Why Piano?

People spend years learning to play the piano. I started at age 6 and have come across many people since then saying things like, “I wish I had taken the time to learn to play the piano.” or “If I had only continued piano when I was a child, I might be able to play some songs today.”

Why is piano so popular with so many people? Mainly, it’s one of the few instruments that can play more than one note at a time, giving the listener (which includes the player) a more full and satisfying musical experience. Think about a song being played by a trombone, then the same song played by a piano. Though other instruments are terrific, they are one note only. So enters the piano.

For several centuries, Europeans had been listening to keyboard strings being “plucked” on a harpsichord. They heard a very different sound when the pianoforte came along, as the strings were tapped with a “hammer” mechanism. The pianoforte, later known as the piano took off in popularity and multitudes of music were written for this prolific instrument.

Today pianos, both acoustic and electronic, occupy space in many homes as pieces of furniture, an instrument played on holidays only, and as dust collectors. What they should be is a source of enjoyment for both children and adults to expand our minds and enrich our lives. Because people have different goals when it comes to learning to play the piano, teachers should be able to provide various types of instruction for students of all ages, regardless of how long they want to take lessons. Check out my web site at Applegate Music Studio for more information.