I recently stumbled upon a great piano tutorial posted by lifehacker.com. It was a witty, entertaining, and informative way for someone to learn some basic piano principles that they can get started with right away. Perhaps you have a piano or keyboard sitting around your house that you've been wanting to learn how to play. This video series from Lifehacker is a great way to get started!
Composer Jason Oberholtzer takes Lifehacker writer, Nick Douglas, through a series of 5 lessons. Nick had taken a little bit of piano previously, but for all intents and purposes, was a total newbie. What makes this video series unique is that we are witnessing firsthand how the teachers' instruction is taken by a beginner student. This makes the instruction more relatable and forces the instructor to explain things differently when his student Nick is needing a little more help.
Lesson # 1 - The Left Hand
Imagine someone just starting to learn the piano. What does it sound like? Hot Cross Buns? Mary Had a Little Lamb? The instructor Jason shows students what to do with their left hand first - as this forms the base of the sound. He recommends those learning piano only play an octave or a 5th to get started, as these positions will be simple and feel most natural. Click on the photo below to view the full video lesson.
Lesson #2 - The Right Hand in the Key of C
In this lesson, Jason shows students how to skip the "Hot Cross Bun" phase and start utilizing both hands with purpose. By starting to learn in the key of C - one can avoid the black keys and needing to differentiate between major and minor chords.
He starts by showing you the note A on the piano and goes up the alphabet until you reach G and start back over again at A. He starts to introduce the idea of adding "the third" in a way that feels comfortable and natural. Click the photo below to view the full video tutorial.
Lesson # 3 - Going Beyond C
In lesson 3, Jason starts teaching the fundamentals of forming chords that are outside of the key of C. He teaches the “learn three chords” approach from guitar lessons, and applies it to learning the piano. It’s not how you learn to be a concert pianist, but it teaches you enough to have some fun. As with any new skill, practice is the key to success. Don't forget to keep practicing what you've learned from lessons 1 and 2! Click on the photo below to view the full video lesson.
Lesson #4 - How to Actually Make Music
So far, you've learned what to do with your right had, what to do with your left hand, and how chords are structured. In the fourth lesson, you learn how to put it all together and actually start making some music. Outside of just playing the chords, he shows you how to easily start noodling around with the chords, even if you don't know what your doing. He really encourages students to experiment and view any mistake as way to to resolve the chord differently.
This is a fundamentally different approach to learning the piano compared to memorizing notes and songs. If you keep messing up "Hot Crossed Buns" you may get discouraged and quite. Jason takes a more holistic approach that encourages exploration and creativity in the learning process. Click on the photo before for the full lesson.
Lesson # 5 - Going Solo
All of your hard work has paid off and you are at the final lesson! This is certainly the most challenging lesson as it requires the most risk and experimentation. This was the most challenging lesson for Nick and showed him the value of regular practice. If you find this video to challenging to complete- then it is a good sign that going back and continuing to practice lessons 1-4 would be beneficial.
Even though you may not be able to read music - the foundations you have learned from these five lessons should give you a sense of what your hands can accomplish on the keys with a bit of practice. Click on the photo below or the full video lesson.
If you've been thinking about learning the piano, I hope you bookmark this video series and use it as a springboard for your learning!