The Different Learning Methods For Piano Playing
Every person learns in a different way and there’s nothing more important when it comes to learning, than to find which approach works best for you. Forcing yourself or your student to learn something in a specific way when your/their mind works differently isn’t an effective method and, if anything, it risks turning playing the piano into an impossible chore. So let’s see all the different ways one can approach studying the piano and adapt practice to their style of learning!
Learning The Piano By Listening
This can be quite common for beginner pianists, as many auditory learners would be drawn to playing an instrument based on the fact that they can more easily pick up how to play pieces by ear. Pianists who learn by listening often rely on what they are hearing rather than reading music notation.
However, while they might already be able to replicate some sounds and chords, they might lack the knowledge as to why they are playing those specific notes, and what they need to do to improve their technique. Their playing might be more reliant on improvisation than skill, and as such, these piano students need to avoid letting their ability to play by ear get in the way of learning piano technique.
This is especially important when it comes to choosing which pieces to learn. Auditory learners might let their ability to play certain passages from more advanced pieces trick them into believing that they’re no longer beginner pianists, ignoring any challenges that might come their way. If you’re this kind of learner, you will need to accept that starting out with simpler pieces still presents you with plenty of learning opportunities, and avoiding skipping ahead will benefit your learning journey in the long term.
Learning The Piano With Touch
People who learn through touch - like myself - may find it enjoyable to play the Bach inventions. The Bach inventions are quite tactile because both hands are equal in purpose whereas usually one hand is stronger than the other.
Tactile learners are more likely to approach learning the piano by using movement to figure out how to play a piece at the right tempo. They rely more on muscle memory and might find it easier than others to remember the right position of each finger when playing passages.
The main challenge for this kind of learner is to realise that this is how they learn best. They might worry that by moving around a lot, they appear as ‘distracted’ in their lesson when in reality their actions are related to the way they learn best. Even though movement plays a pivotal role in the piano learning journey of any student!
If you think you fit in with this approach to learning, make sure you communicate this with your piano teacher so that you don’t find yourself suppressing your natural way of learning.
Learning The Piano Visually
Visual learners, instead, are likely to find sight reading easier than other types of learners and to more quickly understand any patterns on the piano keys. A learner that picks up things faster by seeing is more likely to rely on sheet music, which might just delay memorisation.
The main hurdle that visual learners face on the piano is understanding how to be more expressive with their piano playing. As they focus on replicating each passage written on the sheet music on the piano, they may take some extra time to figure out how to make their playing less technical and more vibrant. Visual learners can improve their understanding of music notation by taking the time to read scales as well as play them.
Learning The Piano By Combining Different Skills
Ultimately, the best thing that any different type of learner can do is to not be afraid to explore different ways of learning, while still keeping their preferred approach as a superpower. Getting out of your comfort zone will do wonders for your piano skills, as it ensures that nothing is lacking from your learning journey.
As a touch and visual learner, I enjoy sight-reading and feel that sight-reading is my superpower. While I'm working on my listening by learning the more complicated scales and arpeggios such as dominant sevenths, diminished sevenths, natural minors, and melodic minors.
So do rely on the method you prefer, but let your curiosity and motivation help you expand further, and maybe it will even teach you that some other ways of learning can be just as helpful and interesting as the one you’ve been using.
There is no wrong or right way to approach learning as long as you get to the piano with an open mind and a desire to learn. And don’t be afraid to discuss the best method of learning with your piano teacher - they’re there to help you learn the piano, and figure out what’s the best way to get you there!
