How To Start Learning The Piano - Self Taught!

In this video I talk about how you can start the piano as a self taught pianist. There are many reasons we being self taught is the most popular way to learn the piano, it is a cheaper way of learning and you can learn anything you want...however it does have it's disadvantages, and in this video I talk through everything you need to know to get started with the piano and avoid some of the disadvantages.
0:00 What I'l Cover
0:59 What You Need
1:46 How To Set Goals
3:35 What To Learn and Why
6:49 Common Problems
10:29 Resources
13:28 Staying Motivated
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RESOURCES TALKED ABOUT IN THE VIDEO (contains affiliate links):
Pam Wedgewood - It's Never Too Late To Play Piano -
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Me and My Piano Complete -
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ABRSM Discovering Music Theory -
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ABRSM Music Theory in Practice -
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My Beginner Sight Reading Book -
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Victoria Williams Udemy Courses -
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How To Start Playing Piano - Piano From Scratch -
• How to start playing p...
The Landmark System - Musicians Inspired -
• How to Read Notes Fast...
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Socials:
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Website: www.matthewcawood.com/
For enquiries:
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MY EQUIPMENT (affiliate links included):
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Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 - amzn.to/3FJzbvE
Recording Microphone: Shure SM7B - amzn.to/3T8BCe6
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Midi Keyboard: M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 - amzn.to/3sWv5IN
#pianist #piano #learnpiano

[@justintimetoclashandbrawl3348]

Luckily, he did not say use “simply piano”

[@BallsTviewsYearago]

YES!!

[@ROBERT-ml7ml]

Agreed! Piano marvel and flowkey are way better!

[@ExcludedShrimp505_bbss]

Agreed

[@brysonmercury]

As I was reading this comment waiting for the video to start, the simply piano ad came up

[@Fatimaspringtime]

Meanwhile I see the Simply Piano ad right bellow this video 😂

[@MrEpmonroe]

Brace yourselves, I’m about to sound like a commercial. I’m 60-years-old and have been playing music for over 40 years. I’m a guitar player and have never learned how to read music. Oh, I can look at a line of music and say “Every Good Boy Does… That’s D!” That’s the extent of my knowledge. I learn everything by ear, and I’m good at it. A couple of months ago I decided to take up piano. I also decided to learn to read music. (Two new tricks for an old dog) A problem I ran into with the music reading is that the lessons I found always involved a simple melody. I’m ear trained, so any simple melody I play one time is automatically memorized in my brain whether I like or not. So after the first pass I know what’s coming instead of actually reading the notes on the staff, AND just as you said, the exercises aren’t very long. So I bought your sight reading book. (Don’t spend all that money on hookers and blow, Matthew) IT’S PERFECT! The notes are totally random and force me to READ THE MUSIC, and there’s plenty of it! I actually enjoy the practice and speeding up the metronome. You did a really great job on this. Thanks!

[@Bvic3]

It's normal to read differently as you learn a piece. I often forget how to read once I learnt it fully. It takes mental effort to read and intuitively, you skip the easy parts to focus on the parts where you're not sure about the note to play. As you learn a complex piece, you slowly stop reading as you assimilate it. If the beginner melodies are too easy, just wait until it gets harder!

[@imu1st]

every good burger does fine

[@stellicpiano]

Such a valueable channel! I also learned the piano self-taught.

[@matticawood]

Thank you! I think a lot of people at least start self taught…so I hope a lot of people will relate! 😊

[@sharingmatters]

Thank you for the very concise tutorial.

[@user-ch4qu1cl3g]

Matthew always drops videos that we need

[@foelixbeer4202]

Self taught piano in my opinion is like gaining your piano skills in a way you want to. You can for example choose what music you want to play, when you want to learn, how you want to learn and how fast. Btw amazing video love it

[@matticawood]

You can! As long as your approach is aligned with your goals and you don’t try and take shortcuts 😊

[@docteurserie7362]

Thank You for this Video ! It's great

[@rufikunbargi9407]

Thank you for the information!!

