There are many benefits to playing the piano. Personal fulfillment, entertainment, social interaction, cognitive improvement, mental and physical therapy, meditation—just to name a few. Piano playing can lift your spirit as soon as you begin to play. It can allow you to express very powerful emotions. It can center you.

Whether you like upbeat or melancholic music, complex or simple tunes, performing alone or for other people, playing arouses your senses, especially your emotions.

A Michigan State University research project clearly found keyboard lessons significantly reduced anxiety, depression and loneliness.

Scientists in Germany have discovered that pianists have more efficient brains. A group led by Dr. Timo Krings required pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex to perform complex sequences of finger movements. Their brains were scanned using a technique called “functional magnetic resonance imaging” (fMRI) which detects the activity levels of brain cells, by measuring changes in blood flow. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists. However, the amount of brain activity in areas controlling movement was different. The pianists made the correct movements while having less brain activation. Thus, compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements. These findings show that learning how to play the piano and musical training in general can enhance brain function.

(by Dr. Norman M. Weinberger, [source: Neuroscience Letters, 2000, 278, 189-198])