So piano, I wouldn’t say there is a new craze but lately I see more people get their kids piano lessons. This is where Vietnamese middle class stands now. We can afford an old upright acoustic piano if we really want it, or a good electronic one like I have. And our kids can finally learn to play piano.

Piano has always been an object of prestige. The instrument is expensive, the music has excellent connotation: it is the music of classic chef oeuvres, the music of Mozart and Chopin. The pianist is thought to be elegant, slender figure with graceful hand movement. A person playing piano is a classy, educated and rich person. In sum, playing piano is a sign of the elite class, and learning to play piano is a step to enter that class. That, I can be sure, is the ultimate reason of those parents when they send their kids to learn piano. But that reason is wrong.

The elite class remains elite because they do everything to assure that they have something that other classes don’t. They flight first class not only because the seat is bigger but also because they don’t have to mingle with peasant passengers of the economic class. They buy way over priced painting not because the piece would look good in their living room but because who else would spend that much money over something that has so little utility? The middle class can brag about how clever they are to find a cheap flight or a decoration piece that looks equally good with a fraction of money. But that is exactly what the upper class avoid. They care about exclusivity not practicality. They want to show off how little they care about money. That is why they love art.

Art is a bizarre thing. No one can tell exactly what is it for. Some are even outraged with the fact that this question is being asked. Art is for the soul, asking about the purpose of art is an insult to art. No one should ever define art with common notion like “what it is for”, it should only be described with equally artistic terms which should sound like poem and ultimately leaving the readers in the same darkness as where they enter. The lack of practicality is the prime reason why art is so venerated. Art is art because it is principally useless.

As for me, I think of art as entertainment, and its purpose is to entertain. Stripped off social connotation, playing piano is no difference than playing video games. Both just make you relaxed. Piano music of Mozart time was sure to be a form of entertainment, albeit for the aristocracy only as who else had piano back then. Playing piano wouldn’t make you more sophisticated, especially when now practically many people can afford a piano. For that you have to play the very complex game of exclusivity stated above. And a piano wouldn’t be enough.