Can You Teach Yourself Piano?
With the incredible number of resources now available for self-teaching piano, many people may wonder if they even need a teacher. The piano is probably the easiest instrument to teach yourself, but does self-teaching really work, or do you need a teacher?
Self-Teaching
What it is
Self-teaching means you learn to play the piano on your own, without a teacher giving you lessons. Some way you could go about this include:
YouTube tutorials
Online courses
Apps
Method books
A combination of any of these ben
Pros of Self-Teaching
No pressure
When you are teaching yourself you decide on the timing of everything. You don’t have the pressure of an upcoming lesson to learn something, you can take a break for a while and come back whenever you want, and you can try out different things as much as you like.
Lower cost
Teaching yourself is usually much cheaper than paying a teacher, and can even be free.
Fits your schedule
Lessons can happen whenever you have time, no need to have a dedicated lesson time.
Cons of Self-Teaching
No accountability
This can be a pro for some people but unless you are very dedicated, it’s so easy to put things off, which can have a big impact on your progress.
No set path
This is mainly an issue with YouTube tutorials; you don’t have direction on what to learn next to keep you progressing.
Attempting pieces that are too hard (not knowing how hard a piece is before you start)
Without a teacher to guide you it is very easy to attempt a piece because it sounds good but then be unable to finish it because it is too hard. This can lead to frustration and discouragement.
Skipping the fundamentals
Another very common issue with self-teaching is learning songs without a solid understanding of fundamental concepts such as rhythm and notation. This can lead to sloppy rhythms and often playing wrong notes if you aren’t good at reading notation, or don’t know certain things about it.
Not doing technical work
Many self-taught pianists may not even realize that there is such a thing as technical work, or how important it is. This can lead to plateaus, slower progress, and bad technique.
No encouragement
A good teacher will help keep you motivated when things are difficult and point out the progress you are making that can be hard to notice yourself.
No musicality
Learning songs from tutorials and apps can often lead to very mechanical playing.
Developing bad habits
When teaching yourself it can be very hard to catch bad habits, especially since you probably aren’t even aware of what they are.
Who it’s Best For
If you just want to play some songs for fun
To get you started until you are ready for a teacher
If you can’t afford a teacher
Self-teaching Options
Online courses
If these are well made I would consider them the best, as you have a combination of graded material, video demonstrations, and a clear path for progression.
Method books
These can be good, but are often not as interesting as having videos, so it can be harder to maintain motivation.
Apps
Some can be good, Flowkey is one I would recommend.
YouTube
Probably the worst option unless you can find a good teacher and they have some way of giving you a clear path to follow. Randomly learning songs by watching tutorials is not a good way to progress.
Private Lessons (getting a teacher)
What it is
Taking private lessons means that you have a teacher that gives you lessons (usually weekly) that are either 30, 45, or 60 minutes long, either online through a platform like zoom, or in person.
Pros of Having a (good) Teacher
Structured plan for progressing
A good teacher gives you a clear, step-by-step roadmap so you always know what to practice and why. Instead of jumping between random pieces or exercises, you move through skills in the right order—reading, rhythm, technique, theory, and repertoire—so each new piece and exercise builds on what you’ve already mastered and your progress stays steady.
Resources you may not find on your own
A teacher likely knows of materials that are hard to discover without experience—specific method books, etude sequences, sight-reading systems, theory worksheets, listening lists, and repertoire that targets your exact weaknesses. They can also adapt or create exercises on the spot to solve a problem quickly, rather than relying on generic tutorials.
Encouragement
Learning piano has plateaus, and a teacher helps you stay confident through them. You get supportive, specific feedback that highlights what’s improving, reframes mistakes as normal steps in the process, and keeps lessons enjoyable—so you’re more likely to stick with it long enough to see real results.
Accountability
Regular lessons create a rhythm that makes practice more consistent. Knowing someone will check in on your goals helps you follow through. A teacher can also set realistic weekly targets, track your progress, and adjust your plan when life gets busy—so you keep moving forward instead of restarting over and over.
Bad habits get corrected early
Self-teaching often leads to unnoticed issues like tension, collapsed fingers, poor posture, inefficient fingering, or rushing rhythms. A teacher catches these early and shows you how to fix them, which can save months or years of relearning and helps you play more comfortably and confidently.
Solid foundations
A teacher makes sure the basics are secure—steady pulse, accurate reading, relaxed technique, good tone, and musical phrasing—because those fundamentals determine how easily you’ll learn everything later. With a strong foundation, harder pieces feel achievable, your playing sounds more polished, and you’re less likely to get stuck at the intermediate stage.
Cons of Having a teacher
Cost
Regular lessons can be expensive compared to self-teaching resources.
Scheduling constraints
You have to fit lessons into both your calendar and the teacher’s availability.
Less flexibility in pacing
A teacher may move faster or slower than you’d prefer at times.
Travel/tech hassle
In-person lessons require commuting; online lessons require reliable setup and internet.
Private Lesson Options
In-person
In-person piano lessons can be great because the teacher can see your full posture and hand movement from any angle, demonstrate technique right beside you, and you both hear the instrument in the room (tone, balance, and pedaling) without microphone distortion or internet lag. They also avoid tech issues and make it easier to play duets or clap/count together in real time, and the studio setting can help you focus.
The tradeoff is that in-person lessons usually require commuting, cost more overall, offer fewer scheduling options, and limit you to teachers nearby—plus cancellations can be more frequent due to traffic, weather, or illness.
Online
Online piano lessons are convenient because you can learn from anywhere, which opens up access to the best teacher for your goals instead of being limited to whoever lives nearby. They’re usually easier to schedule (and reschedule) since there’s no commute, and you can take lessons right at the instrument you practice on every day, making it simple to apply changes immediately.
Online lessons also make it easy to record sessions. The downsides are that sound and video quality can hide details like tone, pedaling clarity, and subtle tension, internet lag can interrupt playing together in real time, and you may need a decent setup (camera angles, lighting, mic, stable Wi‑Fi) to get the most out of the experience.
