Piano lessons carry way more benefits than just being a fun hobby or extracurricular activity. You probably knew that.
But do you know how many benefits there are? It’ll surprise you.
That’s why we put together this comprehensive list of 30 benefits of piano lessons, regardless of age.
When you take piano lessons, you’re making an investment in yourself. Or your kids.
In addition to developing your inner musician, the benefits will impact every area of your life.
Most of these benefits fall under what’s called “emotional intelligence,” or EQ.
These are the less-tangible, less-measurable qualities that define success in most people's lives.
Things like patience, delay of gratification, resilience, getting along with people, and more. While EQ is less familiar than IQ, studies have repeatedly shown that EQ is a far greater indicator of future success than IQ.
We’ve organized these 30 benefits into six broad categories.
- Social benefits
- Cognitive benefits
- Family benefits
- Success benefits
- Emotional benefits
- Confidence benefits
In a world where we wish more people would get along, let’s start with social benefits.
Social Benefits of Piano Lessons
The benefits from piano lessons that tend to be overlooked most are the social benefits. Piano lessons will help you meet, work, and get along with others better.
Piano Lessons Develop Empathy
Empathy. That ability to understand another human being as if you were them. How much better would the world be if everyone could improve their empathy?
Piano lessons will do just that. And research has proven it.
Studies have shown that people who studied music are more sensitive to the emotions of others. This, in turn, improves empathy.
If you want to dig deeper on the topic, check out this article from the National Library of Medicine.
Piano Lessons Build Teamwork and Cooperation
If you've ever played a duet with someone, you get it. It's not a one-man show.
It requires being able to play in sync. You need to keep your part going, and listen to the person you're playing with. If something goes wrong, you need to be able to figure it out.
And you need to get along when you're rehearsing.
A good piano teacher will make sure you have the opportunity to play in ensembles. Both with the teacher and with other students.
When kids or adults play duets, trios, and quartets, they develop their teamwork skills. This will extend beyond the piano studio into school, work, and even relationships.
Music Brings People Together
Whether it was the junior prom or the annual Christmas family get-together....there was probably music, right?
By taking piano lessons, you're building the skills to bring people together. Whether a small audience for a recital, or entire communities for events.
When you take piano lessons, you build these social skills. Not only the ability to appreciate music on a deeper level at these social events. But also to be the creator of music at these social events.
Music is the Universal Language
Okay, this one might be a little cliché. You've probably heard it before.
But take a moment to think about it.
You probably don't speak Japanese, Spanish, or French. Yet, you could play music in Japan, Spain, or France, and people will understand it.
You can communicate emotions and sentiments through sound.
And in a world where there's conflict every time you turn on the news, that's some powerful stuff.
In Piano Lessons, You'll Get to Meet New People
We'll end this section with the most practical example - you get to meet new people through piano lessons.
The most obvious new friend you'll make is your piano teacher.
But then, there are also the other piano students. Good piano teachers make sure there are regular opportunities for students to meet each other.
And then, there are recitals. These are wonderful opportunities to support your new musical friends, and meet new audience members!
Piano lessons can be your gateway to discovering a whole new community of friends.
Cognitive Benefits of Piano Lessons
You've probably heard people say it. Piano lessons will make you smarter! But have they ever said how?
Now you'll understand after reading this.
Piano Lessons Improve Language Learning
Music is a language in itself. With a skilled teacher, we learn the grammar, we learn how to listen, and we learn how to read music.
Just like language.
But did you know that studying the piano can help build those language-learning skills?
In The Music Advantage by Anita Collins, the author discusses this in detail. You can also check out our interview with Anita on our podcast here.
Anita has done some incredible research in this area.
She writes that learning to read music creates a "double workout" for the brain in terms of learning language, especially in kids. This, in turn, grants them the ability to learn languages faster.
Both their native language, and any other languages they decide to pursue.
Piano Lessons Improve Math Skills
There is a lot of math involved with music. Especially rhythm. In fact, it's pretty rare you'll meet someone who's studied the piano for a while, but is weak in math.
The research is a little grey in this area. Some argue that music helps math. Some say that math helps music.
But, think about it.
To learn to play piano, you have to be able to stay in time. That requires counting.
And then to play notes that are less than one beat, you have to be able to cut beats into different fractions. For those who are familiar, these would be the eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and others.
And then, you have to understand how the time signature works, which can change the entire system of rhythm in a piece.
Math is essential to music, and any good piano teacher will incorporate the math of rhythm into lessons.
So naturally, it stands to reason that math skills will improve as a benefit of piano lessons.
Coordination, anyone?
In a world where people are right-handed or left-handed for most things, piano is an opportunity to change all that.
In the beginning, piano lessons may keep the coordination between hands simple.
But, as your piano lessons progress, each hand will start to become more independent.
As your technique improves, both hands will learn to play faster.
And so, over time, you will become coordinated in a way you never thought possible when you began piano lessons.
