Importance of Learning Piano For A Child’s Overall Development
Processing sound accurately requires three important skills i.e. reading, communication, and language. Children receiving music instructions such as piano lessons are expected to develop these three fundamental skills at a much faster rate. There is a strong relationship between music and language. With more music lessons, children tend to improve their ability to be verbally competent. Hence, with better development of language skills, they are equipped better to process sounds.

Several studies have also shown that music education can improve spatial-temporal skills in children. These skills are useful to solve problems involving multiple steps. Children learning music are better equipped to visualize different elements that should go together. It allows them to solve puzzles much faster and with less effort.

How To Prepare Your Kids To Take Piano Lessons?
For parents looking to enhance the development of their children through piano lessons, the best way to prepare them is to create a music-filled environment. Piano for kids requires dedication and some love for music to inspire them and make their own. The following ideas can help you to encourage your children to learn and appreciate music.

Listen To Music With Your Child
Select from a variety of music choices ranging from classic composers to the popular tunes by the Beatles. Listening to music together can help in introducing various melodies and harmonies to your children. They will be able to discover the sounds they like and prepare to learn about the various musical concepts.

Indulge in Music-Related Activities
You can indulge in a variety of fun activities with your children and help in developing a lifelong appreciation for music. You may sing nursery rhymes or organize a family sing-off to observe who comes up with the silliest ditty. Making your musical instruments such as a shaker made of plastic eff or a set of drums made using plastic containers are some great activities.

Attend Live Music Concerts
Watching a live musical performance inspires you to play the instrument yourself. If you take your children to watch such performances, they will start visualizing themselves playing the musical instruments.

Play With the Piano
Learning piano for kids requires them to familiarize themselves with the piano itself. If they see it every day and hear it played daily, they will surely be encouraged to play it themselves.

How to Make Sessions of Piano for Kids More Interesting?
Irrespective of the place where your child learns piano, you need to make those sessions easier and interesting. Here are some ways that can make their learning more interesting.

Metronome
Available for free, a metronome is a free online tool that is beneficial to everyone learning to play the piano. The tool displays a steady pulse or beat that helps your kid keep time while playing. You have the option to speed up or slow down the tempo. This tool is ideal if you are starting to learn a song and helps to improve your sense of rhythm.

Use Piano Apps for Supplement Lessons
The tech-driven environment around us features apps that can motivate kids to practice their lessons and even advance to the next. Piano learning apps let your child practice whenever they have time or feel motivated to play.

Integrate Games In Practice Sessions
If you can make practice sessions feel more like playtime than a repetitive or serious activity, kids would love to practice piano daily.

Lastly, it’s important to motivate your kids to stay focused as they would do in any other activity. Lack of motivation can easily make them lose interest or get distracted especially if they feel they aren’t making any progress. Motivate them and encourage them to practice and learn to play the piano despite failing to achieve what they would like to after each session. Ups and downs are a part of any musical journey, but constant efforts and dedication can help your child to become a master.

If you are looking to purchase a new or a used piano in Tampa, FL, visit Dave’s Piano Showroom. They present several pianos for sale and on rent. You may also book their services for piano restoration and servicing.

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Learning to play the piano later in life might sound to be a crazy idea. It certainly seems to be a daunting task especially when you always come across incredible stories of child prodigy and young pop stars. But it’s a myth and creates blocks in your subconscious mind stopping you from playing the piano. Most of us may wonder that we are too old to learn music and cannot match our favorite musicians. However, it’s never too late to study play piano and you will be surprised to know the benefits of piano practice are instantaneous.

Benefits of Learning Music Later in Life

It might be difficult to see any benefits of beginning music late in life. But surprisingly, there are several advantages of starting your piano practice at any stage of your life.

Most Musicians Achieve Success in Later Stages of Their Careers

There are numerous examples of musicians tasting success in later stages of their lives. Short-lived popularity through Spotify or YouTube might glorify the youth and their fans, but music is much beyond. For instance, artists like Bill Withers released his first album when he was 34. Bill never thought of pursuing a career till 30! Four years of hard work helped him release his first album. His story is inspiring for many who see age as a barrier to play piano or any other musical equipment.

