So you want to become a musician, or you already play an instrument, and you’re asking yourself: “Should I learn piano?”. What are the benefits, what can it bring to your life?
The answer is YES! Unless you’re being forced to learn it, there is no reasons you shouldn’t learn piano. It’s great for your brain, it helps concentration, it’s a good stress reliever, it’s in demand in the industry and, most of all, it’s fun to play.
Why playing piano?
The piano is one of the most popular musical instruments in the history of music. You can ear piano from its origins in the classical music of the 18th century to the music you hear today on the radio.
It’s a versatile instrument that is present in almost every genre of music. And one great thing about the piano is that you can sound complete all alone. The wide range and the ability to play with 10 fingers really helps to make it a great solo instrument.
Piano also means digital pianos, synthesizers and midi controllers
When you’re asking yourself if you should learn piano, it’s not necessarily to play on an actual piano. Those are big, heavy, and expensive, if you live in an apartment or you play in a band, that’s not a realistic option.
But you can learn to play on a digital piano, a synthesizer, or a midi controller. These are more affordable and portable and, although it doesn’t beat the feel of the real thing, they sound great and are really versatile.
For my part, I’ve owned a midi controller for a least 15 years. It’s an Evolution MK-249C2, it’s old and the company has been sold to M-Audio in 2003, but I still use it today to help me write notes in a DAW. I even played live with it.
Check the great selection of home digital pianos at zZounds if you’re interested in learning the piano.
It’s good for concentration
One of the main skills implied in playing the piano is concentration. It needs something called divided attention (or split concentration) because you need to think about many things at the same time.
While you play piano, you need to use both hands, they are not always synchronized, read the music partition, press on the pedals. Some even sing over all of that!
Once you’re getting better at it, you can apply these multi-tasking skills to other activities in your life.
It’s a stress reliever
Some studies have shown that playing the piano can reduce stress, here’s one done in Japan in 2011. It’s good for mental health, all the concentration involved can easily clear the mind, calm anxiety, lower blood pressure. It’s said that piano lessons are used to help people with ADD.
It’s good for your physical health
There are many ways in which playing the piano is good for your health. On your body, it sharpens motor skills, improves hand-eyes coordination, develops dexterity.
Also, it can prevent swelling in your hands, it’s a low-impact exercise for the joints in your hands, it loosens your muscles up to prevent arthritis. And while you play, your heart rate is reduced and your blood pressure lowers.
It helps the brain
Playing the piano, or any other instrument is good for the brain. It can increase memory by learning songs and theory. But it also helps with the language, attention, and even math skills.
Another direct effect on the brain is neuroplasticity. This term refers to the ability of the brain to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. The activity of learning to play the piano will increase neuroplasticity in a good way.
It increases Human Growth Hormones (HGH)
The human growth hormone stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It’s produced by the pituitary gland. Studies show that people who take piano lessons had increased levels of HGH in their system.
This can help relieving stress, help with mood swings and, most importantly, help you feeling good. Nothing can beat the satisfaction of mastering a difficult piece on your instrument, it’s important for your emotional health.
It improves your musical ear and knowledge
One thing is obvious when you’re a guitar player, as I am, and you start learning the piano, you need to improve your knowledge of music theory.
You need to know how to read music, you also need to know the scales, alterations, and so on. But the rewards are tremendous, you’ll become a better musician that way.
You’ll be better at recognizing intervals, chords, and their inversions, and you can develop a sense of pitch with the wide range of the instrument.
It’s in demand for bands
I’ve played for the last 30 years in bands as a guitar player or a bass player. And of all the different instruments that make a complete pop/rock band, the keyboard player is always the most difficult to find.
Having a keyboard player in a band is a great asset, it can broaden your repertoire deeply with all the sounds they can bring. In a top40, corporate, wedding band, a keyboard player is a must.
So with piano lessons, your abilities will be sought after, no doubt about it, you will have no trouble finding a job in the business.
It’s easy
It really isn’t as hard as it sounds, in fact, the learning curve is longer on the guitar. It’s also easier on the body, the guitar strings are hard on the fingers for a beginner, and brass or woodwind instruments will make the facial muscles real hard.
As for all instruments, it takes time to master everything. But with the piano, it’s the best instrument to be ready to play adequately the quickest.
It’s cool
Of course, you may think it doesn’t look as hot as playing guitar (as a guitar player I don’t disagree…), but it’s an instrument that has been used by many great rock stars, Freddy Mercury, Elton John, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and many more.
Conclusion: learn piano and get lessons, you won’t regret it
Playing the piano is a wonderful thing. Whether it’s to join a band as a keyboard player or play on a real piano in your home, it’s a skill you can cherish and share with others that listen to you play.
I’ll finish by offering you an opportunity to learn piano with Pianoforall. It’s an affiliate course, choosing them will help this website. Here are some great points about Pianoforall.
- Pianoforall teaches you how to sound great right from the start
- All-in-one package
- All styles of piano covered – pop, blues, jazz, ballads, improvisation, classical.
- Play-by-ear and learn to read music at the same time
- Filled with tricks, tips, and formulas to help people sound great right from the start
- Easy to follow yet comprehensive
- 10 clearly laid out ebooks – 600 pages in total
- 200 videos – over 7 hours in total – 500 audio lessons
- The video and audio can be accessed right on the page you are viewing so you don’t have to open separate programs
- Instant download or delivered anywhere in the world on a CD ROM