[@mwhossaini]

Matthew always drops videos that we need 😊

[@matticawood]

I try my best! 😊

[@xeno2472]

Honestly thank you for this video. I’ve been a self taught pianist, but I quite literally don’t have any of the skills that you have listed 😂 I practically started as someone who just wanted to play songs from video games or anime, but as time went by and the busier I got- I haven’t been playing for a while and I do want to get back to it, but the right way. I want to learn all of these skills, and being shared these resources are so valuable to have. I appreciate you. You’re one of the reasons I’ve been inspired to play again. Especially being able to analyze and reconstruct pieces of music by ear, I find it to be quite satisfying 😂

[@lesterryanmd]

In 4 complete statement the "I" is present 10 times, which is surprisingly quite important. Read about narcissism, it doesn't make a diagnostic determination, it just makes an unfavorable impression, try to work on it.

[@xeno2472]

@@lesterryanmd I’m not sure why you felt the need to comment this as I’m giving praise to him. I do look up to him

[@user-qs4to1bq4k]

⁠@@xeno2472don’t mind him, what a crazy thing to comment on!😳 I saw nothing wrong with what you wrote in your first comment so maybe someone is projecting

[@cuckertarlson3037]

​@@lesterryanmd I think your the one making a unfavorable impression. Might want to work on that 🤷

[@37beers58]

@@lesterryanmd You're gross.

[@StrongBowGaming]

Perfect timing for this video coming up to Christmas I'm sure it'll help loads of people including myself

[@matticawood]

I know a lot of people will be thinking about starting in the new year, so I thought it might be a good video to give people a head start 😊

[@PianoTranscriptionAndroid]

Thanks.. a lot of really hard work🎉

[@DTM117]

I just bought your sight reading book. Cool resource, thanks :)

[@Fatimaspringtime]

Wow too much information! I love your hints regarding how to set goals and stay motivated!

[@1staccount449]

I have been playing piano self taught for years along with various other instruments (both self taught and with lessons) and I must say learning piano self taught has has shown huge benefits to my theory knowledge and understanding. I think if someone wants to learn piano self-taught it's a good idea to have some prior music knowledge since without it it could be quite hard, and maybe learning another instrument on the side with lessons would be very beneficial.

[@mentedpig4486]

I'm getting my first piano this christmas so this video really helped for my mindset going into it. Thank you sir!

[@ghoctav]

I'm 31 yo, I buy my 61 keys keyboard a week ago , it has touch response, mimicking piano .. my problem is tense and hand angle, solved .. thanks a lot .. I'm afraid i too late practicing 😅 , happy that's not my problem ..

[@kryss8667]

Hey man, this video is amazing. I've wanted to learn piano for a long time, but it was very hard to find good stuff to get me started, and your book recomandation, It's never to late to play piano, is amazing. I've only found your channel 10 days ago, but i'm a big fan. Very very nice video.

[@Bvic3]

I disagree. KZbin has dozens of channels with great beginner content. When I started last year I spent so much time on KZbin and it was great! Now I mostly watch those channels and read the comments for the satisfaction of seeing how far transformed in 18 months! Good luck

[@lyndasoar4345]

... Very informative... I like learning, enjoying the music theory and am not too concerned with my rate of output 'progress'. Im not v talented at playing the piano but its not stopping me from plodding through the books/cds/1 online course and i definitely find playing an uplifting cheery experience - everyone should have access to learning to play an instrument. I'll be taking a look at your other vids. Thanks for posting this.

[@CHNO-kk4rl]

As a guitarist that wants to branch out (read: have something to play past 8 pm or in other noise sensitive moments) this is quite helpful, thanks.

[@alpiano353]

Great video, it explains in a nutshell all you need to know for a good start and how to stay motivated. Thanks for posting 🙂👍🏻🎵💙🎹 AL

[@matticawood]

Thanks! I’m glad enjoyed the video 😊

[@Kudozxu]

as a self taught pianist, I think i started in a very unique spot, already composing music and knowing sheet music very very well, it helped me improve very fast. To anybody wanting to learn, please learn how to read sheet music.

[@sanjaylamba003]

where did you learn sheet music from?

[@Kudozxu]

@@sanjaylamba003 did 3 years band, while doing band self taught guitar, and then piano AFTER

[@djulianofficial]

That is a huuuuge advantage you've got there. Good to hear that your progress went fast!

