How to play piano

Some instruments, like the violin or the trumpet, take skill just to make a decent sound.

But piano is rewarding from day 1 because you don’t have to “make” the sound yourself. All you have to do is press a key that’s attached to a hammer that hits a string to create a perfectly clear note.

Most people can figure out a simple melody on a keyboard by playing around. Of course, there’s more to playing piano than eking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” but at least you won’t be squeaking through your first few lessons!

A neat thing pianists can do is play both melody and harmony. Most instruments can’t do this.

As a pianist, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of both melody and harmony — that is, both the foreground and background of music.

Knowledge of both treble and bass clef also helps. Many instruments only use the treble clef, but if you decide to pick up the tuba later on, that bass clef knowledge will come in handy.