The Benefits of Adult Piano Study as Self-Reported by Selected Adult Piano Students.

The purpose of this study was to assess the benefits that selected adult piano students reported receiving from their study. Adult piano students (N = 711) from 24 states representing all geographic regions of the U.S. each completed a questionnaire containing 31 individual benefit items. These benefits were organized into 3 categories: Personal, Skill, and Social/Cultural. The demographic characteristics of the study population were consistent with the findings of other adult music research. Students indicated the existence (yes or no) of each benefit and rated the importance of existing benefits on a scale of 1-10. The category of Skill Benefits was the most agreed upon and highest rated category in the study, with over 90% agreement for each of the 7 Skill Benefits. The 14 Personal Benefits were also rated highly, particularly benefits related to self-actualization and fun. Self-related Personal Benefits were rated moderately, while more introverted Personal Benefits such as Imagination/Creativity, Spirituality, and Aesthetic Appreciation were lower rated benefits. The 10 Social/Cultural benefits were the lowest rated and least important benefits in the study. The most agreed upon benefits were Skill Improvement, Musical Knowledge, Musicianship, Accomplishment, Skill Refinement, Technique, Play/Fun, Escape from Routine, and Music Listening. The highest rated benefits in terms of importance were Dream Fulfilled, Technique, Accomplishment, Escape from Routine, Skill Improvement, Musicianship, Musical Knowledge, Play/Fun, Skill Refinement, and Personal Growth