[@nighthawk2]

That’s not true. Im self taught too and never learned sheet music while being able to play intermediate level songs. You can pick up all the basics by just practicing

[@Kudozxu]

​@@nighthawk2 learning the basics is nice, but that's still ignoring my point, I already knew all the basics, but knowing sheet music helps me play and learn at speeds i couldnt without it. You can see the phrasing, pedal markings (if there are some), you can see the fingerings so you can play the most relaxed and comfortably, you can see accents, staccatos, you SEE the music. Then again, I'm a classical musician so this may not apply to everybody but this is my opinion on it

[@andrewsiame8728]

great video mate!!

[@sxmbxdy]

Thanks man

[@orfrisbee2121]

Very good video, thank you

[@trinityshears27]

Thank you ❤

[@jakeblack212]

Good ideas and info

[@bettyennin6335]

thank you sir

[@skybluegames6663]

Thank you for this. Started at the start of this year and needed to clear some stuff up.

[@matticawood]

I hope it’s going well! It’s good that you’ve managed to keep going for the full year so far! 😊

[@Azazel1724.]

Really good video, very clear and concise. As someone who started learning 4 months ago I really appreciate the tips. Cheers brother

[@cirisirpula152]

Thanks for tips! Curioua about what keyboard are you using on your videos?

[@strider5151]

Thanks ❤❤

[@vbgfcdrtdggtfjhugyufry]

this was really useful! thanks!

[@matticawood]

No problem, I’m glad you found it useful! 😊

[@antjac1053]

Good thanks

[@MaartenJorna]

Great vid!

[@loadiam]

I ordered a digital piano the other day (FP-30X). It should arrive by Wednesday or Thursday, and I will starting my journey with Adult Piano Adventures All-in-One Piano Course Book 1 and The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios & Cadences. It has been 30 years since I played Trumpet at school and did grades so I am starting over. Not being able to play music anymore has left me feeling empty for years. I am sure motivation will be a struggle as I go so I plan to document my progress and hopefully I will have a nice evolution of skills to look back on after a year. I would love to just to be able to sit and play for myself, but more importantly I want to be able to play music for my daughter who is non verbal and physically disabled due to her brain being ravaged by medicine resistant epilepsy. Music and singing is one of the only ways we can connect with her and she was always at her best when we had music therapy sessions at the hospital.

[@katescarratt4267]

I hope it's going well. Good luck!

[@JS45678]

I had the FP-30 when I started, loved it! I now have the FP-90X and love it, too. Good Luck!!

[@jacquelinelawrences9219]

This is brilliant!

[@yu-i7476]

As a 25 years old. And had learn to play abit of piano "like just chords only" i would try this maybe ill get better at it and forget my bad habits on how to play.

[@gedion4000]

Man, I wish I had a acoustic/electric piano. When I was little I could naturally play by ear and was pretty good. In all seriousness I lost it around puberty and have never had an opportunity to get back to it 😕

[@TheDanhiJen]

Muchas gracias

[@snooks5607]

13:43 just setting goals doesn't necessarily make one hold themselves accountable though. at least I get easily distracted and might forget about things I meant to do or lack motivation. what I found works for me is to have a sense of losing something if I don't do it, like duolingo streak. even though they're meaningless internet points the sense is I've worked hard to have them so I'll make sure to do at least one exercise daily. not sure what would be the piano equivalent

[@Ilovechvuya]

As a person with letters on the piano, i can agree that it really makes me confunse sometimes!

[@jesslynnathania1890]

VERY NICE VIDEO!

[@guitarislife01]

I love the B roll you recorded 🤣

[@ayomideadekunle5078]

Can you do a video or direct me to one about how to train our hearing to know what key a singer is on

[@holyrockstar]

Can you do a video about the journey of learning piano as a music producer

[@joserbro]

Are there any videos on intro to music theory that you would recommend?

[@ashmiah9414]

What's the difference between the 'Discovering Music Theory' volume of books and 'Music Theory in Practice'? Do I need one set, or better to get both?

[@patricespeleta7914]

Hi sir ! I just want an advice. Planning to buy a piano but i dont know which is better. Yamaha psr e373 or yamaha piaggero np-12b?

[@tilliinfinity]

what are sight reading exercises? hope its not a stupid question but never heard that before can u recommend some?

[@dulcinea14]

Thanks for this. It’s given me a great framework to attack my piano learning, lots of things I would have never considered!

