A pianist is any mammal that can play the piano.

“Really? Only that?” I hear you say. Yes, it’s that simple. Sorry to all big-headed “virtuosos”. Whether you play three blind mice with your right hand only or Lutoslawski’s piano concerto at Carnegie Hall, you are too just a pianist. A pianist’s purpose is to make music with this polyphonic instrument that we call the piano, and to give the pleasure of music to himself/herself and to the others.

Every pianist, of course, has started playing the piano for a special reason. Maybe some of you started because you attended a concert that had piano-playing and you got inspired. Others may have been encouraged by your parents that starting an instrument could have been a good idea. Perhaps some other people just wanted to decorate their living room with a piano, and in the process they learned the instrument.

Yet, regardless of what type of pianist you claim you are, the rules of practicing described in this website are universal and apply to all types of pianists.