Does playing piano as well as a string instrument make your progress on your string instrument faster and better? I needed a year and a half on the piano before I could do grade 1, but then when I was 9 I started on the cello, and only after 5 years I'm already learning rather difficult pieces. And even if I don't practise cello for weeks, I can still play rather well. How about you?

I've played the piano for many years before taking up the cello about five years ago. I'd say the benefits of working on piano and a string instrument together mainly would be in the left hand, assuming you are right-handed like most people. The LH fingerings needed on a string instrument would help build independence and strength in the LH, which is usually a bit lazy, and I think this would help piano playing, particularly contrapuntal things like Bach WTC.

The other key benefit is that if you only learn the piano you are at risk of not acquiring a proper sense of pitch and intonation unless you have natural gifts for that. Press the key, out comes the note: you have to work quite a bit harder on a string instrument. If you sing or play another non-keyboard instrument then that equally may help.

Regarding your last question, my situation is the reverse, i.e. I don't need to practise the piano, but I do need to practise the cello.

Never played the piano at all - and still don't! - but I took and passed violin grade 2 after just three months of lessons.

I could read music and play the clarinet though before taking up the violin, so maybe there is some link between prior musical knowledge and speed of progress on a string instrument, but certainly not just from playing the piano.

I finished my piano up to ATCL standard before I began on the violin. I think in my case, the progress comes from knowing the notation and the sound of intervals prior to playing the violin. All that aural training and years of being immersed in music has helped a great deal in intonation. Of course, in the beginning when I was still in first position and before I got into the forums, I mostly relied on my aural interval recognition. But then I realised if I got one note wrong, the whole thing invariably goes wrong. I still have this problem sometimes when playing pieces I'm not familiar with, but then I think my intonation has improved greatly after learning to 'listen' for the sound I expect to hear in my head first before I actually play it. Of course, I might not know what to 'listen' for, if I did not have prior musical training!
So yes, I think I did progress faster because of certain experiences gained from playing the piano.

I played the piano for 6 years before I started playing the violin. I think this helped me heaps because it meant that when I started playing I already knew the notes, etc and my intonation was good. By learning the piano before the violin, I was able to do my grade 1 example in my first year of playing. So, I would say yes, learning the piano or any instrument helps play a string instrument. I can also not play for a week and then do good at my music lesson.

I wouldn't say it had to be piano - I took up cello after 6/7 years of trombone, and found it relativley easy over all. I've been going for 1 and a half years and I'm working on Grd 7 so I'm delighted with that - and what's more I really enjoy playing my cello. I've also found it's developed my ear alot for trombone playing, and hearing intervals in general.

I dont know if anyone would agree with this, but I find cello much easier than the smaller stringed instruments.
I took up piano, and it took me 9 years to get to grade 8 but with violin which I took up a year later, only 7.5 years to get to DipABRSM, but then susequently I took up cello, (1.5 years ago) and I now have grade 8.
I find cello often very satisfying compared with my violin, as I find it relatively easy to make a really nice sound, and can get v. frustrated with vio, which I am better on.

I think piano is definitely beneficial, because you pick up a lot of complex rhythms and combinations faster. In addition, reading the staff is a challenge for anybody new to music.

Playing a string instrument also helps your piano training, in my belief. I read notes very well in the treble clef, thanks to violin, which helps my sight reading. Unfortunately, my sight reading scores remain rather poor.

In my orchestra, there are a lot of people who started one to two years before me but have little piano experience, and now I sit before them in orchestra. While it varies with everyone else, I think that having a piano training definitely does help. Piano is like the mother of all instruments.

Ya. i totally agree with you. I find the cello easier to play well compared to the violin. I used to learn the cello together with the violin. But i find that learning the cello gets in the way of learning the violin. Do you think so?

It is very impressive that you managed to pass grade 8 cello within 1.5 years of learning it. But would learning the cello affect your touch and sensitivity on the violin?

I've finished my grade 8 in violin and intend to work all my way to LRSM and possibly FRSM in violin performance. But i also intend to pick up the cello again after i get my DipABRSM in the violin.

hi, I play the piano with Dip.ABRSM standard. And I have started playing the violin for a year and playing the cello for half year. I don't think playing cello is easier than playing the violin. But it's easier to start the second instrument once you have certain musical standard on the other instrument~

As I have the Dip. level for piano, my cello teacher always asks me to provide more "colour" when I play the cello. It's hard for me as I'm still not really confident on my bowing and it's difficult to produce the beautiful colour at the same time.

I play the piano and violin... I wish I'd started them both at the same time though but I still like them both.

My guitar teacher said because I am already learning the piano, I should progress the first lot of pieces much quicker.

Car Expert