Why Piano Makes A Great First Instrument

Why Piano Makes A Great First Instrument

Have you ever heard a child pick up and play the trumpet for the very first time? 

The noise that comes from within would never be described as music. 

Or how about a violin? One pull of the bow across the strings will leave you with raised eyebrows and shaking your head, willing the sound to go away. 

Have a child pick up a guitar and ask them to play a certain note again and again. You’ll be lucky if you can tell they were anywhere near the same range. 

Most instruments take a fair amount of talent to make them sound like they’re supposed to. It takes time to learn to hold your mouth just so. Or to place your fingers on the strings. Or to move your hands the way you do. Why Piano Makes A Great First Instrument

That’s not the case with a piano. No matter how novice you are at playing, anyone can sit down and touch a key and produce the note as it was intended to be played. If you touch middle C, it will sound just like anyone else who touches the same note. 

If a piano has been tuned, striking the key will create the perfect tone. You can tap it or punch it hard and the true tone of the note will ring through. 

Try that with a trumpet or violin. 

But just because it’s easier to create the right notes, doesn’t make the piano that much easier to play. In fact, many would argue that the piano is the most difficult instrument to master. 

Learning any instrument takes a certain amount of time to master the basic skills. A guitarist will have to memorize and execute chords. A trumpet player will have to learn both fingering techniques, and the different ways notes are created with the mouth. Even a drummer has to learn to use both hands in a variety of ways to create a multitude of different sounds. 

But a piano takes learning to another level. It requires both hands navigating up and down the keyboard, having the option of touching and combining 88 keys at any given time to create sounds. The hands must work together to create music. And for most people, that’s something they’ve never had to master before. Most of us are born favoring one hand over the other. With the piano, you have to put everything into making them work together. And to do so requires brain work you’ve never had to use in any other way. It takes a lifetime to master. 

Yet from the moment you sit down for the very first time, touching a note gives you a sense of wonder. With a little playing, you can pick out a tune. With a little coaching, you can play a recognizable melody. 

And that’s where it all begins. 

Why Piano Is The Best First Instrument To Play

Why Piano Is The Best First Instrument To Play

Why is the piano often thought of as the best first instrument to play?

Pianos make playing easy
To play a piano, you simply have to press a piano key. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. And because even small children can learn how to pick through notes and create songs they are familiar with, piano allows them to feel like they are creating music much earlier than other instruments.

Pianos sound good from the startWhy Piano Is The Best First Instrument To Play
Chances are you’ve heard the sounds a brand new trumpet, flute or violin player make. Not very pleasing. In fact, it takes practice to make musical sounds at all, and may take very long periods of time for a student to learn the skills needed to have great tonal quality and produce a good, pleasing sound. With a piano, when you press a key a note comes out, and its always on key (providing the piano is properly tuned). You can’t miss creating the right sound when playing the piano; practice simply perfects the way the notes come together.

Pianos offer a great sense of pitch
The piano has the most complex pitch of any instrument, from the lowest to the highest of notes. Because of this, music is written in both treble and bass clef, which allows a person to learn to read both clefs with ease. If and when they choose, they can move to another instrument and learn to play it faster. A well tuned piano will always create the perfect sound when a note is played, which helps a player develop a keen sense of pitch from the beginning.

Pianos play both melody and accompaniment
The piano is one of few instruments that allow you to play both the melody and accompaniment. As an early beginner, a piano player can play simple melodies they can hear and recognize. As they advance, they can begin to add chords to change the tunes and make them more complex. This helps develop a high sense of music theory, teaching how music comes together in complex ways.

Pianos develop a stronger sense of music theory
The piano provides a straightforward approach to music. The low notes are on the left, the high notes on the right. The white keys are interlaced with the black keys making sharps and flats easy to learn. And when translating music to the keyboard, lines and spacing are easy to translate from music to instrument.

Piano makes a great foundation
Because the piano is such a versatile instrument, it can provide enjoyment throughout a person’s lifetime. If they choose to continue music into college, it’s a great foundation for providing skills that will transfer easily to other instruments, or even allow a student to do better in math or sciences. Some of the most successful medical school candidates are music majors; music theory has its benefits. For whatever reason a person chooses to move forward with music, if you are looking for the perfect instrument to begin with, look no further than a piano.