Learn to play keyboard

The first thing when you learn to play keyboard is to realize is that Keyboard and Piano are two different instruments, even though the actual keyboard is the same on both of them! This page has advice for both beginners who want to learn to play keyboard and pianists who can already read music but want to know how to play keyboard in addition to the piano. Please also browse the rest of the site, whether you are a current or future keyboard player as it has some excellent advice on how to make your keyboard practice more effective!

Beginners

If you are a complete beginner then I recommend the Stephen Parry Learn to Play Keyboards course. This is one of the best online keyboard lessons courses I have seen and takes you through a series of progressive stages using downloadable, printed and audio material. Listening to a demo of a piece before learning it helps you learn quicker and more effectively. I always recommend listening to performances of pieces to my students. In fact, listening exercises make up an important part of their music practice each week.

The course is enjoyable and students begin to achieve playing various tunes early on in the course, which helps encourage progress. If you have always wanted to learn how to play keyboard but have never had the time, make time now! The course is downloadable, so you could be getting started very soon! Good luck!

Pianists

If you are a pianist who wants to learn how to play keyboard then the Keyboard Crash Course is designed especially for you! You don't have to wade through lots of stuff you know already at the start of the book such as how to read music. The Keyboard Crash Course book teaches you how to read lead sheets (melody and chords) and work out accompaniments and backings based on the chords. It also teaches you how to work out keys, voicing chords and the role of the keyboardist within a group, plus some information on the different patches (sounds) on the keyboard, which ones to use where, and (more importantly) which ones to avoid!

As a pianist and keyboard player myself, I know how important it is to be aware of the difference between these two instruments. As somebody once said to me "If somebody asks you to play golf, you don't turn up with a tennis raquet!" As a pianist/keyboard play the philosophy is the same… when asked to play keyboards, don't play piano on the keyboard!

For more advice on how to make more efficient use of your practice time, read my book Practice Makes Perfect. For more guidance when practising scales order Practice Makes Perfect, the book that teaches you how to make your music practice more efficient and effective. Easy to read and containing over 140 pages of advice on how to practice, musical goal setting, practice games, exams and further tips on using the music practice charts on this site as well as other invaluable practice advice. One music teacher called Practice Makes Perfect "An essential read for all musicians "
Click here now to order or read more about how Practice Makes Perfect can help you make more progress in much less time.