Piano for Beginners Is Beautiful

Even piano for beginners is beautiful. The technique may not be sophisticated. The music may not be complex. The artistry may be lacking. But even when played by a beginner, the piano is a beautiful instrument.

The piano is majestic and elegant and has earned its place as a central instrument of all of Western music. It is uniquely diverse. First of all, the piano lends itself to all types of musical styles. Classical, rock, pop, blues, jazz, gospel are all suitable for piano. Have you ever heard of classical banjo or jazz tympani? Secondly, the piano adapts itself easily to all sorts of orchestration and arrangements. It is majestic as a solo instrument. It is the favorite accompaniment to voice. It is routinely paired with violin, flute or any other solo instrument. It is a reliable member of any band and often the showpiece of an orchestra.

The piano’s unique place in Western repertoire is due to its extraordinary richness as an instrument. Whereas it is not possible to play more than one note at a time on many instruments, the piano is expressly designed to do so. Advanced piano music is typically written for different chords to be played simultaneously by each hand. But even music that is written for piano for beginners is polyphonic. Each hand may be playing a single note, but both hands together form their own harmony. No other instrument can rival the piano for richness of sound.

Piano for beginners is demanding on a music student. Piano requires a new musician to develop skills that other instruments do not. Most instruments, for example, are written either in the bass clef or the treble clef. Piano requires a music student to learn to read both clefs simultaneously. It requires more manual dexterity than some instruments, because a pianist needs to be able to move each finger independently. On the other hand, the complexity of the instrument requires a pianist to gain repeated practice in harmony and chord construction. That makes music theory a little less theoretical.

Of course, it needs to be observed that the piano is huge not just musically but also physically. You can’t carry it in a case like a violin. It won’t fit in a backpack like a flute. They pretty much have to stay where you put them. And pianos just don’t work in some smaller living arrangements. Moreover, even second-hand and low-end pianos are expensive.

Electronic keyboards can be an adequate substitute for a piano for beginners. Though not easy to carry, they are at least portable. And an electronic keyboard can be purchased for a reasonable price in many big box stores. Practicing on an electronic keyboard at least gives a student the opportunity to learn to read music and fingering. Of course an electronic keyboard does not have the sound that an acoustic piano has, but they can be a reasonable facsimile in a home in which a piano is not feasible.

The best part about piano for beginners, though, is that it is beautiful. And as beginning piano students become more advanced, it only gets more so.