Rachel Larsen

• Fine motor training 

 Piano students learn to move and feel each finger individually; this is called finger independence. Learning this skill slowly and step by step allows students to apply this training to other parts of the body, for the purpose of sports or other art forms. 

• Body awareness

Piano students learn about tension and relaxation of many muscles in the body, especially those of the arms, shoulders, and back. This helps students to recognize what tension feels like, and to correct it with relaxation before it causes harm. 

• Memorization skills

Piano students are required to memorize much of what they play, and as a result they discover their own personal study habits in a low-stress environment (as compared to school and tests, for example). Memorization of music also encourages detail-oriented thinking, since students are memorizing more complex details than one-dimensional facts. 

• Focus

Piano students typically experience an increase in focus over the course of lessons. As students begin learning longer pieces of music, practicing for longer periods of time, and learning to listen to large-scale pieces, they naturally see an improvement in their ability to focus. 

• Reading skills

By learning to read music, piano students are learning news ways in which sound is attached to written symbols. With the addition of music attached to the written symbols, students discover an explicit and obvious connection between symbols and sound, just like the connection between written words and speech. "Learning Music Early Can Make Your Child A Better Reader"

• Aural training

Besides training their hands and fingers, piano students are also training their ears. Aural training can help students recognize emotions in speech more easily, pronounce words more easily, and is even connected to helping to repair speech impediments. 

• Artistic and creative development

Music is inherently a creative art. The same songs and pieces of music can be interpreted very differently by different musicians. Piano students learn to create their own interpretations of music, and discover new parts of their personality, taste, and character. 

• Confidence

Piano students discover the kind of music that they love to play and listen to. By creating their own unique interpretations of the music they love, and with positive reinforcement, students become more confident in their own creative abilities, leading to self-confidence, and learning and loving their own unique tastes. 

• Problem solving skill

As is natural with all learning, piano students are given solutions to their pianistic issues at the beginning of learning, and are later expected to use this knowledge to solve more complex problems. This develops the open-minded and “outside-the-box” thinking that is required in all aspects of life. 

• Performance skills

Piano students learn how to deal with performance anxiety in a relatively low-stress environment alongside peers dealing with the exact same issues. In this way, the camaraderie lowers the stakes and allows students to discover methods to help calm themselves and prepare to perform (a similar pressure to public speaking). 

• Communication skills

Piano students are expected to keep up conversation during lessons, defend their musical decisions with logic as well as feeling, and ask questions about the physical aspect of playing piano. Conversation in lessons touches on both concrete and abstract ideas, encouraging the student to learn how to speak precisely about themselves as well as complex ideas and emotions within music. 

• Dealing with criticism

As in most types of art, it can be difficult for students to differentiate between “good” and “bad” interpretative choices. Piano students are encouraged to calmly consider any criticisms and think logically through their choices that led to such a criticism. By learning to deal with criticism in this way, piano students are constantly improving their abilities and learning to improve themselves without a teacher’s guidance. This process of logical thinking and critique naturally transfers to other aspects of the students' lives, especially those more subjective topics where the “right” and “wrong” answers are not immediately apparent.