PLAYING THE PIANO

Learning how to play the Piano through YouTube

Abstract
Learning to play and understand the piano can be a lot of effort and this paper will go over
different aspects of what learning the piano is really about.

Josh Hendricks
CLC 11

Playing The Piano: Josh Hendricks

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Playing the piano

“Life is like the piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.” (Tom Lehrer,
1959) Through the piano I want to work on developing my skills as a musician and as a
person. Teaching me that through hard work, people are capable of more than they think.
I will also work to find the answers to some questions. First, what are the benefits of
learning the piano, influential pianist, if learning the piano helps children’s education, who
invented the piano? As well as the overall history of the piano.

What is the history of the Piano? “The creation of the piano started in Padua, Italy in 1709,
in a shop of a harpsichord maker named Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori.”(Venus
Magazine, 2014) Before the piano there were many other stringed and keyboard
instruments, which in the end led to the development of the piano, as we know it today. At
first when piano/keyboards were invented they were played using hands, wrists, fists,
knees, or even feet. Also the natural keys were originally black while the accidentals were
white. It wasn’t till later on when a man named “Sebastian LeBlanc suggested that the
black and white keys be switched.”(Piano.PH, 2015) Lastly in the thirteen
hundreds the scales on pianos were diatonic (as in GABCDEF) but later switched to the
twelve-tone chromatic scale we are familiar with now.

Does the piano effect children’s learning abilities? Playing an instrument may seem like a
creative hobby, but it works in unison with math. According to studies by learning and
understanding different beats and unfamiliar rhythms kids also are learning how to divide,
create fractions and recognize patterns. All this tying together to help create a more well-
rounded student. “It seems that music wires a child’s brain to help him or her better
understand other areas of math.” (Erika Montgomery, 2016)

What are the benefits of learning the piano? “Although you’re sitting while playing, the
piano provides many different benefits mentally and physically to the body. Some of the
majors include enhancing split concentration, stress remover, improving language and
reading skills, as well as math skills.” (Pianos Plus, 2016) Research shows that when
children are trained in music at a young age, they tend to improve in their math skills. The
surprising thing in this research is not that music as a whole is enhancing math skills. It is
certain aspects of music that are affecting mathematic abilities in a big way. Studies done
mostly in children of young age show that their academic performance increases after a
certain period of music education and training.
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Playing the piano

Who was the most influential pianist, and why? “Possibly one of the most iconic piano
composers is Ludwig van Beethoven. His ninth symphony contains some of the most
recognizable songs like “Choral.” Another well-known composer is Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. He was so advanced by the age of five that he had already started composing and
had performed in front of European royalty. Composing songs like “Requiem” and “The
Magic Flute.” Lastly a more recent influential pianist goes by the stage name of Billie Joel.
William Martin Joel is most famous for his song “Piano man” that involves one of the most
recognizable melodies of all time.

What makes a person want to play the piano? “It inspires you, it grows your imagination,
it nourishes you in places that go beneath words and beneath pictures and images… it’s
something that kind of polishes your soul.”(How learning to play the piano can save your
life, July 2017) To me learning to the play the piano was something I really enjoyed. It
takes an immense amount of time and effort to even learn the basics and to be honest I’m
still not great. But once you learn to understand the piano and develop a slight skill it can
become something quite amazing.

The first step I took when learning the piano was to understand the keys and notes. The
keys are arranged and organized in a distinctive 12-note pattern that repeats across the
entire piano. That being said there are only twelve notes on the piano, A, B, C, D, E, F, and
G. But when I was learning I realized that there are more than just one of each note that’s
why there are only twelve notes on the piano and over eighty eight keys. For example the
“C” note repeats itself about six or seven times depending on the size of your piano. This
picture here really helped me get a quick understanding for the notes and keys and their
tones.
Once I started to have a grasp for the notes I decided it was time to learn on an actual piano.
In order to get a start and help my piano skills I’ve listed multiple videos and links I used
while learning the basic tunes and how to start as a beginner on the piano.
“Piano for Beginners Video”
https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=piano+beginner+videos#i
d=3&vid=469e98e3dd9c26253c7094b191691258&action=click

After I practiced what I had learned from the first video, I was excited and eager to learn
more. So I went online and researched different videos and websites but one stuck out more
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Playing the piano

than the others. I found a channel on YouTube called “HD Piano” where they teach you
basic riffs of some of the most popular songs. This website had the best teaching and made
it the easiest to understand for myself.
-HD Piano Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/HDPiano
At this point in the project I had reached a point where I started to feel comfortable in front
of a piano and wanted to learn a more difficult song and put my skills to the test. This song
being “Piano Man” By Billy Joel. The song being one of the most recognizable and
infamous on the piano. It was a little more difficult to learn so I had to take other approaches
one being grandma assisting me and re-watching this video over and over again.
“How to play Piano Man Video”
https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrWq7ki6O1apRwA5PwWFQx.?
fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-
8&p=how+to+play+piano+man&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asp-qrw-corr-
top&norw=1#id=2&vid=a754828d7a9656024f5eb9756fff15fc&action=view

Throughout my journey of learning the piano I discovered to help teach yourself the piano
it requires three major components. First of all it takes patience, because it can take up to
over a week just to learn one riff of a song and having the ability to keep your calm and
stay persistent is very beneficial. Next it takes a strong focus. Focus is so important
because at times you will be in front of a piano for over an hour at a time and your
concentration can be easy to lose. Lastly in order to be successful with the piano it takes
practice. Just like anything the more you do it the better you become and the piano is no
different. More practice leads to better results. “Be positive, patient, and persistent.”

