Reasons to get piano lessons?
* Piano lessons help you to understand how music is made. It gives your brain a workout, teaches you about theory and ear training and helps you learn different musical styles.
Here’s another reason – it can also boost your grades in other subjects by improving the cognitive abilities related to language, visuospatial skills, memory and executive function. (Blair & Rippon, 2009)
In addition, piano students experience social as well as academic benefits. According to research from Kaplan Test Prep , 79% of students who took part in one or more extracurricular activities were accepted into college versus 55% for those who didn’t take part in any extracurricular activities! So don’t forget to add ‘getting into college’ as one of the benefits of learning how to play piano.
The real reasons why people take up musical instruments like Piano lessons are more basic, however, and include:
* Fun – It is something that most kids love and want to do. There’s nothing quite like plonking out a tune or playing a drum beat on the piano keys! But practicing can be hard work too sometimes.
* Self-Expression (artistic expression) – This is closely related to fun but goes beyond just making sound or music. It includes expressing yourself in other ways too, such as composing your own songs, writing stories about your experiences or feelings or even painting a picture to go with it.
* Listening – Music is a great way to learn how to listen, not just for music but also for words in speeches or lectures and being able to interpret the meaning of what you hear.
* Friendships – Like any group activity, music involves spending time with your friends and developing your friendships through playing music together. I remember my piano teacher who was awesome! She never let me give up no matter how ridiculously out of tune my playing was (must be why she has such an impressive reputation as a professional Piano Lessons Near Me today)…or when I’d completely ignore her while our class practiced because I was reading books at the back of the room. *laughs*
How do Piano lessons work?
Piano lessons are a lot of fun, but they also take time, effort and commitment. That’s why it helps to be familiar with how piano students typically progress along the music learning pathway from beginner to accomplished pianist.
The typical piano student progresses through five stages:
* Starter Stage – This is where you get to know the instrument. At this stage you’ll learn basic techniques such as correct posture and hand position and finger movement in readiness for playing scales and notes. You’ll also start by learning simple songs so that you can keep a beat using a metronome or one-finger chords for accompaniment.
* Improver Stage – Here you will develop your ear by learning how to recognise different notes and tones and you’ll learn about chords, scales, arpeggios and intervals. In addition you will start to develop your own style through listening to other musicians. You are no longer starting from scratch! You know which notes sound good together (a key point in playing music) so now you can focus on making up your own melodies or trying a little improvisation.
* Advanced Stage – At this stage you will be learning more complex pieces of music with lots of skills involved such as transposing, harmonizing and sight-reading. You will also continue developing your ear by taking part in ensemble rehearsals where everyone plays the same melody together – that way nobody's playing is drowning anyone else out and the ensemble is playing as one! At this stage you will also be working on memorising music because some pieces are too long to learn by heart. If you’re feeling really brave, you can even start composing your own music.
* Master Stage – Here you should have a pretty good understanding of what all the notes on the piano are ‘supposed’ to sound like (though there is always room for interpretation!) You will also learn complex techniques such as polyrhythms – which just means lots of different rhythms played at once! Finally, it might be worth spending time learning how to improvise more freely depending on how much interest you have in being a professional musician.
* Professional Stage – Lastly, you'll need to have a basic understanding of music theory, so that you can understand what notes sound good together. Some musicians will also spend time in this stage learning how to read sheet music and conducting various ensembles!
Following these five stages is not the only way to learn piano though – just one of many ways. So don’t worry if your progression doesn't exactly match this because all types of musical styles require different techniques too, meaning that sometimes a new skill or technique comes before another. But no matter which way you progress, with lots of practice and patience eventually anyone should be able to play pretty much any kind of piano music they want…something I go over a lot more thoroughly in my ebook!
How long will learn to play the piano take?
There is no single answer to this question as it really depends on how much effort and commitment you put into your lessons. Some people decide that they're in a hurry to learn (or perhaps they just want some time off from their day job!) so they opt for a weekly one-on-one lesson over several months or even years. Whereas others prefer regular group lessons once a week, practicing at home between each session. And of course there are those lucky few who can afford private tutors and practice every day!
