Benefits of Learning 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.
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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Improve your eye-hand coordination
When you play, your brain must tell each hand to perform separate actions. Your right and left hands will play different notes at the same time, following different rhythms and moving in opposite directions. Keyboard skills may even expand your typing skills, making you more productive at work (if typing is part of your job).
7. Elevate your multitasking skills
What to become more efficient? Who doesn’t? Playing the piano will train you to focus on multiple things – kind of like juggling, but in a far more artistic way. Some call this ability “split concentration.”
When you play the piano, your eyes read the music, your hands move in separate directions, your fingers press multiple keys at once, and your feet press the pedals. If that’s not multitasking, then I don’t know what is!
Multitasking skills like these extend to real-life situations. These skills enable you to pay better attention at school and work without requiring you to drop everything else you’re doing.