If you can type on a computer keyboard without looking, does it mean that you will make a good piano player?

Question

I've always wanted to play the piano, but I don't have one and I don't know how to. But I can type quite fast on a QWERTY keyboard (while looking. Not that fast while not looking, and I make a lot of mistakes too). Is this an indication that I'm not going to make a good piano player? FYI, I'm already 18 and I have long fingers.

Answer 1

There are alot of variables.

I am pretty sure that typing well does not translate into "good piano playing" As a non-pianist, you probably think that piano playing happens primarily in the fingers. The best analogy to show you the misplaced logic of this statement, I can give you is that "dancing takes place primarily in the toes" Without proper support and motions of your back, torso, arms, and shoulders, your fingers and hands will be injured very quickly. How many ways can you say, "carpal tunnel"

Piano playing involves your whole body. It involves your torso, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, (and fingers) and legs and feet. The keys on a good piano will tend to weigh more and require much more pressure than a key on a computer keyboard. Remember, the sound doesn't come from the key itself. The key sets off a chain reaction of levers and hammers that "hit" the strings.

You will also be significantly hindered if you have never studied music notation. Music notation is a language, and because the language learning portions of your brain get shifted into other tasks around the time people hit puberty, it will be much more difficult for you to learn.

With that said, I encourage you to try. Of all the instruments, piano playing causes the most brain area to become active (with the exception of string playing) than pretty much any task at all, whether it be music related or not.

Answer 2

My typing teacher used to tell me that since I could play the piano, I should be good at typing, however I never managed to be a proficient typer - well at least not right away. Learning the piano is quite different to learning to type - the keys of the piano are in different positions.

The fact that you have long fingers helps but! See how you go with it - once you learn where the notes on the piano are situated, you should be right, especially with those typing skills already there!

Answer 3

Sorry to dispel the myth about long fingers and not looking at keys. Neither are necessarily a prerequisite to success at the piano. Some of the greatest pianists (I think, most notably, of Glenn Gould in classical and Tori Amos in popular), have short, almost stubby fingers. It's not the size or length of those digits, but HOW you use them.

As for not looking at keys--I work at the post office in remote encoding, which requires very fast typing and not looking at your fingers. Almost every one of the employees at my job (and there are thousands of them) can type extremely fast without looking at their hands. It doesn't follow that all these people would automatically become good pianists. Just talk to any piano teacher--maybe 3 out of 10 students go on to become excellent pianists.

In short, I think it takes a combination of so many elements to produce a good pianist--too many to go into here. And by the way, I am a pianist myself, so I think I know a littlle about this subject. The only way you are going to find out is to try it. Take some lessons and practice--a lot. As the old joke goes: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Desire, passion and discipline usually make up for any deficits you may have in natural talent.

Oh, and I can't stress this enough: find a GOOD piano teacher. There are so many poor ones out there who don't teach theory, fingering or scales (I had to learn these on my own and believe me, it was difficult--I am still trying to catch up). Talk to the (good) pianists you know and ask them to recommend a good teacher, one who teaches all the elements of music I described above.

Hope this helps. Good luck and...get started! There's no time to waste--you are at the perfect age to begin the journey. Music is life!

Answer 4

Even though you can type fast on a keyboard, that doesn't mean you will be good at piano. I take piano and it is much more than having long fingers. Trust Me!!!!!

Answer 5

it is all about practice.... at first you had to look at the keyboard to see what keys you were hitting... after a while, it all came to you and you no longer had to do this.

any musical instrument is the same way.

I think that you said in the latter part of your explaination that you could not type fast while not looking... if this is the case, then practice at both (keyboarding and Piano)

Answer 6

I'm actually very good at this. I mess up a lot too, so I know instinctively where the delete keys are. The problem is, I think ahead, so I type the beginning of the next word before I am done typing the word I am typing. I counted about 9 mishaps, including ones in this sentence. Pretty good eh?

Answer 7

Not at all, because you may be good at moving your hands all around the piano, but that doesn't mean you'll automatically be good at rhythm, or chords and playing different things in different hands, or making a piece soulful and moving.

Answer 8

It helps to type fast if your wish is to play the paino. My son types fast and plays the paino. I type well but don't play the paino. I guess it is an advantage to be a typer you got some finger cordination that is need in paino.

Answer 9

there is a particular part of the brain that you develope that allows you to use spacial awareness blindly.
the answer is if you practice anything with out direct eye contact you can of course master others

Answer 10

I think your long fingers will be more helpful than your typing skills.