and the Requirements of Playing the Piano

usical learning and performance has traditionally been understood as the process of cognitive ability and physical action. If a musician lacks or is underdeveloped in one of these areas it will either be harder or almost impossible to create music. In this presentation I will focus on the connection between them. Cognitive ability and knowledge increases with age as we gain more facts and experiences. Likewise, a child’s physical abilities expand and become more advanced with age. There is an increasing amount of evidence that cognitive abilities and physical developments are linked in children’s development. In this paper I will present research on cognitive and physical development in children between the ages of five to ten years, the usual age range that children start piano lessons. This research will be framed by a brief summary of developmental theories that are currently held in the field of music instruction and Piaget’s four stages o