Author: karissaskeys

While an electric keyboard or a digital piano is a great practical substitute when an acoustic piano is not available, such as for your home practice between lessons, there are still various features and learning benefits to traditional instruments that can’t be easily met by their digital counterparts.

Sound

First, and most importantly, students have to consider the sound of an instrument. While many technological strides have been made, it’s still no secret that keyboards and digital pianos are only created to imitate the exact sound production of a traditional one. It is true that manual tuning isn’t necessary for digital pianos to keep its pitch accurate, but the true sound of a well maintained acoustic piano has an unmistakable timbre and resonance that can’t be replicated. Students who play an acoustic instrument are likely to be inspired by the rich, full sound! And, as we know, an inspired student is more likely to work hard and play from the heart.

Touch Response

The force of how a student touches a piano key determines the intensity or the loudness of its response to every pressed key. There are digital instruments that attempt to replicate this effect, but there are also many more that do not. (When purchasing an instrument for home practice, a digital piano with “Fully-Weighted Keys” is strongly recommended!)

Touch response in different piano models also varies, so playing a song on different digital pianos might result in unexpected effects even when the piece is played in exactly the same way. This can make it difficult for students to adapt to the different digital models offered. With acoustic pianos, touch response is a natural element and pieces can be readily played the way they were meant to be.

Feel

An inauthentic feel can drastically affect a student’s ability to perform. Many low-quality digital pianos have a lightweight plastic feel that makes a distinct clunky sound, making it frustrating to work with. These models resemble keyboards more than actual pianos, and if at all possible given your budget and available space, should not be used as a comparable substitute for an acoustic instrument. With a traditional piano, textured keys prevent slipping, and the keys have a normal weight that pianists quickly adapt to.

An acoustic piano provides the “original piano experience” in the way all players, regardless of skill level, are meant to perform, learn and improve. With its authentic touch and sound, traditional pianos make it a treat for students to learn on.

https://www.cardonstudios.com/dc/benefits-learning-acoustic-piano-digital/

Listening to music while exercising doesn’t just relieve boredom — it can help improve the quality of your workout by increasing your stamina and putting you in a better mood.

In particular, music that is motivational or synchronized with your exercise is shown to have physical and psychological effects.^[When a song has a strong, steady beat, for example, you can pedal or run to the beat of that music, which tends to feel satisfying and may inspire you to exercise more.  The lyrics or catchy rhythm of motivational music inspires you to exercise longer or work harder during your exercise routine.

Enhancing Physical Performance

Studies show that faster-paced music tends to help improve athletic performance when a person engages in low-to-moderate level exercise, either by increasing distance traveled, pace, or repetitions completed. For example, a 2006 study that looked at the effect of music on the selection of treadmill speed found that while listening to fast-paced music, participants increased their pace and distance traveled without becoming more tired. Other studies drew similar conclusions, suggesting that listening to music with more beats per minute can enhance physical performance during low-to-moderate level exercise.

Several studies have shown how the exact tempo, as measured in beats per minute, affects one’s level of exercise. These studies determined that the ideal tempo necessary for maximum performance depends on the type of exercise. A 2011 study showed that in order to achieve the best performance for cycling (which was calculated by measuring exercise intensity through heart rate), the preferred tempo is between 125 and 140 beats per minute (bpm). A study published in 2014 showed that the best music tempo for enhanced performance on the treadmill is between 123 and 131 bpm.^[ A plausible reason for why different types of exercise have different ideal tempos is related to one’s ability to keep time with the beat of the music, synchronizing strides or pedaling to the beat of the music. Since pace differs on the treadmill versus the exercise bike or elliptical, music of different tempos is needed to achieve ideal performance for various workouts.

Researchers have recently begun to pursue more detailed explanations as to why music can improve exercise performance. A 2010 study led by sport psychologist C.I. Karageorghis states that music can improve athletic performance in two ways: it can either delay fatigue or increase work capacity. According to this study, the effects of music lead to “higher-than-expected levels of endurance, power, productivity, or strength.”^[

North and Hargreaves suggest that music distracts from pain endured during exercise through competing sensory stimuli,^[ because it is easier to forget about pain or fatigue when a song you enjoy is distracting you.

