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Learning Piano as an Adult

  • Since the piano is easier to learn than string or wind instruments, it is a good choice for adults wanting to learn an instrument.
  • Piano lessons are recommended for everyone. For adult beginners, online piano lessons are an alternative to traditional face-to-face lessons.
  • With many options for lessons and affordable piano purchases, getting started on the piano doesn’t have to be expensive.
Learning Piano as an Adult
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Learning piano as an adult – isn’t that boring and time-consuming? And is it even possible to learn the piano after a certain age? There is a short answer: Playing the piano is great fun!

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Wasted time, wasted money – many people dread the realization that maybe playing the piano wasn’t such a good idea after all. Learning a musical instrument is certainly not for everyone, and it’s no secret that you learn differently as you get older than you did when you were younger. But there are so many possibilities out there – and if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

Learning Piano – Isn’t That Insanely Expensive?

If you are concerned about the financial expenses, you can keep it relatively manageable by considering a few points.

  1. Dealers offer very affordable lease models, which allow you to try out a piano without committing too much.
  2. Nowadays, even an inexpensive entry-level digital piano is equipped with a good keyboard that can provide a pianistic playing experience thanks to graded hammer action.

Why don’t you take a look at the guides on PIANOO.com to get an overview of the possibilities?

Learning an Instrument Is Time Well Spent

What are the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument? For those who are still wondering: Joy! Being creative, learning something new every day, making music with friends, enjoying your free time, and getting away from it all.

Learning a musical instrument is time well spent. And if you’re just starting out, it’s worth continuing. Making music will be with you for the rest of your life.

Colette Maze - at 107, the oldest pianist in the world. In May 2021, she will release her 6th studio album with pieces by Debussy, whose music she greatly admires. (Image Source: Thomann)
Colette Maze - at 107, the oldest pianist in the world. In May 2021, she will release her 6th studio album with pieces by Debussy, whose music she greatly admires. (Image Source: Thomann)

Colette Maze: The World’s Oldest Pianist

Can you learn to play the piano at 60? What a question – it’s definitely worth it! Some people even release their first album at 84, such as French pianist Colette Maze. She also says that a musical instrument is a faithful companion for life.

Obviously, Colette Maze started much earlier than 60, because at 107 she is the oldest pianist in the world and has been playing the piano for 100 years. But you don’t have to strive for a late career as a concert pianist; the joy of active music-making is already a great experience.

Nonetheless, Colette Maze is certainly proof of the power of music. People like Colette show that one can be creative and an active musician even in old age. The music store Thomann recently interviewed the lady from Paris. Her moving story really motivates us to play and practice the piano every day.

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Learning Piano as an Adult – How To

It certainly takes effort to learn an instrument. Nonetheless, it is an indescribably beautiful and fulfilling feeling when you can play and perform a favorite piece yourself. And you can do that too – it just depends on how you learn and practice.

How Long Does Learning Piano Take?

Hopefully, it takes your whole life! Ideally, you should never stop learning. Even if you can play the piano well, the great thing is that you can always learn new pieces and new tricks. If you take on too much in the beginning and set your goals too high, you will get frustrated and give up quickly. Here are some tips on how best to invest your time.

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Adults Learn Differently Than Younger People

The best thing to do is to start right away, so pick up the piano and play! It doesn’t matter what the result is at first – the important thing is to get a feel for the instrument: How do the low notes sound, how do the high notes sound? What happens to the sound when you press the keys lightly or harder? What other sounds does the digital piano offer besides the piano sound?

You’re best to copy children with such an exploratory approach. After all, most adult beginners prefer a structured, guided approach. Even if you have already watched several free video tutorials on YouTube, at some point the question arises as to the best way to learn: Should you attend a music school or can you teach yourself to play the piano?

Music School or DIY?

It’s hard to give a general answer since learning is too individual of a process. In any case, it is advisable to take lessons. After all, you must play your new instrument regularly, and guidance and motivation play an important role here. Moreover, piano teachers are excellent at assessing which materials are appropriate for your skill level. They will also help you find the right hand and body position.

