It is a common question every person asks when he/she starts their piano learning journey. The piano is a delicate musical instrument that takes time to learn. A piano is something that generates the notes your soul absorbs.
That’s why it takes some time to master the piano playing skill. But everyone is eager to know how long it takes to learn the piano.
Well, the answer is it depends on the person and their abilities. Sure you have bought a brand new piano, hired a teacher, and installed the piano learning app but is it enough?
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Can you master your piano skills after preparing all the essential things?
Your preparations can make your journey flawless and smooth but it cannot reduce the time period of learning. The learning time period depends on your learning ability, passion, and dedication.
Children are considered to learn piano fast as compared to adults. Because children have a sharp memory and they can pick up languages easily. Their brain is easy to train as compared to the adults.
I am not saying that adults cannot learn piano. You can start your piano learning journey at any time of your age.
I was just telling some facts according to the human brain. You just need to be patient while practicing piano. The concert artists at their highest possible levels also keep learning. Learning never ends.
However, the following is a rough estimate of your level after a certain amount of time. The figures are based on an adult beginner who has never played a musical instrument or the piano before.
Beginner: One Year
After practicing piano for one year you can reach beginner level. At this level, you will be equal to the Grade 1 or 2 level (ABRSM). At the beginner level, you can expect to play some basic music pieces on the piano. In addition, you are expected to have a solid understanding of sheet music learning at the beginner level.
Intermediate: 3 To 4 Years
After practicing the piano for 3 to 4 years you can reach the intermediate level. At this level, you are expected to be playing at roughly the Grade 4 or 5 level (ABRSM).
You should be more familiar with advanced concepts like sight reading, more complex rhythmic patterns, and scales in most keys up to two or three octaves at the intermediate level.
At this level, you can learn most of the piano pieces on your own without getting help from a teacher or tutor. But still, you should take the guidance of your piano teacher regardless of your level. You can learn piano on your own and keep polishing your skills to reach the advanced level.
Advanced: 5 to 10 years
After practicing piano with patience regularly for 5 to 10 years you can reach the advanced level. Sight reading works that are three or four grades below playing level should not be a problem for you. At an advanced level, you can choose your own pieces to practice and learn difficult pieces on your own.
How Long It Takes To Learn Piano For Adults?
It is a little bit hard to give an accurate estimate of the time period you need to learn piano if you are an adult. Learning piano for adults depends on various factors including the efforts you put in, your musical background, and the time to dedicate.
We can understand this with an example here. Let’s suppose you have been playing violin to a grade eight standard then it is possible to learn piano quickly for you.
You can start piano from the level you would take 2 years to reach if you have a strong musical background.
If you don’t have any musical background with any musical instrument then you can possibly reach the same level after 5 years of practicing.
Moreover, the time period of learning piano depends on the type of instructions you are getting from your teacher.
If you are working with an excellent and experienced teacher who can detect your mistakes and correct them quickly. As well as if the teacher prescribes a repertoire that interests you and will help you grow quickly.
On the other hand, if your teacher doesn’t have experience in training beginners then you might show progress slowly.
There are only a few instructors who know how to train a total beginner. If your instructor doesn’t pay attention to your personal development then it is hard for you to show progress in a short length of time.
The key point of the above discussion is to find the method of piano learning that suits you well according to your skill level. The ideal instructor can understand the common mistakes a beginner makes.
As a teacher, I must say there is a huge difference between training a beginner player and training an advanced level.
You will find many instructors who claim to be experienced in training beginners but actually, they are not. They can instruct intermediate or advanced-level pianists but not beginners.
In order to train a beginner you need to touch their level to understand the mistakes and find solutions.
If you don’t have enough money to hire a professional piano instructor or don’t have enough time to attend classes then you can consider a piano learning app. You can use multiple ways to teach yourself if you are dedicated enough.
A piano learning app can assist you in your learning process but your progress will be slower as compared to the people who get trained by professionals.
No doubt some people cannot afford a professional instructor. They can start learning through an app. But you need to understand that it will take longer to learn.
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How Many Hours You Should Practice?
There is no thumb rule for the hours of practice but I would suggest you give effective time for learning. Effective time is the hour that yields the best results.
If you are just sitting in front of a piano desk playing with your phone or doing nothing then you are just wasting your time.
Give as much time to piano learning as you have to dedicate to the piano. Keep learning the piano until you feel bored. If you feel bored just take a break and come back actively.
If we just look at the numbers then a person practicing one hour daily is better than the one who practices only for 20 minutes. But these are just numbers, quality matters the most.
If you effectively practice with dedication under the supervision of your instructor then you will show progress fast.
On the other hand, if you are playing piano by yourself by repeating the mistakes then your performance will not improve no matter how much time you spend. In short, effective practice makes a man perfect.
However, you will progress more quickly if you practice the piano consciously and deliberately.
Even if you practice for only 20 minutes every day with super focus then you will make quick progress. That is why I say quality matters the most.
Imagine you do a hyper-focused practice every day for 2 hours, you will make progress quickly as compared to the one who practices for only 20 minutes.
Can You Learn Piano By Yourself?
Yes, you can teach piano yourself as there are many resources available. You can use multiple apps and start teaching yourself. There are multiple online programs available to learn piano. If you are dedicated enough then you can start from today.
I would recommend you to hire a professional instructor to learn piano quickly and effectively. But if you cannot afford you can consider alternative ways to learn piano by yourself.
If you want to learn piano quickly and effectively then you must consider a private piano school or a personal instructor. But if you are ready to teach yourself then you can consider online courses or apps.
Flowkey and Simply Piano are two of the most popular piano learning apps you can consider to learn the basics. Or you can simply watch YouTube videos and tutorials for daily practice.
There is nothing wrong with these apps or online programs. But having a teacher is a blessing because only an instructor can point out your mistakes and correct them. If you have a teacher you can learn piano efficiently and effectively.
If you don’t have an instructor then you will get stuck on a certain point and will not have anyone to help with that. This is not essential only for beginners but also for advanced players.
Advanced piano players keep learning even at the stage of perfection. They still need instructors to improve their overall performance and add new skills.
Is It Difficult To Learn Piano?
For someone who has never played a musical instrument before, it can be challenging to learn one. However, I would encourage you to focus on the reward rather than the potential difficulty.
Music education is a lifelong endeavor. Learning never stops for anyone. Because they improve through practice, even musicians who are 80 or 90 years old continue to practice. Piano learning never ends.
So, yes, it’s difficult. It takes a lot of commitment. You’ll eventually want to give up and stop playing. You will become worn out from practicing.
You won’t want to practice when you get home from work or school. You should look past this and stick to it, I would suggest. It will be for your benefit.
Final Thoughts
The piano is not as easy as someone could think to learn. It requires a lot of dedication, hard work, and focus. If you are planning to teach your kids piano, teach them at an early age. When children are at an early age, they pick up musical notes quickly.
Learning has no age limits. So if you want to learn piano go ahead nobody can stop you.
