The piano is undoubtedly the father of all instruments. It has been around for 400 years (and older variations of it, like the cembalo / harpsichord have been around for even longer), ranges on 7-8 octaves (the most of all instruments) and carries a huge heritage from a lot of different music genres.
The Beatles, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones and many more greats took part in taking the piano and incorporating it into Rock music and popular music, after it has been mostly associated with classical music (and also Jazz music to a certain degree in the last century).
The piano is obviously a very big, heavy and expensive instrument but in the last few decades we enjoyed increased access to piano music with the help of cheap keyboards, and the entrance of digital pianos to the market. The sales of digital pianos have grown by 450% over the last 10 years and still on the rise. I have a very nice one myself and I love it. They offer a sound and feel that can come very close but with a lower price tag and less weight.
In this post we will take a look at some big thinking points that will hopefully inspire you to start playing this beautiful instrument (or the keyboard as a beginning).
Guitarist! Here Are 8 Motivators to Start Playing Piano TODAY:
1 – The Piano Has The Most Beautiful and Richest Sound of All Instruments
Arguably, of course, but from my experience, it seems like the vast majority of people tend to agree with this point. This point is the first on the list for an obvious reason – the piano is a music instrument and the sound we can produce with it should be the first on the scale of importance…
A point that I like to think about is that unlike melodic instruments (flute, trumpet, etc…) that can only play one note at a time, and even other chordal instruments like the guitar, the piano usually plays 5-6 notes at the same time, hence the unmatchable richness of sound. Also, a piano single note is much fuller than an acoustic guitar single note. Play both instruments at the same time and see for yourself how the guitar gets completely “mudded” out.
2 – Piano Gives You the Best Music Theory Foundations that Later Can Be Applied to any Other Instrument You’ll Play
Since the piano keyboard is laid out in a simple 2D fashion. it makes for easy comprehension of “how this thing works” and how music theory works in particular, unlike the 4D approach that the guitar fretboard has (down, up, left, right).
You see all the notes right in front of you and you start to easily understand how chords are actually built – the “1, 3 and 5” are right in front of you. This theory knowledge can be applied to improvisation, structuring complex chords, understanding chord progressions, picking up new instruments and much more.
3 – When You Have a GUITAR Background, Learning Piano is Way More Simple
I have written a full post about the best way to learn piano – and that is by using chords as your guidelines. When you already have a chords background from playing guitar and when you learn from an effective piano course that is focused on chords – things are going to work like a breeze. Learn more by clicking the promo at point # 6.
4 – The Piano Will Open an Easier Route to Any Other Instrument You Choose to Pick Up in the Future
This is closely related to point number 2. The piano will show you the music clearly, on black & white (literally…). When you reach a sufficient level of playing the piano, you can easily translate that to any other instrument! The music will already be in you, and you will “only” need to learn note fingerings and specific instrumental technique. A lot of the work is already cut down for you.
You will become a true musician and understand (visually, on black & white in front of your eyes) how music works. This opens the doors for you to play any instrument that’s appealing to you.
My first instrument was the guitar, later, I started playing the piano as well. It opened many musical doors for me like the harmonica and the flute too. See the video below from my YouTube channel to watch how my piano journeys are going nowadays, and there are many other piano coves in my channel that you’re welcome to check out as well:
5 – The Piano Lets You Create Beautiful Alternative Versions to Songs That Weren’t Originally Written for It
YouTube generates billions of views on this fact alone… I keep having fun with that myself. Think about some of your favorite songs and how sweet and unique they can sound when you will play them on the piano. You can play them in an upbeat Jazzy way, or from a sad and melancholic point of view, or from so many other different directions.
You can be so expressive on the piano that it just totally opens up your creative musical horizons.
Another cool example on taking Karma Police – a true acoustic guitar song, and giving it a take on the piano. This dude (ortoPilot) has other cool piano covers you can check out.
6 – Finally You Will Be Able to Play All Those Rock Piano Songs Like They Should’ve Been Played…
♦ Click the names of the artists in the paragraph to listen to some of the most beautiful piano recordings. Oh, and also check out The 13 Best Piano Rock Songs Of All Time.
Because Elton John’s songs never really sounded good on the guitar anyway… (-: Same with a lot of other songs and artists, like a lot of The Beatles’ songs, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Regina Spektor, Coldplay and many other greats. Some songs are just “piano songs” and should stay that way, and finally YOU can make them sound just as good with your own hands.
7 – A Nice Keyboard Costs Only* 300-400$
* That’s not cheap, but considering that you get such a potent piece of music making for that price – you have to admit it’s a good deal. Only a few decades ago you had to pay the equivalent of at least 10 times that price to get a cheap piano, so that’s something to appreciate about how technology makes everything much more accessible. Nowadays, for the cost of a few days’ work you can get your own “mini-piano”.
$$$ – For a selection of keyboards on Amazon head here. For an article about the best 5 keyboards under 200$ head here.
8 – Playing Piano “On Top” Of A Guitar Gives You All The Huge Benefits Of Being A Multi-Instrumentalist
Read all about it right here: 12 Reasons It ROCKS To Be A Multi-Instrumentalist!
That’s it. Are you already playing the piano? please share more reasons that keep you motivated to play it in the comments, or any other insights you have on this incredible instrument.
Alright, I feel like I teased myself too much. I am going to play the piano myself now… You can see some of the videos on my YouTube channel.
Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll take my advice and start enriching your music life even more!
And now my friends, I invite you to sit back, and enjoy a true modern piano master in action; Billy Joel – New York State Of Mind (Feat. Bruce Springsteen).
