Hopefully this is the appropriate forum. I've been toying with the idea of learning how to play piano so that I can take better advantage of all the cool virtual instruments I have. I always struggle trying to build chords on a keyboard and when I do figure them out, my playing is extremely sloppy.
 
My main instrument is guitar. I was wondering if there were any guitar players on the forum that taught themselves how to play piano and might be able to recommended some books, resources, etc or even share how they went about it. All I can really think of at this point is to grab a random beginner piano method book, flick on a metronome  and start learning Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc. Any advice out there? I don't have money for lessons at this point.
 
Also, for any keyboard players. What helped you best learn chords and different voicings? I remember early in my guitar days using a guitar chord book to learn some new voicings to play. Is there a piano equivalent?
 
Thanks to anybody that replies.

TOO EASY, you are perfrect!!!  Keyboard is BY FAR the EASIEST instrument and GREATEST, far easier than the axe and vox.  (Singing is the hardest, judging from myself and all my friends here).
 
Yes, get a piano-chord chart (google) and nothing else to teach you all the magic chords of 12 major keys (print 12 web pages for free).  I did purchase a "music theory for idiots" book to inspire my muse.
 
I WAS like you and taught myself piano AFTER learning guitar (chords and the 12 keys (No lessons)).  
 
Forget instructors (especially virtuosos), you should be teaching them, imho.  Don't site read ... BIG MISTAKE!  I tried that and almost quit.  Fortunately, guitarists play mostly by ear (with their inspiration and their bands').  So transitioning from guitar to piano is almost effortless!
 
Just push piano buttons: VERY easy to learn everything basic in one week (one hour/day): 12 scales with magic chords ... with your right hand.  The left hand easily picks up everything the right hand does.  (Just forget the sustain pedal(s))
 
Once you learn the key of C, go to G, then everything else.  (The rest is just 'finger-math').
 
Right hand (treble cleft) is like rhythm and electric guitar.  Left hand (bass cleft) is exactly like bass guitar.  Its that simple.  Stay away from grand pianos!  They intimidate only.
 
Do not consciously arpeggiate and pick notes the first week ... all that comes naturally after week 1.
 
Just play the keys and chords and learn to sing with your piano in ONE week, for 95% of ALL songs.  This should be indoctrinated at public school, imho.  
 
Also, you may find the piano is BETTER than the guitar ... a wondrous blessing/privilege etc.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Play+Piano
 
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=Virtuoso%20Pianist&adid=22222222220206545215&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=27693063440&wl4=&veh=sem
 
Although I don't believe it is at that store.
But that is more - finger exercises.
 
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Music+Circle+of+Fifths
 
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Music+Scales
 
Other videos there also.
 

I disagree with not sight reading. I learned to sight read on the guitar by teaching myself classical and it opened so many new doors. I can only imagine how many doors you'd have access to on the piano. I did try and learn piano properly some years ago, through a couple of self-teaching books. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to comprehend how in the hell you read two staves at once. I don't think my eyes are tall enough lol....I wish I'd stuck at it though, I feel sure I would have gotten used to it. Like Mantofini I really wish I had the same level of dexterity and skill on the keyboard as I do on guitar. I can construct chords of any spelling on the fly at any position of the fretboard in a split second without even thinking about it, yet it takes me a good few seconds just to figure out a Bb major on the keyboard. It sucks!

Piano is not an easy instrument.  At least not to play well.  It can take decades of tireless practice to master.  If you wish to hammer out a few chords without finesse, that is a different story.  A few months of private lessons would do any musician good.  It is probably the most useful instrument to learn for any discipline or style.   All aspiring professional musicians who study music in college MUST learn piano.  Basic competency is a requirement for the degree.  

rumleymusic
Piano is not an easy instrument.  At least not to play well.  It can take decades of tireless practice to master.  If you wish to hammer out a few chords without finesse, that is a different story.  A few months of private lessons would do any musician good.  It is probably the most useful instrument to learn for any discipline or style.   All aspiring professional musicians who study music in college MUST learn piano.  Basic competency is a requirement for the degree.  

rumleymusic, I don't disagree. The same can be said about learning the guitar. My goal is definitely not to master the piano. I still can't say I've done that with the guitar. It's more about being comfortable enough to come up with accompanying parts for the music I make for my enjoyment. Simple arpeggios and chords. I can visualize scales and keys on the fretboard. I can't on the piano. I always have to find middle-c and work from there using my knowledge of theory. When I first started guitar, I taught myself before starting lessons. I'd like to do the same here. If you have any suggestions given the additional context, I would love to hear them.
 
spacealf, thanks for the links. I checked out a few videos and they seem to all be made under the assumption that the viewer knows nothing about theory or reading music. I was hoping that there may be a resource that is targeted to somebody learning the piano as a second instrument however, I haven't found it yet. Just to be clear about the walmart link, you were recommending the virtuoso piano series books, right? I will look in to those. Is it safe to assume that they are excercises to improve your technique and finger independance?
 
sharke, if I come across something that makes learning click easily for somebody with a guitar background, I will let you know. Knowing the piano seems so important since it's the paradigm that's used for all virtual instruments.