In the end being able to play the piano will benefit me because being able to Read and play
a musical instrument is a complicated activity, “playing comprises motor and multisensory
(auditory, visual, and somatosensory) integration in a unique way. Music has also a well-
known impact on the emotional state, while it can be a motivating activity. For those
reasons, musical training has become a useful framework to study brain plasticity”
Seinfeld, Sofia. (2013, Nov 1) Effects of music learning. Retrieved March 1. 2018. It will
also benefit me in the long run because playing the piano can be a stress reliever, and
calming, tool, and even help with learning and understanding things from a different
outlook and perspectives.
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Playing the piano

In the past the only way people learned to play the piano was through lessons, teachers,
someone at home or a studio in a music store. But there were lots of people who picked
up the piano by listening or by “ear.” But for the most part piano playing was learned by
going to a piano teacher and progressing through a large variety of music books. Now the
future is close and there has become less need for a teachers and music books, everything
a person needs can be found online and for free. The future of the piano looks self-driven
and self-taught through online sources. “The days of do-it-yourself piano playing is upon
us.”(Do it yourself” piano — the trend of the future, 2016)

Furthermore the outlook and future market for a pianos are looking questionable. Now,
that people are self-driven and no longer feel need to seek a teacher therefore they don’t
have somewhere to go to play piano they must buy one themselves. But in 2018 people
are always looking for ways to save money and technology plays a big part in our society.
Which has led to less sales in actual key boards and pianos and more digital and app based
pianos on a smart phone or tablet. “Learning to play the piano is easier than ever before
thanks to fantastic piano apps. Piano apps help you save the cost of expensive private
lessons, plus they allow you to learn at your own pace on your own schedule.” (Music
Advisor, Jan 2018)

Now to push myself and for my future goals I hope to be able to play music and maybe
even learn to wright my own song one day. I want to be able to memorize all songs without
looking back to YouTube, learn to play music just by the notes, and not just memory, and
maybe even teach someone else. Throughout my time practicing the piano I have noticed
some of the effects I researched would happen. For example I have noticed a growth in
math grade this semester around the same point I started playing the piano more frequently.

“Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must
forget the rules and play from your heart.” (Quotes Clothing, Unknown) I found this quote
to be very true because once I learned the basics I was able to express myself and get more
creative with what I learned which lead me to creating my final product for my capstone.
Through the piano I’ve worked on developing my skills as a musician and as a person and
is has shown me a lot. Honestly teaching me that through hard work, people are capable of
more than they think. It’s not easy and I’m still not great but if you take it one step at a
time you will see improvement too.
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Playing the piano

Bibliography
National Piano Foundation. (2014, Sept 22). History of Piano. Retrieved March 1, 2018,
from http://pianonet.com/all-about-pianos/history-of-the-piano/
Ranker Music. (2015, Nov 13). The best Composers EVER Ranked. Retrieved March 1,
2018, from https://www.ranker.com/list/best-piano-composers/ranker-music
Steinway & Sons. (2016, Jan 6) The Benefits of Playing Piano. Retrieved March 1, 2018,
from http://www.steinway.com/news/features/the-benefits-of-playing-piano
Montgomery, Erika. (2016, Aug 26) 10 Benefits of Children Learning a Musical
Instrument. Retrieved March 1, 2018, from https://petersonfamilyfoundation.org/music-
therapy/10-benefits-children-learning-musical-instrument/
Seinfeld, Sofia. (2013, Nov 1) Effects of music learning. Retrieved March 1. 2018, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814522/
YouTube. (2016, Dec 12). How to play Piano Man Video. Retrieved March 1. 2018, from
https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrWq7ki6O1apRwA5PwWFQx.?
fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-
8&p=how+to+play+piano+man&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asp-qrw-corr-
top&norw=1#id=2&vid=a754828d7a9656024f5eb9756fff15fc&action=view
YouTube. (2017, Jan 21 ).HD Piano Channel. Retrieved March 1. 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/user/HDPiano
YouTube. (2012, Mar 15). Piano for Beginners. Retrieved March 1. 2018, from
https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=piano+beginner+videos#i
d=3&vid=469e98e3dd9c26253c7094b191691258&action=click
Quotes Clothing. (Unknown) Famous Piano Quotes. Retrieved March 1. 2018, from
https://www.quotes-clothing.com/love-like-piano-learn-rules-play-heart/