The Popularity of the Piano

In the 500 years since its’ invention, the piano has become of the most distinctive and popular instruments with millions of fans of both the sound of the piano and playing the instrument themselves. However, when it comes to selecting an instrument or sound, many people are interested in what it is exactly that makes the piano so special. With thousands of types of piano to choose from, from the Yamaha U1 Piano to a Roland digital model, it is interesting to consider what makes the piano so special:

Versatility

With many different genres and sub-genres making up the musical world, there are few instruments which are truly versatile and able to span across many. There are fewer still which can cover all. Whilst certain instruments such as the saxophone or tin whistle have a sound which is so distinctive that they immediately give any type of music a different sound or style, there are others such as the flute which fit into one type of musical genre well but don’t’ tend to lend themselves to others quite as effortlessly. The piano is truly versatile in that whether a person is using a digital piano or a traditional Yamaha piano, their music is able to transcend the genre, fitting in with any style, speed or tone.

Composing

In terms of the thousands of musical instruments, there is a reason why the piano over any other is chosen as the key instrument for composers. This is because the piano, and only the piano, can be used to play several chords at the same time, allows continuous playing and allows the player the benefit of hearing an overall sound which they might expect from a finished piece. Consider that whilst a trombone only solo of the song “God Save the Queen” might sound drastically different from the piano version of the same song but the piano version would be much more likely to sound similar to an orchestral arrangement and it’s easy to see why so many professionals use the piano as their composing friend.

Ease

Whilst there are many musical instruments to learn, the piano is the one which is most flexible in terms of learning styles and therefore caters for the broadest spectrum of would be learners.