{"id":3845,"date":"2021-05-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=3845"},"modified":"2023-01-11T14:00:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T22:00:10","slug":"calming-piano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/calming-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"Calming Keys: How the Piano Can Help You Feel GOOD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Full disclosure: I&#8217;ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life. <strong>And mental health is very important to me.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you don&#8217;t struggle with depression or anxiety personally, there are plenty of things in life that gives us stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From pandemics and natural disasters to parenting and work, we all need to slow down and take care of ourselves on occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this lesson, I&#8217;m going to show you how to feel better by playing music. <strong>No previous piano experience required!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large full-width\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Calming%20Keys\/milford%20sound.jpg\" alt=\"Serene landscape of mountains and water.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A relaxing exercise on the piano&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 1: Find C<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We&#8217;ll start by finding a note called C. <\/strong>It&#8217;s located to the left of the group of two black keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use any finger to play a steady rhythm with C (I use my pointer finger). If you have a pedal, hold it down to create a dreamier sound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Calming%20Keys\/calming%20keys%20middle%20c-compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 2: Add some thirds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p>Next, use your right hand to <strong>play two white keys that are two notes apart. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The beautiful thing is, you can play <em>any<\/em> two white keys with this shape on top of your C and it&#8217;ll sound great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are <strong>no wrong notes.<\/strong> Yay!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you&#8217;re comfortable, experiment a little.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Calming%20Keys\/calming%20keys%201.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 3: Try different patterns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p><strong>Vary your rhythm. <\/strong>Play faster, play slower. Play syncopated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, <strong>break apart the notes on your right hand<\/strong> and try other bass notes on your left. (Hint: <strong>A<\/strong> \u2014 the next note I try \u2014 will sound <em>very <\/em>nice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also try different shapes on your right hand. We&#8217;ve been playing thirds, but <strong>try fourths and fifths.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Calming%20Keys\/calming%20keys%202%20-%20compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 4: Relax<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You don&#8217;t need to be super skilled to <em>feel<\/em> amazing at the piano.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exercise helps you feel in control, and feeling in control can help with anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So take a break from your day, sit down at the piano, and just relax and see where your fingers and ears take you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Mental health resources (if you need them):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/mental-health-resources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Mental health resource list by Healthline: <\/strong><\/a>when and where to ask for help, types of providers, and international resources<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/checkpointorg.com\/global\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Checkpoint global mental health resource list:<\/strong><\/a> resources, organizations, websites<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/suicidepreventionlifeline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Suicide Prevention Hotline<\/a><\/strong> (U.S.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>More free Pianote lessons related to mental health:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" id=\"block-76352c0c-ce18-43a1-a041-675df32a468a\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-to-reduce-stress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Use Your Piano to Reduce Stress<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/de-stress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Unwind at the Piano<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/playing-piano-makes-you-happy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Can Playing the Piano Make You Happier?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May is mental health awareness month. So today, I&#8217;m going to show you how to feel better by playing music. No previous piano experience required!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":3887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1108],"tags":[1069],"class_list":["post-3845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musicianship","tag-gsotp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3845"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10627,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845\/revisions\/10627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}