Build Critical Thinking skills
There's a key difference between piano lessons and normal school. And that's critical thinking skills.
In school, students are taught information and expected to spit it back out on a test. There's not much to it.
You memorize facts or formulas. You keep them in your brain just long enough to ace the test. Then you can forget it.
Information in, information out. Critical thinking? Not so much.
This is where piano lessons come in.
While skilled piano teachers will give guidance about practicing, they can't give their student everything.
The teacher won't be able to predict what may go wrong at home. Or what new challenges the student will uncover during the week.
This is where students develop their critical thinking skills.
To discover new problems and figure out possible solutions. Test them. Discard them if they don't work. Experiment.
It's a learning experience we don't find in school anymore. But you'll find them in piano lessons.
Music Lights Up the Brain Like Nothing Else
In The Music Advantage, Anita Collins writes extensively about this.
Neurologists discovered that when people play music, it lights up the brain like nothing else they've ever seen.
In fact, it lights up the brain so much, they've used music as a tool to learn more about how the brain works.
And so, piano lessons give you this benefit you literally won't find anywhere else.
Family Benefits of Piano Lessons
These might not have benefits that crossed your mind. But they're benefits that will bring your family closer and create memories you'll cherish for life.
Create a Musical Family
Every musical family began with one parent who thought music lessons were a good idea.
When your kids take piano lessons and grow up with music, it becomes part of their identity. Then when they grow up and become parents themselves, they'll want to give that to their own children.
By considering piano lessons for your kids, you may very well change your entire family tree. That's how powerful music can be.
Everyone Remembers the Recitals
Want to create some family memories that will last for life? That's where piano recitals come in.
Good piano teachers will make sure students have the opportunity to play in student recitals on the regular. At South Shore Piano School, we host two every month!
Every parent or adult student remembers that first recital.
They're opportunities to invite your friends and family to hear your accomplishments.
And over time, they get to see how much you've grown as a piano student and musician.
Create Your Family Musical Traditions
We have two students, a brother and a sister, who have a wonderful family tradition.
Every Christmas, they host a gathering in their home. The kids each learn a handful of Christmas carols, and everyone gathers around the piano to enjoy.
Those are memories and traditions the entire family will remember for years to come.
When you take piano lessons and build your musical skills, you can create your own family tradition like this.
As we learned in the social skills section, music brings people together.
Including your family.
Duets with Family Members Can Be the Most Fun
Want to bond with a family member? Try learning a piano duet with them.
Music brings family together in a magical way, whether it's a sibling, a parent, or a child.
The other person doesn't necessarily need to be taking piano lessons, too. Resources like Pattern Play by Forrest Kinney allow one person to play a pattern and the other to improvise.
No previous knowledge required.
You Get to Hear Music in the House Every Day
When you or a family member takes piano lessons, you get to hear live music in your house. Every day!
Well, at least the days they practice...
Granted, piano practice isn't what you hear in the movies. There will be lots of repetition. There will be wrong notes. There will be victories and defeats.
But you'll get to hear and witness the entire process.
And who else can say they've heard a family member learn a brand new piece of music from start to finish?
It's an experience you won't be able to find anywhere else outside of your home.
Success Benefits of Piano Lessons
One can argue that the lessons learned in piano lessons make students successful in other areas. After all, there's a reason over 75% of Silicon Valley CEO's took music lessons.
Practice Applies to More than Just the Piano
Think about school for a minute. You take a year of English literature, and you're done. You take a semester of calculus, then you're done. Or, you take a few years of French, then you're finished.
Do students have the opportunity to build a skill over several years in regular school?
No. They don't.
That's where piano lessons can be a game-changer in our education.
By learning to play the piano with a good teacher, you're building a skill over years. Even decades.
The skills used to learn piano can be applied to any other area. Getting in shape. Building a business. Studying school. And pretty much anything else you can think of.
The most successful people in the world didn't get that way because they did well in school.
They did it because they were able to build the most important skills over a long period of time. The same way you'll learn music in piano lessons.
Piano Lessons Develop Problem-Solving Skills
You could say that piano lessons are a series of problems to solve. As we mentioned in critical thinking skills, the piano teacher can't cover everything.
If they could, learning the piano would be easy. Because it would be the same as studying for a test.
In piano, there will always be new problems that come up over the course of practicing. The key to success will be building the problem-solving skills to deal with them.
By gaining that practice of untangling problems and not running away, students will naturally do this in other areas.
In a world where we tend to run away when things are difficult or unclear, taking piano lessons will help you lean into any problem you come across.
Piano Lessons Promote Independent Learning
Piano students only see the teacher once a week. Most of the time, anyway.
The real progress happens during the practice at home in between lessons. You can think of it as the same as seeing a personal trainer.
Yes, you learn the cool exercises and have someone pushing you for that session.
But the real progress happens in the followthrough between sessions.
By undertaking this project, students learn to become independent learners. Both in piano and in other areas that depend on becoming comfortable sitting and practicing before seeing a mentor or boss.
