Learning how to play an instrument...online?

[Jay]

Ok, I was kind of out of ideas for a topic title, so I hope the one I chose doesn't seem to vague. I was wondering if there is any kind of online software(preferably free) that could help you to familiarize yourself with an instruments notes/chords, etc. Basically, I'm looking for a "virtual piano" or keyboard that tells you the "name" of each note( a, b, c, etc) or chord. See, I don't even know if there is a difference between a note and a chord.  I'm looking for some type of "virtual instrument" that will tell you each note, where it is located on the instrument, and what each separate note sounds like. Does anything like this actually exist? I'm a complete and total novice when it comes to musical instruments, so I don't want some type of complex software that will bankrupt me and take up unwanted space. 

[stack-o-tracks]

Do you have a smartphone? There are apps that show you scales and what chords are what. But not how to finger them and it won't help you learn to read music. There are tutorials on YouTube for learning the piano, but the only video I ever tried watching had a really, really unfortunate teacher.

And yes notes and chords are different things. Chords are made up notes. Notes are individual pitches while chords are made up of notes in the same key? Or whatever?

I'm not that helpful. One thing I'd suggest is to go to a garage sale or thrift store and pick up an old Casio or whatever you can get for a reasonable price. Not one of those child's toys, find one similar to the one used by Wesley Willis. You can use pieces of Scotch tape and a pen to write the notes on each key.

[Alex]

Forget a keyboard...all you need are 6 strings and 22 frets!

[guitarfool2002]

They sell keyboards on the shopping networks and online discount stores that have keys which light up in time with the song you're trying to play, so your hands get into the right positions and you learn how to play a few tunes right out of the gate. That is invaluable. I'd consider getting something like that - they're usually around 100 bucks, they're a decent keyboard for a beginner, and you're learning to play actual songs and training your ears and hands to play songs.

As someone who does this professionally with string instruments, if you start out on lessons you'll likely be playing "Row Row Your Boat" and "London Bridge" for a few months, along with scales and exercises. As you get older, the attention span gets shorter than the 8 year old student scheduled after your lesson and it's easy to lose interest in that kind of rote memorization and exercise unless you really dedicate yourself to the piano. Playing actual songs and then applying those voicings and techniques to songs *you* want to play (via YouTube tutorials and the like) is a great way to get a feel for the instrument and hit the ground running. If you find you like it and have a talent for it, then seek out a professional teacher who you connect with musically and who can show you the heavier stuff, and get into reading if you find that you want to study more formally and related to the traditional theory and performance on piano.

One tip: The key of C major is all the white keys. You can form the chords C, Dmin, Emin, F, G, and Amin using just the white keys, and with those chords start playing basic chord outlines on songs like "Let It Be". Then take the C major scale and start improvising using only the white keys on everything from "La Bamba" in C, to a blues in A minor, to a modal vamp on Miles' "So What" played with D minor to E minor. It's about exploring those sounds and how they fit into chords and keys, and it's like being handed a palette of paints and a blank canvas to do with what you want.

YouTube has some nice tutorials.

[Jay]

Thanks for the help and ideas guys.  I guess maybe I'll try a "beginner keyboard" and see if I can learn the basics.