The third method for learning to play the piano involves what is known as the pentatonic scale or the five-note scale. These five notes just happen to correspond to the five black keys on the piano keyboard. Many melodies use only these five keys. In effect, what this method of learning to play the piano has done is cut out the necessity of learning note reading and has increased the probability of learning a piece “by-ear.”
Why? Because pieces using only five notes are a lot easier to discover or learn than pieces using the possibility of any of the existing twelve notes of the chromatic scale. In addition, without the necessity of learning to “read” notes, the learner can start working immediately on developing coordination and technique. Thirdly, with only five notes involved, a learner can easily create accompaniment patterns to melodies, which allows a person to play real music, real songs, and real pieces in a very short time. The success rate for those starting with this method is very high because a learner can concentrate on learning how to move their fingers and use two hands at once at the piano instead of having to wade through the many layers of thought processes involved in note reading and/or by-ear playing.
The pentatonic method also meets the needs of all learners – tactile, aural, and visual. Those who learn tactilely are successful because by moving their fingers on the keys freely they quickly discover the sounds needed to create melodies. The aural learner is at home with this method because they are given the opportunity to recreate the sounds they hear without being frustrated by an overload of visual materials. The visual learner, though, also easily learns with this method because the black keys create an explicit visual reference point for each melody and accompaniment created.
Which method would I suggest for an adult wanting to learn to play the piano today? The pentatonic method.
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