20 Relaxing Piano Solos
Choosing to play the piano is the perfect way to relax and unwind in stressful times. Here are twenty arrangements you'll want to check out!
A rise in piano sales since the pandemic indicates a reversal in the dwindling number of people playing the piano over the past decades following the introduction of radio and television in homes worldwide. As a result, many people can no longer enjoy social and recreational activities in restaurants, theaters, and other public venues but discover music to entertain and uplift themselves in their homes. Still, you may wonder why people of all ages choose to play relaxing piano music during these challenging times.
Why Is the Piano Calming?
Perhaps you know the phrase, “Music is a universal language.” Its tone, tempo and structure elicit similar reactions, regardless of listeners’ cultural background. But why not simply listen to a radio broadcast or download a favorite musical piece? The answer is that selecting specific music pieces and physically replicating them on the piano produces a physiological chain of events that promotes calm and relaxation. For example, playing the piano can help you refocus after a challenging day by requiring you to coordinate your hand movements while responding to what you hear and feel.
What Music Helps With Anxiety?
Studies show that music with 60 beats per minute can reduce anxiety by lowering blood pressure and reducing heart rate. Playing relaxing piano music can also release pent-up energy while producing soothing sounds that reduce your body’s cortisol or stress hormone levels to promote relaxation quickly. High cortisol levels that accompany stress can lead to anxiety as well as other adverse health consequences, including:
- Depression
- Digestive problems
- Headaches
- Memory and concentration problems
- Muscle tension and pain
- Sleep problems
- Weight gain
Anxiety and each of these health complications intertwine and feed off each other.
How Does Music Soothe The Brain?
Music can also change the brain’s chemistry responsible for anxious feelings. For example, playing and listening to calming piano music encourages the brain’s production of dopamine and endorphin hormones that promote feelings of happiness and positivity. Research studies from McGill University in Montreal support this conclusion. They conclude that subjects with anxiety express a strong emotional response to music that significantly increases dopamine levels and improves motivation.
How Can Children Benefit From Playing the Piano?
As challenging as the pandemic is for adults, children feel its impact in ways that will likely impact them for many years to come. Playing relaxing piano music does not only benefit adults seeking refuge from the anxieties that accompany trying to support themselves and their families during these troubling times. This activity helps children who may feel isolated from their contemporaries and cannot enjoy participating in routine activities essential for their growth and development.
Moreover, playing relaxing piano music can help anxious children develop a meaningful connection with something that calms them and helps them develop the skills they would otherwise develop in the classroom, which they are unable to attend.
Fortunately, playing piano offers the same relaxing benefits for children as for adults. This activity can be indispensable for preventing and relieving childhood anxiety due to the current circumstances.
What Is the Most Relaxing Piece of Classical Music?
It would be challenging to name one piece of classical music that promotes relaxation more than others. However, there are numerous new and long-standing musical compositions across many genres, including classical, to give you the benefits of playing relaxing piano music.
Choosing to play the piano is the perfect way to relax and unwind in stressful times. It’s a great way to distract yourself from the craziness of the world. So wouldn’t it be great to come out of quarantine with a few new polished piano pieces? With so much music from which to choose, you may wonder which piano solo pieces you should tackle learning first. Fortunately, a vast library of piano repertoire exists to ensure you always have a new selection of relaxing piano music to challenge you, whether at the beginner, intermediate or advanced level.
Here are 20 relaxing piano solos to practice while you’re at home:
1. “River Flows in You” by Yiruma
2. “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel
3. “Comptine d’un autre été: L’après midi” by Yann Tiersen
4. “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach, Arr. Jon Schmidt
5. “The Girl With the Flaxen Hair” by Claude Debussy
6. “Gymnopédie No. 1” by Erik Satie
8. “Clair de lune” by Claude Debussy
9. “Nuvole Bianche” by Ludovico Einaudi
10. “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
11. “Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major” by J.S. Bach
12. “Once Upon a December” by Ahrens/Flaherty, Arr. Phillip Keveren
13. “Married Life” by Michael Giacchino
14. “Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig Van Beethoven
16. “City of Stars” by Hurwitz/Pasek/Paul, Arr. Paul Fagan
17. “Winter from The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi
18. “The Heart Asks Pleasure First” by Michael Nyman
19. “Prelude No. 7 in A Major, Op. 28” by Frederic Chopin
20. “Träumerei” by Robert Schumann
Many amateur and professional pianists can attest that playing relaxing piano music is an effective antidote for the anxiety that accompanies troubling times and has benefits that can last for many years. Are you looking to add a new piece of music to your library at no cost? Musicnotes commits to promoting its clients’ welling during these challenging times. Now through April 30, we’re giving everybody one free Musicnotes Edition arrangement! Just use the code MEFREE at checkout.
Feel free to browse through our selection of more than 400,000 sheet music arrangements to find calming piano music that you can begin playing instantly.
Resources:
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/piano-stores-closing-6429331/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure
https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/study-proves-music-is-universal-language/
https://petersonfamilyfoundation.org/music-therapy/science-music-therapy/
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/how-music-affects-mental-health