I Hated Piano When I Was A Kid

I have never ever heard the words, “I am so glad that I studied piano as a kid and did not learn to play. Dropping out of piano lessons was the best move I’ve ever made!” But, if I had a dime for every adult that has shared that they really regretted quitting piano and wish they could play now, I would have a lot of extra change in my piggybank. Listen up adults-LIFE IS NOT OVER! You can return to the instrument and find joy and unparalled satisfaction in re-learning to play the piano. Oh, you might be intimidated at first, but you can get back on the bike and take off.

Adult learners will be happy to know that piano study has evolved considerably. Long gone are the days of the little old lady rapping out a strict rhythm with her ruler, ready to criticize the smallest mistake. I wager you can find a teacher who suits your learning style or get started with an online resource. I can hear you sighing, “If I couldn’t play then and forgot everything I learned, maybe I am just not talented enough or naturally inclined.” Quite frankly, the biggest reason that so many adult piano drop-outs don’t remember anything is because they learned by rote. Learning to play the piano by rote isn’t really learning at all. Playing piano by rote focuses more on memorization and mimicry than on learning to read music and understand chords. Children who learn by this method appear to progress quickly. Eventually though, as pieces get more difficult, learning tends to slow down significantly. Grasping new skills becomes increasingly difficult. This method is becoming less and less favored by piano instructors today for this reason. Unfortunately, many adults of yester year were taught in this fashion. What they experienced was not real learning and they did not have the chance to master the building blocks needed to play the piano for a lifetime.

Additionally, few adults were really taught chords and theory. This is especially true if an adult took only a few years of piano lessons as a child. I believe the thinking of the time was that if a child went onto major in music as a young adult, he/she could learn theory at college. Well, this presents a challenge but when life gives you lemons make lemonade and drink it scenario. I embellished that last part. But, adults will be amazed as the world of theory opens up to them. Learning to play the piano is about so much more than just moving from one piece of sheet music to the other.

Learning anything (piano or otherwise) may be more be more challenging in adulthood than childhood. It's not impossible though. Anyone with a foundation in music is at an advantage when re-learning piano as an adult. I think the best approach is a simple one. I believe the following tips are all that is needed to get a previous piano dropout back to the ivories.

• Adults may need to start at square one. View this as a great opportunity to really “get it” this time. • Be patient. Rome was not conquered in one day. You have to crawl before you can run. Shall I go on? • Be committed to practice. Make daily practice time a consistent priority. • Find the right piano teacher.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly-keep your sense of humor and enjoy yourself. Happy piano playing to all former piano dropouts out there! Creating music is a joy that cannot be expressed.