The only things you need to learn how to play piano online are an internet connection, a piano or keyboard to practice on, and a great online course!
- Any keyboard will do. A standard piano keyboard has 88 keys. But, there are lots of keyboards that will work just fine that have only 65 keys. If yours has less than that, don’t let it deter you! There’s plenty of music written that use the middle range of the keyboard.
- Here at PianoVideoLessons.com you will find complete courses for your independent study, a virtual studio for extra help, online classes for real-time guided learning and coaching, and private 30-minute weekly piano lessons.
What’s your Piano Playing Experience Level?
- I’ve never played piano, or it was so long ago that I don’t recall anything.
If you have never played piano before, or any instrument for that matter, you are a brand new beginner you’ll need a few basics to get started. You will need to know piano key names, finger numbers and some basic understanding of rhythm. You can learn these things here at PianoVideoLessons in the Pre-Beginner unit. This is a short unit, just 12 lessons. It will get you primed to start Unit 1!
Ready to get started? Pre-Beginner Piano Lessons
- I know my finger numbers and the names of the white keys on the piano.
If you’ve got the basics down the next steps are to learn proper playing technique and how to read music.
Some people find learning to read music can be overwhelming, there are so many notes on the lines and spaces! I think it’s important to be comfortable reading music, so here at PianoVideoLessons I take care to introduce the notes a few at a time at first, so that you are able to easily recognize the notes and know them by heart!
Others, especially adults, find coordination to be a challenge, so again, I pace the course carefully and slowly so you are able to develop your dexterity as you go.
If you’re ready to get starting playing piano while reading notes on the grand staff, then you’re ready for Beginner Piano Lessons Year 1 Unit 1
- I’m able to read some notes on the staff, but I’m not yet coordinated to play while reading with both hands at the same time.
Coordination looks so easy, but it’s one of the most challenging things about learning to play piano! It’s important to develop coordination independently of reading music. That’s why I teach hands together coordination without needing you to read the notes on the staff. When we start learning to play hands together, we’ll use prestaff notation, or the letters will be written inside the note heads so you can really focus on what your hands are doing!
If you’d like to learn how to play piano with both hands at the same time, you’re ready for Beginner Piano Lessons Year 1 Unit 2.
- I can play hands together a bit, but I need a little reinforcement so I can become more comfortable.
Baby steps are the key to developing confidence and security when playing piano. As adults, we know exactly how we want things to sound, but we’re not always coordinated enough to make the sounds we want to hear. This can be frustrating!
When learning to play piano with an online course, there can be a tendency to rush ahead to the next lesson before we’re fully ready. If this has happened for you, don’t worry! You can always circle back and build your hand independence and fluency. And, that’s one of the great things about learning to play piano online, you can do it on your own time!
If you want to develop your coordination playing hands together, check out Beginner Piano Lessons Year 1 Unit 3 or Beginner Piano Lessons Year 1 Unit 4.
- I can read notes in the treble clef, and I’d like to learn how to play with chords in the left hand.
Piano is such a versatile instrument, sometimes it plays just the melody, sometimes it plays just the harmony, and often it plays both. Learning how to read chord symbols and interpret them on piano is a great way to develop your musicality and expand your skills.
When music has the melody written for right hand and chord symbols above for left hand we can create our own arrangement! We call this type of music a lead sheet. You can learn to play piano from a lead sheet once you know your chords on piano.
If you’d like to learn to play chord style piano from a lead sheet, you can begin with Unit 5 – Piano Chording Level 1. I’ll teach you all the major and minor chords as well as many different styles of left hand arrangements. It’s so fun!
What else is available at PianoVideoLessons.com?
All of the videos here at PianoVideoLessons.com are free. So, I’ve got you covered for how to learn to play piano online!
After Unit 5 you’ll find:
Unit 6 – Beginning Piano Classics
Unit 7 – Piano Chording Level 2
Unit 8 – Grade 1 Piano Etudes and Technical Exercise
Unit 9 – Grade 1 Piano Baroque Repertoire.
with more to come!
How much support do you need?
For some people self-study is ideal. They are self-motivated and don’t have any trouble keeping to a schedule of learning and practicing. If that’s the case and youu want to find out how to learn to play piano online completely on your own, just create a free account here at PianoVideoLessons.com and explore all of the free video lessons!
Others make better progress by joining a class or group or having private instruction from a teacher. Being part of an online piano class is a valuable experience, since you get to work with classmates as well as a teacher. There’s great motivation in the camaraderie that a class environment creates.
To join a Live Online Piano Class with Lisa, check here for the current offerings: Online Piano Classes and Virtual Piano Studio