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The Gift of Making Music
The gift of making music
Why bother to spend the money and time on piano lessons? There are so many excuses - I'm too old, It takes too long to learn, With homework and other activities my child doesn't have time. It costs too much.
In today's crazy world of instant music, instant ordering, where you no longer have to spend time at the library reading through piles of books for research, where you no longer have to wait for the radio station to play your favorite song, we need something to take time to accomplish something with our own two hands and stretch and work our brains outside of our comfort zone.
This is one of the many reasons for piano lessons. Learning how to take the time needed to accomplish something that is “hard” helps to develop a work ethic that the “instant” does not create. Learning how to practice with discipline and taking instruction, not as criticism, but as steps needed to accomplish the goal is priceless.
Piano lessons are not only for the “talented”or just for the young. It is, in fact, for anyone that loves creating music. It is for the person who loves the sound of the piano. It is for anyone that gets a funny tingly feeling in the pit of their stomach as they play something they worked hard to be able to play. It's for the person of any age that loves to create at the keyboard. Sometimes the really hard part is stepping out of the comfort zone and going to that first lesson. It can seem that there is so much to learn but that can be the excitement. it just requires time and the enjoyment of the journey.
for more information
Your brain on music https://www.pianodreamers.com/benefits-of-playing-piano/
Why should someone study piano
15 Benefits of Learning to Play Piano
1. Prevents Brain Processing, Hearing and Memory Loss
The ability to process auditory signals usually slows down as we age. However, participants of a recent study who continued to play music throughout their lives had helped reverse the decline of brain processing, memory and inner ear hearing loss.
Source: ABC News
2. Improved Counting & Math Skills
A study conducted by Martin F. Gardiner and his colleagues at the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University found that specialized musical training in specific increments toward greater difficulty boosted second graders’ math skills significantly above their peers.
Source: Brain Connection Education Week
3. Exercising New Language Skills
A study in the early 1990s discovered the “Mozart effect” in children, which showed early language development and spatial-temporal intelligence could be boosted by keyboard lessons for preschoolers.2 Additionally, a study by Dr. Charles Limb showed that pianists who solo use their brains linguistically as if they were responding conversationally and grammatically.
Source: Brain Connection & SciePub & Huffington Post
4. Improves Reading Comprehension
A 1993 study summarized in the Educational Psychology journal showed that the ability to discriminate between pitch, which is a fundamental ability you learn when playing piano, was linked to good reading performance. Additionally, learning to memorize music before performance exercises reading comprehension skills and the portion of your brain responsible for recall.
Source: Brain Connection & Musician Brain
5. Encourages Creativity
Dr. Ana Pinho conducted a recent study on jazz pianists. Monitoring their brain activity while playing, she found that the part of their brain responsible for default or stereotypical responses was actually turned off. Instead, when jazz pianists are playing, their brains improvisation ability is firing to create unique, original sound and style.
6. Practice with Time Management & Organization
As with any responsibility or hobby, learning to add it to your daily routine and make time to do it requires good time management. Playing piano and other instruments that demand a routine practice schedule are particularly effective in challenging one’s ability to manage and organize their time. For children, learning to play piano, juggling lessons, practice and fun play, is a great way to teach these lifelong skills.
Source: Ezine Articles
7. Requires Concentration, Discipline & Patience
Multiple areas of the brain light up when playing music. Scientists studying the brains of musicians as they play music have found that the discipline of playing music is the equivalent of a full-body brain workout. Strengthening multiple areas of the brain, including our ability to concentrate, focus and apply knowledge, playing music allows us to exercise our brain similarly in other areas. So, it should not be surprising that starting to play piano will trigger increased patience, concentration and discipline in other areas of your life.
Source: TED
8. Strengthens Hand Muscles & Hand-Eye Coordination
It is no surprise that learning to play piano requires hand-eye coordination, but a recent study on hand motor control in musicians suggests that piano performers have actually changed the cortical mapping to increase finger speeds. For children and adults with reduced motor skills, learning to play the piano can challenge these brain connections to motor movement and even strengthen coordination.
Source: Music and Health
9. Improves Rhythm & Coordination
Learning rhythm is essential to mastering piano, but it also has been shown to have a positive effect on reading skills in children. According to the academic journal, Psychology of Music, “Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers.”
Source: Science Daily
10. Boosts Self-Esteem
In a 2014 study of fourth-grade students in public school in Canada, children who received individual piano lessons for three years tested higher on self-esteem measures and school music achievement tests. Learning to play piano and experiencing the excitement of mastery after learning a piece of music is an incredibly powerful way to boost one’s confidence.
Source: Sage Pub Journals
11. Expands Cultural Knowledge
In a 2016 study of Amazonian women and men, musical preference was found to be strictly cultural and not hardwired into our brains. Counter to past assumptions about our brains’ preferences of dissonant versus consonant chords, the study’s findings support learning to play piano as one way to expand our cultural knowledge of different sounds, styles and types of music. Especially for children, this exposure is critical to encouraging early open mindedness and cultural diversity.
