People learn to play the piano for many different reasons:

• To create music
• To learn the classics
• To pursue a career in music
• To increase memory skills
• To play a favorite song

It’s usually about the music. But there may be another reason too. Studies consistently show that if you want to improve your health, learn to play the piano. 

We’ve become more aware in recent years of the importance of mental health. Playing the piano helps people relax, experience less anxiety, and overall have less stress. Want even more benefits for playing the piano?

Stress relief – sitting down at the keyboard gives you an outlet for your stress. Pour out your anxiety into your music and let the stress fall away. 

Confidence – as you work through a song, you’ll discover your “can do” attitude improves as you accomplish more with your music. 

Memory – it takes a lot of coordination to play with both hands while reading music in front of you. As you work your way through harder music, you’ll find your memory improves too. 

Multi-tasking – working two hands together while they are each doing different things can seem a bit challenging at first. But the more practice you have, the more you’ll find your mind stays on track with several tasks at hand. 

Focus – pay attention to the rhythm, tempo, music, and how your body moves to the song. Block everything else around you, feeling how the music moves through you. You’ll be able to bring these skills forward into other areas of your life. 

Playing the piano should never cause pain. As you move forward, a teacher can ensure you use proper technique, and gain all of the benefits of playing the piano correctly. 

And enjoying playing the piano for life.

There are many times in our lives where we sit down and create lists to help us find our passions. We may do it as we enter college. As we become more secure in our jobs. When New Year’s Eve rolls around each year. As we retire and have more time available to find outside interests. 

It usually starts with a wish: I wish I could …

What’s your wish? 

We often give our kids the gift of music. We push them to start piano lessons, or join the school band. 

But what about as you age? Are you too old to start up something new? Is it too late to learn to play the piano? 

Not at all!

In fact, it may be even easier to learn to play as an adult. 

Why? Because as an adult, you have more drive and determination. As a child, a lot is vying for your attention, and it’s easier to get pulled into different directions by a lot of outside influences. There isn’t enough time for a child to do every after school activity they wish to do. Something has to give. And it might be making music. 

But now, your focus has changed. It’s not a race. It’s about following through on something you choose to do. 

Stop worrying about if it’s possible. It is! You just have to sit down and play, and move forward one piece of music at a time. 

Purchase a piano and place it in an area that is conducive for playing. 

Don’t think of it as practice. Simply enjoy that you get to play the piano every day. 

And set small goals. Move from the first level of piano playing into the second. Find things that entertain you, and help you keep going. 

But most of all, do it for you. 

Because that’s really the biggest advantage of learning anything as an adult. You have what it takes to set goals and see them through. 

Why not start playing the piano today? 

Studies show playing the piano can bring back fun into our lives, reduce stress, and help with anxiety. Could it be the release we need as we move forward? 

We’re only beginning to understand the implications the pandemic has had on mental health. 

Statistics show that 4 in 10 adults have reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms, up from 1 in 10 during the same time period pre-pandemic. For young adults ages 18-24, the reports of symptoms are even higher, at 56 percent. 

The pandemic has also taken its toll on kids, with more than 25 percent of high school students reporting worsening emotional and cognitive health, at a time where pediatric mental health care coverage is declining too. 

Where do kids retreat to when they need time to relax and unwind? For many, they turn to music. It’s an integral part of our culture, and an emotional communication method that grasps us throughout our lives. How many times have you heard a song and instantly been transported back in time? 

Those feelings further increase when you connect with the song. Playing the piano allows you to connect in a way that listening can’t. You put fingers to the keys, and feel the emotion in your arms as you play. 

Learning the piano is more than tapping out the song on the keyboard. Learning the piano helps you understand every aspect of music, providing both rhythm and structure to how you look at music. 

It’s a gift that allows you to open up and look deep within yourself about how music impacts the world. It’s an outlet for creativity, an emotional expression that once learned, never leaves. It gives you a way to destress and calm down even after your busiest, most stressful days.  

If you’ve ever learned to play the piano as a child, remember how much fun it was to be able to create music? To sit down and relax without the stress of the outside world?

Why not give that gift to your child now when they need it most? 

Learning to play the piano might just be the best activity you can give them as we move forward in this world. 

I remember as a young child, watching my grandmother sit down at the piano and playing beautiful music. She carefully tapped out a few notes, found the right placement for her fingers, and played away. She never took lessons, never learned to read music, but she could play!

It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t a trick. She wasn’t a musical prodigy. In fact, most of us have the ability, it’s just left untapped. 

Why? 

Because we have an innate ability to understand music. It’s a part of us, and we don’t need to take years of lessons to play the piano for fun. 

Reading sheet music can help you become better at the craft of playing the piano. But to play your favorite songs? It requires listening and finding the right notes. 

It starts with paying attention to music. Make sure you use a high quality recording of whatever song you wish to play. Play it through a high quality system, great speakers, or headphones. Make sure you can hear all of the notes clearly, and can differentiate between the different tones. High quality recordings allow you to pick up on all the crucial notest that can make the difference in the way you play the song. 

The biggest part of being able to play by ear is not to rush the process. You can’t hum a new song and expect to play it perfectly the first time you sit down at the piano. 

