So, you wanna learn to play piano?
In this video I'm going to give you some tips and advice to consider
before just blindly diving into piano lessons and potentially wasting a lot of
money and effort
(music)
Hi, I'm Scott Houston!
You know, rather than playing some piano and teaching you something in this video,
I'm gonna talk a little bit instead to you about some things to consider before
you just blindly start taking piano lessons.
You know it's funny because I've been kind of swimming in this "pond" I guess, of piano
education
for close to 30 years now. (I can't be that old!)
I can share with you some great info
that'll hopefully help you avoid common pitfalls that a lot of people experience
which
then leads them to typically fail in their goal to learn to play piano or
keyboard.
It's funny because I continue to be absolutely amazed by the myriad ways
to take piano lessons these days,
I mean, in the past we basically had one way to go about it,
and that was, you know, taking private lessons from a local piano teacher in
his or her own studio.
I think a lot of people still kind of assume that that's the only
"real" way to do it simply because it's all they've ever known.
Now, rather than that kind of one-size-fits-all approach
now more than ever there really continues to be more and more opportunities to
find a path that works best for
all of us as different individuals. Now as obvious as this sounds,
I think it's really important for you to take a look in the mirror
and decide what your goal is towards playing piano.
I mean, what type music do you wanna play right? What styles of music are your favorites?
Do you want to play classical music and maybe play in recitals or on stage in concert
halls? Or ...
do you just wanna play other non classical styles like
pop or rock or blues country gospel
you know anything else for your own fulfillment at home? Is your goal to become
a
a really good classical music notation reader or are you simply wanting to
play some favorite songs from the type of music notation that pros
use in studios.
Now, do you wanna play in a group? Or
do you wanna just, you know, play by yourself or accompany yourself singing maybe?
Maybe you're possibly looking to join a group of friends to learn together with
as kind of a social thing or
or maybe you wanna play with friends in a band? You know,
all these things are the questions that I think are really important to think
through
BEFORE you start to decide the best route towards
you know your goal of learning to play some piano. And the reason is that
depending on the style piano that you want to learn to play those
definitely going to be some different choices that you want to make you know
when you're deciding how you want to go about learning that style
Now unfortunately, history has taught me that the vast majority of people never
go through that simple exercise
and they instead they just kind of default to the only thing they've ever
known about piano lessons which is,
finding a local private piano teacher to start taking weekly lessons.
Now that's not necessarily a bad thing assuming that the style of playing that
you want to learn
is best taught in that environment. So what I wanna do now in this next step I think
is to take a look at some of the different types of ways to learn piano
and then try to match those different ways up with the style of piano playing
that you're looking to learn how to play.
Now for the sake trying to find a way to kinda organize my thoughts (which is
scary thing to do) I think it's fair to say that just about
everything I've ever seen regarding piano education or piano teaching
can really fall into one of these main categories. You've got
like we already mentioned, traditional private lessons in a teacher's studio or
piano store
you have private lessons now taught over the Internet through
video-sharing. You also have group lessons which are often
taught in a teacher studio or in a retail music store of some sort
You also just have some physical instruction aids-like books and DVD's
instructional stuff like that that are
intended for self teaching at home without any instructor. And also there's
pre-recorded video lessons found online. So, what I want to do is take a really quick
look at each one individually
and then we'll assess kinda the big differences now it's not an effort to
pick the best to the worst
but i just want to kinda weigh in on the pros and cons of each tile
and that should help you more competently then determine which
approach will be best
for your individual circumstance now also
keep in mind that while I'm doing here I'm gonna try to look through Canada
the lands of an adult student looking to become a recreational Music Maker
as opposed to it a child's didn't just starting out and then you know
678 years old or something so this is primarily for adults
so let's start out with that the one we know the tried-and-true
you got traditional private lessons in a teacher's homework or in a piano store
even in some sort of a studio
now this is really been kinda the gold
standard in the past that that very reliably is produced probably 99 percent
of the great classical piano players
that ever existed and you know the the pros have this style include
absolutely unmatched personal attention and interaction
you also have a great ability to customize the curriculum for the
teachers gonna
gonna follow your town and ability on a one-on-one basis
another great positive is that it really gives you the incentive to keep at it in
practice
knowing that you're gonna be showing up once a week in person and you already
committed to paying for weekly private
lesson right that provide some real incentive now some other negatives have
this
is you know in flexible scheduling for one it really requires a
kinda consistent weekly day and time which is bochco coger
teacher needs to be able to fill up a schedule that way they also
in this is kinda biggie your choice have teachers is often limited
because if your local geographic area for travel convenience reasons you know
you may just not have
a plethora teachers available to to try to take lessons for
in that same kinda Bain taking a step further
it can also be berry hard to find a local teacher that's convenient for you
that has the expertise to teach non classical styles authentically if that's
what it is you're aiming for
if you're going for class call you probably in good shape because that's
