Piano Lessons?

check youtube for lots of video instructions. not sure on exact youtube user that'll be best but great place to start. instead of typing also ''piano lessons'' in the search bar,try ''how to play the piano'' instead. get much more results and you find tons of vids on youtube.

What theories? Do you mean reading notes off the book?

Chords.. Youtube would suffice. Search them up! 

 

For theory, this is a good, accessible book, and not too expensive. I think for something like theory where you need to think about it, a book is a useful aid.

You should see what weekend classes are available at your local music conservatory.  Big cities are good.  I've taken a few years of music theory and composition courses, and there are a lot of fundamentals you'll learn in a formal classical environment that you won't pick up on YouTube, books, or websites.  A lot of folks don't realize that professional composers like BT and Mos Def have pretty extreme amounts of formal and structured training since they were little kids.

it's not hard to figure chords out on the piano.....look it up on google then. there should be lots of information explaining where the chords are and will even explain how to read notes and tabs. i use google or youtube all the time and i'm all self-taught. you don't have to go to classes to learn an instrument. just need patience and lots of self-disciple.

True to a certain point.  At a certain point you really need a teacher though.  I have experience with this.  A teacher makes certain subjects much easier to understand, at least my piano teacher did (the third one ).  Its a shame I still suck though .  Piano teachers will also teach you things you may miss on your own.

 

Anyway I'd suggest saving yourself some money and starting out with youtube etc. learn basic reading music, chords, arpeggios, and simple stuff.  Then get a teacher.  Another option is to take lessons less frequently at first (i.e. like every few weeks).

 

Just one piece of advise when starting out: pay attention to all the little things like posture etc.  I know at first it seems like it's just nitpicking but trust me it makes a big difference and if you learn it wrong it is very difficult to correct.  Thing is you won't find this out until a few years down the road when you have trouble playing fast for example.  Then you realize sitting up straight and keeping your hands shaped properly was important.

 

If you do end up taking lessons from a piano teacher, here's my experience.  Avoid large companies.  When I first took lessons it was at a yamaha studio and the ladies there treated it like a job.  Learn song 1 then learn song 2 etc.  They didn't really pay attention to what I already knew.  Eventually I took lessons from a music student who was still working on his teaching credential.  He was a much better teacher (and cheaper).  He didn't stick to one curriculum like the other ppl.  Heck he'd teach me whatever I wanted to learn.  Anyway I know this is generalizing, but you might want to consider a music student who really cares about what they do rather than someone who just works at a piano studio.  YMMV .

 

And yes I still suck but that was because I don't have the patience or ambition to practice .

yes! i notice that when i first started teaching myself is posture is everything. hard to explain why but it made everything so much easier to play and just felt a better flow in the keys as i press them.

i do agree as well it's great to find a private teacher that knows his stuff. i strictly always keep to myself but i'm never afraid to call someone and ask for advice if it's gonna improve myself. i enver paid for any lessons myself though. i just find people and ask them straight-forward if they can give me any advice/tips and if they can show me. just mentioning it's possible to learn on your own if you have the patience and disciple cause you can if you set your mind to it and keep trying. i know some people pick up faster than others but doesn't mean to not at least give it a try.
Edited by RexAeterna - 11/22/11 at 1:42pm

These videos really helped me to get started learning, you'll need more help than this most likely, but it's a really good start. http://www.youtube.com/user/Lypur

 

There is also this http://synthesiagame.com/

 

One thing I will say is that for me at least I found a lot of focus is put on the circle of fifths, which I've found completely not necessary to learn at all.  

 

When I start getting sloppy in my posture, I watch one of this girl's videos, and that puts me back in place pretty quickly.

Edited by sexiewasd - 11/23/11 at 1:11pm