When deciding on putting yourself or your children in music lessons, many people wonder what is the best instrument to learn first. Research shows that the piano is the best instrument to learn first for a variety of different reasons. Over time, we have found that children who learn the piano have the upper hand when learning a second or even third instrument.
Here are just seven reasons why the best first instrument to learn is the piano.
1. Instant Gratification
Even the most inexperienced players can make a piano sound good within the first few times of playing it. One of the best things about pianos is they don’t require frequent tuning. As they hold their tuning for extended periods, even the most inexperienced student can produce a crisp sounding note. All they must do is press the keys.
Pianos provide instant gratification as any player can be taught how to tap out a basic melody. Students feel a sense of accomplishment by learning how to tap out even a beginner song, such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. This immediate success encourages them to keep learning and continue practicing. Not to mention the piano is easier to listen to beginners practice on than other instruments.
3. Improves Coordination
One reason it is the best first instrument to learn is because it allows both hands to play equally. With the piano, one hand plays the accompaniment while the other is playing the melody. This improves hand coordination and the brain as they are successfully playing two different sets of notes. The improved hand and brain coordination will help in many areas of a person’s life, not just in their ability to play music.
4. Easy to Learn
One of the reasons so many parents choose to have their children learn piano as their first instrument is how easy it is to learn. As mentioned above, beginners can produce nice sounding notes from the first moment they touch the keys. There is no screeching, buzzing, or other noises that come from the instrument.
Pianos also don’t require tuning before each lesson or practice. Teaching somebody how to tune an instrument is far more complicated than teaching them how to play a song. Practicing with an untuned instrument is not recommended as it won’t help kids learn when they are playing the wrong pitch. There is no worry about hitting different pitches between notes with pianos because the keys play the exact note required.
5. Comfortable to Play
Many beginning players find different instruments to be awkward to play. One reason so many instruments feel awkward is that they have to be held correctly to make any sound. Even the slightest shift in position can cause issues with little to no sound coming out. Some instruments require pressing down on strings or pads, which can cause finger cramping. The piano is one of the most comfortable instruments to play, as you sit on a bench with your back straight and rest your fingers gently on the keys.
6. Teaches Students About Pitch
With the piano, the moment you hit a key, you are playing the right note. Well, at least if the piano has been tuned correctly within the past year. When you hear the correct note, it allows you to develop a correct sense of pitch when you press the key. Most other instruments require precise finger placement or perfect breath control to play the right note. This is an impossible task for beginners because most don’t even know what the note should sound like.
Not only does it help teach students about pitch, but the piano also has the widest range of pitches of any instrument. The lowest notes on the piano are often lower than any other instrument, and the same holds true for the high notes. All piano music is written in bass and treble clef because of the range of pitches.
7. Has So Many Notes
There is no other instrument out there with as many notes as the piano. It literally has every note imaginable. The best part is you can play more than one note at a time. Playing several notes at one time is referred to as chords. Without chords, music would be rather boring because you could only hear one note at a time, whereas with chords, you hear several sounds at once. The piano is used in every aspect of music. It’s even used to tune other instruments because you get the correct pitch every time.