You Have More Experience

At this stage of your life, you have more experience and enough clarity of your lifestyle and routine. You do have additional responsibilities too. But you have the experience of effectively managing your time. You probably know how important it is for you to include relaxing activities in your life now.

Also, when it comes to music, you have been listening to and see live performances for over the last decades. Thus, your idea of music is much better than a teen who has just started off listening or playing the piano. This knowledge provides you better focus when you practice and surety of what you wish to learn.

Another inspiring story is of the singer-songwriter Seasick Steve who achieved success at the age of 65. For decades he worked as a construction worker and did jobs which not many would prefer doing. But it was in 2006 when he got an opportunity to perform at the Jools’ Annual Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve. He was 65 and this event kicked off his music career. Both authenticities of his voice and success show the result of his experience and hard work.

Expressing Creativity Is Great at Any Stage of Your Life

You have heard about the expression saying “Music is timeless”. A universal language, music is a part of every culture and society. Everybody understands music and a C major chord is spelled the same irrespective of the place you live or the age you are.

Keep all such facts in mind and you will never feel tentative about starting to play the piano. The only thing that matters here is your desire to learn and your enthusiasm for the instrument. Music has been there before us and will stay after us. Hence, take the opportunity to become a part of the great human tradition of music.

Keep Everything In Perspective

Keeping things in perspective is important before starting to learn piano. Certainly, some musicians might have started to play the piano even before they learned to write. But that doesn’t mean you are behind or you should not give it a try to learn something you are so passionate about.

To get the best result from your practice sessions you need to have the right piano. If you are looking for one and confused about the best option suited to your needs, you can consult Dave’s Piano Showroom. They are based in Tampa Bay, FL, and have a range of pianos suiting every need or budget.

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Sadly, limited inclusion of music in today’s general public-school curriculums has reduced the number of people having expertise and knowledge about the power, history, or depth of music. Additionally, this exclusion has robbed children of several key developmental strengths that come with music education.

Besides creating joy, strengthen your hand muscles, or improving your hand-eye coordination, there are several other benefits of learning piano or other musical instruments. Let’s look at some of the advantages of learning music.

Increases IQ & Boosts Academic Performance

Yes, it’s true! You will come across numerous texts and researches advocating that music can help in increasing IQ levels and helping you perform better in studies. It also has the power to instill a sense of self-confidence and achievement. Playing different instruments in groups helps you develop a healthier and more fulfilling social life.

Going through the Mozart Effect you will learn that listening to Mozart can boost spatial intelligence. As per research, playing piano exercises different parts of the brain leading to an increase in IQ levels in both adults and children. Another research suggests learning piano plays as an effective antidote to memory loss or multiple mental deteriorations among adults.

Music is a Universal Language

Music is regarded as a universal language as each culture or civilization has a form of musical expression. Several studies have shown a direct relationship between music and a child’s language development. It indicates that music helps them in learning to read, write and even socialize. Playing piano can increase brain activity and assist to learn foreign languages.

Improve Multi-Tasking Abilities

When learning piano, the most difficult part is to develop coordination between the left and right hands when reading the music sheets. With time and patience, you do master this skill which eventually means that you improve your ability to multi-task. It will help you in splitting your concentration and improving your hand coordination.

Generates Growth

Playing musical instruments supports having higher levels of human growth hormones. As per a study at the University of Miami, a group of people was tested for their keyboard lessons. The results showed that the entire group comparatively had increased energy levels which prevented them from issues like aches or pains. It meant that playing the piano can help in reducing your blood pressure, easing your heart health, strengthening your immune system, and contributing towards body repair and replenishing the same.

Leaves a Calming Effect

Music has the power to soothe your spirits. You may come across several metaphorical stories where music was used to tame a beast. In today’s times, music is believed to have the power to make you feel relaxed, less stressed, and take a break from crazy lifestyles.

