subject: How Piano Lessons Can Expand Your Musical Abilities [print this page] There's an old belief that musicians should all know how to play piano, and accordingly this is the first instrument many children and beginner musicians learn. While it's not necessary for everyone, especially those kids who have a strong yearning for a particular instrument, it definitely makes music theory easy to understand and has clear benefits for aspiring musicians. The benefits are numerous.
On piano, the notes are arranged chromatically, in ascending and descending order, and the sharps and flats are visually separated. This makes it distinguishable for those starting to read notes. The benefit of this is easier to appreciate if you consider the layout of notes on other instruments. On horns, the notes can be scattered with a thumb or pinky-finger button here or there, and in guitar the strings are separated by an interval of a fourth. Natural notes are indistinguishable from sharps and flats, which make committing the identification of the notes that much harder. But on piano this is explicit. There are unmistakable visual cues which make playing scales, chords, and songs considerably easier to play and understand. Moreover, when you begin on a piano, the other instrument will make sense because you can superimpose the piano's layout of notes onto your new instrument. Because the piano has the most straightforward layout, this is the best instrument with which to do this.
When you begin learning music theory and you do scales and chords, they may appear to exist in some abstract world. You can bring this knowledge down to earth but applying it to the keyboard. Even if you learn on another instrument, teacher's frequently show students what it looks like on a keyboard first because it's so orderly and logical. For example, a chord uses the first, third, and fifth notes from a scale, and on the keyboard it's as simple as playing note one, three, and then five in order.
On another instrument, the notes won't be as sequential, even if the pitch is the same. Again, the layout is the difference maker. Notes C E and G are close and simple to see and understand, and when you make it a minor by playing the E flat, it'll be easy to understand that all minor chords are made by flatting the third note of the scale (second note of the chord, in the case of C major it's the E that becomes E flat). If this sounds a little confusing, be assured it would make sense if you were looking at it on a keyboard!
It's probably this visual element that makes all the difference and is the compelling reason why people insist on learning piano first, but beyond that it's undeniably a beautiful, elegant, and timeless instrument that allows you to play melody and harmonies at once while singing. Its range is huge and its appeal is broad for this reason too. Whether starting piano for its own sake or as a departure point for another instrument, it'll no doubt enrich your musical appreciate and understanding.
