It is often said that learning a musical instrument requires a professional teacher. If you do not employ one, it might be extremely difficult to learn or master the instrument. However, that is not necessarily true, even for a complex instrument such as the piano.
Every instrument can be self taught, and that includes the piano. There is no guarantee that having a piano teacher will result in being proficient playing it. They actually only exist best as a guide and disciplinarian, in some instances.
There might also be clear cases whereby having a piano teacher can be detrimental to the learner’s development. A child might be genuinely interested in becoming a pianist. But if the teacher is too strict and reduces the fun of learning a musical instrument, the child could lose interest.
Piano lessons have continued to gain popularity over the years. This has resulted in sky high prices being charged by piano teachers. It does not always result in quality instruction. At the same time, students might end up spending more than is necessary to learn a new skill.
Pianists should also be developed as artists or performers, and not just for the sake of having another beneficial skill. Note that most of the best pianists in the world did not have the restrictive learning structure that having a teacher or school might enforce on them. Perhaps it was through the process of self learning that these famous artists discovered their best skills on the keyboard.
The best situation can therefore develop when teaching yourself how to play the piano. One of the most attractive advantages of doing so is the more relaxed pace and environment that you can create for yourself through the process. This should not come at the expense of proper discipline, but should improve the learning experience.
There are also many online piano courses that reduce the need for a teacher. However, one cannot be totally independent when studying the art of playing the piano. Effort must be made to find fellow pianists to discuss pointers and each other’s love for the music.
In these modern times, there is no real need to enlist the help of a professional piano teacher if one wishes to learn the instrument. Doing so might help speed up the process but it is no guarantee of results. With the plethora of free and online courses readily available, learning the piano can be done on your own with similar or even better results.
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