what the bass majorie a private teachers teach
now you also don't have the ability to review lessons again after the fact
right in that
that case a wow I wish I could see how you're my teacher taught me to play this
thing
was that lessons over in your home you just have to wait till the next week to
get in there and
and ask questions or see what's going on also you'll probably need to purchase
materials
in addition to the weekly lesson cost in most cases the lessons don't include the
cost of your method books and things that you'll be working through that way
and finally kinda as an adjunct to that this is likely
the most expensive all the options but you know it somewhat understandable to
the private teachers doing this for a living I
think they deserve to be compensated as such so the next big thing let's move on
to
private lessons instead of being taught in a studio or in their home
talk over the Internet through some sort of video chat right
there's now a lot of teachers offering private lessons remotely
through the use of some sort of video card
prancer video chat software like Skype or FaceTime summer those type things
now the pros here include everything I just mentioned in the previous
traditional private lesson section as well as the ability to link up with
teachers that are not just limited to your local geographic area right it
really opens and broaden your possibilities
and that equates to to the possibility of finding a teacher that really
specializes in the area music that
that you're interested in studying now that you've taken the time to ask
yourself those questions we talked about
very also you don't have to travel to your teachers Omer studio either
you can take the lesson at home could you doing it online and finally
some in not all but some other teachers will also offer the ability to actually
record the video
of the lesson as you're doing it you know online
for later playback if you need so you could write it do the thing again what
we said was a problem before
now up to the negatives are the kinds of this is
a biggie is some technological know-how or at least a really strong comfort
level
with the equipment that you need to achieve a good video chat
right um along with that just a step further you really need to have the
equipment whether it's two cameras are you can really
somehow mount a crackly to get a good camera shot
up your hands on a piano you know like I can change mine here and
this kind of a shot because its kinda important that your
you know teachers able to effectively watch you play as your
thoroughly reviewing on the piano they need to see that pretty well
om another cuenta con in this is like the previous one as you do
again probably are you gonna have been flexible scheduling so like before
you know it's gonna require some weekly rigidity as far as the day and time that
you're taking a lesson every week
on in addition like before you're gonna need to purchase materials in addition
to the weekly lesson cost
and finally the price is probably going to be similar now little bit higher than
that over
traditional in person piano lesson so again those first two are really
most likely by far the most expensive route to go
alright moving on to the next one now it's got a group lessons that are
you're in a retail store in a teacher studio up they've got the large large
room to do it in
now these types the lessons are typically purchased kinda
you know hurt 10 weeks are your per ek number weeks or
her course that kinda
think and bill you have multiple people that are in the same class at the same
time
sometimes are all at your own piano if you have a piano lab many times they're
not in the car lecture style which works just fine too
alright now the pros at this style is what are the biggies in a
really it took me seeing this in in person at a lot experienced ever really
buy into this but you know what
it there's great camaraderie in a group lesson and it's not just for social haha
fun but it's
it's also for kinda peer support to go to help each other through the process
as you're all getting started
like I said I would have bought into that too I'd seen it in in
experience that a lot in the past and it really is a real pro for those kinda
lessons that I think other catalysts and you just don't get that same
that same goodness outta you also get some personal attention but
less than a private in person lesson because the teachers having that you
know
split their time the most everyone now assuming your interest is and non
classical styles
these group classes often focus more on kinda recreational music-making in those
tiles
versus traditional classical training that most private teachers focus on
so it could be a good route for you are if that's the route you're going in most
cases also they're less expensive than the individual private lessons
actually sometimes or even three in which case
just to give you heads up you need to expect a little bit more sales pitch for
me to the store or something
exchange for those free lessons messed up necessarily a bad thing it just is
what it is
now the negative some other kerns have a group lesson again you're gonna have
been flexible scheduling it's gonna require the
same weekly day and time which is a real problem for some people
also you're probably going to get back to that inability to review the lesson
multiple times so if you have the old you know
I wish I could see I'm a teacher did in the lesson again thing you just
got outta luck also the majority these group classes
are developed in order promoted by instrument manufacture
and many times the current customized to show you how to use particular
instrument whether it's been 20 pianos organs or whatever it might be
that they really would like to sell you as much as they're designed to teach you
to play the piano
now getting I wanna make this point that is not an inherently bad thing
as long as everyone is really upfront and transparent about
I mean listen the reality is that
if by playing some particular instrument during your lessons
that you end up buying that instrument a loving making music with that and having
fun
pets a good thing right that was the goal to start with so
you just need to make sure that the sales pitch doesn't outweigh the piano
instruction and and it doesn't often so
now another possible downside to the group lessons is that your
unable that to really pick your instructor right whoever's teaching that
