3 Things that "Get in Way" When Learning to Play

There are THREE things that afflict almost every student!

The first two are those that prevent them from even getting started with learning anything new.

1. Fear

"What if I waste my money?" seems to be a biggie right now. There's no shortage of people that offer free online videos and lessons and many folks think (erroneously) that they can learn to actually play their favorite music that way. Sure, if you play that youtube video over and over and over again you might learn a particular tune. But what else will you learn? Nothing, is what I believe. Hey, I researched for a couple years whether one can learn to play a keyboard of any sort with only online help and the answer was NO! Sorry, but there is a need to take some training. This is true for everyone and directly relates to the next item -

2. Attitude

"Aren't I too old to learn anything new?" The dumbass piano world is still in the 19th century when folks only took lessons as children (cause life expectancy was MUCH lower.) Today many people would like to play at different ages but they are still thinking that lessons are only for kids. This is not true. I've proved this with hundreds of forward thinking adult students of every type for 25 years. I'd say instead, "Once you stop learning, you start dying."

The final problem is related to #1 above but is for those who conquered the problems above and are now getting some training.

3. Fear (of teacher!)

Almost 100% of my students (of all ages, unfortunately!) have a bit of this fear. Some get over it quickly, and for some it takes longer. I have written extensively about this fear. It is embodied in the statement "I play so much better at home." Why would that be? Simple, no "teacher." A "teacher" and being a student is a matter of stress and mental pain for almost everyone. As I said earlier, this is unfortunate but true. It also is a huge indictment of our current school system.

Now I'm not saying I have a solution to either problem, but I do recognize it and have learned various ways to get around it. That's NOT the point here. The point is that being afraid in lessons is natural to everyone and you need not fear it. In other words, don't stress over being stressed!