Piano Music Lessons

Piano music lessons are a common childhood activity, sometimes pursued by the child out of musical interest, sometimes imposed on the child by well-meaning parents. There are several reasons why parents might want their children to learn how to the play the pianoits an admirable skill, it develops coordination and musicality, and supposedly music instruction from a young age increases your childs intelligence la the Suzuki method. And naturally, parents only want the best for their children. However, unfortunately in many cases piano music lessons can represent a clash between the interests of the parents and the desires of the child. Its a sticky situation because on one hand, the parents might be forcing their child into something he or she doesnt want and possibly enforcing it vicariously, but on the other hand the child might be rejecting lessons out of immaturity and laziness. Indeed, many adults remark that they wish they had followed through with their piano lessons as a child.

But an issue of contention: do piano music lessons really teach you how to play? Intuitively, the answer is yes; lessons help you learn the proper fingerings, the scales, the rhythms, how to play with dynamics, and how to sight read and follow time signatures, assuming this was your first foray into music. But the fact that the repertoire is often restricted to the classical period and that your playing is simply a well-practiced regurgitation of timeless pieces might make you think otherwise. Maybe it depends on your definition of what it means to play. Is playing simply being able to play songs on an instrument, or is it knowing an instrument well enough to improvise? If its the latter, then you wont necessarily learn how to play from piano instruction. That kind of ability takes experience and considerable talent.

This isnt to say that piano music lessons are a waste of time. Theres nothing inherently good or bad about them. They can be fun, they can impart a lot of important musical knowledge and you might encounter pieces that you enjoy immensely. At the same time, youll encounter pieces that you hate and cant avoid and youll likely endure hours of tedious practice. Its really up to the studentthe important thing is whether you enjoy them and how you apply them to your growth as a musician. In most cases of learning, instruction is essential but so is motivation.