Why do you play piano?

[youngpianist]

What the title says. Why do you play piano?

[lelle]

Because it's fun! At least sometimes. It was more fun/pleasure in the past, now it's a bit like a discipline or almost something spiritual for me to do.

[bachmoninoff]

Because my parents wanted me to. Then I ended up liking it a lot. Felt no pressure from them after I started because I simply enjoyed it.

Very simple answer I guess.

[bwl_13]

I play because I have to. It's something I do every day and I don't feel like my day is complete unless I've played. It's wonderful, there's nothing else that I want to do for hours, every single day.

[lelle]

I play because I have to. It's something I do every day and I don't feel like my day is complete unless I've played. It's wonderful, there's nothing else that I want to do for hours, every single day.

That really does sound wonderful!

[brahms51]

I play, I.e., practice, an hour a day mainly on exercises. I know that sounds awful, but at 83 my hands are the best they have ever been in 75yrs. Arpeggios in 10ths and finger independence exercises have been the most productive. At least I can play Chopin’s C major etude without my right arm feeling like a truck just ran over it!

[nightwindsonata]

Because there are so many stories I can tell with a piano. It's the most versatile instrument, with a huge range of colors, textures, articulations. I don't regret for a second dedicating my life to mastering this instrument.

[anacrusis]

I play, I.e., practice, an hour a day mainly on exercises. I know that sounds awful, but at 83 my hands are the best they have ever been in 75yrs. Arpeggios in 10ths and finger independence exercises have been the most productive. At least I can play Chopin’s C major etude without my right arm feeling like a truck just ran over it!

Wow that is amazing to hear! Gives me hope that I have not peaked yet (I'm 29) Do you think it's the arpeggios and exercises that have helped your hands or how did you practice to play the C major Etude? (I'm assuming Op. 10 no. 1?)

[brahms51]

Yeah, op. 10, #1. I have just been using various types of exercises very deliberately, some not even on the keyboard, concentrating on stretching-stretching-stretching repetitiously to a point just short of painful or stupid. Still working on getting every finger independently under control. Really has helped with articulation, e.g., Bach selections. If you’re really interested, send me your email address, and I’ll send you more detail - walford@twc.com.

[brahms51]

As humans grow older, our brains undergo various changes, the most notable of which is memory loss. Often, this is experienced in our ability to recall recent events and data quickly or even at all. Short Term Memory becomes progressively more apparent due to the brain’s inability to produce “white matter”, the fatty coating that insulates our neurons and enables them to efficiently conduct the electrical impulses that tell our muscles what we want them to do. To attempt to maintain control over the actions of our muscles, we must keep repeating them; ergo, practice. By age 70, this begins to be more problematic with the continued loss of white matter, and retaining the “muscle memory” so necessary to playing a musical instrument most often requires consistent, concentrated practice. New music, however, can nevertheless be learned because our aging brains, if healthy, can produce new insulation to enable neurons to instruct our muscles to perform new actions. Voila, you play a new piece. Just don’t stop playing it!

[anacrusis]

As humans grow older, our brains undergo various changes, the most notable of which is memory loss. Often, this is experienced in our ability to recall recent events and data quickly or even at all. Short Term Memory becomes progressively more apparent due to the brain’s inability to produce “white matter”, the fatty coating that insulates our neurons and enables them to efficiently conduct the electrical impulses that tell our muscles what we want them to do. To attempt to maintain control over the actions of our muscles, we must keep repeating them; ergo, practice. By age 70, this begins to be more problematic with the continued loss of white matter, and retaining the “muscle memory” so necessary to playing a musical instrument most often requires consistent, concentrated practice. New music, however, can nevertheless be learned because our aging brains, if healthy, can produce new insulation to enable neurons to instruct our muscles to perform new actions. Voila, you play a new piece. Just don’t stop playing it!

Yeah, op. 10, #1. I have just been using various types of exercises very deliberately, some not even on the keyboard, concentrating on stretching-stretching-stretching repetitiously to a point just short of painful or stupid. Still working on getting every finger independently under control. Really has helped with articulation, e.g., Bach selections. If you’re really interested, send me your email address, and I’ll send you more detail - walford@twc.com.

Thank you for your insight! This feels really valuable to read. I'll think about the email, I'm a very private person online If you don't mind, I think it would be very welcome if you posted it here on the forum!

[brahms51]

I certainly understand. Truthfully, there are only 3 things central to what I do: 1. At my age, practice has to be primarily a physical effort; my hands need a serious workout every day; 2. Concentration on finger independence (absolutely invaluable!) using “Brahm’s 51 Exercises”. I have a Schirmer edition, but it’s full of typos. My last teacher (Dr. Maurice Hinson) gave it to me decades ago, so I still use it. I practice numbers 3,4,5,15,18a, 18b, 16a, 16b, and 16c currently (love 15), all to improve finger independence; 3. Indulging in just enough OCD tendencies that compel me to practice every day if possible. I’ll be 84 in July and have plenty of physical and musical memory issues that frequently prove intractable, but I either hang it up or stay with it. Besides, I practice on a Steinway 9’ that I’ve owned since 1967 and which soon became my raison d’etre. How could I just let it to sit there?