Start by learning the music in small segments. Pick out five to ten seconds of a song, and convert that over to piano playing. Learn one part first, play it with one hand, and then try and pick up the other. You can do this over and over again as you make the sound more complex. 

If you master thirty seconds or so at a time, take a break. Come back another day and internalize what you’ve just learned. This helps you fully recognize the ability to play, and creates the pathways necessary to keep playing at this level. 

Then repeat. You can do this until you have your favorite song mastered, and can play it anytime you sit down at the piano. 

Of course, you can continue to do this with your favorite music. But if you prefer to take your piano playing to the next level, learning to read music will only improve what you know. 

But for now, it’s a great way to learn your favorite songs, and be able to play them whenever you desire. 

Why do people play the piano? For many reasons. 

Maybe to enjoy making music. Maybe because it’s fun. Maybe it’s to play like your favorite musician.

Or maybe it’s to activate your brain and help keep it strong. 

Yes, unlike other hobbies, playing the piano can provide memory boosters. If you’re looking for ways to stay young, playing the piano is a good place to start. Here’s why. 

Play the piano to increase coordination

Playing the piano involves hand-eye coordination. Your left hand plays independently of your right hand. Your eyes take in the musical notes from the sheet music. Together, each part does what is necessary to make beautiful music. This stimulates many different areas of the brain at the same time. 

Play the piano to become a better listener

When you play music, you start to listen better. You hear different parts of the song, evaluate things like pitch and voice. You pay attention to tonal quality. That translates over to everyday situations as well. It allows you to block out ambient noise, and recognize nuances of language better. You’ll have an easier time in a noisy cafe the next time you meet with friends. 

Play the piano to become a better reader

Music is a language all of its own. As you learn to read music, you’ll take in symbols and how they work together. Studies have shown that when children complement their education with music training, they display superior cognitive performance in reading skills. It’s also been shown they remember as much as 20 percent more of their vocabulary words. That continues as we age. 

Play the piano to improve memory

Piano instruction helps you improve your memory, in particular verbal memory. This is your working memory. It can also improve your mental health. Pianists experience less anxiety, stress, loneliness, and depression because playing is a great stress reliever. 

Whether you’re considering piano instruction for your child, or yourself, remember playing the piano is one of the greatest gifts you can give. It can help you live a long, happy, healthy life. 

Are you ready to learn to play the piano this year? 

Want to learn to play the piano? Like every activity, there are a few costs involved to make your desires come true. 

First, there is the expense of the piano itself. This will be the biggest part of your budget. But there are different ways to fit it into your monthly expenses. 

Finding a piano “for free” on Craigslist isn’t the answer. In most cases, these pianos have been stored in basements or garages for years, and are often out of tune and no longer playable without major restoration. You’ll have more work then you want just to get it into proper playing condition. 

By going to a piano dealer, you can find a high quality piano that meets your budget goals. You can even start out smaller scale, upgrading as your child becomes better and enjoys the process more. 

You might even invest in a digital piano instead. If you move to an electronic piano, just be sure it’s high quality and has weighted keys that mimic acoustic pianos, and are mechanically similar to the sound and feel of a real piano. Digital pianos do have the added benefit of being able to fit in tighter spots – perfect for apartments, condos, or dorms – and have a headphone jack that allows a person to play without disturbing others in the room. 

Of course, the piano is only part of the process. You’ll also need to budget for lessons as well. Lessons come in several different structures: one on one, group format, or self taught. For many, a combination of the three is the best choice, giving you what you need when you need it most. 

You’ll also have incidentals along the way. You’ll have to invest in sheet music. You might have to invest in extras such as a new piano bench or a metronome. And if your child keeps progressing, performance attire may be added into the budget. 

Playing the piano isn’t the least expensive hobby a person can take up. But it can be one of the most rewarding. It’s a skill that can last a lifetime. 

Most people learn the piano for entertainment. They have a desire to create beautiful music, and playing the piano is the perfect way to accomplish that goal. 

But playing the piano offers a whole lot more. When you come home after a hectic day at work, sitting down at the piano is a great way to reduce stress. Just touching the keys can soothe your soul and make the knots in your neck go away. 

It can also exercise your brain. There’s a lot of action going on when you challenge yourself to read a new piece of music. Your brain must communicate with your fingers where the notes are, and how to put them all together to create the sounds that you hear. 

What was once thought to be strictly entertainment, now has been proved to be therapeutic too. 

It’s well documented that playing the piano helps older adults stay active and alert. It can protect against certain illnesses, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. 

It’s also beneficial for children to learn, as it stimulates the part of the brain that controls fine motor skills, reasoning, memory, and speech. Want to help a child do better on their test scores as they age? Introduce them to the piano early on in life. It works. There’s even documentation that shows music majors make some of the best medical school students. It gives kids a special awareness for both self-discipline and determination for how things connect in this world. 

What’s more, kids that continue to play the piano are shown to have more self-esteem, show a greater sense of pride in accomplishment, and are more likely to participate in other physical activities. The hand-eye coordination vastly improves when learning the piano, thanks to the need to develop skill and technique to connect both hands and visual processing when moving from a sheet of music to the keyboard, and back again. 

Because the piano has an 88 key playing board, it is the broadest musical instrument you can play. It plays the melody and the accompaniment and allows composers to create for every other type of instrument available. 

Are you ready to bring the piano into your life?