[@Shadowglitch_TheWolf]

Luckily I already know treble clef from playing violin for about 5 years now but I know I’m gonna struggle remembering what key is what note on a piano since there are so many keys. Got any tips to help by chance?

[@classics6367]

Whats the first song you played. The one from the first 5 seconds of the video?

[@erykadubois4555]

Hi Matthew, I am an advanced beginner if that makes sense. I have been playing for about 8 months. I have the scales cold. I work on finger exercises to strengthen and build dexterity. I play chords and chords and chords. BIG PROBLEM. Hand independence. I can play a lot of stuf with my right hand and left hand mirroring each other. But, getting them to play independently like YOU. OUCH, it hurts. I have talked to several teachers who tell me that everyone has this problem and you need to stick with the exercises to develop hand independence. Is this sound? Is there any way that i can get this down cold? It is the only thing that is holding me back. I have watched several of your videos and WOW I really like them. Keep making more. Eryka

[@golfprogress]

What piece of music were you playing there in the first few seconds of this video?

[@katttttt]

Thanks!

[@matticawood]

No problem! 😊

[@katttttt]

@@matticawood have sent a video for the new format, am excited to watch it!

[@matticawood]

Great stuff, there has been quite a lot submitted so it may turn out to be several videos! 😊

[@collegeguy799]

Is your sight reading book appropriate for 1st year beginner?

[@szymeq6160]

Fantastic video! I've recently decided to learn the piano and I' m going to have my first lesson in a week. Do you have any tips - what should I do or learn before meeting my piano teacher ? ( as I am a complete beginner)

[@matticawood]

That’s very exciting! I don’t think there will be much that you will need to do before hand if it’s your first lesson, your teacher will probably teach you the basics of reading music, what the notes on the piano are etc.. and be able help you with things that you find challenging! 😊

[@szymeq6160]

@@matticawood thanks a lot. Now I am a little bit less stressed (: Merry Christmas!

[@nightlife6899]

Interesting video and I took away some good learning points. I just wish you would slow down a little with your delivery. It was very quick and I was a little breathless at the end of it.

[@Lunarman1000]

I have a question! I made the mistake (well maybe not a mistake) of buying a 25 key midi keyboard to start. Well I am already seeing its limitations in learning. I can only practice one hand at a time. So my question is if I just wanted to get a different midi keyboard (on a budget!) how many keys would you recommend? I know ideally all 88 would be perfect, but would a 49 or a 61 key keyboard work?

[@e.l.2734]

Nice

[@ScarletRed.]

Thumbnail totally me! 😂

[@jamescarrillo2452]

Hello I started playing on a keyboard with 61 keys back in august. Self taught because I can’t afford lessons. Also I’m 24 years old. I feel like I’m all over the place and really have no idea on what I should I be learning or practicing first. I would like to get into playing classical but also pop. What should I be practicing on a daily to get comfortable with the layout of my keyboard? Should I be learning Chords,scales, arpeggios, how to read sheet music? I’ve been trying to learn songs but only seem to learn bits of a song and never played a full song yet. Any advice is needed thank you :) also been trying finger exercises.

[@Unknown17293]

How's your music journey?

[@user-yl6qg2gf7h]

No. Why you never made a report or a check out?

[@Over.thewillow]

I'm excited to relearn after a few years!

[@jaskoburzic2076]

my first piece im learning by notes is minuet in g is it a goot first one ?

[@Bvic3]

Whatever. Anything works really. The main advice I have is to find pieces with finger numbers provided. It takes some time to intuitively choose fingers.

[@plutoniumreal]

i have a 76 key keyboard with no sustain pedal, am i cooked?

[@XeroDash0]

I don't have the funds for 88 keys so ima get the Yamaha 61 keys

[@Iskaera]

So I get the weighted key 88 key thing is good for future proofing your learning but a Yamaha p45 is $500+ as is the Roland counter part. I can’t afford or justify spending half a grand on something I may or may not even get that into. Is there any recommendations anyone can provide around ~$100 or so? I’ve seen a lot of these “best gear for learners” videos and they all say the same but I don’t think $500 is very beginner friendly at all

[@matticawood]

