cause It is the best thing in my life (not only piano I play guitar too I can't choose one of them :D)

So as to pursue the inimitable catharsis derived from certain music... or just make pretty noise, depending on how you look at it

Well ,
I can remember my self listening to music from my early years.
Around age of 7, i was given by my grandfather an old AM radio and i was listening to stations until late night.
Never had some kind of music education thought, didn't had the mind the keep in track those days nor my familys economics could allow such expences.
But that music in my head was always there,anywhere,anyplace.

Life is funny some times and some decades later my daughter wanted to learn music (guitar) and i also decided to give music a try.I also thought that the precious dad (me) should try just to set a good example for the daughter.
Even in my wildest dreams, i couldn't imagine that in any point of my life i could play even any song with piano
Some three years later i keep going (and don't care how far it will get me to).

Didn't had in mind to learn especially piano , mostly keys (great fan of electro-pop and such) . Also not great fan of classical music but i follow teachers instruction (but i managed to convince her to switch to rock songs ).
In the meanwhile i switched from midi keyboard to synthesizer and after that to stage piano now (teacher thought it would be good for the blues lessons).

I come from a long line of accomplished musicians. Music is in my DNA. To not play would be like being pregnant and never giving birth.

This is a great question.

Some background about me.

Well I started at 12 years old taking piano lessons. It did come easy to a point. My mother and my two sisters played. I played through high school and college. During college I played with several bands with a Hammond Organ and Rhodes 88 electric Piano. After college got married and stop playing for 20 years raising a family and working keeping that kept me very busy. Started taking lessons when my daughters were taking lessons. I am taking lessons now from a wonderful pianist here in Houston. I have fallen in love again with the Piano. I will keep playing until I cannot play. This is probably going to be my retirement gig somehow. I have played for churches and for retreats for the last 6 years. Nothing like playing Chopin, Bach, Mozart or any of the other masters. I still am not as good as I should be but I am trying.

The piano has really defined me. I would not have it any other way.

I realised that my post earlier in this thread mainly describes HOW I ended up at the piano, but not WHY.

In the last 10 years, I've been looking for a solo instrument: an instrument that can be played without any extra's, such as drums or accompaniment. Because I studied classical organ for four years as a kid, and had played home organs extensively, I tried the Nord C2D, because it has both classical and Hammond capabilities.

I didn't like it too much, because it's just not fit for playing popular music. The classical organ is exceptional, but only fit for classical organ music. The Hammond is near perfect as well, but for playing popular music, it really, really needs some accompaniment. I found that I don't really care for solo Hammond.

The one thing I like about classical organ is the huge, never-ending reverb. The same holds true for something like a flute played in church. I found something similar in the sustain of the piano.

I've never considered piano before because the ones I've played in the past were really low-end digitals, or badly maintained uprights, and the people I knew that played only played classical music... often very fast pieces.

After getting into classical music more, outside of the organ, I found pieces such as the Moonlight Sonata (1st movement), the Gymnopedies, and some very slow modern pieces such as "Organs" (hehe) by Monsters and Men.

Pieces like that bring out the sustain of the piano. That is what made me try the piano (with the MP7) and finally switch from organ (to the LX-17, after selling the Nord C2D).

I now play the piano because it can be such a soft and lyrical instrument. To some extend it's also therapeutic / meditative or something. Maybe you can't believe it, but I can play something like Bach's Prelude in C, BWV 846 in a loop for an hour. (No, I'm not afraid to use the sustain pedal with a Bach piece if I think it fits it :))

If anybody knows a piece like that in a minor key, I'd like to know.

Welcome to the forum!
Bach prelude and fugue in C Minor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcFHuUJE0mU


imslp has a list of Bach compositions and the keys
http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Johann_Sebastian_Bach

First, please let me say,

HELLO EVERYONE!

Oh, I so LOVED reading people's responses here. Thanks to all for sharing some of your personal reasons.

Me, the reason is quite simple: I love music, and the piano's sound is part of who I am--it's the sound of my soul. However, not that I really play any actual songs yet. The music is still only in my heart and soul... waiting for my hands to catch up. LOL.

(ALSO: LATE TO THE PIANO: I loved reading your response!)

Thanks!

Thanks I should have been clearer. I didn't mean the/a Prelude in c Minor; I know that one. I meant a Bach piece with a lot of broken chords, like in BWV 846, but in a Minor key, that can be played slow and with sustain pedal

My first post. I have been lurking for 3 or 4 years and finally registered.

Playing piano helps my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; it really calms my thinking and makes my brain feel unbelievable relaxed, creative, and energized. I am a "better" person when I practice on a regular basis.

