I wish to learn how to play the piano.

[Adumbration]

I had a few lessons when I was very young, which I squandered away by reading comic books, and some years back I gave it another half-hearted try, of which I've already forgotten all that I learned.

Any tips or hints on where to start? Perhaps some online resources? Links? Presume my current working knowledge to be nil - it's been too long that I can't even remember how to read the notes. I have access to an actual piano over the winter holidays, and after that I'll ask my big sister to borrow her keyboard. (She's abroad, and probably won't be needing it for a while.)

There's something very soothing about playing. Even without any skill, I find it fun to just sit down and try the keys, look for pleasant combinations and familiar sounds. I'd like to be able to play at least a few simple songs or pieces of songs - I'm not looking to become a great or even a good player, I just want to be able to play something for my own pleasure.

Thanks in advance.

[Mauve Shirt]

Re-learn how to read sheet music. Remember what notes are which on the keyboard
http://www.proguitar.com/keyboard.gif (http://www.proguitar.com/beginner_keyboard_lessons.htm)
Then get a book of Hanon exercises (http://www.pianoclues.com/2008/02/03/hanon-exercises-for-folks-who-dont-read-sheet-music-part-1/) (you can probably download some from somewhere) and practice them. Get at least the first two down. Then find some easy sheet music for a song you want to learn to play, or just fiddle around on the piano til you figure one out yourself! Hanon is the best for learning how to hold your hands and move them about. After that it's just a matter of reading music.

[Adumbration]

Thanks! Currently going through the exercises on the first link/picture. Mind you, I'm not perfectly sure I'm playing the correct middle C - our piano has only 85 keys, not 88.

[Z3ro]

I highly recommend you get a teacher. While some people are able to teach themselves to play music, those people are exceptions to the rule. A teacher will greatly excellerate your development and make you a better player. I know they can be expensive but depending on your area you can find college students or family friends who can teach you for cheap.

I'd also recommend getting at least a cheap keyboard that you can use permanently. You can find keyboards under $100 that will work (I used one for years), sometimes even cheaper at garage sales or on craig's list.

[Dispozition]

Going to sound a bit blase here and say practice. The old saying practice makes perfect? Surprisingly enough it's true. It'll also help to get a teacher. Just knowing what's what isn't really going to cut it, having proper technique and further knowledge into scales, chords, and all that jazz is what separates all right players from great ones.

[Mr. Moon]

There are many, many, many videos on Youtube that show you how to play various songs. Some that attempt to teach you - I don't know how good they are. Just search "Learn to play Piano" or "How to play X on piano" and you'll find something sooner or later.

[Aedilred]

Something that I think is vital if you're going to be a good pianist is knowledge of the musical building-blocks. Scales, arpeggios, dominant sevenths, etc.. Practise these every day, along with the Hanon exercises above, and so on and so forth. This builds up muscle memory, increases your dexterity, and also gets your brain into the right shape for working out which notes go where and what "sounds right". It's dull as anything, but it's essential if you're going to have any sort of versatility, and particularly if you're ever going to get to the "just sit down and play" stage rather than just having a handful of party pieces.

It takes quite a lot of discipline; learning an instrument is a bit like riding a bike in that you never quite forget how to do it entirely, but it's still going to be a painful process to pick it up again with any degree of seriousness, as your muscles aren't initially going to be in the right shape to support strenuous exertion.

[Moff Chumley]

I'mma go in a different direction and say learn how to improvise. Practicing hanon and whatnot gets tedious very fast, and even if you start out atrocious, improvising and noodling is way more fun and rewarding. Of course, you need a couple of scales and chords to figure out how to do that anyhow. And technique never hurts.

Basically, play a lot. It doesn't matter what you play or how bad it sounds. The more you play, the better you get.

[littlebottom]

im gonna throw my penny in here, and just say, teacher or no teacher, lots of time or little time, when you play. just play for yourself.

it sounds stupid i suppose, but i like the piano, i have hardly any time for it so i am rubbish to be honest. but ive learnt some quite complicated pieces out of enjoyment, ok it took a long time, and im so slow at note reading that i just memorize the songs instead, but hey. simply because i liked the songs (and found somewhere with the sheet music for me to learn off, although, like i said, i dont use it when i play, i do it from memory) i spent the time and the effort to learn them, ok so since i hardly play it that often, i forget notes or short sections, and it doesnt sound very nice when i slow down trying to remember the next set of notes, or play the same section 4 times because im sure im hitting a wrong note somewhere, but that doesnt matter, because i enjoy it. ok im not going to be playing it in public any time soon... or ever more accurately.

yeah, thats all i wanted to say, you proberbly didnt need to read it though.

[Mauve Shirt]

I'mma go in a different direction and say learn how to improvise. Practicing hanon and whatnot gets tedious very fast, and even if you start out atrocious, improvising and noodling is way more fun and rewarding. Of course, you need a couple of scales and chords to figure out how to do that anyhow. And technique never hurts.

Basically, play a lot. It doesn't matter what you play or how bad it sounds. The more you play, the better you get.

I agree that improvising is more fun, and you need to play a lot. But I think for a beginning player, exercises like Hanon are important for learning how to hold your hands and how to move them. And Aedilred is right, scales & chords & arpeggios. You need to learn these, and practice them every time you sit down at a piano. Improvising is a lot more fun when you know what you're doing.

[truemane]

I'm going to right down the middle here and ask you: "What do you actually want to be able to do?"

