Finding a New Key In Life: How Learning the Piano is Serving My Soul and Nurturing My Neural Pathways

Having taken a handful of piano lessons aged 10, it’s always been an instrument I’ve been fond of, particularly when it’s paired with house music.

So, when I first found out I was lucky enough to win the Live Free Fund – receiving funding for piano lessons – I had visions of moonlighting in Ibiza as a resident keyboard player come summer 2025!

Jokes aside, 12 months on, I’ve taken so much more from the process than I’d realised was possible.

Firstly, I’d naively underestimated the importance of discipline around practice. As someone who is rather impatient, those early stages of not immediately recognising the notes and fumbling through simple pieces really frustrated me. Life is so fast paced these days, and we all want immediate results. But my teacher, Andrew, has been excellent at introducing ways of remembering certain things (we love an acronym) and relating practice to “taking my fingers to the piano gym”.

I’ve since come to embrace the benefits this is all having on my brain. Reading a little further into it, I love the idea that engaging in the challenge of learning new pieces and refining skills is keeping my brain active and creating new neural pathways. On a more personal note, I was touched to discover that piano playing has been linked to cognitive preservation in ageing populations.

At the time of writing my entry, my grandad was living with dementia, and I’d been reminiscing with him about his childhood. He told me about his time as an evacuee, when he would play songs at the piano to bring joy in such difficult times. His stories struck a chord, reminding me of when I used to play for my family as a child. Sadly, my grandad is no longer with us. Dementia is a disease that surrounds us, and seeing the work my colleagues do for Care UK shows just how important it is to learn about it and promote healthy habits early on in life.

Inspired by the memories, my original goal was to be able to play for my family at Christmas. In the first nine months, I completed the Grade 1 book, which aptly ended with Jingle Bells. No matter what age you are, it’s always nice to make your parents proud and I loved playing for my family at Christmas.

I’m now continuing through the graded books, but also really enjoying the ‘first 50 pop ballads you should be able to play on the piano’. I’m currently part way through Hero by Mariah Carey, which I am super proud of every time I sit down to play.

Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of working with Zara, but she was a hero for many at WPR and her memory certainly lives on through them. I am so grateful to WPR and to Zara’s family, who judge the entries. I hope I’ve honoured Zara with the progress I’ve made so far!

To date, I have:

• taken 30 lessons
• learned 30 pieces
• completed Grade 1 book
• annoyed one fiancé with the hundreds of expletives and restarts every time I go wrong!

Also, shout out to my teacher, Andrew. If you’re interested in learning and local to south Birmingham, his details can be found here.