A lot of people who have learned piano as children learned the classical way. But you can just straight into playing using the chord method. By learning the chords you can quickly learn thousands of chords.

A beginner usually learns a song by note or asks which note do I play when.
An intermediate player usually learns a song by chord and asks which chord comes next and they can figure out the notes.
An advanced player usually learns a song by progressions and thus can play in any key, they can figure out which chord comes next once they know the sound of the progression being played.

I think I can safely say that I've gotten to the intermediate stage.... finally. I certainly need a lot more practice at looking at chords and figuring songs out, but with the help of this website it looks like I'll be able to get a good start.

Thanks for putting up all the good music and lessons. I think you'll see me hanging around here from time to time!