I began playing from 8 to 12 years old; taught mostly classical music. Moved onto designing circuits and programming during jr high and high school and consequently stopped practicing piano for nearly 35 years.

Married and kids came along. My wife suggested we have the boys practice and play piano, now 14 and 10. The boys began playing about 7 years ago, and I fell in love wanting to practice while watching the boys and the instructor playing and practicing.

Now the 3 of us take private lessons (as a family) each Sunday afternoon for the past 5 years.

We all perform at the bi annual piano recitals, including myself. I am 52.

I can say that practicing piano has tremendously helped my technical work creativity. The past 5 years I have written and filed over 45 U.S. patents. When I don't practice regularly, I can immediately tell when my brain is off. I am sharper and more creative now then when I was between 20 to 40's.

I am currently practicing 3 Stephen Heller pieces for our January class recital. I never heard him before but his music touches my soul like jazz - but this classical music.

I have been practicing basic jazz scales and some basic blues; I am a closet jazz want to be player; I envision the sustained improvision will also help with my ADHD.

-stu

Horrors, I know, but I play much more Chopin and Debussy.
Try Bach BWV 578 - if this doesn't work for you, try reposting on the Adult Beginner's or the Pianists forums where you will get more Bach afficiendos that read the thread
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y76uH2xu670

Hey Stu!

That's so cool! I think music can be a form of medicine for the soul. LOL.

Nice to learn of your children endeavors--if I had children I will definitely expose them to music.

I am an Open Jazz lover.. the classics and Oscar Peterson is my beloved favorite.

I love playing the piano.
In my home growing up we always had classical music playing on the cd player. My father played the guitar and my mother played the auto harp when I was really young.

I was interested in learning how to play an instrument but neither the opportunity or will developed for me to actually do something about it.

Fast forward 17 years and my husband buys an old upright piano for himself to fiddle around with. That is when my desire to learn came back to me. I discovered Alfred's Basic Adult all-in-one Course books and have now reached the 3rd book.

I know BWV 578 (at least, as a listener).

It's a three voice fugue, if I remember correctly. I'll give it a try. See you around in 2024

Why do I play piano?
...
The piano is just one part of me, yes. But in those moments, when I perform. Without a doubt the piano is everything to me. If I tried to take it away it would be like plucking off my limbs. I could never live without the piano, it is something that no matter what is taken away from me or where I am in my life that I will always have. No matter what. I will never forget the piano, not a chance! Because I live for those moments. Because I'm a musician. The piano is what keeps me from losing my heart...it brings me love and passion. To me, music is freedom, and the piano is how I express that freedom.

As I've just registered, this thread is probably a good place to make my first post, rather than lurk.

I've been playing piano for just over 2 and a half years, and it was triggered by listening to Muse's "Collateral Damage", which is an altered version of Chopin's Nocturne Op9 No2 with some added strings. I tried learning it on a midi keyboard with the Alicia's Keys soft synth, but it just didn't cut the mustard, so I bought a Roland RD-800 (though I've since moved to a V-Piano).

So why do I play piano? I've played guitar since I was 7 (I'm 45 now), but however good I got, I always felt I was fighting the instrument and couldn't put enough into the feel and emotion of what I was playing. The piano is just so much easier, and though it arguably lacks the expression of a string instrument, just being able to concentrate on the music brings more of the joy of playing and putting myself into it rather than always thinking about getting my fingers into the right place. It's great to have found an instrument I can spend hours practising, and really enjoy the journey of improving and becoming comfortable with a piece, rather than getting frustrated with my lack of skill.

In short, it just feels natural and "right" for me.

LOL... the guitar. I've tried it a few times. I always felt like Dr. McCoy.

"Dammit Jim, I'm a musician, not a hand contortionist!"

One of my friends is quite a good guitar player, and I cringe at some of the chords I see him making with his left hand. That guy must have fingers with 6 parts instead of three. On the other hand, he thinks I've got three brains because I can play the organ...

Good luck on the piano

Not really sure why. I always enjoyed piano music even though we never had one. In school I ended up playing an assortment of wind instruments but not the piano as they didn't have one. Kind of a shame we didn't have the great actions we do today back then and with rental ability lol. I probably would have mastered it back then as a kid the right way.

Anywho, it wasn't until years later we were cleaning out a business and my mother whos a packrat and a half found this old upright Baldwin that had seen better days. So with it loaded into our 4 season temperature garage out of tune by a couple of keys I learned from reference notes and then ear.( back when the net wasn't mainstream) After that then I invested in a cheap portable until I retrained myself to play reading music then I invested in a better used weighted key, and now have a nice expensive one with great keys.