If all you want is to be able to bust out a song or two to impress your friends at parties, then you don't need scales or finger positioning or any of that stuff. All you need to do is get someone (youtube counts) to show you the notes, memorize them, practice them every day until they sound good, and you're done. I can play exactly four songs on the piano. And if I'm on my game that day, you'd swear I knew what I was doing. But I only have the four. I sit, I rip off three of them, walk away. And that's all I've needed for the past 15 years or so to keep me happy.

If, on the other hand, you actually want to be able to PLAY the piano, then you should start at the basics and work your way up. It's more work, for a longer time, but you wind up with more versatility.

It's the difference between being able to actually speak a foreign language and having "Two beers, please" and "Excuse me, where is the bathroom?" memorized.

In either case, I would highly recommend a teacher. It'll make you learn everything faster, more easily.

[Nibleswick]

As one who recently taught himself how to play the piano I'm gonna say It really just takes practice. Five minutes a day is better than two hours once a week. Just practice a little bit every day, it doesn't take long.

[Kneenibble]

and after that I'll ask my big sister to borrow her keyboard. (She's a broad, and probably won't be needing it for a while.)

That's not a very nice thing to say about your sister.

To supplement the preexisting advice, I recommend looking at a practical examination syllabus. In Canada, for example, the Royal Conservatory of Music publishes a document that explicates all technical requirements and all acceptable performance pieces and studies for each level of examination.

Technique is incredibly important and the syllabus will give a guiding structure to building it in lieux of an eburititillant guru. i.e., established platforms of skill to aim at purposefully. I'm all about the importance of technique.

This is if you don't want to find a teacher -- the structure of lessons does catalyze motivation, as truemuffin told ya. Whatever he says is true.

[Helanna]

So, as someone who also wishes to learn to play the piano, what would the Playground suggest as far as good practice pieces? I have a basic knowledge of the piano and can play a few simple songs - and a couple harder ones if I practice them a lot - but I'm interested in finding more sheet music for songs that would be good to know/practice.

[Kneenibble]

A lot of Clementi is great for beginners -- easy songs that are still a lot of fun. Get a book of his sonatas, they will challenge your fingering and speed without the more advanced complications of multiple voices or dense chords.

[Linkavitch]

Step 1: Find a teacher who knows what he/she is doing.
Step 2: Do EVERYTHING he/she says.
Step 3: Practice. A lot.

[Asta Kask]

Step 2: Do EVERYTHING he/she says.

Unless it's fattening or can give more than two years in prison.

[Aedilred]

So, as someone who also wishes to learn to play the piano, what would the Playground suggest as far as good practice pieces? I have a basic knowledge of the piano and can play a few simple songs - and a couple harder ones if I practice them a lot - but I'm interested in finding more sheet music for songs that would be good to know/practice
The classic piece that many if not most pianists pick up relatively early is Fur Elise by Beethoven. It has the advantage of being relatively easy to play, and still sounds impressive enough, but it's not desperately original.

I might also suggest Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach, which is a little more original. Bach can be challenging (and dull!), but because a lot of his "piano" music was written for harpsichord, it doesn't tend to be overly polyphonic, which makes it much easier to sightread.

[Mauve Shirt]

A lot of Clementi is great for beginners -- easy songs that are still a lot of fun. Get a book of his sonatas, they will challenge your fingering and speed without the more advanced complications of multiple voices or dense chords.

I second this! Clementi is incredibly fun to learn.

[Adumbration]

Okay, so now I need help with mastering the notes - or specifically relating the notes to the keys of the piano. I've learned the first Hanoi exercise, usually do it at least once a day as well as some improvisation (well, mostly just trying keys and different combinations). I've also learned the first few lines of Moonlight Sonata, some sort of a blues combination and first few lines of another classic that's mostly known from pain killer ads. Those were taught by my big brother.

I get confused about the notes though. Usually in piano sheets there are two 'lines' (don't know what they're called), one for each hand. Which one is right hand and which is left? IIRC the top one is in middle C, but not sure about the other. How do the black keys fit into notes?

[Darth Mario]

Okay, so now I need help with mastering the notes - or specifically relating the notes to the keys of the piano. I've learned the first Hanoi exercise, usually do it at least once a day as well as some improvisation (well, mostly just trying keys and different combinations). I've also learned the first few lines of Moonlight Sonata, some sort of a blues combination and first few lines of another classic that's mostly known from pain killer ads. Those were taught by my big brother.

I get confused about the notes though. Usually in piano sheets there are two 'lines' (don't know what they're called), one for each hand. Which one is right hand and which is left? IIRC the top one is in middle C, but not sure about the other. How do the black keys fit into notes?

Each "line" is called a "staff," one with a treble clef (where middle C is the first ledger line below the staff) on top and one with a bass clef (where middle is is the first ledger line ABOVE the staff) on the bottom. Together they are called the Grand Staff.

In order to tell which set of notes you're supposed to use, look for the clef at the very beginning of the line. If it's the same as your top part of a grand staff, it's a treble clef. If it's not, it's probably a bass clef.

Each line or space in the staff is a different white key. Black keys are indicated using sharps (which look something like #) and flats (which look sort of like an elongated lowercase b) before the notehead. So, if you see an A#, you play the black key above the A, or if you see an Eb, you play the black key below the E.

[Mauve Shirt]

The top staff is the right hand, the bottom is the left.
Here are some mnemonics for remembering the notes on the staves, if you need them. On the top staff, treble clef, the 5 lines are, from bottom to top, E, G, B, D, and F. To remember these, think Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. The four spaces, from bottom to top, are F, A, C, and E. They spell out "Face", so that's easy to remember.
On the bottom staff, which is bass clef, the five lines are G, B, D, F, A. Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always. The four spaces are A, C, E, G. For them, All Cows Eat Grass.