Learning the piano at 19

[optik]

Hello PS users,
I have come for your advice and/or experiences.

Allow me to tell you a little about me: I'm 19 years old, from the Netherlands and without a musical background. No one in my family plays an instrument, and I know I will get no support from them. I got rhythm though, haha.
I have been thinking about picking up the keyboard for quite a while now. I feel as if I am wasting valuable time of my life not practicing anything but games.

How important is it to be able to read notes? Would learning it from scratch take a long time? Is it necessary?
I will not be able to afford a teacher ever, I'll be on my own from the start til the end. How much of a disadvantage is this? I can study well myself, I've got seas of free time and the will to practice.

I am aware that is is never too late to learn, but I'm afraid of painfully slow progress.

[ajspiano]

Consider how limited your abilities in life may be if you were unable to read English (or any other language you are familiar with).

Reading notation serves 2 major purposes, it allows you to absorb other peoples music.. and it allows you to effectively communicate your own music to others. Not having this ability is insane for any musician. Its certainly possible to function and be useful with out it, but you'd be limiting yourself.

Not having a teacher will slow your progress for sure - BUT - there is an enormous amount of free literature available online that will certainly speed it up.

Here's a simple web app that will help you practice some basic note reading, and association of those notes to the keyboard.
https://teoria.com/exercises/read.php

If you have no idea at all where to start with reading go through this one..
https://teoria.com/tutorials/reading/index.php

.........

Your success will be dramatically impacted by the efficiency of your practice.
There is a huge number of great ideas to be found here:
https://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/chapter_1

^you will have to gradually apply these things as they become more relevant to you.


....

You may not be quite ready for this yet, however in the near future it will be a useful way of determining what you should do next.

https://au.abrsm.org/fileadmin/user_upload/syllabuses/pianoSyllabusComplete13.pdf

this is the ABRSM syllabus - they set out requirements for a series of graded exams. Basically, if you work through what it set out in the above file you will work on a range of music that starts with something you can manage and get steadily more and more difficult. Following something like this will be important for you in the beginning because you do not have a teacher to help you choose what music to work on. As you gain more experience you will be able to branch out and explore with less direct guidance.

You can try to find the notation for the music in the syllabus at IMSLP.org - if you have trouble you can look at other similar lists provided by different organisations (there will be different music of similar difficulty), or consider buying a repertoire guide such as the one found at the link below..

https://www.amazon.com/Pianists-Standard-Teaching-Performance-Literature/dp/0882846558

If you take a look at a score and find you are still really lost on what to do despite having had a bit of a read through the stuff above, consider getting an adult beginners book such as this one.. there are plenty of options for these, this is just one example.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300852231174

[pianoplunker]

How important is it to be able to read notes? Would learning it from scratch take a long time? Is it necessary?

How important is it to be able to read words ?  You could survive and even enjoy your life and have love and alot of good things without knowing how to read words. It is not necessary to learn to read words. But  imagine things you would miss, like my reply to your question.  With music there are so many different levels to enjoy without knowing how to read notes, again it is not necessary but you'll be limited by your ear and what you can pick up from that. These days you can view videos online so you could spend hours and hours playing a video over and over until you can remember the order the keys were played. Is that inspiring musically ?  I think first you need to know why you are inspired to play keyboards - or any instrument. But if you really feel it inside you , check out this PS site often. Your family may not be musical and that is ok. There are lots of folks here who may have good advice for you. As far as a teacher, it depends on what you are trying to learn.

[bronnestam]

Reading sheet music is, in fact, very easy, especially when it comes to keyboards and pianos! You can learn the basics in minutes, as the whole system is very logically constructed. 
There are very nice books for beginners in these days, where you get a CD together with the book, sometimes also a DVD with video lessons, and so you will play with an orchestra from the beginning which makes it all so much more fun. You have to go to a music shop and purchase one, and it will be a little investment you have to do, but you will get a very good introduction!

You have already got some valuable advice on free books and links. Enjoy yourself, a wonderful world is waiting for you! 

[hfmadopter]

A book like this one will get you started. There is no need to obsess over why you have the desire to play piano IMO, you know you have an interest and that's just about good enough. The book : https://www.amazon.com/KP1B-Bastien-Beginning-Lessons-Technic/dp/0849773024/ref=cm_srch_res_rpli_2

This is another method, a set of books and CD's. It's meant for kids or adults if you can get past the goofy cartoon characters, the info is solid: https://www.amazon.com/Easiest-Piano-Course-Complete-Boxed/dp/1423468228/ref=cm_lmf_tit_3

I'm not real familiar with this one but it looks good : https://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Teach-Yourself-Play-Piano/dp/0739033999/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_cp_1_61B7#_

I use books designed for a teacher student relationship, only because that is how I was taught and so it is how I teach as well. Some of these self education books look decent though..

[ranniks]

Hi!

I'm 20, almost 21, started in august last year. I'm pretty decent for a beginner if I may believe my teacher. Anyways, definitely not too late, definitely not.

Also, I'm from Holland too and if you want a free lesson over skype or anything, geen probleem (no problem).

Also check out: www.youtube.com/lypur

There's where I started...Well, Only first few lessons and some note reading, the rest my own teacher.

Btw, getting a teacher is so helpfull, maybe get a part time job to pay for it? Like work 3 hours a week or something?