Introduction to my Piano Learning Journey!

My interest in learning the piano began at a very early age—around 11 or 12 years old. At the time, our new neighbours had just moved in next door, and they had two daughters who were about my age. After school, I would often visit their house and watch them play on a beautiful old piano that had been passed down from their grandparents. Its wooden casing was worn and weathered, having been filled with generations of timeless music. Despite its age, the piano’s soundboard whispered rich, resonant tones that drew me in. I would sit and watch my neighbour for hours as she played songs she had learned in piano class. Her talent inspired me, and I dreamed of becoming just as skilled one day.

As I’ve grown older, my love for the piano has only deepened. For my 16th birthday, I convinced my parents to get me a keyboard piano so I could start learning. I played casually for a while, but as life got busier, I didn’t make time for it and eventually tucked the keyboard away in my closet. Recently, I’ve realized that my love for the arts—whether it’s visual art, dance, or music—was born from those childhood moments. Music has always held a special place in my heart because of the beauty it brings to others.

Now, as a future teacher, I’m inspired to use this learning project as an opportunity to reconnect with music by learning the piano. I also hope to bring my love for music and the arts into the classroom in meaningful ways. I believe these tools can enhance all subject areas and help students manage stress, offering peace and calm through the power of music.

My Learning Goal

My overall goal for this project is to learn the basics of piano and play a simple song by the end of the semester. To achieve this, I plan to:

• Begin by experimenting with the piano keys and familiarizing myself with the sounds they make.
• Learn the layout of the keyboard, identify the pattern of black and white keys, locate Middle C, and memorize the names of the white keys.
• Understand finger numbers and hand positions (assigning numbers 1–5 to each finger) and practice proper posture.
• Learn basic rhythms, starting with whole, half, and quarter notes.
• Begin playing simple songs with one hand—starting with Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star.
• Progress to playing with both hands.
• Start reading easy sheet music, with the eventual goal of learning a popular song to share with others.
• Practice ear training to recognize notes and chords.

Resources I’m Using

To support my learning, I will be using two apps: Simply Piano and Skoove. Both are beginner-friendly and provide real-time feedback by listening to the notes you play. I’ll also be using the website Tone Gym, which offers excellent ear training for beginners. Additionally, I plan to hang a printed diagram of piano keys on my wall to help with memorization throughout the semester. If I discover any new resources along the way, I’ll share them here on the blog.

Getting Started

Currently, I know little to nothing about the Piano or how to play it. I understand that a Piano goes from low notes to high notes. I also understand the Piano notes are A, B, C, D, E, F G, and some areas of these notes have sharp notes and flat notes. However, I am unsure on what this exactly means.  In the video below, I share my very first experience experimenting with the piano keyboard—exploring the sounds, identifying where the higher and lower notes appear, and where my A, B, C, D, E, F, G notes appear. In the video below, I share my very first experience experimenting with the piano keyboard—exploring the sounds and identifying where the higher and lower notes appear. Next week, I’ll continue my journey by finding Middle C and learning the keynotes across the keyboard.

Follow along as we learn together on this exciting musical journey!