Why Take Piano Lessons When I Can Use an App?

 These days, it seems like there's an app for everything.

   I mean, I'm not even 30, and I distinctly remember the first time I saw a smartphone. It was my older sister's, and it was the absolute latest technology available. My older brother and my dad would continue using flip phones for several more years. (Actually, Dad clung to the flip phone for as long as he possibly could. He finally has a smartphone now.) My mom didn't even own a cell phone. My friend's dad, a computer programmer, had a Blackberry. 

   Now people depend on their smartphones. 

   And you can get an app for literally anything, from budgeting to cooking to... learning piano. 

   As you can imagine, we piano teachers are not crazy about the latter apps! 

   But why is this? Are we just anti-technology in this department because it takes away part of our income? Or is there a real, genuine reason for taking actual piano lessons above using an app or a YouTube tutorial? 

Disclaimer: Professionals see their industry different. 

   My dad is a handyman. There's hardly a carpentry job on earth that he can't do -- but while he can install baseboard, lay tile, and drywall a room with prowess, his specialty is windows and doors.

   When we moved into our current house, the bay door leading to the backyard really, really bugged him. It turns out that it had been poorly installed, it wasn't built straight, and the drywall was subsequently cracking where the wall had shifted. 

   Except Mom and I couldn't see it -- until he pointed it out. 

   Because Dad's specialty is carpentry, the first thing he sees when he enters a room is how well it's built -- or, in some cases, not built. Most people will not be able to tell if a wall, or a door for that matter, is not perfectly straight. Dad can. He does this almost every day. He's been working with doors and windows for most of his adult life, since he was younger than I am now. 

   It's the same with any industry. My editor friend (click on the blue writing to see her website!) picks at plot holes and stereotyped characters in the books she reads. My brother, who worked as a landscaper last summer, fussed about a calendar photo because the beds didn't have mulch, and the strip of grass next to the pool would be painful to mow. 

   I'm not going to claim that I'm different. I feel very strongly that you should not rely on a piano app to learn piano. Because I'm a piano teacher, I'm going to see the "crooked wall" that others might not notice and might not have a problem with. 

On to the reasons

   That being said, I'll give you six quick reasons why you should be taking piano lessons, instead of learning from an app.

1. The quality of your musical abilities will be better.
2. A good piano teacher will help you develop good technique, which, among other things, will help prevent piano-related injuries, such as tendinitis. People who learn from apps tend to have poor technique, which only hurts you in the long run -- sometimes literally.
3. Artistry. We live in an age where AI can do almost anything -- but developing your own inner artist is important for you, especially in this digital age. And besides, AI can do some pretty incredible things, but it can never replace the soul that goes into genuine expressions of creativity done by people. Just like it can't replace having genuine relationships. 
4. Learning the theory, and how it's relevant. This may sound like a boring reason, but I've actually written a couple of posts on how knowing your theory can enhance your musical appreciation and expression. Here's the first post, which looks more at this idea from the viewpoint of a performer playing another composer's music, and here's the second post, which is more geared towards a composing mindset. 
5. Because the discipline of traditional piano lessons makes you more well-rounded... thus, ironically, freeing you to be able to do more with your music. 
6. Because, while this idea is all but lost in popular culture, there are some things that you can only learn from a mentor, a real flesh-and-blood person sharing their experiences with you. 

      I might expound on some of these in the future, but I'll leave you with those for food for thought.