Beginning Piano Lessons

Yes!! It is totally possible. I only know because I did it! As a child, I took one year of piano lessons with the nice lady that played organ at my church. I learned a few different songs and learned how to read notes, but I never stuck with it. I found the lessons very boring! But let's fast forward.. uh... 20 years! lol

I always wanted to start learning piano again. I mean, we have a beautiful piano that just sits here and collects some ugly dust. I wanted to be able to play a few songs so my children could sing along with me and perhaps develop some interest in learning to play on their own.

Since I live a pretty crazy life (two little ones) I needed something to be as flexible as I needed. Attending a scheduled lesson every week was definitely not in the cards. So I started hunting down other options. I wanted something affordable and that I could do at my own pace.

What I did find were quite a few programs that offered to teach you online. I read many reviews and after much thought and comparison, I chose Rocket Piano.

If you are brand new to piano, you may be wondering if there is an affordable way to get started. One suggestion is to try websites like kijiji or craigslist to see if someone is selling theirs secondhand. I recently checked the ads for my area and I found one keyboard listed at $100 and the second at $125. Both of these included the keyboard stand. Also, many instrumental music shops carry secondhand instruments. It is worth stepping into the shop and seeing what they have right there. The people at those stores know their stuff! They work there because they are passionate about music, not just for a pay cheque. They will steer you often to what you need.

Here are some tips to consider when purchasing a keyboard:

- How many keys does the electronic keyboard have? It can have any where from 88 to 61 keys. I strongly suggest that if you are purchasing the keyboard to learn piano songs, that you look for a 76 or 88 key keyboard. The 61 keys is great if you are sampling songs and using it for mixing, etc. But you are likely to want a greater range if you are learning to practice old familiar songs.

- Do you want the keyboard to feel like a real piano? You can purchase keyboards that have weighted keys so it is similar to playing a piano. Some keyboards are not weighted so the keys push down very easily without any resistance.

- The third item to consider is if you want keys that has velocity and after touch. Velocity refers to if a key resonates a note with the same loudness as force you applied. If you hit the key loud, the note is played loudly. Touch the key gently and the note is played much softer. After touch refers to if the keys hold the note for the length of time a piano would. Again, if you want to transfer your skills easily to a piano, it is worth having this on your keyboard.

Rocket Piano is the program I chose to use when I was beginning piano lessons online.

What can you expect with Rocket Piano?

Three very high quality books that start you at a beginner piano player level and take you to advanced. The videos are professionally recorded which makes it easier to watch than a few of the other "sample" videos I watched from other programs I was considering.

The absolute best part was the ability to pause a screen whenever I needed to continue practicing a piece. I LOVED THIS!!

Another option the program has is to learn to play pieces by ear. Although I appreciate that the option is there, I have just used the other teaching techniques as I personally wanted to learn the "reading" aspect of learning the paino. As I mentioned above, I had learned some at the age of seven so I wanted to continue on this path.

The last thing I have to mention about the product is the email communication. There were a few times that I wanted to ask a question to a piano person about the hand transitions in a few pieces and I always had very quick and helpful responses. =)

If you want to test out Rocket Piano before you purchase, they have a six part free beginner piano lessons series. It is very helpful and includes a free download of Jayde Musica that helps you learn the names of notes. (Very helpful for teaching you how to read sheet music!). Just visit their site and go to the "Free Lesson Signup" in the top right corner of the webpage.

Download Beginning Piano Lessons.