Philip, just realized I missed your reply. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try printing off some chords and see if that helps me.

I honestly do not see what the big deal is …
you want to learn how to play Piano ? guess what , you already have the best tool available now to do that if you have SONAR and a Midi Keyboard
A book can not talk to you and tell you if you are playing all the right or wrong rhythms when you read sheet music 
A teacher can , but if you don't have a teacher to look over your shoulder and correct you …that's OK …
all anybody has to do is go online and download as many free midi files as you can find .
The WWW has thousands of them in any style and any genre ….
here's a few examples of Piano midi files 
 
to download files (it's a right click to save to computer ) 
 
http://www.piano-midi.de/midi_files.htm 
 
http://www.trachtman.org/ragtime/ 
 
http://www.wtv-zone.com/gnubee/all_piano_midis/ 
 
once you find something you like , all you have to do is open it up in SONAR .. assign a soft synth ..
open up the staff view , read along to get a feel for it …
then to make it easy on your self loop a section , if you have to slow it down …slow it down 
then  just play a long the best you can with your midi keyboard …..
 
Kenny

Sorry, but the Virtuoso Piano book was kind of a joke persay. Yes it can exercise your fingers, but even though I have one of those books I never use it. By the time I get done with it and the first few exercises, that is all there is in my head. Even months and years later, I can repeat the first few exercises by heart in my head. I find that when I tried to use it, all that ended up in my brain for music was that book and those exercises. If anything like me, I defer not using that book unless you do not have a memory. Perhaps listening to hours of music of something else a day would eliminate that. I prefer not to be driven crazy by that book. But it would help my fingers play better though.
 
I sure they have chord videos at utube probably also. Actually piano is not that hard. You have 12 notes in an Octave, and all the way up and down on the keyboard they are the same, just like moving up the frets on a guitar with the same chord. Only thing different on the piano is learning the notes that make up the chord, and with different chords the intervals of the notes are all the same. I suppose learning the intervals that make up the chords might help, but unlike guitar where you might learn different fingerings for chords and remember those, on the piano it is just you have to learn what makes up the chord and in different octaves of a piano or even an octave and a half, there is not that many different positions to move the chord up or down the piano.
 
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Piano+chords
 
Obviously this is another probably dumb post, and you will have to excuse me. If you know the notes of any scale, then applying by thinking of what notes make up a major, minor, dim, augmented, min7, maj7, 9th or any other chord on the piano is basically just another set of finger spacings depending on the key signature somewhat like a guitar that you learn to play. Well, obviously also I do not teach any musical instrument either.
 
It's getting your fingers stuck between the black and white notes on the piano that is different nowadays with the smaller spacing between the white and black keys on the piano. I swear on a regular piano (not a synthesizer) there use to be more room between and on all keys. Now on a synth like it is only an inch for a key space, where before I swear it was 1-1/4", at least on a guitar somewhat you can pick out the length of the neck you want - 24.75", or 25.5" somewhat, on a piano, no you usually can not do that anymore.
 
http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm
 
I suppose that may be a worse website, but it is all music theory.
 
And at last:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6YsfxrCVYU
 
Tones and semi-tones and the interval between those make up chords on a piano (actually it is music theory even on a guitar).
 
Then with guitar strapped on your neck using your hands, and piano on the desk using your feet and perhaps your head for bass drums or drums, you can end up like some of these people making more money than a lot of musicians make in this world, being a one-person band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2lo5Iz3gRY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDLrpG0DCqI


Okay, I am done!

 
 
 

On guitar, I used the lessons but Justin Sandercoe (Justin Guitar) on Youtube, and found having a teacher that gave a  structured progressive system, a good way to get an understanding and develope a technique. As opposed to finding lots of random lessons. Looking at chord voicings recently I found what seemed to be a similar teacher for piano, but spent a little time trying to find him yesterday. I'll have another attempt today. 
 
One lesson he spoke about how chords in the lower octaves could be much more open than the lower, as the overtones helped for form the constistant sound of being that chord. But in the upper range of the keyboard, the ear is less sensitive to these overtones, so suited closed tones. From watching various videos on playing, although this point is not being made, I can see it in practice. This seems to go against the idea that you just 'find a chord and play it anywhere'. A suggestts to me a good teacher would open your eyes to less obvious ideas.
 
Chord voicings, and playing techniques for playing chords with both hands, seems a big part of making playing sound more developed, interesting and natural, especially if they are providing the backing structure, rather than leading a piece of music.