Learning Piano or learning the Keyboard? Things to know!

Learning piano or learning the keyboard? Whatever it is, as you start learning, your aim should be to learn a few simple songs as quickly as possible. You should stay focused and should be more concerned about learning to play your instrument than anything else. If you are learning piano, you are very likely to have a Yamaha, Roland or a Korg digital piano. If keyboards are your interest, then you are most likely to buy one of the Casio CTK series or the lower models in the Yamaha PSR series.

Start with simple songs
This is the stage where you will feel a lot of excitement as you will be learning a lot of songs but at the same time you will also feel frustrated a lot of times as you will try to go a lot faster and try to play some difficult songs. At this stage it is important that you stick to easy tunes and concentrate more on practicing regularly. You will also need to do your technical exercises regularly as you cannot proceed to the difficult songs unless you become comfortable with these technical exercises.

Get a Good Teacher
Learning piano from a good teacher is very important for your progress. Not only will you learn much faster, your teacher will also prevent you from picking up some wrong techniques. You will get exposed to a variety of music styles and you will also know about some really good books and CD's on the subject which the teacher might have acquired over the years.

The first 12 months
The first 12-18 months are very important for you as you will acquire considerable skills during this period and you are unlikely to discontinue after coming so far. But to continue for so long needs a lot of dedication and discipline. It is important that you practice everyday, even if it is for as less as 20 minutes.

Stick to practicing at the same time everyday
Initially, practice should not be a problem as you will be very excited and you are likely to spend hours and hours practicing on your instrument but after some time you will find yourself regularly skipping your practice sessions. Hence it is important that you decide on some fix time in the day when you will practice. Preferably, early morning should be the best time for practicing as you are unlikely to get disturbed with your other priorities. If it is not possible, choose any time that suits you.

Play songs on your own
Get yourself to the stage where you understand the basics of sight reading and are able to sight read the easier songs. Train your ears so that you can play simple songs all by yourself just by listening to the songs. It is unlikely that you will discontinue after coming so far.

Parents need to be supportive
No doubt that Piano and keyboards are versatile instruments but they are expensive to purchase. On top of that you will have to spend on the music lessons as well if you are learning piano or learning the keyboard. So you will need to make sure that your child practices regularly and that their excitement levels remain intact. You will have to give your child all the support to make sure that he/she gets past this initial stage successfully. All this effort invested now will help your child to enjoy a lifetime of pleasure.

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