learn/study the piano

[joham]

He never studied/learned the piano.

Can we use either of the two verbs in this sentence and the sentence means the same?

 

[probus]

In the affirmative there is a difference in emphasis. "He learned the piano" gives a little more influence to the contribution of the teacher, while "he studied the piano" gives more emphasis to the contribution of the student.

But in the negative we are less certain. Did he study but fail to learn, or was he taught but failed to learn? We don't know.

 

[Raymott]

I don't think 'learned' even implies a teacher. There are many things you can learn without a teacher.
Some exceptional people can learn to play the piano without studying it. One can think of stories of savants who do this. And you can certainly study it without learning much.
To generalise, 'study' doesn't mean 'learn'.