by Raddy Antric

It is often said that learning a musical instrument requires a professional teacher. If you do not employ one, it might be extremely difficult to learn or master the instrument. However, that is not necessarily true, even for a complex instrument such as the piano.

There are also many professional musicians who have provided testimonials that they mastered their instruments without personal coaching. It all comes from their determination and passion for music, and this applies strongly to the piano. It is a difficult instrument to master, but perseverance can often be the crucial ingredient to successfully learning it.

There might also be clear cases whereby having a piano teacher can be detrimental to the learner’s development. A child might be genuinely interested in becoming a pianist. But if the teacher is too strict and reduces the fun of learning a musical instrument, the child could lose interest.

Without a doubt, enlisting a piano teacher will set one back financially. As the saying goes, quality requires substantial monetary compensation. So if you want a good coach, be prepared to pay expensive monthly fees. On the other hand, learning how to play it yourself requires no cost whatsoever, except buying a piano of your own.

Many budding pianists also decide to take on the instrument due to a true passion for it. Artistic passion can often conflict with rote learning. Having a piano teacher for these individuals might therefore stifle their progress and development. Some of the best musicians in the world have never had a professional lesson in their lives.

Most, if not all, of these issues are non-existent when learning the piano by teaching yourself. While discipline should always be practiced, you can also schedule and organize your own lessons at your own pace. This could even encourage a pianist to be more dedicated to their craft.

With the advent of online piano courses, there is no shortage of substitutes for a professional coach. These lessons cannot be treated as complete coaching programs, but used to complement your own personal learning. It is also advisable to find other budding pianists who can encourage and learn from each other.

In these modern times, there is no real need to enlist the help of a professional piano teacher if one wishes to learn the instrument. Doing so might help speed up the process but it is no guarantee of results. With the plethora of free and online courses readily available, learning the piano can be done on your own with similar or even better results.

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