Is Piano Theory Necessary?

Learning piano theory does not, and should not, be an intimidating experience. Taking the "all or nothing approach" can easily discourage the beginning piano student who is anxious to play piano. Understand this: it's not necessary to know everything about the rudiments of music before playing piano! Ideally, understanding more and more about music theory as you progress will be something you want to do, because the more you know, the more things make sense.

This poses a question: is it possible to excel with learning if you know next to nothing about music theory? The answer: yes. We can equate the piano learning experience to a baby who first begins to try to talk. Do you remember when you were a baby? Probably not:) But you tried to mimic what you heard with unfailing enthusiasm. You never judged yourself. After some time, your words started to make sense to the adults in your world. You talked, they smiled, and so did you.

Here's what's important to digest: you talked long before you could read or write, didn't you? Absolutely! The average child doesn't even begin to read or write until about five years old. But you certainly knew how to communicate before you were five, right? You bet you did!

The same is true with learning piano. You can play piano by ear, mimic what you hear, experiment, and have a whole lot of fun in the process. It's just that when you get curious enough to learn about the fundamentals, it's kind of like seeing the puzzle come together a little more completely. But, as you might have already experienced, putting together a puzzle can be fun without ever finishing it. Learning the piano notes (names of the piano keys) is certainly something you want to do, though this doesn't take much time at all. Once you do this, learning piano chords can be your next step, especially if you are interested in learning how to play by ear - which is lots of fun! Learning piano scales can be a part of this process, of course, but keep in mind that learning all the piano rudiments is not at all crucial to your jumping right in the game. Learning your major scales is certainly a good start.

Key point: if you want to learn piano, then by all means pursue it. Get involved. You will be so glad you did, especially if you take a light enough approach to it all. Don't judge yourself. Treat it like a learning adventure, which it is. Have tons of fun!