Are you someone who is exploring your options to pick up a musical instrument and wondering if it is an easy feat to learn the piano? In fact, most people who do not have any prior knowledge of the piano might think that way, simply because of how easy pianists around them make playing the piano look. Well, you might want to reconsider this fact. Learning and mastering the piano is not easy! Here are 5 factors why!
1. Commitment
Do you feel that there are quite a number of pianists around you? To be honest, there could have been even more, but most people gave up learning the piano halfway through because of the lack of commitment. This is because playing the piano consumes too much of their time due to the amount of practice needed to learn and master the instrument. For example, just your hand movement and reading the score sheets will require you to put in quite a fair bit of practice time.
Forget about mastering the piano, because of how hard it is to learn the piano, most people end up seeking professional help from piano teachers, thinking that it will be much easier to learn the piano this way and that having professional help means that they do not have to spend too much time to practice the piano. The truth is, if you are not able to put in enough time and effort to practice, hiring a piano teacher is a complete waste of time and money as you will need to practice at least 30 minutes every day to see the positive results of the piano lessons. Hence, you can imagine how much commitment you need if you are learning the piano all by yourself.
2. Discipline
There are no shortcuts in learning the piano as very small detail matters. However, this is one of the most common factors why people gave up on learning the piano. Most people want to learn the piano fast, and they will find "convenient" ways to achieve that. For example, there are reasons why most piano teachers emphasises on the finger positioning of their students.
Because of how hasty they are to learn a piano piece, students will start to find shortcuts to reach the keys they were supposed to play. This might seem alright at first, but as they progress in their lessons, they will come to realise that following the recommended finger positioning is important. The worst part? They will also find out that it is very difficult to switch back to the recommended finger positioning as their muscle memory is already tuned to their "convenient" method.
3. Knowledge
There are reasons why people with music background tend to pick up an instrument faster. Knowing how to read the piano score sheet makes a lot of difference in the time you need to learn the piano. There are people who find it difficult to read the score, and this becomes even harder as they progress to pieces with more variables such as piano pieces that require each individual hand to play different chords at different rhythm and timing. If you have no prior musical background, you must be prepared to spend quite some time to learn to read a score sheet. And trust me, it will not be easy!
4. Coordination Difficulties
Now, let's talk about the difficulties you will face physically when learning the piano. As mentioned earlier, the hand movement requires a lot of practice. Most people will start off by learning to play the piano with their master hand. After they are proficient with their master hand, they will then switch to practice with the other hand. Here comes the most challenging part, coordinating both your hands to play different keys individually.
While some people picked this up relatively fast, there are also many people who could not, especially those who are practicing on their own. And do not forget the fact that later on, you will need to start using the piano paddles too, which means more coordination.
5. Finances
Finances is not really a direct reason as to why the piano is difficult to learn and master, but if you do not have a piano, how are you going to even get started with your piano journey? As most of us know, pianos are not exactly the most affordable type of musical instrument. And let's face it. Learning the piano will get nowhere without a proper 88-key piano, so if you are thinking of buying a smaller size piano, it will limit your ability to pick up the piano in the long run.
Although the price of the piano is expensive, it might provide you with the drive and motivation to practice more and make your money worthwhile. However, it can also be this very reason that most people lose their interest or passion for the piano in the long run as they are just doing it for the sake of the amount of money and time they have invested on the piano. Looking at the bright side, at least there are cheaper alternatives such as digital piano in the market now.
With all these factors in mind, do you still think that learning the piano is easy? Has the challenging nature of learning the piano sparked your desire to give yourself a new challenge in life? Ultimately, there is no such thing as an impossible feat in the world. If this article has sparked your interest in piano, remember that seeking professional help will aid a lot in your piano journey.
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Wen Feng is a passionate music aficionado. He is constantly on the search for new music to listen to, with a particular interest in classical music. Piano pieces have always been a great companion and kept him calm throughout his school and work life.