Do you think you cannot learn piano, or be a professional pianist if you are self-taught? Think again. Here are five amazing pianists who taught themselves.

Art Tatum (1909-1956)

Art Tatum was a jazz pianist who was born in the early 20th century and is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. His father was a guitarist and his mother played the piano. Tatum taught himself to play the piano by ear as a child and would influence an entire generation of jazz pianists. To make all of this even more incredible, Tatum was almost completely blind.

Floyd Cramer (1933-1997)

Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who pioneered a style of piano known as the “sliding note” style, where one note slides into the next. Cramer grew up in a small town in Arkansas and taught himself to play the piano before graduating from high school. He would go on to have a very successful recording career in Nashville and, after his death, he was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Walter Wilhelm Gieseking (1895-1956)

Walter Wilhelm Gieseking was a German composer and pianist who began to learn piano on his own at the age of 4. He was known for having an almost photographic memory and would learn new pieces without playing the piano, studying the notes and memorizing them. Once he got to a piano, he was able to play the piece smoothly without looking at the music. He later performed to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall.

The McCanns (1935 -)

Les McCann is a soul jazz pianist born in the first half of the 20th century. After decades of successful recordings in the jazz genre, McCann moved on to the R&B and soul genres and has continued to have success with crowds in the US and abroad.

Gene Harris (1933-2000)

Gene Harris was a Michigan-born American jazz pianist known for his blues and gospel-influenced style, popularly known as soul jazz. His playing had a warm sound that delighted the audience. He played for more than forty years before his death from kidney failure in 2000.

These are just five of the hundreds or thousands of famous pianists who taught themselves, at least to begin with. It’s true that some of those players are naturally talented, but most would tell you that working hard and practicing regularly is more important than innate talent. They learned to play the piano on their own because they had to, because they wanted to play so badly that they had no other choice. They had fun every step of the way and in that sense, you can join them.