Piano guides

Teaching yourself piano, reading notes, choosing a keyboard, playing your first chords: clear, free guides, each with the interactive lesson that goes with it.

• How to Teach Yourself Piano (for Free): Where to Start – The right order for learning without a teacher: the keyboard, your fingers, hand positions, then reading and chords. Plus a concrete plan for your first two weeks.
• Learning Piano as an Adult: Is It Too Late to Start? – No, it isn’t too late: the strengths of adult beginners, the traps to avoid, a routine that fits a busy life and a plan for your first three months.
• How Long Does It Take to Learn Piano? Realistic Milestones – Realistic milestones for each stage, how many minutes to practice a day, and why short, regular practice gets you further than one long session.
• Best Keyboard for Learning Piano: A Beginner’s Buying Guide – MIDI keyboard, digital piano or acoustic piano: the features that really matter (keys, touch, pedal, USB) to start off right without overspending.
• Piano Note Names: How to Find Every Note on the Keyboard – The black keys are your map: with their groups of two and three, you can find any note in a second. Plus middle C, octaves, octave numbers, sharps and flats.
• Piano Finger Numbers and Hand Position: A Beginner’s Guide – Thumb = 1, pinky = 5: finger numbers, the rounded hand shape, good posture and your first hand positions, with exercises for independent fingers.
• How to Read Treble Clef Notes Fast: The Landmark Note Method – Three notes you recognize at a glance, then steps and skips: the fastest way to read treble clef notes, with exercises you can start today.
• How to Read Bass Clef Notes: Easy Landmarks for the Left Hand – The left hand’s staff reads with three landmarks (bass C, F and middle C) plus steps and skips. How it works, the trap to avoid, and exercises for the left hand.
• Piano Chords for Beginners: Which Chords to Learn First – How to build a major or minor chord, the handful of chords that cover lots of songs, and the inversions that let you move between them without jumping.
• How to Accompany a Song on Piano Using a Chord Chart – From chord chart to full accompaniment: reading the chart, the bass, chords that don’t jump, five basic rhythms, and transposing for the singer’s voice.