group is who you gotta get a
if you like the teacher that a great problem to have but at night you're
kinda stuck and you can switch
by late you'll also get almost zero customization have any curriculum I'm
like a private lesson
because the whole group is gonna need to move forward at the same time
okay enough with that will not move on to the next one and that is
physical goods for studying great books CD's DVD's stuff like that stuff you
purchase and use on your road
so I'm talkin how to products here I mean frankly I got a bunch of those
books and DVD's and stuff like that their purchased once
in their intended for you to learn on your own from by applying yourself
without any assistance from a
particular instructor right now the pros including this side
it obviously extremely flexible as there's no set lesson times
you obviously have the ability to review the material as often as you need to
and it allows you the freedom to move in a direction or genre
that really interest you the private instructor may not be comfortable
playing your teacher
right you can really kinda drive your own ship that way also it's it's
probably the
least expensive or or at least that requires the least commitment because
there's not any ongoing weekly lesson cost
now the negatives thereof just you at all materials is
no one's available to answer your question should something in the
materials
be unclear to you right you know you don't have someone to go call
also there's really there's no external kinda poke in the ribs are prodding by a
teacher or group appears if you're a group lesson
to keep you committed it really requires by far the most
internal motivation to keep at it finally the last 1i want to mention
is moving onto pre-recorded video lessons you can just find online
you know these run the gamut from the thousands a 3 user-generated videos
you onto some more professional quality on
line videos now the pros include the ability to find really
John or specific content that would probably otherwise be unavailable
locally
also it's completely flexible 13
from a commitment standpoint right is now you're having to take lessons
in most cases actually totally free monetarily
but as in most things you're really get what you pay for
now the negatives are that the cons ups all this
user-generated video is in this is a big one its needing to sift through Justin
and ocean of content that completely on curated
and understanding that the reliability that contents gonna run the gamut from
total nonsense to to some decent instruction I mean
you need to judge for yourself in the total free for all this user generated
free videos
it can really get exhausting doing that that as a beginner
you might not be in a position to know what's good or bad musically speaking
that's the one thing
the piano teacher in me coming out here that really kinda scares me sometimes
mentioning this to a total beginner
is that you don't have the the the guidance internally to know whether you
what you're hearing is
is legit or not so um another thing
kinda goes along with that is typically in in these videos
you're gonna lack any sort of a guided general linear I guess what I would say
you know
next next next thing any sort of a linear content or any really organize
curriculum
like you're getting some sort of a well-thought-out method are nor
something like that also there's typically no books or any other you know
in hand materials to assist with that video instruction and actually get put
up on your piano to work from
also often times are going to have an issue because there's not one set
instructor or
for that matter even a comfort level or report with with always changing video
host if you just bumping around binding bids all the time
by might like the previous one there's also no external prodding her like I
like to say a poke in the ribs by a teacher or
some other group that you're with the kinda keep committed so
what's the best choice I can't tell you that
a obviously that depends on your personal circumstances
and what it is that you're trying to learn I mean you need to really
carefully examine your own situation so that you're sure to find the
the row at all those things that kinda best meets your needs
regarding things like you know schedule flexibility
what kinda music you will learn in and cost for their for
example remember that all these different options and this is the big
deal
they are not mutually exclusive I mean maybe a couple a different option
simultaneously would
would work best for you Pardon this kind of shameless plug here
but that's exactly what I did as I was developing our lesson program found at
pianoinaflash.com
I mean I kinda cherry-picked what I experienced throughout the years
that work best from all the different options right I threw out what I thought
were all the big negatives
I combine those positives together and built what I think is
arguably a a better than live less experience that integrates online video
lessons
with actual met the books and here's the kicker personalized feedback so you get
that
that ability to to get be back right away for any questions
and I'm really proud of what we develop from that regard and I'd encourage you
to take a look at pianoinaflash.com
so to wrap things up there's a lot more choices to consider these days and there
were in the past
which can scheme got overwhelming for some folk but the fantastic reality
is that you currently have multiple paths available to help you reach your
ultimate goal of having fun playing piano
in my opinion really don't get much better than that you know
if you want to become a great classical piano player I don't think that
anyone would deny it taking weekly lessons from a local piano teacher is
certainly a great
trying to approach encourage you to do just that but
if classical music is not your main goal in I think you owe it to yourself to
consider kinda the myriad other approaches that might be a better fit
for your specific situation
so whether it's with that local private classical teacher or
with me at my on my lesson program at pianoinaflash.com
pick the one that best suits your individual needs and is going to teach
you to play the style of music that you wanna play
I mean I encourage you to get out there and start knocking this lifelong dream
off your bucket list
Just remember, you CAN play piano and it's NEVER too late to start!
Have fun!
(music)