Hence, without breaking any sweat you can reduce your stress. Experts have also concluded that it can lower blood pressure too. But to get the most from learning a piano, it is important to learn from experienced and qualified teachers. If you thinking of purchasing a new or a used piano contact Dave’s Piano Showroom to schedule an appointment with Dave. Dave’s Piano Showroom is the only technician owned and operated store serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Hernando and Manatee counties

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1. Improves neuroplasticity: Neuroplasticity is the capability of your brain to recognize and form synaptic connections typically as a response to learning or treatment after injuries. In simple terms, this is the capability of your brain to convert to another form and function specifically for it when it is stimulated with physical activity. Playing the piano positively changes your brain. Studies indicate that music is responsible for stimulating the brain in a manner no other kind of activity can.

When you are playing a musical piece on a piano you are making additions to the brain in terms of neural connections. It primes the brain for other kinds of communication. Therefore, when you are thinking that you are only working on a difficult piece you are improving your attention span, memory, language, speech, math, and spatial skills, and also your capability to convey emotions vocally.

2. Improves hand-eye coordination: Piano playing needs you to have good hand-eye coordination. Research conducted recently suggests that a person playing piano changes the cortical mapping of his brain for increasing the finger speed. For people with lesser motoring skills, piano playing can challenge their brains for making newer connections and develop motor skills. It also helps kids and also the adults to improve hand-eye coordination later in life.

3. Greater stress relief: Studies indicate that piano playing is good for improving your mental health. People that play the piano are less likely to experience depression and anxiety than the non-musical counterparts. Playing the instrument just for a few minutes every day may improve your self-esteem and make you feel positive. It can also reduce your blood pressure. It is significant to note here that piano lessons are commonly used as a kind of therapy for ADD.

4. Good for split concentration: The split concentration is also termed as divided attention. It is an integral part of piano playing and helps in sharpening the concentration. For playing this instrument you are required to make use of both hands, read the music, work with pedals, and also listen to the notes you are playing on the machine. That is a lot you have to do all at once. If you can become adept at playing with split concentration you will find improvement in your multitasking abilities in the actual world away from the piano as well.

The wonderful part of playing the piano is that it is possible to share the event with family and friends. Music is one language that crosses all forbidding barriers such as ethnicity and age. It is also a great way of bringing together big communities and small groups of friends and families. If you want to buy a piano in the Tampa, FL area you can get in touch with the licensed firm Dave’s Piano Showroom for a reliable purchase.

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1. Stress Relief: Studies have noted that playing the piano is responsible for improving mental health. People who play the piano have a tendency of lessening their depression and anxiety levels than compared to other non-musical treatments. Playing the piano for a few minutes each day can improve your self-esteem and make you feel more positive towards life. It will also decrease your blood pressure. Not surprisingly piano lessons and playing the instrument is a commonly used part of ADD.

2. Split Concentration: This is also known as divided attention and it is an integral portion of playing the piano. It helps in sharpening your concentration. You need to use both your hands for playing the piano, you must also read the music, listen to the notes you are making, and work on the pedals. It is a lot you have to do at the same time. Once you are accustomed to using split concentration while playing the piano you can find your multitasking skills improved while going about in the outside world.

3. It is relatively easy to play: Unlike some other musical instruments, the piano is simple to play. There is no pain and anxiety involved in learning to play the instrument. If you are new to playing guitar you will find the build-up of calluses on your fingers. If you are learning to play woodwind or brass instrument, you have to learn to use the facial muscles and lips for producing a sound. This can be painful at times and it dissuades enthusiastic students from lessons. For playing piano there is no such anxiety. All you need to do is sit and press the keys.

4. It is good for physical health: Regular piano lessons and playing it offers various physical and physiological benefits to the players. It sharpens your motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and improves dexterity. Music is also responsible for reducing your respiratory and heart rates, lower blood pressure, decrease cardiac complications, and raise immunity. Playing piano also strengthens your arm and hand muscles to make you stronger than an average person.

