Can’t play the piano with both hands? This is a search that a lot of people make at some point during the early stages of learning how to play the piano.
It is one of the biggest learning curves you will come across. When you learn how to play the piano, you will probably start playing melodies on one hand, before you expand to be able to play on both. We’ve created a list of songs that you can play with just one hand if you want to. These don’t sound like partial fragments of a song, they are full compositions that can be recited, at least in some form, with one hand.
One hand can play chords or bass notes, the other can play melodies, for example. This is the purpose of playing piano two-handed and if you watch an accomplished pianist, both hands can do very different things with ease. However, it is made to look easy by the professionals, but it is tough.
If you have ever tried to pat your head while you rub your stomach, you will get some idea of what it is like trying to get both of your hands to do two totally independent things. Introduce the intricacies of playing a melody and you will understand why this is so difficult.
If you have found this post because you are looking for information on why you can’t play the piano with both hands, you need two things; reassurance, followed by tips.
Can’t Play The Piano With Both Hands? You’re Not Alone
Virtually everyone fins themselves feeling incredibly frustrated when they start to try to play with two hands.
Even if you feel like you have the left hand and right hand perfected when playing them separately, put them together and it might feel like your brain empties. Sound familiar?
The main piece of advice is to stick with it. Virtually every piano player has had to go through this, and it might take a little bit of time for your coordination skills to catch up.
Luckily, we have also provided some tips that can help you to speed up the process and build your knowledge correctly.
Tips to Play The Piano With Both Hands
You might find that this piano coordination video helps, there are a few exercises for your hands included within. Also, there are a few things you can do to help if you are struggling, or tips to help you to deal with the frustration.
- Focus on rhythm first. It is much harder to combine the elements of the two hands if you haven’t fully understood the rhythm of what is playing on both hands. It is much better to have a clear idea of the rhythm. Practice just tapping your hands to the beat if you need to.
- Spend plenty of time practicing each hand separately. It feels like twice as much work, and this might be frustrating, but it is a good way to ensure you can have the best chance of playing the melody properly. Eventually, the penny will drop.
- Know the song inside out. Having to keep referring to the sheet music or song tutorial can be really difficult, and adds yet another aspect to your multi-tasking.
- Keep trying. It’s really hard to keep going when something feels frustrating, but there’s really no need to give up on this. Some steps of learning to play the piano are harder, and if it feels like you can’t play the piano with both hands, that is just because this is one of the tougher skills to fully master. There is no doubt that it will take a while, nobody gets this on the first attempt. Like riding a bike, you need to keep trying.