Source: Science Daily
12. Reduces Stress & Anxiety
A 2013 article published by the National Library of Medicine found that piano practice can actually help treat depression and alleviate stress in elderly adults. Despite the studied demographic being older adults, these findings are encouraging of all ages that piano practice can serve as a holistic and natural treatment for depression and mood disorders.
Source: NCBI
13. Provides an “Unplugged” Outlet and Entertainment
Limiting electronics is something many parents and even adults need to be doing more and more. The effect of excessive time spent on electronics is linked to increased brain atrophy, impaired cognitive functioning and even increased cravings due to impaired dopamine functioning. Learning to play piano is an activity for kids and adults alike to move away from “screen time” and have an unplugged outlet for entertainment.
Source: Psychology Today
14. Allows for Kinesthetic and Tactile Learning
In 2013, an institute in Barcelona, Spain, studied the effects of different kinesthetic learning environments and leisure activities. The study found that participants who were assigned piano practice as opposed to others who did sports, painting, etc., showed greater neuro and psychological improvement on the scale they were using.
Source: Science Nutshell
15. Changes Brain Structure and Mental Ability
Many people define themselves as good or not good at music. You’ve heard people say before, “I’m not musical at all!” Gottfried Schlaug, director of the music and neuroimaging lab at Beth Israel Deaconess and Harvard Medical School in Boston, has confirmed through multiple studies that some people’s brains are indeed better suited for learning music. However, all humans can benefit and even change the way their brain processes information and learns new skills by learning to play piano.
Source: The Guardian
Compiled and posted by:
Olivia Groves
Olivia is a content strategist, writer entrepreneurially-minded thinker and artisan. She loves helping connect people with businesses and their stories.
More posts by Olivia Groves
https://www.lindebladpiano.com/blog/benefits-of-playing-piano
Why We Learn Scales
“Why do I have to practice those yucky scales?”
Oh how many times have I heard that. At first the student is delighted to learn how to play a scale, but soon they tire of them, especially as the scales get more difficult. Soooooooo……………………
Why do we learn and practice scales? Why did Rachmaninoff warm up everyday playing through all the scales? Why are they so important?
These are all good questions and here are some of my answers.
*Scales help each finger to work independently of each other.
*Scales help hands work independent of each other.
*Scales help the pianist feel more at home playing on the black keys.
*Scales help teach correct technique and reinforce it.
*Scales help promote accuracy when playing as well as build speed.
Most importantly though…….
Scales are music
All music from classical to jazz to pop to worship music is built on scale patterns.
When we learn scales we are actually pre-learning music and this is true of all instruments.
So when we practice scales it isn’t just about notes and fingering, it’s about creating music. If we are creating music, then we are not only engaging our fingers and eyes, but also our ears. Practicing scales as music helps teach our ears to listen to what we play. Is our tone even? Are our thumbs thumping down? Is each note clear?
And these are some reasons to learn scales, but Mozart said it best…..
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonta No 16 K545
Performed by Ingrid Haebler
"Why are you playing that way?"
Those were the first words from my new coach, and they hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to cry. I had spent years perfecting my technique, convinced it was the only path. But deep down, I knew something wasn’t working. Five years of this method had led me to constant pain, sloppy playing, and an inability to memorize even simple pieces. I was on the brink of giving up.
All I could say was, “This is how I’ve been taught for the last five years.” I feared she’d say I was a lost cause. But instead, she leaned in with kindness and got to work—fixing the pain, correcting inaccuracies, and bringing back my ability to memorize. It wasn’t easy. It took years of unlearning and relearning, but it opened up a path I had only dreamed of.
Over the next seven years, I worked harder than ever. There were moments I felt like giving up, but I kept going. And with each step, my skills grew. I saw that growth reflected in my students—their progress, my fuel; their joy, my reward.
Transformation isn’t easy or quick. But it's always worth it when you trust the process and believe in yourself, one note at a time.
"You have small hands; you really should stick to Mozart." That one comment hit deep and stayed there, smoldering. It replayed in my mind over and over again as I practiced, and for a while, I almost let it shut me down.
Yes, there are pieces that are beyond my octave reach. Of course, that's true. But then God sent me a coach who showed me a completely different way to approach the piano, both physically and artistically. And I realized something important: large hands don’t automatically mean an artistic performance. They might create something athletic, fast, or loud, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s musical.
So often, people get caught up in the spectacle of a big, bold performance, but they miss the nuance, the subtleties, the true artistry that can come from those of us with smaller hands. The truth is, small hands can do so much more than just play Mozart (though, let’s be honest, Mozart is wonderful). Small hands can play with just as much expression, just as much depth, if not more, than large hands. We just have to be a little more creative, work a little harder, and bring our whole selves to the music.
And isn’t that what makes it worth it? The effort, the perseverance, the refusal to be defined by limitations. Because that’s where the magic of music truly lives—in the courage to play your own way, regardless of the size of your hands.