6 Reasons Why You Should Learn to Play Piano

If you talk to any instrumentalist or singer alike, they will probably say that the piano is one of the most important instruments and skills needed to be a successful and versatile musician - Here’s why you should learn to play the piano:

1. Teaches the basics - The piano makes a student familiarize themselves with reading standard notation in two different clefs - treble and bass. This makes their overall musical comprehension a lot more versatile and allows them to explore more areas of music that they may not have known they would like. The piano also teaches students about frequencies and ranges in a visual manner. Students can see what an octave looks and sounds like and better understand how different pitches work together visually.

2. Music theory - Beyond the basics, piano is an important skill to know when learning music theory. It is great at teaching scales, chords, and even ear training to improve musicianship. No matter what level the student is, they can play a chord without any previous musical knowledge. Once again, the piano can help the student visualize any intervals or modes to improve their theory and musicianship skills.

3. Personal accompanist - For singers and any other instrumentalists that may need a piano accompaniment, learning how to play the piano means that there does not need for a long and tedious search for an accompanist. You can be your own! Of course, this may not work in a performance setting, but it is a great way to hear all the parts together and know how the product will sound in the end.

4. More than one musical line - On a piano, the student is not limited to one melody or one instrument. There is an introduction to texture. Entire multi-instrument orchestras have been transcribed for the piano because of its ability to play multiple parts at the same time. It is important to understand how different parts can work together without needing many different instruments to hear them.

5. Hand independence - Playing the piano forces you to learn how to do different things at the same time with each hand. This has been proven to increase brain function and memory capacity because it stimulates both sides of the brain, instead of just one. This is why sometimes while learning a piece, your brain might start to feel like it is working extra hard. No matter what career you are pursuing, when memory capacity and muscle memory skills increase, the options are limitless.

6. Increase of versatility - With an understanding of music theory, and increased memory capacity, hand independence, and comprehension of how different aspects of sound work together, the sky's the limit on which instrument you may want to learn next. The versatility makes it MUCH easier to learn any new instrument you may want to tackle.

So, what are you waiting for? Get to making music! Here’s some inspiration to learn music quickly if you’re feeling stuck.