Although playing music on the piano can be very relaxing and pleasurable in itself, there is another area of the piano that makes it very beneficial.  The piano can produce many benefits that can aid people’s health, or even physical abilities.  This is aside from the fact that playing the piano can be very calming and soothing. 

Ever since, I was a little kid, I had always enjoyed playing random notes on the piano in the corner of the living room.  This was once I figured out I had to use my hands to play the keys, of course.  Over the years, my parents had noticed my keen interest in playing the piano, so they set me up with lessons, joining my other two brothers, who also play the piano.  Unfortunately, I had only taken one year of lessons before my parents stopped paying for them because they became too overpriced. 

Two years after I stopped taking lessons, I had moved to a new house from New jersey to Pennsylvania.  Although my social and school life had changed dramatically, my musical life hadn’t.  In fact, my passion for music had only increased and I had become more advanced at playing the piano.  I had started teaching myself, in a way, in which I could play the music easier than was was prescribed in the lesson books.  Whenever I heard a song that I had like or enjoyed, I would strive to find a piano version of it.  If there wasn’t one online, then I would try to make my own, which helped me play the piano by ear.  Even up until I moved to where I live today, I still practice and practice the piano daily and play the songs that I enjoy.  Whenever I had a lot of homework I would take a break and play the piano for a half hour or so, and it would even relieve a lot of my stress that had built up throughout the day.  Practicing this instrument had even strengthened my hand-eye coordination and my hand and finger muscles.

The piano, when compared to many other instruments, is very unique and stands out.  Main instruments such as the marimba or trumpet can only have one or two notes played at once, but the piano’s array of 88 keys allows the player to play numerous notes at the same time; quickly or slowly.  The piano has many benefits which people who are interested in playing an instrument should take advantage of.  Not only is playing the music relaxing and enjoyable, but there are other benefits that aid one’s physical capabilities and health.

A seemingly obvious “plus”  of playing the piano is that it strengthens and enhances hand and forearm muscles. Even your shoulders can get a workout while you're fingers are dancing across the keys.  As the fingers press against the keys and move to and fro, the muscles in the fingers and hands are used for the movement.  This enhancement of the arm and hand muscles is helpful and even important in maintaining strength in the hands throughout adulthood. 

As previously mentioned before, improving hand-eye coordination is certainly a large advantage of practicing the piano.  When playing it, your hands are focused on playing the keys in correspondence with the music, of which your eyes should be focused on reading.  This is commonly known as split concentration. This technique can be hard to accommodate to, but with practice, it only becomes easier.  Both sides of the brain are used when the notes are played; the right side of the brain controlling the left hand while the left side helps control the right hand. 

Numerous studies have shown that kids who start to play the piano during their early years of grade school prove to excel in mathematics and cognitive abilities as well.  Playing the piano can also greatly aid people by helping them concentrate and focus better which has shown to help students focus in school and improve their overall performance.  Thus, the piano shows to have many parts of it that can be very beneficial to people in many ways.  Now you can reap these benefits and take up playing the piano to improve your health and daily life!