Learning to play the piano takes time – it takes a lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of effort. No matter what method you choose, it is going to take time to learn to play the piano proficiently and I think that is a small part of the appeal of learning to play the piano because it is not a skill that everyone has.
Let’s face it – learning to play an instrument properly takes time and effort to accumulate the necessary skills. Even if you take the example of the recorder, which many people learned when they were at school. Sure, they could play a simple tune, but each note was not blended into the next and the sound could sound rather squeaky and piercing – often not pleasant. If you were to hear an adult play a recorder that has taken the instrument seriously and has been refining their skills over a number of years, you would hear something sounding more like a cross between a flute and a clarinet. The difference between a school kid and a serious musician is vast.
No matter what the instrument, there is always a level of skill and complexity that is seldom reached and the reason for this level not being attained is the amount of practice. I’m not saying that everyone should truly master their chosen instrument. If a person is absolutely content with some basic skills, then that is ideal. My point is; that learning to play an instrument proficiently can’t be achieved in a few weeks.
I’ve seen way too many ads for online piano courses that claim to have a person playing well in just a couple of weeks. I vehemently disagree. You can’t match a person’s standard if they have been playing the piano for two years and you have only been playing for two weeks. It is simply not possible.
I don’t think people who genuinely want to play the piano really care how long the journey takes. I’ve had twelve years of piano lessons when I was young and I know that there are things that I could improve upon. For me, I consider myself a life long learmer. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have many skills because I want to keep improving – I can impress people with the way I play (not that this has never been a goal of mine). Just because I still want to improve doesn’t mean that I am not happy with the way I play the piano now.
If you genuinely want to learn to play the piano, then don’t think you should be playing proficiently after only a few weeks. Instead enjoy the journey, enjoy gradually accumulating and consolidating your piano playing skills – you will appreciate and value your skills the more effort you put in to gain them.
I also think it is important to state that if learning to play the piano was really easy, then just about everyone would play the piano and there would never be a true appreciation for the skill and effort it takes to play well.
So my advice is: Enjoy learning to play the piano and don’t think about how long it might take you to learn to the standard that you aspire to.