Learning to play the pop piano, improvise and play by ear is a possibility for almost anybody nowadays. Advocates of the pop piano style usually characterize their technique as improvisatory, artistic, spontaneous, as played for entertainment, as a leisure activity, while they seem to characterize the classical players as playing seriously, relying solely on the sheet music, not being able to play by ear and thus not able to improvise. These characterizations can of course carry some truth, as it is obvious that many mediocre classical players are unable to improvise properly. However we should also keep in mind that one of the greatest improvisers ever, was Bach himself, definitely a classical composer. Thus the assertion that classical players are not artistic and cannot improvise is a bit far-fetched, as improvisation seems to have its roots partly in the classical tradition.

Pop piano training relies on learning to play the piano not from sheet music but based on chords from a simplified notation system. Teachers stress that pop piano players are able to understand the basics behind constructing the chords and thus are able to make up any by themselves. Moreover, many of the songs in this process are learned by ear, from listening to the song on the radio, trying to play the simple tune on the piano by trial and error and then improvising on this by using the ability to invent chords.

As opposed to this, classical training involves learning to read the sheet music and then coordinate the two hands according to exactly what is written down. Players usually play classical pieces and play from the sheet music, not by ear. There is not much room for improvisation either, as the player must play exactly what is written down. He or she also has to learn the underlying musical theory behind the compositions, and in some cases, this could be considered less applicable than the chord constructions learned by pop piano players. It is presented in a much more complex and less focused way, trying to teach the whole body of music theory, while pop pianists only learn what is directly useful for them.

Which One Is For You?

If a whole lifetime of playing the piano is possibly ahead of the player, if for example we are talking about a child, I would suggest a classical training, as little children can learn new things, even very complex things much more easily, and learning and understanding the complex musical theory should not be too hard for them. Obviously, after learning the basics, they will also be able to play pop songs or anything they like apart from traditional classical music and, especially nowadays, classical training can teach improvisation as well. However, if you are an adult and want to learn to play the piano just as a hobby, and you are primarily interested in pop pieces, I would definitely suggest learning to play the pop piano, as it is more rewarding, focuses on a more useful and directly applicable knowledge and you should be able to play the songs you are interested in, much faster.