Four Pianists turned Politicians

Charles Dickens played the accordion, Neil Armstrong played the Baritone Horn, Thomas Jefferson played the violin, and Basketball great Wayman Tisdale played the bass guitar. These are only a few well known people who play a musical instrument. Although these are all worthy stories, let’s focus on the piano. As you might imagine, there are a lot of people you may have heard of who have played piano. (We’ll skip people like Elton John, Billie Joel, and Little Richard for obvious reasons) Today, we’re focused on people who have made a name for themselves as a political figure.

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice was the first African American woman as well as the second woman to serve as the United States Secretary of State. She served in this position from 2005-2009 under President George W. Bush. She now serves as a faculty member of Stanford University.

Ms. Rice is a highly accomplished piano player. When she was 15, she played with the Denver Symphony Orchestra which was an award for a piano competition she had won. Today, Ms. Rice plays a few times a month with a string quartet in Washington with a group of lawyers in her apartment. Many of her quartet members, like her, are highly trained with one being a former college cello teacher. In addition she has performed with Yo-yo Ma as well as solo performances at embassies and for Queen Elizabeth II.

Bill Clinton

Most people who remember the Bill Clinton presidential era know that his Saxophone was an integral part of who he was. He didn’t have the virtuoso ability of Condoleezza Rice but he did have a talent that allowed him to play and enjoy the saxophone and music in general. He was even presented with a custom made presidential saxophone that was later donated to a museum.

Harry Truman

As a young boy Harry Truman woke up at 5am every day and practiced piano for two hours. He once said that if he was good enough, he would have never been president but instead a professional pianist. His mother was his first teacher and later, he had teachers in his town. At age 15 he quit taking piano lessons telling his mother that he would never be good enough to play full time.

According to the Truman library, in 1945 he played piano for a group of Methodist women, winked at them and said, “When I played this, Stalin signed the Potsdam Agreement.”

Richard Nixon

President Nixon is known for bigger things than his musical talent but most people don’t know that not only was Richard Nixon a pianist but he was also a composer. In fact, a concerto that he wrote was so good that he performed it on the Jack Parr show and five years later, he became President of the United States.

Although we mention only four American political figures, the world is filled with many more. Brittish Prime ministers and Indian peace movement leaders are just a few examples of the many around the world who have made the piano their instrument of choice.

People like this are proof that music is very accommodating. You don’t have to play music full time to enjoy the benefits of playing.

So you want to learn to play music? You’ve never had a lesson on an instrument and don’t even know where to start? Learning to play music can be as simple or challenging as you want. Whether you want to learn the guitar, the piano or the tuba doesn’t matter. Just challenge yourself and you’ll be making music before you can say embouchure.

First of all, there are many instruments that are very easy to learn. The simplest is the kazoo. The pitch of a kazoo is entirely controlled by your mouth. No fingerings to learn. Just put it to your mouth and buzz.

Moving up the scale are other mouth instruments, such as the harmonica and melodica. The harmonica takes seconds to learn but a lifetime to master. Harmonicas come tuned in a certain key, so that there are no out-of-key notes. As long as you use the proper harmonica for the key, you’ll sound musical. Of course, there are many other techniques to learn, but for the beginner trying to learn to play music, the simplicity of the harmonica is great.

The melodica is a keyboard instrument that is powered by air from your lungs. You blow into the mouthpiece and play the keyboard like a piano. The only difference is that the keyboard is facing away from you, perpendicular to your body. Most melodicas cover only an octave or two, giving you a smaller range.

The piano is another great instrument to start learning to play music. Every note is laid out in front of you, with nothing hidden. Using the white keys, you can play anything in the key of C. The amount of musical expression attainable on the piano is unmatched by other instruments, as it’s both a melodic and percussive instrument.

There are many benefits of learning to play music as an adult. Increased confidence, mental stimulation and sheer joy are just a few of them. Imagine entertaining friends with your new skills! Maybe you always wanted to have your own band and never pursued it in your youth. Learn to play music as an adult and have the musical fun that you missed. It’s never too late to stimulate your mind in new and exciting ways.

You’ll meet new people when you become a musician. It’s surprising when you learn who secretly always wanted to play in a band or hold an audience enraptured through a Debussy piano piece. From CEOs to maintenance workers, there are part-time musicians everywhere you look. Maybe your boss, the secret guitarist, will find out that you’re learning to play music. Suddenly you’re a new blip on the radar and you have a buddy to jam with on Sundays.

Whatever your reasons for learning to play music as an adult, you’ll love it. Pick up a simple instrument like the kazoo or a vast one like the piano and practice. Find a cheap guitar, some online instruction and learn your favorite songs by the Who. Buy a harmonica, start a campfire and play the blues. The possibilities are endless, as long as you keep your enthusiasm and continue to practice.

“I want to play music!” How many millions of people have either said or thought that? And why not? Music is the universal language that we all speak, and we all want to express ourselves and communicate our feelings to others. Music is the perfect vehicle for that.

I have often thought that if during the presidential campaign the candidates were only allowed to sing their stories and oppions rather than pound the pulpit and preach them, we might just have a more civil campaign with a lot more mutual respect and understanding.

You can get started easily playing music by taking a music course online from one of several excellent choices, including Piano Lessons By Video, How To Read Music, How To Play Chord Piano, and many other courses. Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually any area of music; history, theory, instrument instruction — you name it and somewhere music courses specialize in it. Though generally found through colleges, universities or high school programs, music courses are also offered via one-on-one instruction with a private teacher or community-based workshops. Some churches even offer music courses as a complement to their choirs; the music courses may be offered to the general public, but they’re often geared toward the choir members and congregation. But if you want to learn fast and start playing music, go to your web browser right now and type in “play piano” or “learn music” or “play music”. A complete catalog of over 300 individual courses in music theory and piano playing can be found at Play Piano Catalog.

But whatever you do and however you do it, get started playing music! It’s tremendously rewarding to play music of any kind.