Learning guitar and piano at the same time can be a great challenge to undertake.
On one hand, you will be learning complimentary skills, and fast track your knowledge of music.
Alternatively, there’s an old saying, a student of all is a master of none.
So is learning guitar and piano at the same time actually beneficial? Or, will you just noodling around the basics of both instruments for so long that you’ll never actually progress with either?
So long as you set up your practice sessions in a well thought out method, and practice honestly and regularly, learning both instruments can be complimentary to one another and actually fast track your musician ability.
If you want to learn both guitar and piano at the same time, I would recommend looking at it as ” you’re learning music”.
That is, you’re learning to play music, and the piano and guitar are the instruments or tools used to realize your musical knowledge.
Is short, you learn music, and produce it with the instrument, so you’ll be growing an overall musical knowledge, while building the practical skills to make music on both piano and guitar.
Is it a good or bad idea to learn piano and guitar at the same time?
I’m going to be completely honest here. If you’re looking for instant gratification, learning two or multiple instruments at the same time isn’t going to be possible.
You’re going to progress your practical skills more slowly than if you just focused on one instrument, however, you will become a more well-rounded musician for it.
If your goal is to master the piano or the guitar, then this may not be for you. If your goal is to progress as a musician, and you’re willing to do the work, becoming a multi – instrumentalist is quite an admirable goal to achieve.
The Good
Here are some positive aspects of learning piano and guitar at the same time:
- Better understand music as a whole, not just as it applies to one instrument
- Build transferable skill sets
- Slowly build foundational skills
- Become a more well-rounded musician
The Bad
Some of the problems with learning multiple instruments at the same time:
- You won’t master one instrument, progressing slowly
- Attention split between learning theory and applying it to both piano and guitar
- Spending time applying the same ideas and concepts in different ways on different instruments.
Hopefully this builds the picture for you.
Basically, if you want to to learn and master an instrument, you should stick to learning one instrument.
Once you’ve mastered one it will be easier to go back and learn another.
Alternatively, you would likely be able to learn two instruments in the same amount of time, just one instrument would be better than the other if you learned one at a time.
Should I learn guitar and piano at the same time
If you want to learn both piano and guitar, and can’t decide between one or the other, learning at the same time is a completely viable option.
Whether you should learn both at the same time completely depends on your personal musical goals.
Decide whether you want to dedicate your time to learning both, or if you want to solely focus on piano or guitar.
Neither would be a wrong option, but you want to ensure you understand what you’re undertaking.
Learning piano and guitar at the same time is complementary of each other, but it isn’t going to be easy.
How to learn guitar and piano at the same time
Learning guitar and piano at the same time requires a different approach to learning than if you were simply aiming to learn a single instrument.
If you set up a learning plan and actually follow through on t you will have a big advantage over the average musician who plays as a hobby.
One of the major things I recommend, and this should be an overarching theme during the time you spend learning, is to take a learn music first approach.
That is, learn music, and then learn to apply your knowledge to both instruments.
This means you will have a strong grasp on music theory and understand what you’re playing, rather than building the skills to actually play it, at least at first.
Do you have to take this approach? No, but that is what I would do.
When you’re learning chords, learn them on the piano, get a basic understanding of how we build chords, and what makes up a particular chord.
Then take that knowledge and apply it to the guitar.
If you’re able to do this, you’ll basically have mastered the basics of chords in a couple of months, versus many musicians who don’t even understand how chords work.
Then for the next musical concept, learn it on guitar, and then transfer it to the piano.
You will likely develop a preference to one instrument over the other, as people are naturally better at some skills than others.
Nonetheless, when approaching multiple instruments at the same time, a focus on music theory and concepts will benefit you far more than if you were focused on a single instrument.
Does playing guitar help with learning piano
Yes, if you already know how to play guitar, or want to learn it at the same time you learn piano, you will progress your musical knowledge much faster than if you were learning your first instrument.
While your guitar playing progress will likely slow while you learn piano, the new skill and understanding will make you a better musician overall, which in turn will make you a better guitarist.
Benefits of learning guitar and piano
Learning guitar and piano at the same time is all about slowly building a strong musical foundation.
If you’re looking to shred on guitar or tickle the ivories quickly, this isn’t the route you should take.
If you already have played another instrument and want to undertake both the guitar and piano, you’re going to quickly excell at both.
The benefit of learning guitar and piano at the same time is your knowledge and foundation of music will be rock solid.
You’ll be able to transfer that knowledge and skill to any other instrument and quickly become proficient.
Learning guitar and piano at the same time is a great way to challenge yourself, and build lifelong skills that are beneficial in many areas of life.
