Whether you’d like to start piano lessons for yourself or your child, it can seem like a big process. Pianos are so big and cumbersome, and weekly lessons create an entirely new schedule for the household to work around. In this article, I hope to highlight that while yes, there are a few steps to it, but it doesn’t take too much to get started.
So here’s exactly what you need to start piano lessons:
1. Start piano lessons by booking a lesson!
If you’re not sure whether piano lessons are even the right thing to do, then book in a lesson and see! Most teachers will offer an introductory lesson. For me, students can book and pay for one lesson. Afterwards they can decide whether or not they’d like to continue with ongoing weekly lessons.
And you don’t need to have a piano at home to start. Just book in and see how it goes. If you end up enjoying it, then you can get the ball rolling on finding a piano to practice on at home.
If not, keep exploring! Try another teacher, try another instrument, try another method. There’s plenty of ways to learn and engage with music!
Honestly…that’s really it for the first piano lesson.
If after the first lesson you’ve decided that piano is the go, then here are some next steps to take!
2. Pick a budget and buy a keyboard!
There’s a keyboard or piano for any price point, $0 to millions of dollars. They sell ‘em at Aldi to a Sothesby’s auction.
The point being, pick a budget, any amount you feel comfortable spending. And shop for a keyboard, digital piano or acoustic piano with that budget. And don’t be shy, feel free to ask your piano teacher for advice.
I also recommend sticking to the well known piano brands, like Casio, Yamaha, Kawaii and Roland.
I wrote a comprehensive article on the best keyboards and pianos for beginners, read it here >>>
3. Get a notebook
For students of all ages, the best device to help remember all the things learnt in lessons, and all the things to practice during the week, and all the questions that pop up during the week…is a pencil and notebook.
I’ve tried going digital; note taking apps, practice apps, Google apps, online whiteboards, kanban boards, online learning management systems, music notation software, Apple pencils, PDFs, the list goes on. After all that, nothing so far beats simply writing it down.
Pianist and educator John J Mortensen charmingly refers to this piano notebook as a zibaldone, an Italian term for “a heap of things”, a place you scribble down the chaos of stuff you’ve learnt, transcribe bits of music you like, ideas to revisit and explore later.
Far from being a traditionalist, he says it’s the slow and meticulous nature of writing something down, compared to the digital ease of taking a video or photo of it, that helps you absorb what you’re trying to learn. For Mortensen, jotting stuff down is an essential strategy to teaching yourself something you want to know.
So go old school: get a notebook, pencil and eraser.
4. Commit to weekly lessons
For players of all levels, one big challenge is finding a consistent routine that works around all the “life stuff” like school and work. Daily piano practice seems easy on paper, but is too often allusive in real life.
Commonly, new piano students need some trial and error to figure out what works/doesn’t work for them. For many adults, it’s also getting used to how learning feels again!
So I encourage students to really commit to weekly lessons during the term. Even on weeks where no practice at home happened, come to the lesson anyway. There are many practice techniques to try!
Ready to try a piano lesson?
5. Commit to weekly lessons…for 1-2 terms! (3-6-months)
I’ve seen beginners enrol and practice piano with vigor for the first couple of weeks. By the fourth week of playing the same song, they interpret this as slow progress and something they’re “just not talented at”.
Sadly, they miss the many tiny musical steps they’ve made. And it’s not their fault; the human brain is just curiously terrible at recognising daily progress.
Instead, our brains are wired to focus on what’s missing (negativity bias) and brush over small weekly milestones by shifting to the next goal (hedonic adaptation).
I love this analogy from an article by bitesizedbrain:
“Just like children do not notice themselves growing taller day by day, we do not always feel our progress while it is happening. Feeling stuck is often just the brain overlooking the small wins we are quietly building.”
So give the music student brain a chance to recognise progress by sticking with it long enough to see the rewards of consistent and repeated practice.
Ready to start piano lessons?
If returning to piano has been sitting quietly in the back of your mind for a while, this is a pretty good sign.
If you’re ready to start piano lessons in North Melbourne or nearby, I’d love to help you get started.
You can book a lesson, ask a question, or just reach out for a quick chat through Burger Chords.
About the piano teacher
Michelle is a freelance pianist and piano teacher who aspires to make music fun and accessible for anyone who wants to play. She’s been playing and teaching piano to kids and adults for over a decade, and brings good vibes playing piano for weddings and events at Michelle Plays Piano.
Michelle also plays drums in post-punk and indie bands around Melbourne, and has written about bands for The Music and EARMILK. When she’s not obsessing over music, she’s probably thinking about food.
