Asking if there is a right or a wrong way to learn the piano is a really loaded question. There is no clear cut answer but I’m going to try and answer this the best I can based on my experience. I’ve had the opportunity to study with several great teachers including Constance Keene, Ruth Slenczynska, John Ogden and my father, Morton Estrin. Despite many techniques and approaches for learning the piano, there are some basic truths that are almost universal among fine teachers.
Being able to count your music is one of the most important things you must learn. Practicing with a metronome to check your rhythm and timing is something that is vital in developing as a musician. Yes, there are some truths that are somewhat universal. Why not universal? Because there is more than one way to approach the piano – if you watch other pianists you will notice very different techniques.
My father, Morton Estrin, was my only teacher through high school (other than some master classes in Austria). When I attended the Manhattan School of Music I gained the opportunity to work with other concert pianists. However, for most of my early development on the piano, I studied with my father. He would describe playing the piano “with a quiet hand”. What he meant was that he used a minimal amount of motion and this is how I learned. I was taught to use as little motion as possible to produce the best sound I could. Now there are certain techniques which require more motion (such as wrist technique) but the principles of his method are fundamental.
When I went away to music conservatory I was surprised by my new teacher. She taught me to allow more movement in my playing and loosen myself up a bit. Now my father’s technique wasn’t wrong but in experiencing another way to learn I was able to develop further as a pianist. I used aspects of both of their methods to create a technique all my own. As I’ve said in other videos, no two people are built exactly the same. What might work for one person won’t necessarily work for another. If you have small hands – like me – there are some aspects of playing piano where you will be limited and other areas where small hands provide advantages; the same goes for people with larger hands.
So there are many correct ways to approach the piano as well as many techniques that may not be reliable. You must find solid techniques that work for you. There are dozens of techniques for learning certain aspects of the piano and there are hundreds of opinions on what is right and what is wrong. There are two things that matter as you continue to learn about various techniques and improve as a pianist. One is if the technique works for you. Two is if the technique can be applied to a certain aspect of playing but not another. Many times a technique will be a great way to solve one problem but will leave you struggling in other areas. This is why adopting many different techniques and developing your own playing style is so important.
So yes, there are right and wrong techniques for learning the piano. If a technique works for you don’t be discouraged if someone else does it differently. Right and wrong is more of a subjective experience when it comes to learning piano and what works for one person might not always work for another.
Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
5 thoughts on “Is There a Wrong Way to Learn Piano?”
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Thank you for your wonderful videos, Robert. I truly enjoy them. It is very generous of you to put time into creating these very insightful videos. No matter how much experience we have as teachers or performers, there is a lot of value in sharing ideas , the professional ” tricks of the trade” with each other.
I once taught a bright young student who had had 6 weeks of group lessons before coming to me. The first thing she was taught was EGBDF and FACE. For the 9 years she was with me, she struggled with ‘that is a G (or D), so it must be here’. For her, and the way her brain works, this was the WRONG way to begin learning the keyboard. She now is an advanced pianist. As a result of teaching her early in my teaching experience, I delay teaching EGBDF until after each student knows ‘the note on this line in here’ and ‘the note on this space is here’.
Yes, Nancy, exactly right. Learning to go from the written note directly to the key in one step is a lot faster than the two step note to letter then letter to key process. I can’t imagine how anybody could sight read doing it the hard way. As a lead sheet reader, for me the letters mean chords and they go mainly to the left hand, while notes on the staff go to the right….
— J.S.
What a nice gem of advice, Robert. When I first learnt to play my teacher alway insisted on two things: one no pedal till year four and the other is, as you say, minimal motion. The latter became so ingrained in my playing that I started to get discouraged when I observed the graceful lifting and lowering of hands by other pianists, especially female.
So what you say is so wise, and I am sure it will encourage many pianisys. especially those in their first few years of playing.
Thank for giving such advice to all so freely
Len