Is It Possible to Teach Yourself Piano

While most musicians have some form of training, there have been cases where musicians have taken an instrument and taught themselves how to play that instrument, how to compose songs and even figured out some of the more complex aspects of music theory.

These musicians might not know the correct terminology, but they intuitively figured out everything they needed about music.

However, these musicians are the exception not the rule. For some people, it is possible to teach yourself piano, but other people are not going to accomplish it.

The most important aspect of whether or not you can teach yourself piano is motivation. There are lots of resources out there in the form of books, lessons and computer programs that can be used to self-teach an instrument. The material is there for anyone motivated to take the time to use it.

You do not have to start from scratch and try to figure out how the instrument works on your own. Almost all of these lessons are written by piano instructors based on the methods they use to teach students. You do not get the same attention you would get from an actual piano teacher, but you do get a good road map for how you need to teach yourself.

While motivation is always important to learning to play an instrument, self-teaching yourself also requires an ability to constructively criticize your abilities. You do not have a teacher to point out and correct your mistakes, so you need to do that yourself. This skill is very important to teaching yourself piano, but it is a difficult skill to actually identify if you possess.

Many people may think they have this skill but are either not critical or overcritical of any flaws they possess. You need to be able to listen to yourself play and pick out when you make a mistake. This skill does develop somewhat as you self-teach, but many people are never going to reach a point where they can really criticize their playing well enough to negate the need for a teacher.

A routine lifestyle makes a big difference when attempting to self-teach piano. It is not required, but someone that spends a lot of time traveling or works odd hours is going to have far more difficulty.

Learning piano, self-teaching or not, requires a lot of regular practice. Even if you understand everything about the piano and music theory, you still need practice to develop your technical abilities. People with routine schedules can more easily create a regular time to practice each day. People that do not are more likely to skip practicing and develop bad habits.

It is completely possible to teach yourself piano, but not everyone can do this equally well. For most people, there is no substitute for an actual instructor. However, if you are motivated and can honestly critique your abilities, an instructor can be unnecessary.

Teaching yourself to play piano should usually be treated as an option of last resort. Even people that can self-teach themselves will benefit more from having an actual instructor.