Learning Piano as an Adult: How Often Should You Practice?

Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced pianist, the key to learning piano as an adult (or at any age) is to practice regularly. However, this does not refer to practicing extremely long and hard. Instead, it is much more important to practice for a few minutes each day. Especially if you are just starting out, you should never practice the piano for too long since your hands and fingers need to get used to the unfamiliar position and weight of the keys. Practicing for 15-20 minutes a day is more effective than practicing for 2 hours once a week.

A piano school is generally recommended for the first steps since this also ensures that you practice and play regularly. E-learning courses offer a good mix of piano school and self-study.

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eLearning: Learn Piano Online

This is a great way to learn if face-to-face lessons do not always fit into your schedule. The low price is also an argument in favor of online piano lessons.

You can find the following reviews of online piano lessons on PIANOO.com:

Learn Piano with Skoove
Learn Piano Online with music2me

You can take online lessons whenever your time allows. And if you have any questions for the piano teacher, you can reach them via email or chat.

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Work through online lessons on the go. With a tablet or smartphone and a mini keyboard, music goes mobile. In this context, the IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 mini shown here is a smart purchase. Moreover, it can even use your tablet as a power source!
Work through online lessons on the go. With a tablet or smartphone and a mini keyboard, music goes mobile. In this context, the IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 mini shown here is a smart purchase. Moreover, it can even use your tablet as a power source!

Online Lessons: Learn Piano on the Go!

Online lessons are a great solution for those who travel a lot, and all you really need are a tablet and a mini keyboard to get started. Of course, you can’t properly practice piano on such a keyboard since the keyboard keys or even mini-keys do not provide an optimal playing feel. You’re best off considering the whole concept as a supplement to the digital piano or upright piano.

However, to practice a melody or new chords for a lesson, for example, a small controller keyboard like the IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 mini is perfectly adequate. The most important thing here is portability: A music setup like this for on the go – i.e. tablet, mini keyboard, and headphones – fits in any travel bag!

Learn more: Play Piano On The Go.

Learning Piano as an Adult (Image Source: Priscilla du Preez / unsplash.com)
(Image Source: Priscilla du Preez / unsplash.com)

What Is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons?

Many people block their way to the wonderful experience of learning the piano as an adult by believing sayings like, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.

While there is certainly some truth in this, on the other hand, not all those who start as children will necessarily become new Mozarts and Chopins.

Learning the piano is about discovering the joy of making music. If you follow a structured approach to learning, you will be amazed at the level of proficiency you can achieve in just one year. This is true even if you don’t think you’re super talented and start learning the piano relatively late in life.

Why Learn Piano as an Adult?

A keyboard instrument is ideal for beginners than string and wind instruments because it is much easier to learn. With most other instruments, you have to learn both intonation and touch, which can be a rocky road. With the piano, the notes are practically at your fingertips, and all you have to do is play the keys.

The piano is also unique in that you can use it in so many different ways. It is a solo and accompaniment instrument simultaneously, so you can play rhythmically and accompany someone (or yourself) in a singer/songwriter style. With its 88 keys, the piano has a wide range. In addition, it offers many possibilities for dynamic expression, from soft pianissimo to expressive fortissimo.

Keyboard, Piano, or Digital Piano?

An electronic keyboard is better than nothing, but it is not suitable for learning to play the piano properly – even if it can produce a passable piano sound. A keyboard is technically very different from the weighted keyboard of a digital piano or upright piano. To learn piano touch, you need a weighted, graded hammer-action keyboard.

An acoustic piano is ideal for this, but there are also digital pianos with good hammer-action keyboards for beginners. Of course, a digital piano also has several other advantages:

  • There is no need to tune the piano,
  • you can play quietly with headphones
  • the volume is adjustable,
  • there are handy features such as a metronome and a built-in recording function that are useful for learning and practicing piano,
  • you can also connect a tablet or computer via Bluetooth and USB, which is great for online lessons.

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