Get Inside the Head of a Musician: Why Piano?

pianoWhat is it like to get inside the head of a musician? What makes us creatively tick? In Part 1 of Get Inside the Head of a Musician: Why Music? I give a wide-angle view how a musician can harness their positive creativity into making beautiful music.

Now, why piano?

From time to time I’m asked the question: which instrument is my favorite, piano or guitar? I would say–both. I’m in somewhat of a positive predicament. I studied classical piano at a young age in a formal manner. On the other hand, I learned to play the guitar in a slightly informal way, meaning it was more popular styles of music, such as rock ’n roll. It is not the same as learning classical guitar which requires specific techniques. More on guitars in the next blog…

In college I had to take four semesters of piano–two classical and two commercial/pop. Regardless of your dominant instrument, these piano courses were a requirement in order to graduate. That didn’t phase me because I had prior piano experience. But this revealed to me the importance for a well-rounded musician to learn the finer points of piano technique. For those of you who aspire to be record producers, you have to know the piano.

College broadened my piano training. It opened my eyes to new methods. Prior to college the only piano genre I was familiar with was classical. College exposed me to two new playing styles–blues and jazz. My goodness it was surreal to play jazz and blues on the piano. I had listened to this type of music before, but to play it for the first time was a real experience.

Not only did blues and jazz piano blow my mind, but so did ragtime. If you’ve listened to my last album, you know I’m a fan of “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin.

In addition to learning this new manner of playing, piano offers something else that’s quite unique like the synthesizer and MIDI sounds you can create thanks to technological advancements. Artists like Pink Floyd have used synth sounds for decades. You may be familiar with a popular neoclassical band that relies massively on synthesizers called Mannheim Steamroller. Music composers can now score entire movies using synthesizers and computers.

The piano is a very diverse instrument. While learning classical piano techniques can be of great value, the piano itself offers a pathway to many different styles like jazz, rags, and blues...and even rock! And then there’s synthesizers and MIDI which can create an assortment of sounds.

The piano may be referred to as a gateway instrument. It's an opening into the vast universe of music. I love the piano equally as much as the guitar. Each provide sounds that I'm looking for, so I can create beautiful music.

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