5 Myths About Learning Piano
1. Pre-Learning Mindset
Before starting to learn the piano, there are many assumptions that beginners have. Some of these are entirely accurate; however, there are many that are much less accurate and might set you on the wrong path.
So here are some myths to make sure your expectations meet the reality of learning the piano!
2. The Myths
You need to start as a child to become good.
Many adult learners believe that they’re incapable of achieving what they could have if they’d started learning the piano at a younger age.
There are even studies suggesting that adults are less capable of learning as quickly as children, due to children having greater neuroplasticity. This is true! However, as it relates to music, it is much less relevant. This is because as an adult, we still have enough neuroplasticity to develop new skills to a high level, and what we lack in brain malleability, we make up for in emotional intelligence, which children lack.
This means that learning the piano is just as achievable for adults as it is for children. Children have a much steeper learning curve when attempting to comprehend musical and emotional concepts (try explaining to a 5-year-old that a dotted 8th note is the same length as three 16th notes), whereas adults have a steeper learning curve in mastering motor skills (technique) and note recognition.
The more you practice, the better you will be.
Intuitively, it makes sense that the more we practice something, the better we get. Many players even count the total number of hours that they have practiced the piano. Then there’s the concept of 10,000 hours to master a skill, which is an amount of time that many strive towards.
However, this mode of thinking disregards the quality of your practice. I have spoken many times on my Youtube channel about the beginning of my time studying at music college; I would practice for 8 hours per day until I put in place measures to improve my efficiency. After this, I was able to achieve the same amount of work in just 2 hours. This is because although I was practicing for many hours, they were incredibly inefficient hours.
The risk of counting hours is that it may lead to a lot of wasted time, so it is much better to practice based on “tasks completed” rather than hours practiced.
You either have talent or you don’t.
The fact that there is no such thing as talent or prodigies on an instrument is a hill that I am firmly willing to die on! The reason for this is because while it is evident that some people are more naturally capable of particular skills, music isn’t one skill.
I have taught many students who have perfect pitch and can naturally hear notes, and other students who have naturally great technique. However, I am yet to see anyone that is able to sight-read, understand theory, improvise, and has excellent technique, perfect pitch, rhythm, coordination and all of the other skills that need developing to be a great musician.
Learning to play an instrument isn’t like playing a sport or learning to use chopsticks. It is a skill that is made up of many different motor, cognitive, language, and sensory skills, and while you may or may not have a natural ability for some of these skills, it takes time and practice for everyone to develop the others!
It is unnecessary to learn music theory.
I have often seen learners that want to learn the piano and not learn music theory. For some, learning music theory feels more like an academic endeavour, and learning the piano is fun and practical.
This isn’t really the case. Everything that you learn to do in music is music theory. Learning chords, learning a key signature, learning notes, and symbols is all music theory. Anything that you do on an instrument that is repeatable and improves your musicianship is a result of learning either motor skills or music theory.
For many musicians that just want to play for fun and don’t want to learn music theory, what they really mean is that they don’t want to study music; they want to learn practically. This still requires learning musical concepts, and leaning into learning those concepts can greatly improve your rate of learning.
You need lessons to get good at the piano.
It has become more and more common over the past 15 years for learners to attempt to learn the piano self-taught. There are a lot of great videos on YouTube (all on my channel - of course), and it’s easier than ever to find the answer to questions you might have about music.
This makes it perfectly possible to learn the piano to a high standard without the need for a piano teacher. Having said that, a good teacher can make your learning happen much quicker and help you avoid problems that you may face. They can also help you learn more strategically so that you develop skills that may be a particular weakness for you!
Nevertheless, if you take a measured approach to learning and try to solve problems or knowledge gaps as they appear, with all the great advice available online, it is more possible than ever to learn by yourself.
Matthew Cawood
(This is from my “Monday Music Tips“ weekly email newsletter. Join my mailing list to be emailed with future posts.)