Piano vs Organ – Showdown! Which One Should I Learn?

Piano vs organ. This is a big decision for a lot of people. When choosing to learn how to play an instrument, you need to consider a lot of different things. Do you have room for the instrument? How hard is it to learn? Are the skills from the instrument transferable or specialist? It’s all very well learning how to play the Sitar, but this is a specialist instrument and won’t help as much if you shift to another instrument in the future.

In the case of piano vs organ, the two instruments actually have a lot in common. They are both played on a keyboard featuring the same pattern of notes, which means that the skills are relatively transferable. If you can already play the piano, you’ll find it easier to transition over to the organ, for instance.

So, if you are going to prioritize learning one of these two instruments, which should it be? Who wins the day when it comes to piano vs organ?

The Case for Organ vs Piano

Okay, so the best reason for learning to play any instrument should be that you want to. Love the sound of the organ? Want to play for your local church? Go for it. Nobody should tell you that the piano is better in any way, and it is arguable that the organ is more advanced.

When playing the organ, you will need to learn about stops and pedals, far more than you would if you were going to learn how to play the piano. This means that when the time does come to switch over to piano (if you ever want to) you should be able to do so with relative ease.

You can use a lot of piano resources, such as our academy, to learn the chords and notes of the keys, as they are the same as they would be on a piano. This means that the organ is not excluded from our academy. We don’t say it is the perfect way to learn, but it is possible.

This post on TakeLessons.com also proves a valid point, by being able to play the organ (in addition to the piano) you are opening up a world of opportunities in terms of paid gigs. It’s harder to find an organ player, but there is demand.  A lot of churches and religious ceremonies still prefer an organist so if you have these skills you might get booked more.

The Case for Piano vs Organ

Piano may be a simpler way to start your journey. It is easier to get to one, and you can use a keyboard or digital piano as an adequate substitute. Many of the digital pianos on the market even have inbuilt organ sounds, so you can replicate the effect.

Pianos are also more of a versatile instrument. A lot of songs that you can play on a piano may not sound great when transferred over to the organ. The organ has quite a distinctive sound.

It’s definitely easier to get started if you choose piano vs organ. You can become an established player more quickly, and there are portable options for playing. Try taking an organ to your next band practice! A digital piano or portable stage piano is a far better option.

It’s also fair to say there are more piano learning resources out there. While this doesn’t automatically make them better, it’s more likely you’ll find piano lessons online that resonate with you and that you can quickly start to learn how to play songs.

While nobody can tell you for certain which instrument to pick, piano vs organ has to be a personal choice, it’s worth evaluating the pros and cons of each before you go ahead and make a purchase. Luckily, many of the skills you will learn can be switched to other instruments in the future, such as reading music and playing chords and melodies.

Conclusion

You shouldn’t get too hung up on this decision. If you already have access to an organ but want to learn how to play the piano, you can certainly learn a lot. The two are relatively interchangeable when it comes to learning the chords and scales of the keyboard, as they are the same on both.

Piano is more versatile, and less of a specialist skill, but it is sometimes a case of working with what you have. Don’t worry too much, as you need to learn the keys either way, and they are identical on both piano and organ.

FAQs

Which is harder to play, piano or organ?

If you are controlling all of the stops on an organ then it can be very fiddly. Though the keys are largely the same, getting to use all of the features of an organ can be difficult.

Can I play organ if I play piano?

If you can play the piano then you can certainly play the very basics on organ. While you may not be able to use all the features inherently, you can certainly play chord sequences and melodies. The two are, to a degree, interchangeable.

Do organs sound like piano?

Not exactly, but many organs give you a lot of control over the sound. You can alter the organ’s sound characteristics in order to sound closer to piano. If we are talking about just learning piano, the sound is actually not the most important thing.

Did organs or pianos come first?

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