Piano Lessons and the Importance of Learning Chords and Music Theory

[Isabella Kelly]

To truly learn to play the piano well, piano lessons and a proper
instructor are of utmost importance. Sure, there have been many great
self-taught piano players throughout the history of the piano, but
even the most naturally gifted piano players know the benefits of
having a good mentor can result in a much quicker and more well-
rounded learning process for the average beginning pianist. When I say
"much quicker," I do not mean that a qualified piano instructor will
magically turn you into a concert pianist in a week's time, because it
takes years to truly reach an advanced level of piano playing, even
for the gifted students. The reason that proper piano instruction is
vital to the learning process is that it enables the piano student to
learn proper piano playing techniques from a qualified source and
gives the student an additional perspective rather than being only
self-taught.
Of course, the styles of each piano instructor you meet may vary, but
their teaching should always cover the same five basic topics:
fingering and posture, reading music, scales, technique, and sight
reading. The proper fingering and posture should be taught earliest,
due to the importance of a piano student knowing how to their hands
and where to place them on the piano keys. The basis of this area of
study should be repetitive practicing of scales. Soon after, the piano
student should start learning how to read music notation beginning
with the very simplest notes, key signatures and time signatures
before moving on to more advanced ideas.
Piano teachers introduce most of these ideas into the piano lessons at
the same time the student is learning to read music notation. Learning
to read music is an area of practice that will continue throughout the
full course of learning to play the piano. A piano teacher will
usually begin a student with easy musical pieces to start off with,
and gradually increase the difficulty level and introduce the piano
student to more advanced assignments. After the student is adequately
knowledgeable in reading music, a piano teacher might introduce the
student to Sight Reading, which is the term used for playing a piece
of piano music without having seen it before.
Another detail of properly learning to play the piano is studying and
practicing music theory and chords. Chords and music theory are
extremely valuable aspects of a pianist's learning process. When
learning to read music, a beginning piano player should be taught to
understand the theory behind the music, rather than simply relying on
sheet music. There may be instances in a pianist's life in which he or
she will have to perform without the aid of sheet music, and this is
where the value of knowing chords and music theory kicks in.
Unfortunately, many piano instructors seem to leave this factor out of
their piano lesson plans, but with chords and music theory mixed in
with all other quality piano instruction, the beginning piano player
begins to grow as a pianist since all of the elements of instruction
are working together. Learning to play the piano then becomes simply
gaining knowledge gradually over time, and it only gets easier and
more enjoyable!

Learning to Play the Piano: http://www.pianomihv.tk/