What is a piano for?

Television is for watching.

Ice cream is for eating.

Cats are for cuddling.

Perfume is for smelling nice.

But what is a piano for?

Piano have pedals.

Can you see them?

Bicycle also have pedals.

And so do cars.

Many people drive cars

and ride bicycles.

But who drives a piano?

Nobody I know.

Look inside your piano.

Do you see a little wooden hammers?

These are not hammers for

banging nails into the wall.

They are very special hammers.

Each piano has exactly 88 hammers.

Are you surprised?

There are many long wires behind the little hammers.

They are called piano strings.

But what are piano strings for?

Can you wrap a package with piano string?

Can you put piano string on your yoyo?

Who would want to?

A piano has keys.

Piano keys look like this.

Not like this.

Or this.

You can’t open a locked door with a piano key.

Or even a piggy bank.

A piano has exactly 88 keys. You can count them if you like.

Why does a piano have exactly 88 keys?

I don’t know.

Why are some keys white and some black?

Why aren’t they yellow and blue, or red and green?

I don’t know that either.

What do you thing happens when we press down on the piano keys?

The keys push the hammers, the hammers bang on the strings,

and a special thing happens.

Do you know what happens?

Here is a hint:

A harp has strings.

Guitars have strings.

And so does a violin.

What are pianos,

guitars,

harps

and violins for?

What can they do that cars,

bicycles,

piggybanks,

packages

and yoyos can’t do?

THEY ALL MAKE MUSIC!!!

OF COURSE!!!

But what is music?

Can you see music? No.

Can you smell music? No.

Can you touch music? No.

Can you eat music? Certainly not!

But can you hear music?

Of course you can.

Music is fun to listen to.

Music is fun to dance to.

Music is fun – just plain fun.

I don’t know anyone who

doesn’t like music.

Making music is the most fun of all.

A piano can’t make music all by itself.

A piano needs your help to make music.

If you want to make beautiful music,

you should learn to play the piano!

Playing the piano is more difficult than playing

HOUSE

or FOOTBALL.

Playing the piano is more difficult than playing

FISH

or CHECKERS

You must practise if you want to play well.

practising is not as much fun as playing games.

practising is sometimes hard work.

First, you must learn to read notes.

Can you read this? What does it say?

You must learn to play without making mistakes.

Or almost without mistakes.

And when you do make a mistake,

don’t kick your piano

or bite it

or pound on the piano

just because you are angry.

After all, it’s not the piano’s fault.

Be nice to your piano.

Don’t hurt it when you make a mistake.

Just practise and practise some more.

And don’t give up!

Soon you will be able to play some of your favorite songs.

So don’t just sit there on the piano stool

wishing you could make beautiful music.

Now you know what a piano is for.

So what are you waiting for?

The End

Written By: Mel Rosenberg

Illustrated By: Miki Ben-Cnaan

Mel Rosenberg  1978  © All Rights Reserved

Here is the original version from 1978

with the original text and illustrations:

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