Why do people learn the piano?

When we're teaching the piano we experience the highs, when students have practiced and are making breakthroughs in their pieces, and also the lows when no matter what we try, mistakes are made and frustrations mount. Usually, of course, lessons are somewhere between the two, but one question always rests at the back of our minds: why do our students learn the piano? In order to gain an insight into this, we recently asked our students to write an impromptu answer to the question. Here are our, albeit condensed, results.

• We discovered that for approximately 1/4 of our students the sound of the piano is an important factor as to why they learn the instrument.
• Other people who play piano, whether friends or family, influenced 1/6 of our students' decisions to learn piano.
• For over 1/4 of our students their love of the piano is helped by their teachers and how they look forward to their lessons every week.
• It was interesting that only 1/4 of our students mentioned that having fun while learning the piano is an important factor, with the word 'enjoy' featuring in almost 1/4 of the answers.
• Not surprisingly, another reason 1/5 of our students gave for learning the piano was the fact that it relaxes them.
• Over 1/4 of our students enjoy the challenges that emerge from learning the piano as they embrace the learning of new things.
• Almost 1/8 of our students wrote that learning the piano provides them with something nice to do in their spare time.
  
  We found that reasons differed depending on the age of the student. Below are all 42 of the answers we received:

• Name	Age/ Year	Reason
  Lucy Bell	7 / Year 2	Everyone in my family plays. It’s fun. I like my teacher.
  Harry Dawson	7 / Year 3	My teacher is very nice! I could be a famous musician.
  Lianna Conry	8 / Year 3	The piano sounds nice. I like to learn new things.
  Poppy Darlow	8 / Year 3	It’s fun to press the keys.
  Grace Lloyd	8 / Year 3	I like the sound of the piano.
  Megan Holt	9 / Year 4	It’s fun reading music and pressing the keys.
  Olivia Bell	9 / Year 4	It makes me feel happy. You learn lots of stuff.
  Daisy Page	9 / Year 5	I wanted to understand how to read music. It’s fun.
  Jenny Everall	10 / Year 5	I love the sound and it’s good fun and I can improve from listening to others play.
  Charlotte Davies	10/ Year 5	You can play lots of different things and it’s calming.
  George Lloyd	10 / Year 5	I like it and I want to.
  Niamh MacDonald	10 / Year 6	I like how it sounds. I like having something to do. It’s fun.
  Cora Paul	10 / Year 6	I wanted to learn piano and all my friends played piano.
  Nathan Peck	10 / Year 6	I’d rather play the piano than anything else and I wouldn’t want to not play something.
  Lauren Day	11/ Year 7	It carries on a family tradition.
  Georgia Bell	11 / Year 7	Mum and dad played so I wanted to as well. I really enjoy it – it’s something to do.
  Scarlett Preston-Jones	12 / Year 7	I like playing to others. I love being able to read music.
  Georgia Peck	12 / Year 7	I enjoy it – it brings happiness into the house.
  Emma Highfield	12 / Year 7	It’s really fun and it gives you a sense of self-achievement! It relaxes you and makes you feel proud of what you have achieved.
  Charlotte Everall	12 / Year 8	I enjoy it. I play nice pieces. It helps to have great teachers.
  Lucy Kirby	12 / Year 8	It’s fun and my teacher is nice and I like achieving things.
  Immy Holt	13 /Year 9	The piano sounds nice. I wasn’t forced into it. It’s a challenge.
  Megan Blount	13 / Year 9	I enjoy music and love learning new pieces. It inspires me and relaxes me. I look forward to my lesson every week!
  Michael Doyle	14 / Year 9	My family do.
  Adam Davies	14 / Year 9	I play drums and like being able to play something else.
  Aoife Holbrook	14 / Year 10	My sister plays and I want to grow up to be like her.
  Maddy Page	14 / Year 10	I like being able to do more than just listen to music. It’s a great hobby.
  Hannah White	14 / Year 10	I enjoy it. It’s a nice sounding instrument that’s fun to learn.
  Sophie Kirby	14 / Year 10	I enjoy it. It’s relaxing and helps take my mind off other things.
  Edward Walker	14 / Year 10	I enjoy music and it’s a good hobby.
  Oliver Palmer	15 / Year 10	I like being able to look at music and play it.
  Sophie Austin	15 / Year 11	It’s relaxing and enjoyable. I have a great teacher. I look forward to my lesson each week as I know I will further my musical knowledge. I love piano!
  Emily Loveday	17 / Year 12	It’s wonderful to make your own music and to make it sound how you want it to. It’s relaxing and satisfying to just sit at the piano and play.
  Catherine Gunton	17 / Year 12	I love the sound of the piano. It makes me forget about all my worries in life. It helps me relax and think. It brings people together. I LOVE THE PIANO!
  Catrin Price	17/ Year 13	It’s nice to have an interest. It’s enjoyable. I have a nice teacher. It’s a unique attribute to have.
  Emma Blount	18 / Year 13	It’s a very useful skill to have. I’m proud of what I do. It’s enjoyable.
  Chris Bell	41	I enjoy it and I like improving my technique. I want to get to Grade 8!
  Verity King	21 +	The piano is beautiful when played well, so I want to be able to play it well.
  John Nicholson	47	It helps my overall musical playing. I’ve grown to enjoy the sound of the piano.
  Debbie Nicholson	48	My daughter plays it beautifully and I wanted to play too. It’s absorbing and relaxing. I love the challenge of starting a new difficult piece and the reward of being able to perform it after lots of hard work.
  Wendy Waters	58	It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I have a very patient teacher!
  Eleanor Vernon	71	I love the sound of the piano. I have a lovely teacher who is happy to teach students who are 60+.

  
  
  For our students the main factors behind why they learn the piano are: the sound of the piano, the influence of friends and family, liking the teacher, having fun, being relaxed, being challenged, and simply to have something to do. We think these are all lovely reasons for learning the piano! If anyone else has any other reasons, feel free to let us know!