Now I just enjoy playing for myself. I spend hours lost in thought on that thing. I still cheat sometimes and play by ear and quick key reference to memorize songs I like quicker though. I think no matter what ya play as long as you love it learning is easy. Its just constant endless repetition until you can do it fluidly.

Never felt like i was really made for guitar, piano just felt right; I felt comfortable.

I play other instruments, I came to the piano after cello and trombone and after a short stint at the piano in college I learned guitar and played in punk and alt bands for years. I'm coming back to the piano now because of jazz and because of playing by myself a lot. The piano is the closest I can get to what I hear in my head, i.e. a trio or quartet, not just a single instrument. I'm also studying theory now for the first time and the piano is definitely the place to do that.

That's the reasoning part of my brain's idea. I suspect there is something deeper. My mother was a professional keyboardist, organ, piano, even some vibes, and a music teacher. After she passed I used the small amount of money she left me to buy a piano, and recommitted to it then. I'm pretty sure I'm doing it now mostly because it gets me close to her again. She was strictly classical, and that isn't my style, but the intent is the same. So many nights falling asleep to greigs concerto or something similar in my youth...

On top of all of that.... I _like_ it, it makes me giddy. Guess that's all the reason I really need.

That's sweet, tenuki.

My extended family are quite musical; many have played in bands performing at weddings. From the time I was a child I always wanted to play the piano. Unfortunately, my parents could not afford a piano and I was saddled with an accordion instead. I never liked it though i did pass my grade 10. In high school, I learned to play the viola and oboe.

From the time I met my wife, I enjoyed dabbling on her family's piano, but obviously had a nonexistent left hand. I bought a midi keyboard and enjoyed arranging and recording songs... but my technique never improved.

Approximately 8 years ago, when I turned 50, her parent's shipped their piano to me. I took 4 years of lessons and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, my teacher took ill and passed away and I was so busy in my career, I stopped taking lessons.

Two years ago, I retired and found a new teacher who I find inspirational. Why do I play. Quite simple... I have a passion for music and find playing very relaxing.

I started playing piano when I was late 8 or 9.for almost 3 years I learned it but after that I had to quit for my own family reason.10 years later, I started to learn to play piano by myself(I was student but I worked) and have been studying still. well, there are lots of reasons I still play piano. many comics and books inspired me, and there are so many things Id love to learn! and so on.that some stuffs makes me keep going.

Right now, I'm playing it because it is a good discipline for the mind and trains it to focus.
Also: Use it, or lose it.
You've got to always move forward.

Hey, Tenuki.... do you play Go, by any chance?

(The Japanese Go term 'tenuki' means 'to play somewhere else', away from the main action on the board.)

I have always loved the piano and violin but never had the chance when I was a kid to learn other than a plastic recorder which didn't inspire me at all to study music unfortunately One day I realised as an adult, hey why the heck don't I learn now as there is nothing stopping me.

I have been battling with depression for about a year now and anxiety which has been getting worse from time to time and thought It would be a great way to try rewiring my brain and bring some change and challenge to my life, it has been a battle, especially with my lessons and getting a bit nervous and anxious about it but I am pushing through slowly

Why do I play the piano?

What else would I do with it?

Tony

LOL!!! Tony, sometimes I feel that way - gets me through the days when I think it's hopeless!!

Yes, sometimes it is good to just be practical about it.

Tony

I play because I have loved classical music since I could barely walk and I was the only one in my family who really loved it...everyone in the family listened to popular music during the 1950s and 60s. They did not discourage me but they did really encourage me; I feel that at times I had to stick up for what I wanted. We were a poor family and could not afford to let me get lessons. Now I realize that may have been a blessing because of the type of teacher available in my town; my interests might have been too elevated. I may sound it but I am not trying to be too snobbish.

I taught myself to read music when in high school because I heard and immediately loved the sound of the recorder and then played a lot of Renaissance music into well into my 30s. I have some beautiful hand made instruments (soprano through bass) that I occasionally pick up and play.

When electronic keyboards became easily available with earphones I started to teach myself how to finger a keyboard and then use the library to find scores of pieces of music that I loved.

Now that I am on the other side of the keyboard I really enjoy listening to piano music for far longer periods of time than I had patience for in the past.

Of course the biggest thing in recent time is that I am taking piano lessons from a really great young conservatory trained musician who has opened my ears quite a bit by just being next to me and watching carefully while I try to figure what finger to use and when to use it. Still I am proud because he has said that I am his "most musical" student.

If the genie with three wishes came along I would want:
to be a concert pianist (at least for a time)
to conduct an orchestra (at least one good symphony cycle)
to compose some orchestral music that at least some people would like.

Now that I am retired, listening and playing music at the keyboard is an immense fulfillment and addition to my life. I think Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books." Well, I cannot live without music.