Dean Marcus (
Hungary
)
Playing my first song on the piano – Dean’s goosebump moment
“Hello everyone! My name is Dean Marcus, and I am from Hungary. My goosebump moment was when I first got to play the piano. It was a friend of mine who came over, I was about 12 years old, and he was like “dude you are going to love this so much”. So, he played a key, and I was like “What? How can something make this sound?” And after he started playing, and I started like you know, improvising and trying to get to learn the instruments. After about five to six years, I finally had an opportunity to play piano again and my God, it was amazing. I just love music in all aspects and things you can create. That is my goosebump moment. I literally got shivers because when I was able to play my first song, God knows what it was called, but my God it was so emotional for me, to be able to share an insight, a feeling through a song and connect to other people and you know, once people love what I do they love me I love them we connect you know.”
Developing piano skills
The greatest satisfaction when starting to play a musical instrument is to see the results of the effort, surprising you every day by listening to the music you have created. Along with the joy of creating music, learning to play an instrument like the piano helps develop important physical and social skills that will continue throughout our lives.
Most people play the piano because they enjoy it. Playing an instrument, however, is more than just a great pastime. When you practice or simply play a song on your piano, your brain is working at full speed.
Many brain areas are activated, which has long-term positive effects and improves some important skills.
It all starts with a good song
A good song is the best motivation you can have when learning to play the piano. Of course, you should know a few basic rules before you start. For example, which keys you should play and what position your hand should be in. You don’t have to get too excited about it either, just dedicate a couple of days to it. Pick a song and get started!
Choosing the right song can be trickier than it sounds. It’s the most important thing of all. If it’s too easy, you’ll get bored in no time, but if it’s too hard, you’ll end up frustrated.
The key is to find a simple transcription of some song or piece of classical music that you really like. Once you have found the song, start by breaking it down into small sections of 4 to 10 seconds. Why? When you practice piano, your brain is working at full speed.
It must memorize new and complex hand movements, and it’s normal that it can’t store it all at once. Studies have shown that performing 4 to 10 second repetitions is ideal for your brain to stay focused and not switch off.
Playing the piano stimulates the brain
When you play the piano, you exercise independent coordination. Sometimes, your left hand and your right hand need to execute totally different movements at the same time. Your brain has to tell each separately what to do and how to move around the keyboard.
This is good brain gymnastics. Learning to perform independent hand movements simultaneously stimulates several areas of the brain, just as being able to read sheet music dramatically improves hand-eye coordination.
It is obvious that you first need to listen carefully before playing a given piece of music or song. These listening skills also benefit verbal memory in your own language and allow you to better recognize voices in a noisy environment. This comes in handy when you are trying to carry on a conversation with your friends in a crowded coffee shop or restaurant.
Notes and rhythms, as well as music theory, are based on mathematics. Reading music and counting rhythms require math skills. Studies show that students who play an instrument often score higher on math tests than those who do not.
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