There are a number of perfectly valid reasons why someone would take up learning (or re-learning) to play the piano in retirement. The most obvious and I reckon the best reason is because they want to. Playing the piano can give so much joy to the one who plays, not just because of the music that they can create with their own hands, but because of the personal satisfaction that can come from learning a new skill. Also someone playing the piano can experience joy just because they are bringing happiness and joy to those who are listening to them.
Sometimes people learn the piano in their retirement because they want to keep mentally active. Just because a person has retired from the workforce doesn’t mean that they are retired from life. Learning to play the piano or any other musical instrument is a great way to keep the brain active and developing new neural pathways. There has been research done and apparently learning to play a musical instrument can help to delay or reduce the risk of diseases like dementia.
Making sure that you don’t have deteriorating fine motor skills is another reason that retirees could take up learning to play the piano. I know that this one sounds a bit crazy but its actually true. By playing the piano you learn to use every finger independently or in tandem with any other finger and you get to develop strength equally in each finger.
Another good reason to take up the piano in retirement is the social aspect. Playing the piano gives you the possibility of mixing and playing with other musicians, whether some sort of ensemble or in the capacity of accompanying people singing or other instrumentalists.
As I stated before,the absolute best reason of all to learn or re-learn the piano in retirement is because of the pure joy you can have by playing the piano. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I remember traveling interstate to have holidays with my grandmother and I remember witnessing the joy she had just playing the piano for hours every single morning. Even though she loved her large family dearly, to me she always looked the happiest when she was playing the piano. Even though she has been gone for over 20 years, I feel privileged to have seen her so happy playing the piano and it is my favourite memory of her.
So if playing the piano is your desire, which is probably true if you are still reading this article, don’t delay, don’t make excuses – just get started.