[luk0ss]

I play the piano because i love classical music especially chopin. i used to listen to it a lot before starting my pianio journey. i asked my parents about buying a piano and they said yes. so yeah thats why i play. also i really enjoy playing. i can share my emotions by playing to others. i just love it 😍

[brahms51]

You are my idol then because it is so very rare, and please thank your parents for me for realizing how important to you having a piano. I practice several Chopin pieces too went through many of the Etudes to develop technique. Check out Tiffany Poon and Olga Schepps on YouTube. Both are pro concert pianists and have streaming vlogs on which they actually practice for performances. And then there’s the unbelievable Yuja Wang!

[youngpianist]

Forgot about this thread lol sorry for not answering. I was asking the question because I wondered how many of you play to impress others, or just for yourself. I wonder sometimes why I play for an audience. If it's not to impress others, then why not just play for myself? There must be less stressful ways to earn money than doing recitals.

[j_tour]

I wonder sometimes why I play for an audience. If it's not to impress others, then why not just play for myself? There must be less stressful ways to earn money than doing recitals.

Well, that's a thoughtful set of questions.

I personally have not made much money at all in performance, whether as part of a group or as a solo "act."

However, I love being on the stage for other reasons:  maybe it boils down to relishing exerting a kind of power or even control over the audience (which may be of any size...it doesn't matter so much to me).  And, I feel it's the ultimate end of those many, many hours obsessing over fundamental techniques and growing one's repertoire.

It's an expression of power, and it gives a kind of completeness and order to my own world of music.

That said, it can be quite a hassle dealing with all of the extra-musical issues with performance (lugging gear around, inconvenient times, some unpleasant people, insufficient remuneration, etc.).  So from a practical perspective, performances should probably not be pursued lightly.

However, that's just my perspective, as a more-or-less punter at the keyboard instruments, compared with the many more accomplished professionals on this forum and elsewhere.

[wankimx3]

I play the piano because I wanted to be able to play songs and pieces that I truly like And the saying goes, without making music, life will be pretty boring. Imagine yourself working in an office without being able to play piano/make music. That will be very boringg

[anacrusis]

I play the piano because I wanted to be able to play songs and pieces that I truly like And the saying goes, without making music, life will be pretty boring. Imagine yourself working in an office without being able to play piano/make music. That will be very boringg

Well said! That's why I started playing too

[jamienc]

If I were to answer this question 20 or 25 years ago, I would almost positively have a different response, but as I age and mature both musically and physically, I’ve realized that playing the piano is a personal challenge for me in an attempt to control my brain/body connection. Physiologically, humans are not naturally geared toward any type of skill that requires fine muscle precision, which is why we need to practice so much to attain any level of precision in those endeavors. For example, tasks such as penmanship, shooting a basketball, playing the piano, or performing surgery are not things that are just picked up in a day and done perfectly at the onset. It requires time, effort, and repetition to develop those skills.

My piano playing really started to develop quickly when I refocused my efforts on controlling my body as opposed to trying to control the instrument. As a static entity, the piano just sits there waiting to be manipulated, and one of the most difficult things for a pianist to do in their development is realize that their body is the single most important thing to manipulate in order to play it correctly. That separation is a very subtle and difficult distinction to pin down consciously. Therefore, whenever I choose a new repertoire, it is always to further test my own ability to control the fine motor skills, both physical and mental, that would be required to play the piece to an appropriate level of satisfaction. The repertoire I choose is simply a means to that end goal.

I see it this way… Whenever I perform on stage for an audience, I always consider myself as “working.“ I never go on auto pilot and enjoy the music as I’m playing it. That role is played by the audience. I see myself as the vessel through which the thoughts and desires of the composer reach the ears of the audience in a live setting, and it is absolutely never done to personally impress anybody. The enjoyment I receive from the entire situation is drawn from the hours and hours of practice and repetition in an attempt to conquer the technical demands piece offers and develop further for the next round of new repertoire. In a nutshell, it is the problem-solving and conscious refinement of my fine muscle skills that serve as the greatest incentives for playing the piano.

[anacrusis]

If I were to answer this question 20 or 25 years ago, I would almost positively have a different response, but as I age and mature both musically and physically, I’ve realized that playing the piano is a personal challenge for me in an attempt to control my brain/body connection.

That's fascinating. I have come to feel very much the same! There is just something so very satisfying about mastering yourself. Sometimes I'm not even sure I enjoy the music itself as much as I used to, but the idea of mastering myself still draws me to the instrument.

[leigh anne]

Because I love music and it is fun! As simple as that.