Focus and Action
It's impossible to succeed in piano lessons without focus and action.
We're distracted constantly. Between cell phones, computer, television, streaming, and more.
But when you practice the piano, you get to turn that off. You clear the air and focus on one or two goals for that practice session. And then, you take action.
With distraction being such an issue, developing that "focus muscle" will become a modern-day superpower.
Long-Term Skill Building Versus Cramming
There's a reason not everyone plays the piano. It can't be crammed.
As we mentioned, students are primed for cramming in school. They learn some information, slap it on the test, and then forget it.
Rinse and repeat.
But, piano lessons teach the importance of long-term skill-building. This isn't a cram-able activity.
In this day and age, people are used to cramming. But if you can get used to building skills over a long period of time, you'll have an advantage others won't believe was possible.
Emotional Benefits of Piano Lessons
Music is an emotional thing. You probably already knew that. But learning to play music in piano lessons brings along many emotional benefits.
Whether it's to feel less stress or to express everything that's inside.
Piano Lessons Give the Ability to Express
There's a lot going on under the hood (if it wasn't clear, I'm implying in your brain). What happens if we can't get all that out?
We get stressed.
Music gives us a way to express everything that's inside of us in a way that words just won't do.
Whether it's through improvising and creating our own music, or learning a piece that reflects how we're feeling.
Playing music expressively gives us an outlet we won't find anywhere else.
Reduced Anxiety and Stress
Studies have shown that music helps us feel more relaxed. It takes us away, however temporarily, from the everyday stresses of life.
At this article from the National Library of Medicine describes, music can also help those who are suffering from depression!
A Creative Outlet
When's the last time you got to create something?
The same way you got to write stories in school, in piano lessons, you can learn to create your own music.
In piano lessons, you can learn how to take those ideas in your head and put them on paper. Or, transform them into sound for others to enjoy.
Everyone is capable of creativity, with a teacher who nurtures it.
Improved Happiness
When we're able to express ourselves, be creative, lower our stress, and become more empathetic, a side effect of that is we become happier people.
Confidence Benefits of Piano Lessons
Music students who take lessons over a long period of time tend to develop greater self-confidence. We'll show you how.
Performing in Public
It's impossible to avoid. Over the course of life, we have to "perform" in public in a variety of circumstances.
Whether it's a project for school, a presentation for work, or even interviewing for a job.
In piano lessons, students learn how to perform in public. They learn how to handle nerves. They learn how to go with the flow.
Regardless of age, over time, they learn how to perform in public.
And the confidence that comes from this experience allows them to "perform" in any other context they need to.
You Gain the Experience of Finishing Projects
In piano lessons, you'll learn many, many pieces of music. Starting with easier pieces, and gradually becoming more difficult as you build skill.
Every time you finish a new piece of music, you'll experience the joy of "finishing."
What do I mean by finishing?
Well, think about it like this.
Do you have a tendency to stat projects and never finish them? Or think about fun ideas, tinker around with them, but then procrastinate?
It's often because we don't have the opportunity to practice "finishing" projects.
But in piano lessons, you will finish many, many projects in the form of pieces of music. It's an essential aspect of the piano lesson experience.
This is yet another skill you will be able to apply to your pursuit of anything you want in life.
Today, it might be finishing a difficult piece of music you spent two months on.
Tomorrow, it could be finishing building a world-changing business you'd thought about for years.
Benchmarks of Success
A good piano teacher will make sure you have guideposts. Things you achieve that show you have reached a certain threshold of skill.
It could be as simple as learning a certain number of pieces. Or, it could be completing an examination with the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program.
Either way, you get to celebrate those benchmarks of progress along your piano journey. These are the things that keep you going.
And these celebrations of progress will help you become a more confident person.
You're Building a Skill That's All Yours
When you take piano lessons and build your skills over time, you gain something no one else can do. Something that makes you unique and special.
Because remember? In piano lessons, you're learning a skill over a long period. It can't be crammed.
And because so many people don't take piano lessons or stick with it, you're doing something that others won't.
You'll be able to perform in ways that others can't.
And the confidence that comes from that is worth every penny spent on lessons.
You're Learning a New Language
How would you feel if you were fluent in Spanish in a few years? Pretty good, right?
It's the same with music. As we touched on earlier, music is not just any language. But it's the universal language.
And when you learn a new language, you get to experience all the confidence and self-esteem that comes with learning any new language.
To Wrap Up
Piano lessons are so much more than a fun extracurricular activity to do, like knitting, soccer, and archery.
It brings music into your life. An essential part of the human experience.
And it brings benefits that will impact nearly every area of your life.
But only if you have a skilled teacher who will meet you where you are and help you along the way. All in a developmentally-appropriate way.
Check out our guide to finding a good piano teacher to help you find one today.
Or, if you would like to try a free trial piano lesson with one of our teachers (in person or online), you can do that in seconds by using this link.
Thank you for reading, and best wishes on your journey in music!