Why Learn to Play Piano?

There are lots of reasons to learn to play the piano! Here are a few we think are important.

Did you know that the art of making music is good for your brain? Music making intrinsically develops cognitive skills like critical thinking, creativity, cognitive flexibility and adaptability, sustained attention, self regulation, and working memory. Of course these are cognitive skills you can develop in all kinds of ways. The thing that makes music unique, is that musicians do all of these things all at the same time! When we play music, musicians need to think analytically about the music, make creative decisions, and have the muscle coordination to execute that vision all at the same time! These are skills that are good for people to develop just for the sake of developing them, but they also have benefits in daily life.

So we know that making music is good for our brains, why study piano specifically? There are a lot of benefits to playing piano! If you already play an instrument, learning piano can help you expand and build fundamental music skills because you’re playing more than one note at a time. If you’re just starting your musical journey, piano is a great place to start because it’s so accessible! You can make a sound on the instrument on day 1!

Now we might be biased about this one, but we think the most important reason to learn piano, is because it’s fun! There’s something uniquely rewarding about learning a song and playing it just for yourself, or for others.

A Student Driven Approach

At The Piano Laboratory Studio, we believe that music education is for everyone and everyone has the capacity to be a music maker! We also believe in tailoring lessons to meet the individual goals of each student. Whether the student is a young beginner who is building foundational music skills, a young person hoping to become a professional musician, or an adult looking to pick up a new hobby, you set the goals!

We also believe that part of a student driven approach is empowering students to become independent music makers. That’s why we take a process over product approach. By learning practice skills, note reading, music theory/ear training, and technique students gain the ability to learn not just one song, but any song!

Research Driven Pedagogy

At The Piano Laboratory Studio, we believe in staying up to date with the latest research in music education and piano pedagogy. Lots of very smart people have done research to answer questions like: How do humans learn best? Are there methods to moving our fingers, hands, and arms (technique) when playing piano that are least likely to cause repetitive stress injuries? What’s the best sequence to introduce new musical concepts? What’s going on in our brains when we make and hear music? As a teacher, it’s our job to continue to learn and improve our craft if we want our students to succeed!

So what have we learned? Based on our current understanding of research in music education and piano pedagogy, here are a few elements that we implement in our teaching: Sound before sign! Students should understand musical concepts aurally, before they’re introduced in traditional notation. Technique forward! How you move your fingers, hands, and arms are essential to creating a beautiful tone on the piano and important to avoid repetitive stress injuries. We teach well rounded musicians! Students should be able to create, perform, respond, and connect at the piano.

Above all, we think it’s important to keep an open mind and be flexible in our approach to teaching piano. New research comes out? We change and adapt! One approach doesn’t work for a specific student? We pivot to another approach!

In Summary

Whatever your reasons for wanting to take piano lessons, we hope you’ll find success at The Piano Laboratory Studio. By combining our knowledge of piano pedagogy, and working with students and parents to understand and meet their goals, we find success at the piano together!