"I should have started when I was a kid."
"I had lessons when I was a kid but I quit and now I've lost too much time."
"I'll never be as good as (fill in the blank) so what's the point?"
"I don't have time to learn."
"Lessons are too expensive."
"I can't afford a piano, I don't have room for a piano."
Do Any Of These Statements Sound Familiar? Do You Believe Them? Do They Stop You From Learning To Play Piano?
Just for the sake of balance, allow me to provide you with a few good reasons to start playing piano at any age:
- It's fun! Who doesn't want more fun? Fun makes us happy. Fun makes us feel good. Yes, please, I would like to have more fun. Yay for fun!
- It makes you younger and, unlike plastic surgery, it doesn't hurt. The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Foundation posted some compelling, recent research results from Northwestern University on the rejuvenating benefits of playing an instrument. It turns out that playing an instrument causes the brain to add more neural connections. People, this is huge! Musical training improves the brain's ability to adapt and change, in effect, making your brain younger. Good stuff. Read the whole article here. And if you're taking up piano as an older person, more good news: playing an instrument increases human growth hormone. You're a kid again! (Read that article here.)
- Playing piano is a natural antidepressasnt (thanks again to the folks at NAMM for this info):
"Playing a musical instrument can reverse stress at the molecular level, according to studies conducted by Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems (as published in Medical Science Monitor)"
"Making music can help reduce job burnout and improve your mood, according to a study exposing 112 long-term care workers to six recreational music-making sessions of group drumming and keyboard accompaniment. (as published in Advances in Mind-Body Medicine)" - You don't need to empty your retirement fund to buy a new Steinway. And please don't sell all your living room furniture to make room for a grand piano. FindTheBest has a nice comparison of compact, digital pianos, including features, ratings, and some prices. You want to make sure the keyboard is fully weighted, which means that the keys feel and act like real piano keys--the harder you play, the louder it sounds. Also, make sure it comes with a sustain pedal. Half the fun of playing piano is stepping on the sustain pedal and making all the notes blend together in a glorious, shimmering aural soup of harmonics. After you have shopped around, hop on craigslist and find a used model in your area for way less than retail. People are always upgrading instruments, or selling them because they were never played. As always, be careful out there and follow craigslist's guidelines for doing business safely.
- Jump right in and start playing! Do a Google search on "chord style piano" and marvel at all the resources available out there to help you play the songs you love quickly, without spending the next several years learning to read music. If you live in the Bay Area, email me to inquire about lessons.
