate
Likely the region of grade 4-5 in terms of piano exams. Would have a Solid grasp of the basics and would have a few pieces in their repertoire. Depending on what your genre is, you might be able to play a good range of popular music songs at this stage. You may be able to play some of the classical repertoire but this may take a little longer to fully learn. This may take somewhere in the region of 4-5 years of practice.
Advanced.
An advanced player would be looking at playing grade 8 standard an beyond. An advanced player would be able to comfortably sight read most music 3 grades below their standard. This standard could take 10 years or more to reach.
This is mostly guess work based from my own experience.
What is the easiest way to learn piano?
This depends on why you want to learn piano. If you want to learn piano to classical music, the likes of Mozart and Beethoven then having an in person teacher may be the best way forward for you. If you want to learn piano for your own enjoyment, as most people do, pianoforall whcih gives a chord based education would be entirely appropriate. Also would be a much more cost effective way to learn the piano, a one off fee giving you access to over 200 videos, multiple e-books and many more resources. Or a teacher, who you would pay possibly every week for each lesson.
Conclusion.
There’s no right or wrong answer to how long it takes to learn piano. It all depends on your own motivation, and your goals. Set realistic goals and keep working at them. When it comes to learning piano having a consistent approach is the most important factor.
Read next: How to Learn Piano Faster: Tips and Tricks