How can I help you?

The most common question I am asked is how can I learn piano or keyboard?
There are so many different things that this could mean.
Use the information in the table below to help you find your musical pathway.
Type of Playing
The Instrument ​You Need
The Music You ​Need to Read
What it Might Look 
​Like
How Long it Might 
​Take
PLAYING CHORDS
&
IMPROVISING
Good for accompanying singers
You will need a piano or an electronic
​keyboard
You will need to read chord symbols:
C
Speaking words of
G                           F
wisdom, Let it be.
​(Chord symbols only)
It will take a few weeks
PLAYING THE TUNE (RH) WITH LEFT HAND CHORDS
For solo ​performance
You will need an electronic ​keyboard
with an accompaniment
​function
You will need to read right hand notes &
​left hand chord symbols
It will only take a few weeks as the keyboard accompaniment function does the tricky left hand work for you
PLAYING THE TUNE
(RH) WITH LEFT HAND CHORDS
For solo ​performance
You will need a piano or an electronic
​keyboard
You will need to read right hand notes &
​left hand chord symbols
It will take a few months as it takes time to develop more complex hand coordination
TRADITIONAL
​PIANO
For solo performance
You will need a piano or electronic
keyboard
You will need to read right hand & left hand notes
It will take a few years

Other questions that I am regularly asked include -

What is the difference between a piano, digital piano and a keyboard?
A great YouTube video that explains the differences between all three instruments.
Why doesn't my playing seem to be getting any better?
A great YouTube video that explains the importance of perspective when assessing your progress.
​What is the difference between playing solo piano and accompanying?
A great YouTube video that explains the difference styles of playing needed in different contexts.
How do you work out the key signature of a piece of music?
This video provides a simple explanation for this important theory concept.
What is an easy way to learn keyboard?
The easiest way to learn how to play keyboard is to learn how to use the instrument's accompaniment feature. The keyboard then does most of the tricky left hand work for you and this minimises hand coordination issues. The FREE course that teaches you how to do this is here.
What is the best way to practice piano/keyboard?
The structure and length of your keyboard practice sessions will vary depending on the skills that you are trying to develop. It is best to  practice developing your skills for a shorter amount of time everyday rather than to do a few hours practice once a week.

A simple practice routine might look something like this:
  • Develop your technical skills (finger strength and nimbleness)
            Play some exercises or scales. You can find some FREE scale workouts here.
  • Develop new skills
            Spend some time on sight reading, improvising, arranging, playing by ear, chord piano, learning a new song or piece of
            music - or whatever skills you need to develop to reach your next musical goals.
  • Revisit old skills & music
You may have heard the saying "If you don't use it, you lose it." This applies to your music skills. If you don't revisit a song or a piece of music that you have previously learned, your ability to play it as well as you did will fade. Gladly it wont take as long to "brush up" as it did to learn the first time around. So spend the last part of your practice session playing some music that you have previously mastered to keep it "fresh". Then you will have something to play when asked.​
What is the difference between the grand staff (full notation) and lead sheets?
Grand Staff (full notation) shows the treble and bass clefs, and the notes that need to be payed with your right and left hands. Sometimes chord notation will be included above the treble staff. Grand staff notation is shown below:
Lead sheets contain the melody line (written on the treble staff, to be played with your right hand), chord symbols (written above the treble staff, to be played with your left hand), and lyrics. Lead sheet notation is shown below:
This is the all the information that a keyboardist needs to make an arrangement of a song. ​Large collections of lead sheets can be found in "Fake Books". There are a multitude of Fake Books currently available. Browse a selection here.
How do I transpose the chords in a song to a different key?
Download Major and Minor Chord Chart transposition conversion here
How do I play all of the keys without stress?
The answer is by doing a lot of slow practice. Watch Robert Estrin's video explanation here.
How long does it take to learn the piano?
This video explains that it takes about 10 years to learn to play proficiently.