If you've always wanted to learn the basics of playing the piano, now is your time!
Piano teacher Tim Stein takes us through 18 in-depth piano lessons for beginners. Topics include how to sit properly, explaining the geography of the keyboard, how to start practising a piece, and how to play chords.
There is mountains of content here to get stuck in to. We recommend working your way through each lesson in order, however you can skip to the lessons that apply best to you if that suits your needs.
Good luck!
Lesson 1: Seating and Posture
This first lesson delves into the world of seating and posture at the piano. Tim demonstrates on the Roland HP-507.
Lesson 2: Hand Shape and Hand Position
Next we look at how to correctly position the hands on the piano, making sure to have the wrist and arm in the right position.
Lesson 3: Piano Fingering for Beginners
This lesson concentrates on easy fingering, taking fingers 1 to 5 and getting used to using them on the keyboard.
Lesson 4: Geography of the Keyboard
In the fourth lesson, we look at how to move around the keyboard with confidence and freedom, and how to put that into practice.
Lesson 5: Simple Warm Up Exercise
Learn about the importance of the fingers and hands doing warm-up exercises before you play the piano properly.
Lesson 6: Hand and Finger Independence
Hand and finger independence are incredibly important when playing the piano. This lesson includes exercises for coordination between the hands (legato in one, staccato in the other).
Lesson 7: Fingering for Scales and Arpeggios
Lesson 7 is all about finding the right fingering for scales and arpeggios.
Continue your arpeggio learning journey by downloading our All About Arpeggios cheat sheet. The cheat sheet includes everything you need to know about arpeggios, four key things to keep in mind when practising them, 24 interactive arpeggio exercises, as well as an all-important progress tracker. 👇🏽
Lesson 8: Piano Tone and Sound
In the eighth lesson, we look at how to produce a good singing tone from the instrument.
Lesson 9: How to Start Practising a Piece
Starting to learn a piece can be daunting. Tim Stein guides us through some advice on how to do just that.
Lesson 10: Sight-Reading
Lesson 10 focuses on sight-reading, and how to improve your skills.
Lesson 11: Aural Training
Here we delve into how to train your ears to really listen to what you play!
Lesson 12: Leaps and Large Intervals
Lesson 12 looks at how to get to grips with quick leaps and jumps at the keyboard.
Check out our Play Beginner digital special to continue your journey as pianist. Inside you'll find 18 full beginner scores ranging from Baroque to Romantic paired with teacher notes, step-by-step lessons on some of the scores, more advice from Tim Stein, plus plenty of beginner video lessons to watch! 👇🏽
Lesson 13: How to Play Chords
Being able to play chords is near the top of the to-do list for many beginner piano players. Thankfully, we've got the perfect lesson for just that.
Lesson 14: Chord Voicing
The previous lesson looked at how to play chords. Next, we're going to look at chord voicings, and how to train your ear and fingers in order to voice your chords.
Lesson 15: Strengthening the Left Hand
In most cases, the left hand is usually the weaker of the two. Here we look at how to strengthen that hand and get it up to speed.
Lesson 16: Slurs
Lesson 16 explores the world of slurs.
Lesson 17: Rhythm
In the penultimate lesson, we look at the importance of rhythm in your piano playing.
Lesson 18: The Thumb
In the final lesson, we take a look at the importance of the thumb and how to use it correctly. It can be tricky finger to master.
Want to continue your learning journey? We have hundreds more piano lessons waiting to be discovered by you. Visit our YouTube channel to keep learning!
About the teacher:
Tim Stein is a pianist and teacher based in London. He has contributed his teaching expertise to Pianist over the years through many exceptional piano lesson videos.