Therapeutic Benefits of Playing Piano
Playing or learning piano is a common intervention that can be used in music therapy to address a variety of non-musical goals 🎹
One of the most amazing things about music therapy is the ability to use music as a tool to improve our overall health and well-being. Our goals in music therapy are focused on physical, social, psychological, and cognitive health.
Although the goal of music therapy is not necessary to become a better musician, music therapists can incorporate piano or other instruments within sessions as means of achieving health-centered goals.
These are some (but not all) of the benefits that may come from playing the piano:
Improved fine motor skills. Playing the piano requires small and precise finger movements in order to physically play notes in the music. Music therapists can adapt musical selections that highlight a client‘s abilities and meets their needs.
Improved bilateral coordination. Most piano pieces require both right and left hand parts. This means that the player (or client in this case) will learn to coordinate both right and left hands to engage with the music. The musical difficulty often varies depending on the needs of each client.
Sequencing. Learning music is an intricate process, as playing musical pieces requires that notes or melodies are played within a specific order and timing.
Increase attention span. Playing piano takes a lot of focus and concentration. There are often many things going on at once when we play music such as reading the sheet music, listening to ourselves and others playing, making the necessary movements to play the notes, and processing emotions or memories that the song may elicit. This really pushes us to hold our attention as the music progresses.
Coping Skills. Music is an outlet for us to express our emotions and share parts of ourselves with others. Learning and playing piano is a meaningful way to express how we’re feeling and learn songs that are significant to us.
Although this is not a full list of every benefit that playing piano has to offer, you can see how engaging with music is beneficial for physical, social, psychological, and cognitive reasons.
Music matters ❤️
What are the benefits of playing the piano?
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