How to play piano with two hands

You really just need three things: a keyboard big enough for both hands, someone (or something) to show you the way, and some time to practice.

For the first of those three, we’ve got you covered. You have two options: you can double up on the 24-key Piano M to give yourself four octaves of room to maneuver — they click together magnetically to become one 48-key keyboard. Or, for the ultimate home piano-learning setup, check out the brand-new ROLI Piano. Our flagship piano keyboard comes with 49 keys, and each one is semi-weighted (so it feels great to play) and full-sized (so everything you learn translates directly to a real piano).

The best bit? Both of them feature our Brightkey technology. Paired with a subscription to the ROLI Learn app, the keys glow in time with the song or lesson you’re currently playing through. You just need to play the right key, at the right time — just like a video game.

The aforementioned ROLI Learn app, of course, is the second part of the puzzle. It comes with a growing library of hit contemporary songs and classical pieces as well as interactive video lessons from real piano teachers, engaging games and exercises, and a Playground mode for you to practice your new skills. It also features a rapidly expanding selection of lessons aimed specifically at teaching you to play with two hands.

The third ingredient is down to you. Yes, you’ll need to make time for practice, but don't worry — it may not be as much as you think. In fact, our experts recommend just ten minutes a day for you to see real, sustainable progress. And, with the ROLI Learn app, you’ll go at your own pace and on your own schedule.

Our top tips for two-handed playing

You’ve chosen your keyboard, you’ve downloaded the app, and you’re ready to go? Here’s a selection of expert advice to help you make the most of your practice time.

Right hand first…

It’s great to set our sights on a lofty goal — perhaps you already have a tough two-handed piece in mind. The temptation with these kinds of goals can often be to go all-out, however, and while that enthusiasm will always be an asset, it’s important to be methodical in our approach. And when it comes to playing with both hands, the fastest and most effective way to learn is to make sure we’re confident with one.

For most of us, this means focusing exclusively on the right hand (which we often use to play the trickiest melodic parts and most complex chords) to begin with. Once we’re ready to start adding baselines and chords with the left, it’s important to keep revisiting right-handed exercises and replaying those now-familiar tunes.

When you start incorporating your left hand, it’ll demand a good amount of concentration. If you’re already feeling comfortable with the right hand, it’ll be a lot easier to focus on what the left is doing.

Try playing in unison

In music, unison means that two or more parts are the same. We often see it in reference to multiple instruments — when the first and second violins are assigned the same melody in an orchestra, for example, or when two guitars play the same riff in a rock band.

It also applies to playing the same thing with both hands at the same time on piano. There’s only one of each key, of course, so we need to space them out. Typically, we do this by an octave. By learning to play parts in unison, we can get used to the feeling of using both hands together without having to deal with learning new parts simultaneously or worrying too much about hand independence.

As simple as it sounds, this ought to be slightly challenging. Keep in mind that even if both hands play the exact same melody, the fingering will be different, owing to the symmetry of our bodies. If you find this exercise tricky, try going back to playing with one hand at a time, then give it another go when both feel similarly comfortable.

“Splitting” our hands can be tricky — so take it slow

If you’ve ever tried to pat your head and rub your belly (or vice versa), you’ll know that doing different things with each hand can be surprisingly difficult. One thing to bear in mind here is that there are different degrees of “different”.

We don’t need to jump right from playing in unison to playing seemingly unrelated things with each hand. Instead, we can focus on parts that differ in only a few ways from one another. The first two-handed lesson you’ll come across in the ROLI Learn app is a great example of this. Here, you’ll play different melodies in each hand, but they share the exact same rhythm — so keeping track of timing should feel pretty natural by the time you reach it.

From here, the sky is the limit — you may find songs with contrary motion (one hand moves up while the other moves down), where the dynamics in each hand are very different (perhaps a delicate melody over a booming bass), and even where each hand plays in an entirely different time signature (known as a polyrhythm).

It may seem daunting now, but take things one step at a time, go at your own pace, and you’ll soon have mastered two-handed parts to some of your favorite songs.