What Should a Piano Beginner Learn First

What Should a Piano Beginner Learn First

19 Apr 2022

Learning to play the piano can be exciting and intimidating, especially if you’re new to it. Before you start learning, it’s helpful to make a few decisions about where you plan on going with your playing.

Because there are so many piano pieces out there and you can only learn one at a time, it can be hard to decide where to start. 

This guide will help you narrow down your options to focus on learning the material that will be most rewarding while still giving you plenty of variety in your practice sessions.

Get Familiar with Piano

If you’re new to music and want to play something on your piano, it can be extremely frustrating to figure out where to put your hands. 

Learn your way around before playing something. In other words, make sure you know which notes are in each octave and understand how they work together harmonically. 

If you need beginner piano lessons in London, I will help you better understand what tones sound good together, which is essential when arranging songs or improvising at a gig.

Finger Numbering

The fingers on your hands each have names: Thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky. The numbers 1 through 5 are named for these fingers as well. For example, 2-3 means you play both your middle and ring fingers at once. 

This numbering system is helpful when learning to read music or when trying to remember which fingers to use in an exercise. Start by playing all five notes with just your thumb; then add in one finger at a time until you’ve played all five notes. 

Once you’ve mastered that exercise, move on to playing two notes with one hand while holding three notes down with your other hand. Then, work up to adding in more fingers from each hand until you can play all 10 notes using just one hand.

Learn Hand Positioning

One of the biggest concerns for beginner pianists is that they do not place their hands in a position where they can easily play each chord. The best way to make sure your hand positioning is correct is to look at yourself from an angle as you play. 

You want your wrist straight, with your hand on top of its keys, with fingers touching lightly. Be sure you’re aware of which finger goes where as well.

Let me help you with piano lessons in Chelsea today.

Learn the Scales

Learning how to play scales and basic theory are excellent places for beginners to start. Scales allow you to familiarize yourself with all of your instrument’s keys, while basic theory will help you understand how to combine those notes in different ways. 

Playing well-known songs using nothing but these notes is an excellent way to get comfortable with them.

Learning Chords

The more you know about chords, scales, and music theory, including how to read sheet music, the easier it will be to understand more complex pieces. 

The foundations in those areas provide a good starting point for everything else you’ll learn. If you want to take piano lessons as an adult, start with these three chord types: C Major (C-E-G), F Major (F-A-C), and G7 (G-B-D). 

With these three chord types under your belt, you can move on to playing simple songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Contact Me to Book Your First Lesson

I would be delighted to assist you if you are a complete beginner or have been away from the piano. I am a piano teacher with more than 30 years of experience in music education in England and Canada.

My students range from beginners to those who want to take their playing to an advanced level, including performing at public events such as concerts and competitions.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like help finding your way into playing music on a piano