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I have just started to learn piano recently. I have some basics from learning organ (proper lessons with teacher) for about 8 years, but stopped around 15 years ago. I am self teaching, using Hanon Virtuoso Pianist, Czerny Op 599, and look forward to pick up songs by songs further down the track as accompany. I am wondering, how dangerous it is to learn piano without proper lessons by professional teacher? It is not that I can't afford one. I mean I can, but I just think that it's a bit unnecessary for me since I'm an adult already and I just want to play piano for leisure. I just want to be able to play songs that I like. I mean, it's different with kids whose parents hoping they will play really well and learn all the way until finish all the grades, pass all the exams, etc if you know what I mean ... besides, piano lessons are quite costly, so if I could self teach it would quite be savings for me. But if it's that necessary then of course I wouldn't mind to spend some money for something good. See, although I can read notes and know what I should do, but the thing is, do I play it right, is my technique right? I can play Hanon exercise 1, but DO I PLAY IT RIGHT? Thanks before

A GOOD teacher is invaluable.
IMHO depends on your goal for how long you really need a teacher. But consider that at the beginning can help you to develop a healthy technique way faster than yourself ( assuming you can get it right )... Later on can explain from interpretation to touch or just offer you a different point of view.

If for leisure you mean playing fur Elise correctly... You might get close enough by yourself... Throw some Chopin and Mozart in the bucket and you really need a teacher. (why limit yourself when you're young enough to be able to acquire a good technique to be enjoyed the rest of your life? )

Usually, having a teacher comes down to ... 1st - finding one you enjoy working with, and 2nd - being able to afford one. You said you can afford one so now you just have to find one you enjoy working with.

If you really can afford one there is absolutely no reason not to have a teacher. It can do nothing other than make the entire experience richer and ultimately more productive. Don't even consider not having one.

It is not absolutely necessary, but advisable.

I’ve never had a real piano teacher, per-se, but I have learned a lot by watching others and listening and reading the ABF here on PW. So, we all learn from each other…

Problem is, I probably do everything wrong. However, I’m having the time of my life attempting to learn to play, right or wrong!!

Rick

i am afraid is necessary (well not really but...)

I'm a young adult beginner and I don't have the money or the time for a teacher. I started a year ago having had no previous musical experience and now I can sight read around grade 2 pieces and play some relatively difficult* pieces. From watching youtube videos and paying attention to finger markings I believe I'm on the path to developing a good technique too. I don't ever plan on playing for anyone other than myself or friends/family so I don't think I'll ever get a teacher. The right person could figure out everything a teacher could tell them themselves. It may take a lot longer and you may have been able to advance much quicker but I guess it depends on your ultimate goal with the piano. I barley know anything yet though so idk

I've always been a do-it-yourself kind of guy. I did take lessons as a kid but only progressed to intermediate level. Over the years as an adult I thought I would be able to advance on my own (a little more willing to do the work, more maturity). Never happened. However, my kids took lessons from a fine teacher and when they stopped, I started with him. It has been a number of years now, but I am playing pieces that used to be scary just to look at!

All I can say is that my teacher helped me get through those road blocks, helped make the tough parts playable, kept me advancing and appropriately challenged, and introduced me to a lot of interesting literature. Good stuff.

Hi Rick, I learned to play "Right or Wrong". The band I was in did that one, Geo Strait version.

It’s amazing how difficult it is to learn how to use words to convey a thought, much less to learn to play a piano to convey a musical performance!

Yes, I need a music teacher and an English teacher.

Rick

A teacher helps me a lot focusing on other things than I would focus on myself. This helps a lot on making progress.

I, like others here, have also always been a self-taught guy. In fact, for the first two years of piano, I taught myself. However, about two months ago, I decided that I was getting to the point where I couldn't answer all questions through just research and/or observation. So I got a teacher. And it has been great! There are so many things you don't know that you don't know that you will learn once you get a [/b]good[b] teacher. Also, a good teacher helps to keep you interest up, to identify errors you didn't even know you were making, and importantly to tell you when you have mastered something even though you may have thought you hadn't.

My advice is to go get a good teacher, try it for 3 months, and if you find you are not learning enough with the teacher, drop him/her. Better to do that than to learn bad habits or take twice as long to learn something on your own.

Save the self taught for things like learning how to juggle, cook, and/or perform surgery.

