PPP242: Why sing if you’re a piano player?

Start singing at a young age.

When children sing, they are developing language skills; they are practicing speech. Young singers are learning to feel the rhythmic pulse of the music. Their voices are practicing moving up and down with the melody.

Singing traditional folk songs passes down a family legacy. Not only will your piano kid learn the same music you learned as a child, and your parents learned when they were children, but these simple songs are easily adaptable to the piano.

Play these tunes by ear on the piano. Play with the lyrics. “Twinkle, twinkle little star…” could easily be changed to “Now it’s time to make the bed…..” What a wonderful way to practice mental acuity. 

Audiation and sight singing.

Audition is the ability to imagine music in your head. Sight singing is the ability to look at musical notes on the page and sing at sight.

Many vocalists use the solfege syllables to learn the various pitches within a scale. I’m sure you’ve heard of Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, and Do. (Did you sing it as you read them just now? I did!)

Singing numbers is just as effective and removes the barrier of having to remember which syllable goes where.

Find a starting pitch – this is 1. Sing that pitch and the next pitch a step above – 1 – 2 – 1. Keep going, adding one more pitch each time.

Singing helps you play by ear.

If you can sing your favorite pop song or praise and worship music, you can use that skill to be able to find the correct notes to play on the piano. If your voice goes up to sing a note, you will need to find the piano key to the right. If the note is lower, play a piano key to the left.

When you add the aural element of playing the piano, you will become a more independent musician.