Is it bad to self-teach Piano/Keyboard?

I don’t have the funds to pay for a teacher. I’ve had this keyboard for a year now, but I’ve been afraid of playing it because I don’t want to teach myself the so-called "wrong way". But would that really be a bad thing? Let’s say I teach myself how to play average in 2 years time, but I developed some bad habits. If I finally got a teacher later on, would it be hard to get out of the bad habits?

Would I have to start from scratch? And therefore all that time self-learning would’ve been futile?
Lol, Hi, you put that in a great perspective. I guess I’m just paranoid that I’ll teach myself the wrong way and therefore be even worse than if I didn’t do anything.

Take typing for instance. If you teach yourself the wrong way it’s hard to get out of that habit, and in ways, you’re better off waiting to learn the right way than learning incorrectly.

If you could afford it I’d recommend the teacher route, but if not then by all means, play! Use the internet, YouTube (search for Lypur’s channel, I hear he’s helpful but I haven’t tried myself), and Google as a resource for learning, and ask questions on Piano forums any time you don’t know something. Buy some beginner’s method / learning books, I hear Alfred’s are good though I haven’t used them myself. Search for "Piano World Adult Beginners Forum" (despite the name, kids are welcome!). That is a very helpful place to get started on and even continue on throughout the years as far as discussing, seeking advice etc.

I myself have NEVER had lessons but have been playing as a personal hobby for the last 4 years or so and I love it! It’s surely better to play without a teacher than to not play AT ALL. I cannot afford lessons and also prefer to be without the rigid scheduling etc. because let’s face it, I’m lazy, no secrets there.

Anyways, here are a few of my recordings (all made within the last couple weeks on my new digital piano):

http://www.box.net/shared/g8xy4rrph1

(or with video):

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnotherSchmoe

Listen to "Eyes On Me", "Raindrop Prelude", and "Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2" for the more advanced ones that I currently play. A lot of them are easier but I enjoy playing them because they sound nice and I just like them.

I’m only posting them to show you that it’s not IMPOSSIBLE to learn without lessons, don’t ever let anyone tell you that it is, it just takes work and you have to ENJOY it, if you don’t enjoy it then there’s no purpose and you’ll lose interest. For this reason I only play music that I personally enjoy hearing, I’ve found that if I’m trying to learn something I dislike it just doesn’t work out and I can’t play it very well. Also, you’ll likely never be a concert pianist or anything like that, but who cares? Making music is a great hobby and is a lot of fun and a very PRODUCTIVE way to spend some of that free time. J

Just make sure that you learn to read sheet music, this can be done online (for free! Take advantage of Google, the internet is a wonderful source of information) or through books. It seems that a lot of people who self-teach overlook learning to read music and this is a serious disadvantage to them. I see them on YouTube asking for "tutorial videos" (basically you playing something very very slow and spell it all out for them one note at a time) of things that myself and others have played, and I offer them the sheet music only to have them tell me that they can’t read it. It’s very unfortunate. So please, learn to read sheet music! It opens up SO many opportunities for you. Just like learning to read a book it’s difficult at first but becomes second nature over time. These tutorial videos remind me of an old parable. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". Tutorial videos are giving a fish, all it does is teach someone that one song / piece and then when they want to learn something else they have to beg for another tutorial video because the skills do not transfer from one song to another. You need to learn to do it on your own, learn to read sheet music, then your only limit will be your current technical ability and how good you are with your fingers at the time. It’s very important to know how to read music IMO.

I have no illusions of ever playing professionally but I do find great joy in playing for myself, family, and for YouTube. I’d say go for it!

PS:
The most important thing you need to watch for is this… If you’re ever in PAIN while playing (as silly as it sounds, you CAN injure the muscles in your hands / wrist / back playing piano), if you’re ever in pain you’re probably doing something wrong and need to stop and find out how to correct the problem. Pain is usually a warning indicator, if you just ignore it, it might eventually lead to carpal tunnel or some other problem. When I was first starting out I’d occasionally experience pain and it was always because I was doing something wrong or playing with tension, you need to remain relaxed at the piano and try not to let your hands get rigid or "tense up". I don’t have problems like that anymore though, just need to figure out what’s wrong and do it differently if you’re hurting. As someone else said, don’t ever let your wrists and arms drop below the keyboard. They should always be parallel or slightly above it. Playing with your fingers up on the keys and your elbows down near the floor is just going to cause problems for you. =P