I always recommend that people have a teacher at least for a few lessons (and no, not because I'm a teacher ). It is absolutely possible to do it alone, but what a teacher can do, especially in the beginning, is to identify your weaknesses and give you a course of action for the best results.

In this YouTube world, you can get a ton of advice. Just be careful who is teaching it. Try to qualify the person's background and be skeptical of everything. In my research I found a lot of advice that was bad, and some just plain wrong. Of course, these same background issues should be applied to a teacher as well.

Bottom line, if you feel like you are progressing fast enough, and only want to play for yourself, keep doing it. If you are worried about bad habits, or feel like you've hit a wall, find a teacher to help you do it the best way.

You took that course too? Good, I need a partner in my stolen kidney business. You in?

Only try knife and fire juggling without a teacher ... for the things like juggling balls, consult with a teacher first.

As one who has done all three, I can attest to this.

After a long consideration I decided to keep the self teaching method. Not that I ignore all the kind comments from all the nice people who replied my topic here I really appreciate all your thoughtful advices and opinions and I do agree with them But I think (at least) for now I will stick with self teaching.

After all, I love this saying:



And same as pckhdlr305, I play just for myself, family, and close friends. And if they are happy enough to listen to me playing my first song ever on piano, Fur Elise (the easy beginning part), after some practices and without knowing whether I play it with the rightest technique or not, I think I will be fine for now

Besides, I quite like Hanon Virtuoso Pianist (please don't hate me). So I might be disappointed if I found a teacher who doesn't agree with Hanon and makes me forget about it.

Once again, thank you for all the kind friends who had given me advices here

Hi,

I just want to add something...

I think that is a good, well argumented decision. If you practise every day with a lot of fun and you are satisfied with your own progress and sound, then there is nothing wrong about learning without a teacher.

But if you get stuck in the future. You don't make any progress anymore. And the most important: if you loose your joy in playing the piano. Feeling you have to drag yourself to the piano every day, then it would be the appropiate moment for you to consult a teacher.

I wish you a lot of fun with your piano!

Thank you, that is a good compromise

I'm saying this as an intermediate student. Learning to play the notes and understanding and implementing the dynamics can be self taught, especially if you just want to play for leisure and don't plan on playing (maybe) late intermediate pieces or above. However, there are aspects of hand, wrist, and finger motion that I never knew about, which can make playing more difficult pieces much easier to master and play comfortably. I have found that having a teacher has helped tremendously. Sure, I can find pieces on my own that I'd like to play, but a good teacher can figure out your weaknesses and assign appropriate pieces to address those issues.

My teacher has me playing intermediate level short pieces that are easier than what I am capable of playing, but can play reasonably well in a week. Yet, she can find, and explain better fingering (which will be helpful later in similar passages), or explain why a composer chose to go with certain dynamics at certain points. The biggest thing was with bringing out the musicality, so your audience can "feel" the piece, rather than just hearing notes played correctly. The difference is unbelievable when you compare your own recordings of just "playing the notes" versus "playing the music."

I think everyone needs a good teacher. I cannot self teach more than I know. If I want to go further than what I know and can do now, I need a good teacher.

Why one needs a good teacher?
I can tell you from my experiences.
I was asked to teach an adult beginner "what I know" one time. She has taken only 1 semester group piano. So she is very close to a total beginner. And I am not a piano teacher nor anyone who has piano degree.
I am not even an advanced player.

It was really interesting... I could hear that she was playing very poorly in all aspects. It was one of Chopin walz. Don't ask me why she is playing Chopin. She loves Chopin so much that she would not want to play anything else. The left hand was so extremely loud. Tempo was not there. She played the third beat much shorter than the first and second beat, which made her miss the excecution of the first beat and throw her off in the middle of the piece. Her shoulders looked very tense and at one point, I thought she would break her arm. I think she was compensating her still very weak fingers by force of the arm. But I could not tell her how to fix those points and did not even know where to begin. I also did not want to hurt her feeling either. So I decided to warn her about tension in her shoulders etc to avoid potential injuries. After I told her to relax, somehow she got more tense. So I told her to get a teacher.

The experience made me appreciate my teacher. I know I eventually have to learn to be more self reliant. At this point, I am still heavily relying on her advise.

If the cost of the lesson is an issue, look around university piano majors who need pedagogy credits. That's what I did when I was a struggling student who had absolutely no money. Alternatively, you can take 30 min lesson every other week to get the cost down. I recommend it.