5. Improved performance at school: The grade school students who take up piano lessons have been observed to have better spatial and general cognitive development than students that do not take up to piano lessons. The students taking to piano classes scored a lot higher on standardized tests than those involved in other instrumental music. If you took music lessons as a child here is some good news. You are in a better position to retain information during the college lectures.

In an increasingly faster world, it is even more significant than ever to be able to concentrate. Playing the piano improves focus and it aids in all areas of life. Some university studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant benefits of instrumental music in the academic achievements in the field of science, math, and other arts.

Children that took piano lessons for two years or more were shown to retain 20% more vocabulary words than their peers. If you are looking to purchase a piano for your kids or for yourself in Tampa Bay area, get in touch with Dave’s Piano Showroom, which has the great selection of new and used pianos. Their moving division Dave’s Piano Moving can also help you with transporting your piano in or out of Tampa.

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The Brain-Music Connection

Researchers are working on understanding the way our brain hears and plays music. When music is heard playing on a stereo, it’s the vibrations that travel through the air into your ear canal where they tickle your eardrum. At this point they’re turned into an electrical signal that travels from your auditory nerve to your brain stem which is when it’s turned into what we call “music.”

Johns Hopkins’ researchers had many rappers and jazz performers perform music while laying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI: This is a large, powerful machine that uses both magnet and radio waves instead of the radiation that Xrays use. Like the traditional MRI machine, you’ll lay on a small enclosed table for 30 – 60 minutes as the test is conducted from another room.). This allowed the researchers to watch and see what areas of these people’s brains lit up. In doing so they discovered that the way music’s notes are interrelated makes it architectural, structural, and mathematical in nature. However, your brain must do a lot of computing to make sense of it.

Give Music a Try

There are many great ways in which you can incorporate music, and its many benefits, into your life. These include:

• Learning to play piano will improve your attention, memory, and problem-solving abilities. You’ll also be in a better mood and enjoy a better quality of life.
• Don’t let yourself get stuck listening to the same genre of music all the time. Instead, take time to listen to music from different genres and eras too. By listening to these new types of music you’re challenging your brain to work to understand the new sound that it’s hearing, especially if you don’t find the music to be pleasurable in the beginning.
• Familiar music that stems from a time period that you’re attempting to recall is also good for your brain.
• Make sure you pay attention to how your body reacts to different types of music. You’ll find certain genres will help you concentrate better while other genres make you feel anxious. You should listen to more of the music that makes your body happy.

Conclusion

Now that you see there are many good reasons why you should learn how to play piano it’s time to buy an instrument and give it a try. The best place to make your purchase is from Dave’s Piano Showroom. Drop by and visit them today.

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It’s actually fun!

This is a pretty obvious one, don’t you think?
Anyway, there’s one thing we’re sure about: playing the piano is equal to having a blast, no matter how good you’re at it.
Our recommendation is, to begin with learning the keys and start mastering one song – even you’re favorite – for a while. It will feel really great to hear it played by you, even if you manage to get just a few notes right.

It can reduce stress levels

Believe it or not, a structured piano practice session is one of the best ways of reducing both stress and anxiety.
Just hitting those keys and hearing music coming back from them will surely make you feel better, no matter how awful your day was.
Fun fact, some therapists actually recommend playing an instrument in order to let go of that daily stress and problems. So why not start with the piano?

Your eyes and hands will work better together

A study conducted by the American Music Conference revealed that playing an instrument can improve your hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, as well as concentration, memory, and attitude.
Let that sink in for a moment, especially if you always wanted to start playing the piano and never did it.

Technically speaking, this happens because you need to read music while also focusing on the keyboard and get used to the notes. And yes, it can be a pretty difficult process, as you need to concentrate a lot, but as you get used to this, your eyes and hands will work together flawlessly.

