If you’re 55 plus, you may remember hearing the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That saying is based on the assumption that once you get to a certain age, your brain can no longer learn new skills.
If you’ve ever denied yourself the pleasure of learning something new because you’ve believed that dusty adage, you’ll be thrilled to know that it just isn’t true.
In fact, it hasn’t been true for quite some time now.
A painter can select and mix various hues to create an inspiring masterpiece, and a pianist can manipulate chords–the foundational units of almost any song–to create a sonorous piece of art that stirs up the soul, evokes nostalgia and even heals pain.
For pianists especially, understanding and using chords is essential. However, finding the right chord combination is not quite as simple as mixing red and blue to make purple.
Just imagine an intimate setting—a softly lit living room with your beautiful acoustic piano at its center. There’s a small group of people gathering around and asking you to play for them.
You’d be delighted. In fact, you thought they’d never ask! You lift your hands and begin to play a soft and lovely song.
Your friends are impressed as you expertly pump the pedals, softening a note here and sustaining a note there. Then you work yourself up into the higher notes, where it sounds like angels singing until….CLANG!
We have to go back to 18th century Italy to pinpoint the birth of the piano.
A harpsichord maker decided to put a spin on the popular instrument with the fortepiano. This instrument expanded the capabilities of the harpsichord.
The popularity of the fortepiano lasted throughout the years until its name was shortened to the piano.
In the 21st century, the instrument known as the piano has many forms.
Learning the piano is an exciting endeavor. How nice would it be to play your favorite songs? Imagine impressing your friends and family at a party, or just relaxing in the comfort of your home, filling your sanctuary with beautiful music.
Then the doubt kicks in:
It’s safe to assume that the more advanced pieces or song arrangements you want to play, the more difficulty involved and the longer it takes. Even so, by itself, that is not the main determining factor of how hard it is to learn the piano.