Learning piano again

I started teaching myself piano again. I've taken lessons in the past, so I'm not starting from zero, but I'd describe myself as a beginner.

I recently logged my 200th hour of practice since picking it up again, and along the way I've noted some observations about how I learn, and how I built early momentum. This essay is about piano, mostly jazz oriented, but many of these ideas can be applied to other learning endeavors.

Playing piano

The only thing that matters in the beginning is consistency. Just do the most enjoyable thing, whatever it is that makes you want to sit down and play. Explore intervals with the pedal down, riff over other songs, record loops into Ableton. When you're just starting, any form of playing is a form of practice. Your own learning path, your own meta-learnings, will emerge from doing. You can't play piano if you don't play piano.

Loving piano

Consistency becomes easy if you genuinely enjoy doing the thing. It's worth taking a moment to understand what you love about piano, what kind of playing you're into, who or what inspires you. Let yourself truly fall in love with the instrument, and you'll have a natural, enduring spark to practice and grow over years.

What to learn?

Jazz piano fluency at its extent involves keys, scales, chords, voicings, intervals, modes, rhythm, technique, repertoire, ear training, and more... so, where do you start? How do you approach learning such that you build a sustained habit and make real progress?

I started by learning a piece. Learning a piece simplifies the sprawl of learning paths open to you at this stage. It comes with a clear, playable outcome, in contrast to drilling scales or learning theory, and unlocks new palettes that you can use to improvise. I've since added theory and fundamentals to my practice, but this came after I'd formed the habit.

Choosing a piece

Find a piece you truly love. The more you love it, the more you'll want to play it, and the faster (and better) you'll learn it. You can only learn so many songs over a lifetime, so be intentional about seeking out your real favorites. I started with one of mine, Peace Piece by Bill Evans.

Learning resources

Use sheet music, YouTube, apps, whatever works. Don't overthink it. The best resource is the one that helps you learn and keeps you practicing. Right now I mostly lean on sheet music, YouTube, and Open Studio Jazz.

Remember these resources are not the piano. They're helpful abstractions, but they sit between you and the instrument. Keep an awareness of the real, embodied experience of playing: the shapes the keys make, the way your hands move, the physical touch. This will build your feel and intuition.

Developing your ear

Develop your ear and you can learn to play anything. Improvise with intention, translate songs and phrases across keys, and build a fluency for piano without any abstraction. I've only scratched the surface. Primacy of the ear is the clearest introduction to ear training I've found.

Deliberate practice

Going in, my mental model for learning a piece was something like: learn the notes, then play them. Here's how I think about it now:

1. Practice in 1-2 measure chunks, learning with each hand separately
2. Play every note correctly. If you aren't able to, slow your playing down until you can. Then speed up gradually until you hit the target tempo.
3. Proceed like this chunk by chunk until you've finished the piece.

Keep it simple. Playing every day for minutes is better than playing one day for hours. Consistency and rest supercharge learning. Good sleep is good practice.

Mind-muscle connection

Early on, I noticed the latency between my mind and fingers. I know the notes, but my fingers can't get to them fast enough. A lot of practice is just closing that gap until it doesn't exist. You don't want your mind to have to talk to your muscles. You want your muscles to embody the knowledge directly.

Make a point to identify fingering as part of your practice. Use it consistently. Fingering teaches your fingers and wrists how to play the notes, the specific pattern of movement. It's closer to physical exercise than mental acuity. Be attentive to the mind-muscle connection as you practice, embody the feeling.

To be continued...