How long would it take to be a proficent in piano?!
Question: I'm about to start piano lessons, and I want to know how long it would take me to be a proficient player. By this, I mean, for example, being able to play a tune that you know by ear, or something of the like.
Some info so you can estimate a bit better, maybe:
I already know how to read music, since I played the saxophone for two years.
I am seventeen years old.
I don't have a piano yet but very soon I will be buying a Yamaha keyboard.
Thanks in advance!
Answers: I'm about to start piano lessons, and I want to know how long it would take me to be a proficient player. By this, I mean, for example, being able to play a tune that you know by ear, or something of the like.
Some info so you can estimate a bit better, maybe:
I already know how to read music, since I played the saxophone for two years.
I am seventeen years old.
I don't have a piano yet but very soon I will be buying a Yamaha keyboard.
Thanks in advance!
Well you are off to a good start, but having played sax myself years ago and more recently piano, I have to tell you - its much more difficult. Plus you will have to learn to read bass clef also. If you are buying a keyboard, that is also a disadvantage as there is no keyboard made that feels like a real piano. How long it takes depends entirely on two things:
a) What you plan to play.
b) How much time you are prepared to spend working at the instrument and practicing.
Sorry there is no more a definitive answer than that.
Hmmm...
It depends on how well you take to the piano. If you plan to practice a lot, then proficiency will come a lot quicker. That's good that you already can read music, that will make it a lot easier. The only thing I find difficult in learning the piano is getting used to the bass clef, but you get used to that. Sorry, i'm ranting...I'd guess about...hmmm...about 2 years with plenty of practice.
Good luck!
Ravelinsky
I'd say a year or two before you could just start playing things by ear. Ear training is sometimes more difficult than learning to play the notes written on the page. Because you have been playing an instrument where you have already had to figure out what things are suppose to sound like before you play them, I think that you probably are already good at hearing things by ear. Just make sure you practice the piano at least 30 minutes everyday, to make sure you are progressing. The fast you move through those beginner books, the faster you can start playing more difficult pieces.
I've been playing piano and taking private lessons for now 10 years. I have to say that it depends on how well you want to be able to play a tune. After I had played for about five years I was able to play simple one note tunes by ear, but now I am able to now play much more by ear. I grew up hearing that once you play diligently for ten years you will never lose it!
If you want to become proficient enough to play a Sonata by Mozart or something, and considering that you've had some experience with the saxophone, I'd say it'd take you 5-6 years...I didn't play a Sonata until 7 years into my studies....but really it all depends on how much you practice. If you really enjoy the piano and practice at every chance you get, you'll probably be able to play one in 3 years. (I know someone who did)
If you want to be proficient enough to play a tune by ear (and if the tune is just a single melody) I think you can do it in 2-3 years.
If you practise for one or two hours every week then you will probably never become proficient. If you practise two or three hours every day then you should become quite reasonable after about 5 years.
There is no definitive answer to your question and some people never learn to play by ear.
Learning the piano is quite different from the sax. You have to read two clefs (bass and treble) and each hand is often doing very different things.