How Long Does It Take to Learn Piano?

How long does it take to learn piano?

It’s difficult to answer because there are a lot of caveats, however, you can expect to learn to play the basics in about 3 months and be competent in no more than 12 months of daily practice.

After about 3 months of daily practice, you should be able to understand how the piano works, keys, chords, and more. You should also be able to read and play basic sheet music. Maybe a bit clunky, but you will be able to play it nonetheless.

After 6 months of daily practice, you will be much more competent. You will be able to play basic pieces with ease and almost no mistakes. Keep in mind these are still basic pieces of music, however if you can learn the basics, all you need to do is keep playing to get better and better.

Finally after 12 months, you should be able to learn new pieces of music, read more advanced sheets, and learn new skills on the piano. You will be more than competent and can confidently say, “I can play the piano.” From here, all you need to do is keep playing each day to hone your skills and learn more advanced techniques.

You can expedite this process with formal piano lessons, which we’ve written about in this article on how much do piano lessons cost.

How often should I practice?

Practice is what makes you able to learn the piano. Without practice, you won’t be able to play. Not reading books, watching YouTube videos, nor anything else. Practice is what makes perfect.

So many people start to learn an instrument and get excited at first, but that motivation starts to wane over time. It’s human nature to start with a lot of motivation and then slowly lose it over time. As a result, it’s much better to practice for 30 minutes each day than 4 hours once a week. It’s the act of practicing on a daily basis that helps your brain learn a new skill.

To that end, don’t try to play for 4 hours on your first day of practice. Play for 30 minutes and then keep that desire to play and save it for tomorrow. Play for 30 minutes and then save that leftover motivation for the next day. Repetition is how you learn a now skill and that is how you will learn to play the piano in 3 months.

Can you learn piano as an adult?

One of the most common questions is whether you can learn to play piano as an adult or if you had to start learning when you were young.

Generally, it’s easier to learn new skills when we’re young. Our brains are just wired to learn better when we’re younger, however there are other reasons that are in your control that will make it easier to learn the piano as an adult.

The most important thing to remember when learning the piano is that practice makes perfect. If you can practice for 30 minutes each day, you can learn the piano. As an adult, it’s a little harder because it’s hard to find 30 minutes of free time to dedicate each day. But rest assured, if you can fit 30 minutes of piano time in your daily routine, within 3 months you’ll be playing the piano no problem.

There’s nothing stopping anyone from learning the piano as an adult. If you make the time and dedicate yourself to the decision to the task, you will learn to play the piano.

How to learn piano without a piano?

While some might say you can learn piano without a piano, it will make the task exponentially more difficult.

Practicing on an actual piano will make the task that much easier, however if you only have access to a piano once a week, you can still learn how to play it. With that said, you’ll need to restructure the way you learn.

Earlier in this article, we said that you will need to practice for 30 minutes each day. If you only have access to a piano for a couple times a week, you should still “practice” for 30 minutes each day, but you’ll need to do it without a piano. You can do finger exercises of playing on your desk or a table, learn to read sheet music, and watch YouTube vides of people playing and teaching the piano.

Then once you have access to a piano once or twice a week, spend a couple hours each time practicing what you learned throughout the week on the actual piano. This is the best way to learn how to play piano without a piano.

Is it easier to learn piano or guitar?

This is a common question when someone is thinking about learning a new instrument.

If you’re thinking about which instrument is easier to learn, you’re approaching this new endeavor all wrong. Neither will be “easy” to learn, but both will be satisfying. You shouldn’t choose an instrument based on how easy it will be to learn or play because that won’t satisfy your desire to play an instrument.

Choose whatever instrument you want to play and it will make playing it that much easier. Imagine if you were choosing between an instrument you wanted to play and one you didn’t. You would clearly enjoy practicing and playing the instrument you wanted to learn, rather than the one you didn’t.

Neither guitar nor piano is easier or more difficult to learn than the other. However, if you choose the one that you want to learn and play on a regular basis, the desire to become proficient at that instrument will make the entire learning process easier.

Conclusion

There were quite a few common questions answered in this article about learning how to play the piano. It’s important to understand that learning the piano isn’t something that is going to happen overnight. It takes dedication and consistent practice to reliably play the piano.

To get started, practice daily for 30 minutes at a time. You should be able to start playing basic sheet music with a few mistakes around 3 months after starting. And you’ll be very proficient at around 12 months of daily practice.

The most important thing is to stay consistent and reliable in your practice. If you do that, you’ll have no problem learning to play the piano.