5 Reasons Piano is A Difficult Instrument

Intro

Playing the piano is a very rewarding feeling. It can be a great way to relieve stress for yourself, and listeners who may be listening. To be able to play the piano proficiently one must practice a considerable amount. This may be because the reading music and having the hand coordination for piano music is highly difficult. Below are five reasons why the piano is a difficult instrument.

1 - Pianist must read two clefs

Reading one clef at a time is hard enough considering there is rhythm, dynamics, and note reading all going on at the same time. On piano it is all that times two. It takes pianist years to learn how to read both clefs at a high level. Therefore sight reading may be the most difficult on piano, because it really is sight double reading.

2 – You must read multiple notes at once

Not only are you reading two clefs, but because you have multiple fingers you must read multiple notes at once. Sometimes there is five notes in the bass clef and five notes in the treble clef, so the pianist must read 10 notes all at once. Learning this skill is great for the brain!

3 – There are 88 notes on a piano that you must be able to read

Most instruments/singers must read notes in a certain range, because that instrument or vocalist can only handle a certain number of notes in their specific range. The piano has an 88-key range, which is a massive range of notes to have memorized.

4 – Difficult Hand Coordination

Being able to control two different hands each with five fingers and being to control them to do exactly what you want key by key during a fast song takes serious hand coordination. Practicing in general, but particularly practicing scales, and doing piano exercises can help overcome these difficulties.

5 – Pianist Also Use Their Foot

To be able to create the sustain echo sound on the piano a pianist must push down the sustain pedal. This is another part of the body a pianist must control to get the sound they want. The sustain pedal is used in legato songs and can create a beautiful sound.