Why play piano as a singer-songwriter?

The piano is the singer-songwriter's best friend. Perhaps only rivaled by the guitar, thousands of artists around the world are composing and turning up to gigs with a piano or keyboard, or MIDI controller with keys. 

The popularity of playing piano is for good reason; to play piano is to harness one of the most dynamic, world-renowned, yet ever-evolving instruments we as humans have created. As singer-songwriters, the question is not quite why play piano, but rather why not?

Determining your complimentary instrument

Pianist bias aside, this decision can be a real challenge. There are some deep questions that you should consider, such as:

🎹 What do you like to listen to?

🎹 Is your left hand or right hand dominant?

🎹 What timbres, or quality and color of the sound, match the music you are making?

🎹 Do you like the idea of standing, sitting, or flexibility for both while performing?

🎹 What is realistic for you to acquire, based on where you live and the cost?

Many songwriters compose their first seeds of music through lyrics and melodies. Later on, one path to hearing your ideas come to life would be through a producer. This individual can advise on how your notebook scribbles can become a recording. You identify a verse and a chorus, as well as what is possible with the help of studio musicians. But this can be expensive, and doesn’t solve how to perform live unless you want to sing over a pre-recorded, or “backing” track.

This might be the stage you are at right now, which is exciting but can also be full of anxiety and imposter syndrome. Don’t let it stop you – to rely on a cliche phrase, everyone starts as a beginner, and there are more ways than ever to grow as a musician.

Enter the accompaniment. Even a basic set of skills playing piano can be a game-changer in developing initial song ideas, singing those songs on stage, and removing your reliance on others overall. It gives you more input, or full control, over your sound.

But which do you choose? Read on as we make a case for the many benefits offered to you by choosing piano and LUMI Keys.

Defining piano roll

This piano roll surface and the inventions that championed it have an ultimate staying power. It’s what makes the keyboard an excellent beginning, but also a lifelong partner. It is literally a map to music theory, the "science" behind what we hear. The rule book which you may master, and choose when to tastefully bend or break those rules.

From the earliest models of a piano, outlined by Yamaha here, the term "piano roll" became necessary as a way to explain how musical notes are organized. This is especially important with software tools, or hardware synthesizers which may share the same playing surface, but sound quite different in practice and don’t necessarily operate like a traditional electronic keyboard.

For those who are curious, there are even more tips on this here.

Defining singer-songwriter

Britannica claims that the term first emerged in the 1960s-1970s, where soloists more directly blended poetry and storytelling into music. Although the same article claims that the trend largely ended by the 1970s.

While there may be some truth to this, there’s another side to the story. Still today, it feels like every solo musician uses this term somewhere in their bio. It is as unavoidable of a label as you can find in modern music. Why is this? Would it not be better to define oneself around something that everyone else isn’t?

It might be a way of honoring those early pioneers bringing music to a more personal place. A nod to them, as you forge your own way of singing and songwriting. While it's still not altogether clear how to be a singer-songwriter today, that is for us to determine for the history books together.

Why piano? – Improved songwriting and arranging

Music is within all of us. Whether we can perceive it ourselves and then outwardly express it, is another question.

Playing piano can serve you in two distinct ways: songwriting and arranging. The first comes down to your earliest ideas. You might arrive at the keys with lyrics in hand, or prefer to write melodies or a chord progression before letting the lyrics come to you. But in what would otherwise be a process of sitting with a notepad and humming some notes, the piano can help voice your ideas and inspire you to take it in different directions.

For example, when you write a melody through voice or singular piano notes, you can use the instrument to begin building harmonies, or understand what chords might fit under that music. What would otherwise be done on billed time by a producer is begun by you, and allows you to guide the development of the song idea in more detail before others become involved.

However, outside of preparing your music for release, there is also preparing for live performance. This comes down to arranging, or planning out what sorts of instruments you will need in a solo, duo, trio or larger band setup to bring your music to life.

Classical musicians would notate this in sheet music, whether for orchestras or multiple human voices like explained here. But at its core, arrangement is about understanding octave ranges and how you intend to embellish, or sonically decorate your lyrics.

Why piano? – Self-accompaniment and band leading

For live performance, the arrangement is incredibly important. Yes, learning the piano will allow you to act as your own accompanist, with the spotlight fully on you. This is a powerful image that has defined careers and famous performances like at The Grammys. It also helps de-risk these moments of being misaligned with other musicians.

Once you begin arranging, however, chances are you’ll find some of your songs would benefit from other sources of rhythm. You can hear the parts of a bassist, guitarist, percussionist, wind player, and so on coming through your musical ideas.

When this happens, you want to be able to direct them. Playing an instrument, and especially the piano, can help you command rehearsals and later, the stage. 

Why piano? – Be prepared for any backline

The more flexible you are with your setup and arrangement, the fewer emergencies you’ll have at venues. Holding even a basic skill set in piano, centering your performance around playing it while you sing, is a great way to de-risk live performances.

Surprises are a part of a musician’s experience. Sometimes they are good, like when inspiration for a new song or melody hits, though sometimes it’s not so nice. It’s not uncommon for a musician to show up to an event and be surprised by what equipment is available to them, and even more anxiety-inducing, what is not available to them.

Though in professional venue settings, the on-site team is likely to have and offer to you certain equipment as backline, a basic keyboard being one of them. So if you are unable to bring your own, or you encounter issues during sound check, a venue can generally cover you and save the show. If interested, Spotify defines backline along with a number of other live music terms here.

Bringing it all together with LUMI Keys

LUMI is dedicated to piano learning across all ages, backgrounds and musical goals. If you’ve decided to pair up with the piano to sing your own songs, forget finding a grand piano; there is no better way to learn than with a LUMI Keys and the learning app that comes with it.

LUMI provides an expandable way to play piano which can bring you from beginner to a one-person band. It begins as a fun way to play, learn new songs, develop your skills, and practice through a wide range of lesson formats. Then, once you've gone through it at your own pace, it can be the voice to your own repertoire on stage.