13 Misunderstood Benefits of Playing Piano - Michael Korman (2024)

If you feel stressed out, remind yourself of why you’re doing this. Chances are, your focus has shifted away from your practicing, and you are fixated on a particular outcome (playing a difficult piece, doing well in a performance, etc.). And when you don’t achieve that outcome, it’s natural to become frustrated.

This is normal. Try to view it as an opportunity to put your attention back on the here and now.

The stress is not a sign of a problem.

Piano might seem like a great amount of fun, until you try it. Then, it can turn into pure frustration!

At that point, you have two choices: (1) quit and try to find your fun somewhere else, or (2) persist.

The choice is yours, but anything worth doing is going to be frustrating at times. The frustration is a sign that you care.

As the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki once said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”

Being a beginner is a rare opportunity to approach a subject with no preconceptions or biases. Try to make use of this. You don’t need to be really good at piano really quickly. Instead, try to enjoy the fact that you don’t really know what you’re doing. Take your time. Enjoy the scenery. If you practice this consistently, you may be surprised by how learning this skill is one of the main benefits of playing piano.

You can’t change the past. If you’re upset because of lost time, try thinking about everything you​have​accomplished during that time. You are where you are now, for better or for worse, because of what has led you to this point.

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If you’re worried that you are too old to learn piano, you’re not alone. At the same time, this worry will only serve to get in the way of your practicing. Let yourself grieve for the lost time, and use that sadness to bring vitality into your practicing.

It’s so common to compare oneself to others. It’s also rarely useful. Piano is something that must be learned on your own.

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When you notice yourself comparing your playing to that of a professional’s, you may stress out over how much you’re falling short. Instead of judging yourself, try to notice how much you admire their playing, and why. Even if you’re a beginner, you can still learn a lot, and you should try to emulate what you can.For example, can you bring some of their energy, musical expressiveness, or willingness to risk making mistakes in public into your own playing?

Are you expecting that a “gung-ho attitude” to piano playing will keep you going forever? It doesn’t work in dieting or exercise, and it won’t work in music study.

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Instead of pushing yourself past your limits, try to accept the fact that you are a human being who is sometimes lazy. That’s normal, and perfectly fine.

Practice because you made a choice to practice, not because you​need​to improve.Sometimes it will feel comfortable, and sometimes it won’t.

Piano practice might make you better at hand-eye coordination overall. But, don’t count on it. Instead, focus on the task at hand. What amount of hand-eye coordination is required to practice the piano in the way that you’re trying to practice?

And when you do some other activity, focus on that activity.

Music requires you to bring your whole self to the table, including any personal insecurities. These insecurities can easily surface in a way that can make you feel decidedly notconfident.

This is especially common at higher levels. Often, the better you get, the higher the level of competition, and the more reasons you have to evaluate yourself negatively.

If you can conquer this, then yes, confidence may indeed be one of the many benefits of learning piano. But in the meantime, expect some ups and down. Try to go along for the ride.

I have nothing against trying out piano for a little while just to get a taste of it. If you do this, however, try to make a commitment to really experience it for that period of time. Study music for the benefits of playing music itself, not just for some idea of how it fits into the bigger picture of your life.

For example, if you are an actor specializing in musical theater, you might decide to take piano lessons because it will give you a better understanding of music. That’s great. But when you sit down at the piano, you are a pianist, not an actor. Be a pianist, and do what your teacher tells you to do, even if you think “this isn’t important to me as an actor.”

Playing the piano can indeed be impressive. And, it can feel really good to get admiration from others. However, this can’t be your reason for doing it. Unless you are consistently spectacular, you will fail at this from time to time.

Furthermore, this attitude actually takes your attention​away​from the music. Music requires vulnerability and sensitivity. You must be focusing on what you’re trying to express. That can leave you open to rejection, which has to be OK with you.

Our culture teaches us this image of discipline as something you need to force yourself to do. This is counterproductive, because if you view it as a matter of willpower, you will fail once you run out of willpower.

Instead, notice that your resistance to practicing is trying to tell you something important about yourself. When you approach practicing in a way that​works for you,​the resistance will melt away. This kind of “discipline” feels easy, because you are internally aligned with your own values.​​

I hear this a lot from parents who want to give their kids an advantage in school, and from adults who want to stave off the mental effects of old age. These might indeed be real benefits of playing music, but they do not do music study justice.

Piano playing is​intrinsically​rewarding. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or what kind of career you have or want. Studying the piano, like all art forms, is a celebration of what it means to be human. If you find yourself worrying that piano is not giving you themental results you’re looking for, try to direct that worry into your practicing.