Virtual Piano Academy

Ahhh, the question everyone wants to know the answer to! Surely there's a secret to learning the piano quickly? Surely there's a short-cut that will allow me to play like a pro in no time?

WHAT'S THE SECRET?

There has to be a quick trick that will allow me to learn piano more quickly than everyone else right? We live in an age where we have access to everything we want, right now. So surely I can just jump onto Instagram, watch a few videos, and viola! Right? Surely I can just download an App, play along and be a genius in no time, right? Not quite.

I CAN JUST LEARN ON YOUTUBE RIGHT?

If gimmicky Apps and Instagram are out, surely YouTube is the answer? There are lots of people on YouTube claiming I can learn the piano in 30 days (or less), so surely there's a loophole to hard work and practice right? If I just follow their YouTube channel, surely by watching their videos (and through some kind of magical osmosis) I will become a great piano player. Right? Yeah, I wish!   

Don't get me wrong. YouTube is awesome, and there are a lot of great instructional videos on aspects of piano playing floating around. But it's no substitute for a real teacher. There's no progression. No structure. No feedback. No personalised training. No one to correct the horrible technique you're practicing. It can be a great compliment to your private lessons (if you're watching videos created by qualified musicians), but it's certainly not a replacement. 

The short answer is that although plenty of "used-car" piano teacher salesmen out there will try and convince you to buy their $30 piano course and promise you'll be able to play piano in 30 days, sadly it's just not true! Mastering the piano to a level where you can pick up almost any piece of music and play it confidently takes.......(*drum roll*).....about 10 years (give or take depending on how dedicated you are).  

THE REAL TRUTH OF IT

Stunned? Shocked? Devastated? This might come as a surprise, and I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but that's the honest truth. No sugar-coating. No sleazy marketing tricks to try and get you to buy my course. No gimmicks. Just the truth of it. Would you be skeptical if someone told you you could do your entire high school education in just 30 days, for $30? You'd think they were crazy. It's the same here. Learning something properly takes time, effort and dedication. Bummer. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

But it's not all bad. This is good news actually. It means that not everyone will learn the piano. Not everyone will commit to it. That's what makes it (and those who learn how to play it - that's you!), special. That's why learning to play the piano sets you apart. If everyone could learn to play it in 30 days, it wouldn't be magical anymore.

I'M NOT SURE I CAN COMMIT FOR THAT LONG!

Just because it takes about 10 years to be able to play at a very high standard, this doesn't mean that you have to learn for 10 years and reach for the pinnacle at that top level. Many people spend only a year, and can comfortably read and play plenty of lovely (albeit reasonably simple) pieces. Some might learn for 2 or 3 years and are playing interesting and challenging intermediate pieces. Whether you learn for a year or three, or go the whole way, it's an amazing skill to have at any level. So don't let the 10-year pro-level milestone put you off and stop you from even starting! All great achievements ever accomplished throughout history first begin with just one step.

The amazing thing about the piano is that it sounds fantastic from day 1, and no matter what level you get to, you will be able to play lots of different styles of music; you'll be able to play lots of different pieces by a variety of composers; you'll learn a lot about melody, rhythm, harmony and general music theory; it will impress your friends; and it will bring you great enjoyment.   

ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Even after playing the piano for 32 years, I still learn something new about it every day. It keeps on giving and giving. As clique as it sounds, try not to think about the destination. Enjoy the journey! :) 

Some of my most beautiful musical moments have been in the process of learning to play the piano. They say mastery can be boring. Enjoy joining the dots. Enjoy expanding your mind. Enjoy pushing yourself and challenging yourself each day. 

GUIDED STRUCTURE

For those of you who love structure, this is a rough guide for the piano levels that are available to you, all the way up to the very top (your 10-year piano plan!) At Virtual Piano Academy, if you decide you want to undertake grades and commit to a structure, this will be the roadmap you'll follow. 

In Australia, the AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) is our main accredited piano exam system. But other piano exam systems such as the RCM, ABRSM and Trinity all work in a very similar way. 

~ Written by Virtual Piano Academy Founder + Director, Amy Bastow. May 2020.

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