While piano might sound like a boring instrument to pick up, because you typically hear piano type music in an awkward elevator ride with strangers, piano is actually a great instrument to learn. While other kids in my middle school class were picking up the flute and the drums, I was learning the notes and melodies of the piano.
What you find is that once you learn the main chords, the piano isn't that hard to play. The nice things about the piano are that:
1. The piano is an instrument that can be found really anywhere. You go to a lobby of a hotel, and typically a piano can be found there. Or you can walk into a sorority or fraternity house, they usually have pianos there too. Nine times out of ten there will be a piano in a building.
2. It really is a lifelong hobby. Even when you get older, the notes will come to you from a song you learned years ago. That's probably the most amazing part of knowing how to play the piano. Songs you learn become muscle memory and the notes just play and come to you without you needing to even read the sheet music.
3. It is a crowd-pleaser. Especially with the older adults, they love when you can sit down and just entertain them by playing Mozart (or maybe an easier Taylor Swift song). Regardless people still enjoy it.
4. It increases the capacity of your memory. Research shows that listening to music and playing it stimulates your brain and can increase your memory. It makes sense because you're squeezing room into that brain to fit 10 or so songs that you have memorized.
5. Studies show that knowing how to play an instrument like the piano can help your IQ by seven points.
6. You learn how to manage your time even better than you have before. You learn how to be efficient with your time and you learn to make practice time a part of your day.
7. It teaches you perseverance and patience. You realize that you can't learn a song in an hour and that a little bit over a long time will get you farther than you think. You find that "patience is a virtue" is a real thing.
8. It betters your math skills. Reading sheet music requires counting notes and rhythms. Studies show people who know how to read music achieve higher grades in math!
9. Experiences you to cultural history. Typically while learning how to play the piano you will learn a variety of music types. Such as classical, folk, and others. But what you hear the most and what sounds the best (in my opinion) is classical.
10. Relieves stress. It is proven that playing the piano is a way to de-stress. It can be a great form of therapy. There is even such a thing as music therapy. Which has been useful in treating children and teens with autism, depression, and other disorders.