If you aren’t sold on committing to learning the piano, you can often rent these for a month or two from a local music shop before committing to buy your own when you know you will carry on. This way you can work out if you want to commit but you are also learning on something that will help you. There is no real cheaper options that have 88 keys that are weighted and not sprung…but if you use it for 5-10 years then the investment per year is pretty small, it’s never been cheaper to learn the piano really with the price of digital pianos and online learning. 😊

[@NemesisLex]

Not every text or slide or camera change needs a sound effect ;) Its hard to listen to you when a Batman Fight is happening in the background 😅

[@saloh7124]

Can you do a tutorial on Boogie Woogie? Thanks 😊

[@Matthe885]

Is the sustain pedal necessary, cause I’m in a wheelchair and can’t exactly use one 😂

[@user-li4hs5gs6q]

I almost losing my motivation because i feel lonely and no one support my music learning I just self thought But only on apps instruments only but i do have music reading capability for a sheet music not And i do have instruments After a while I losing my motivation Is it because i have to set my goal to learn it for a long time

[@Bvic3]

My fundamental motivation comes from the emotions music makes me feel. It's so much better to play it than to just listen to it. Maybe find simple arrangements of musics you like to listen to. Also, learning hard pieces as a beginner takes huge mental effort and is painful to the head. You should get one simple piece ultra assimilated. So when you're tired in the evening, you have a piece that takes no effort and is relaxing. Then once you start playing you usually stop feeling tired!

[@borisdavidovic4743]

Wish there was a ytube channel like this for guitar... :(

[@matticawood]

Maybe I should do a second channel? 😉

[@borisdavidovic4743]

Man. You gave so many quality information in this video its amazing. Im in between getting a guitar or piano for NY resolution :)@@matticawood

[@CharlineHCols]

I can sight read my guitar music, but for the life of me I can’t read piano sheet music

[@wamunyimawamunyima582]

I want to play moon light sonata💀

[@richard135b7]

Very useful tips and advice. Thank you. But I have no interest in learning music pieces from dead composers that live 200 years ago. My only interest is pop music and ballads so maybe I can make quicker progress.

[@matticawood]

The information is the same in any style/genre, it all still uses chords/scales/phrasing/structure/arpeggios etc.. 😊

[@richard135b7]

@@matticawood thanks. Looking forward to your playing music by ear course that you mentioned when you make it available. I'll buy it because you're a step above most KZbin piano teachers ✓

[@nighthawk2]

There’s many versions of any song you want to learn on any difficulty. Just search as an example: ‘Eminem-mockingbird piano easy’

[@spins9296]

I want to learn how to play a piano but buying a good one is pretty expensive man..

[@SuperShado101]

personally im happy with my roland fp-10. got it bundled with a stand, bench, and headphones for $580 USD on adorama back in december. its a big upfront cost but its pretty cheap for a hobby overall

[@Persun_McPersonson]

I'm learning on a 300 $ "Keystation 88, Mk. 3". It's not fully weighted like a piano, but the keys do have a little resistence and are velocity sensitive. Some people will tell you that you can't learn at all on a keyboard that isn't fully weighted, but that's bull. You can still learn many aspects of playing, it's just that there will be an adjustment period once you upgrade.

[@jockotr1879]

Am now a master just needed 10 minutes with simply piano

[@RUFFYIwagon-vm4jb]

Video: How to start playing a piano Me: plays digital piano with a 10 dollar Computer (not piano) keyboard 😐 I don't think I'm supposed to be here.

[@user-fi6qt8mn7y]

6 hours a day isn't enough Ling Ling does 40 hours a day...

[@younimoon9567]

Talking with non stopping, I’ll be stupid if I follow you.

[@matticawood]

This channel was made just for you, I’m so devastated 😭

[@paulhedrick1]

😂great response! Some ppl haven't figured out the KZbin basics (you can pause or change video speeds, resolution, add CCs, etc to help you digest and process videos in the best way for you individually). Just found your channel and am amazed at how well you've thought out and organized your videos are...obviously you've put in a lot of time and effort. New subscriber, thank you for outstanding work! @@matticawood

[@wesleyking3468]

Hey bro are you being chased by a tiger 😂😂😂slow down men...you have very good points but your accent and speed is making it kind a hard to keep up

[@Persun_McPersonson]

I like that he talks fast. I think it's annoying when people talk really slowly in tutorials and stuff.

[@illasmoke]

This was a waste of my time thanks

[@matticawood]

No problem 😂