It helps to build confidence 

Learning to play an instrument is far from being easy. You need to put a lot of time, dedication and plenty of discipline into this, not to mention the hallenges that you will encounter. However, as you begin to overcome them, you will feel happier and happier.
Playing piano does this to you and it helps a lot.
In the end, you will learn that making mistakes doesn’t mean that you should quick, but take the best out of such experiences and continue!
Is the piano something you consider trying? Dave’s Piano Showroom can be the place where your adventure begins. No matter where you live or what brand of piano you want, you can always get the best deals. Not to mention that you can try one, in the two locations in Tampa Bay!

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The great thing about music is that it is not only for anyone to enjoy but also for anyone to produce or play. Whether it is the piano, the guitar, or some other instrument, there is likely an instrument out there that you will enjoy learning and playing. Being able to play an instrument gives you yet another connection to this deep cultural institution and it allows you to not only make a deeper connection with music out there but can help in developing technical skills as well. Furthermore, you may find it to be a good method of relaxation or enjoyment, which many of us can use more of in our lives.

The power of music in the literature goes back to ancient times when in Greece, music had the power to heal via the concept of Harmonia. This central importance of music to that culture played an important role in its success and arguably the central role of music in today’s culture does the same for us. Government around the world have considered this reality in supporting music programs for children. A comprehensive program in the United Kingdom is one of the more prominent examples.

Amongst the benefits of learning to play an instrument like the piano or developing a better understanding of music are improvements in reading comprehension, improved spatial reasoning, and better concentration. In fact, playing music is correlated with a much larger set of positive mental abilities and skills and is especially profound in children who are still developing.

In terms of social development, music has the ability to increase confidence, self-esteem, relatability, and much more. Playing in a band or orchestra teaches discipline, teamwork, social skills, and reinforces mutual support mechanisms. Even when it comes to the mind and body, music can have a positive impact. It has been shown to increase hand-eye coordination, improve breathing, and even reduce depression and burnout.

The effects of music are far-reaching and likely encompass an even larger scale than is noted here. It can be a great development tool for children and adults alike and one which allows for a better harmony with society and culture in general. There are really very few reasons not to give playing an instrument a chance unless you truly do not enjoy it on any level, although that is likely a rarity. Music is grace and rhythm and in today’s hectic and go, go, go the world, many of us can use more of that. If you have never tried playing an instrument it is never too late to pick one up and give it a shot- it may just change your life.

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Specifically, when community-dwelling seniors exercised to piano music, they showed significant improvements in gait, balance, and their rate of falling decreased. This is according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The randomized control trial had two cohorts. One included people who underwent a six-month music-based multitask exercise program and the other which had a delayed intervention (the control group in the study). The class included a wide range of body movement exercises and coordinated to the rhythm of the piano music. Among the intervention group, there were 24 falls which put the rate at 0.7 per person per year compared to more than twice as much in the control group which had 1.6 falls per person per year.

The intervention group increased the speed of their walking, their stride length, and stride time variability. Those who had dual-task training compared to just one task performed even better. The researchers believe that the piano music allowed for a calming effect and one that helped make the program both more enjoyable as well as more natural. This program may be a prototype for further rollout in nursing communities and other environments with older people and has the potential to have a major impact on preventing falls and all of the unnecessary utility costs to society that result.

This is a major problem that is not going away right now and solutions like this are much needed to reduce the risks and to improve the lives of our increasingly older population. With the Baby Boomers coming of age and retiring, the healthcare system is already getting ready to withstand a shock in demand and this is a phenomenon that is taking place in many Western countries around the world including the United States, Japan, and Canada. As is, each year one third of the population over 65 years old experiences at least one fall with more than half of those having multiple falls. Exercise can help counteract these falls and help bring down this very scary and unsustainable rate. If you play the piano and are caring for an older parent or relative, it may be worth trying something at home. You can play for your loved ones while helping them live a healthier life style by improving their mobility and reducing their chances of hurting themselves. In the long run, it is a low cost option with a very high upside.

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