The physical and mental benefits of playing piano have been recognized for a long time. The piano has been an unparalleled outlet for those seeking escape, creative expression, and simply fun and joy.
Only more evidence of the benefits of the piano has come to light in recent years, linking music-making to a healthy body, a healthy mind, and a healthy life.
For example, it has been scientifically proven that playing a musical instrument like the piano not only improves your skills but also contributes to your health throughout your life.
We could talk to you about the thousands of reasons why we love to play the piano and why it benefits our lives, but let’s face it, we’re a bit biased!
In fact, there are scientifically proven benefits to playing the piano. Here are a few:
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11 Benefits of Playing Piano
Have you ever thought about the positive effects of playing the piano on your body?
We all know that playing the piano will improve coordination and fine motor skills, but have you ever been aware of the link between playing the piano and the human growth hormone? Or the benefits for your intellect?
These eleven health and mental benefits of playing the piano listed below will have you added to your wish list:
1. Playing Piano Relieves Stress
We all know the fact that piano music calms the soul, but it also acts as a stress buster.
Even if you spend just a few minutes of your busy day playing the piano, it can lower your blood pressure and make you feel much more positive.
In fact, just being a part of piano recitals or playing in front of a few people can make people freak out.
Playing a few minutes a day can improve self-esteem, make you feel more positive, and can lower your blood pressure.
2. Playing Piano Sharpens Your Concentration
The piano practice also increases cognitive and intellectual abilities, meaning it makes you smarter and activates similar parts of the brain that are used in spatial reasoning and mathematics.
Studying the piano has also been shown to surprisingly improve memory, particularly verbal memory, and create good habits such as concentration and perseverance, diligence, and creativity.
Children who had a few years of piano study under their belt could recall twenty percent more vocabulary words than their peers.
And musicians from childhood are better equipped later in life to retain information from speeches and lectures.
Playing the piano has been shown to increase Spatio-temporal ability, which figures heavily in math, science, and engineering.
Regular music practice at an early age can even produce structural changes in the brain that will stay with you for the rest of your life, making your brain more efficient both while playing and during extra-musical activities.
3. Playing Piano Teaches You Discipline
Playing the piano can be quite difficult. However, practicing and working hard will not only teach you perseverance, but also discipline.
Consider the parts of the song that you will have to practice over and over again. There is a “magic key” to successful piano playing (and yes, I will share it with you, just like that): practice, practice, practice.
Practicing regularly requires discipline. It may be more difficult at first. You may have to come up with some goodies to get there.
However, slowly but surely, you will get used to it, and being disciplined with your practice time will not be difficult at all.
4. Human Growth Hormone
The human growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland. Activates growth in children and adolescents.
Studies show that students taking piano lessons had elevated levels of HGH in their system. This is a positive side effect of taking piano lessons because growth hormones help keep energy levels high and prevent aches and pains in old age.
Research has shown that piano lessons for older adults have a significant impact on increasing levels of human growth hormone, which slows down the adverse effects of aging.
Bringing music into your life has also been proven to reduce anxiety, heart and respiratory rates, heart complications, lower blood pressure, and increase immune response.
5. Playing Piano Increases Your Memory Capacity
Playing the piano stimulates your brain. As you learn and play songs, the stimulated areas of your brain become larger and therefore more active.
The areas that are responsible for storing audio information, in particular, are more developed in musicians than non-musicians.
So when you play the piano, your ability to memorize audio information increases. The possibility of saying something like, “I’m sorry! Maybe you told me, but I really don’t remember …” will most likely happen less often.
6. Playing Piano Improves Your Emotional Intelligence
Playing the piano improves your listening skills. These are also very important when you interact with other people.
Emotions are expressed not only through facial expressions and body language, but also through tone of voice, speed of speech, and melody of speech.
People who play an instrument are better listeners, and it is not surprising that studies have revealed that musicians are more perceptive when interpreting the emotions of others.
7. Playing Piano Improved School Performance
Elementary students who take piano lessons have better general and spatial cognitive development than students who take no lessons.
Middle and high school students scored much higher on standardized tests than if they were involved in instrumental music. Did you take music lessons as a child? Good news! You will be able to better retain information in your university lectures.
In an increasingly hectic world, it is more important than ever to be able to focus. Playing the piano has been shown to help improve concentration, which helps in all areas of life.
College studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant correlations between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science, and language arts.
8. Playing Piano is Good for Your Physical Health
Playing the piano regularly offers different physical and physiological benefits to players.
Sharpens fine motor skills, improves dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Music has also been shown to reduce heart and respiratory rates, heart complications, lower blood pressure, and increase immune responses.
Playing the piano also makes the muscles in the hands and arms much stronger than the average person.
9. Constructive Criticism
Piano students receive a lot of positive feedback and constructive criticism from their teachers.
Receiving criticism is never fun, but when it is offered gently and in small increments over time, it prepares the student to accept feedback in a positive way.
10. Lifelong Health
Playing the piano offers a host of health benefits that will complement every part of your life.
And that doesn’t even begin to consider the deep cultural web and historical tradition that you join as a pianist and owner.
For two hundred years, the piano has been a home staple, uniting families and friends and strengthening communities with the power of music – bring a piano home today.
11. Live a More Beautiful Life
Ok, this buff is definitely more subjective than the others, but hear us out! Music is incredibly powerful and piano music, in particular, can provoke strong emotions in both the listener and the player.
The piano was designed to reflect human emotions and feelings, so it is not surprising that people react strongly with joy, sadness, and wonder.
And the wonderful thing about piano music is that you can share it with your friends and family! Music is a language that crosses all barriers of age, ethnicity, etc.
It’s a wonderful way to bring the larger community together, as well as smaller groups of family and friends.
Final Thoughts
Studying the piano will truly give you a unique competitive advantage in today’s world.
If you haven’t been sure about taking piano lessons for yourself or your child, think about all these benefits of playing piano.
Of course, many people choose to start piano lessons for the simple pleasure of learning and playing an instrument as a hobby.
Whatever the reason you start playing, remember that you can start learning at any age. Push yourself and you will notice the positive feelings you experience when you learn a new skill!