Psychological Effect

Music can lead to feelings of pleasure or displeasure, can change thought processes, and can cause changes in behavior. This psychological effect can be seen by physical changes in hormone levels. For example, a recent study showed that participants who listened to music they deemed “pleasing” had higher levels of serotonin, known as the “feel-good” hormone.^[ Although difficult to prove the effects, this study suggests that the pleasurable experience of listening to a song can result in an increase in serotonin levels, which can put you in a better mood for your workout.

Overall Conclusions

Choosing music that you enjoy and that fits your exercise routine can help you get more out of your exercise experience. Since everyone has a different ideal workout pace and intensity, determining exactly what tempo works for you may be a trial-and-error process.

Article taken from: http://www.center4research.org/can-listening-music-improve-workout/

Eight Ways in which Piano Benefits Your Mental and Physical Health

In our constant search for ways to improve our lives, we forget that it can be the things that we enjoy doing most which enrich us mentally and benefit our physical health. For instance, it has been scientifically proven that playing a musical instrument like Piano doesn’t only enhance your skills but also contributes to your health throughout your life.

These eight health benefits of playing the piano enlisted below will make you add it to your bucket list:

1. It Relieves Stress

The fact that music from piano soothes the soul is known to us all but it also acts as a stress buster. Even if you give just a few minutes of your busy day to playing the piano, it can lower the blood pressure and make you feel much more positive. In fact, just being a part of piano recitals or playing in front of a few people can drive stage fright out of people.

2. Enhances Split Concentration

Since piano requires using both your hands doing different things for playing it, you might not be able to deal with it at first. Gradually, the art of split concentration becomes an integral part. This further helps you in coordinating your eyes and hands while playing. Thus, your concentration skills get developed, making you sharper.

3. Stimulates the Brain, improving Neural Connections.

Scientific studies show that music stimulates the brain in a way that no other activity does. Thus, playing a musical instrument like piano adds new neural connections developing some higher tiers in the brain. These improved neural connections have their fair share in benefitting at studies and other daily life chores of a person.

4. Strengthens Hand Muscles.

By maintaining the correct posture of hands and using the proper hand position while playing the piano makes your arms stronger. Even as you grow up and get older, your hands have stronger hand muscles compared to others. The piano is a great way of developing dexterity among children as well.

5. Improves the Language Skills

The aural awareness that is developed by playing the piano makes it easier for you to understand the sound patterns of foreign languages. It works wonders for kids who have trouble hearing in a noisy background and can fight dyslexia while it is still developing.

6. Improves Vocabulary and other Classroom skills

Learning to play the piano broadens the vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills of students. Since they are exposed to more words than the kids who do not learn music, their reading also improves automatically. All these factors lead to an overall better performance in the classroom.

7. It stimulates the growth hormones

The Human Growth Hormones or Hgh in the human body has been found to have an altered growth in children who play the piano. These growth hormones keep a person energetic and prevent issues like body ache and pain in the old age. Studies showed that students who took keyboard lessons had increased levels of human growth hormones than those who did not.

8. Helps Children accept Criticism Gracefully

Children who take piano lessons get continuous feedbacks and constructive criticisms from their teachers. This prepares them to accept criticism in a positive way, building them into individuals with stronger and better mental health. However, if a child does not take criticisms positively, it can lead to depression. In a way, piano lessons prove to inculcate important values that stay with people for their lifetime.

https://www.pianosplus.com/blog/piano-news/health-benefits-piano-playing/

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One of the number one reason kids refuse to practice the piano is because they don’t understand why its important. According to them, Mom and Dad want to make them miserable and so they force them to take the most boring lessons in the history of the world. However, studies have proven that piano benefits more than as a punishment for not making their bed that day. I believe that the more children are aware of why this will benefit them later on, the more it will motivate them to continue practicing. The number one response I get from people when I tell them I teach piano is, “I wish I never quit piano.” I hope to prevent more people from thinking that and inspire others to start again.

“A student is almost always motivated to practice if he leaves his lessons feeling capable.”

Francis Clark

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