What does it take for someone to master & learn everything about the piano and reading music?

I can play piano,I have one of those electric keyboards that has a built in key lighting system that can help you learn to play songs,Well here are a list of the songs that I have mastered
1)Greensleeves
2)Home On The Range
3)Grandfathers Clock
4)Augustin
5)Swanee River
6)House Of The Rising Sun
7)We Wish you a merry Christmas
and I have been too lazy to practice piano,I find myself playing the same old things over and over,I don’t even do the work sheets that I printed up from this site to help me learn all kinds of things,

First of all, 7 songs doesn’t make someone « gifted. » Intelligence and « catching on quickly » does not a quality piano player make. It is dedication and desire to cultivate oneself as a quality musician, and a drive to find the self-expression that no words could ever explain.

First, technique. Do you know proper hand position? Posture? The numbering system for each finger? How to label a score with fingering patterns until you are comfortable with them and don’t « cross » fingers when playing?
Second – you say you learned by watching the lights on the keys. Have you learned how to read music? Treble and bass clef? How to read rhythm?
Third – have you invested in a method book to study from?
And last….have you created goals for yourself?

You need to create a specific time to practice every day with your method book. If you can’t read music yet, I strongly advise you to pick up a very basic method book that starts from square one. The Alfred piano series for children does exactly that – and so does their Adult beginner books.
Secondly, when you practice, it doesn’t have to be for hours – get a simple notebook and label each page with a date. Set aside at least 10 minutes per day of direct, consistent practice. Under each date, write a goal for yourself and use that 10 minutes per day to create a goal. For example:
« 1-20-09: Study page 10 to develop hand independence. Practice etude #1 and #2 and work to a quarter note = 70 bpm.

When you create a goal, your ten minutes of practice is going to be more productive than an hour of practice with no goal.

Also, you cannot expect to EVER know « everything » about reading music and playing piano. Musicianship is ALWAYS an ongoing process – even Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven didn’t know everything about music when they died – why? Because « everything » hasn’t been discovered yet. Be ready to accept that.

Also be ready to accept the fact that it takes decades to master an instrument. I’ve been playing for 12 years and I hardly call myself a « master » of the instrument – ask any professional player, they’ll tell you the same thing – and I make a living in the music profession.

Check out the resources below to begin studying theory.

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