Have you ever wondered about that stray piano in the airport on the way to your gate?
No? Okay, well, me neither. That is, until a few days ago when — while waiting to board the first leg of a trip to Kigali at Terminal C in Newark — I was serenaded with a rudimentary (at best) rendition of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” It wasn’t bad enough to annoy me, but it also wasn’t good enough to pass as peaceful background music, which got my gears turning.
“Why are there pianos in airports?” I Googled, as one does. And as fate would have it, there’s a little more to unpack here than you might think.
To start, the pianos are supposedly strategic in helping to keep travelers calm in what is a universally stressful setting. Historically, somewhere around 30–40% of travelers reported being nervous about flying, but in the past year — in light of the uptick in aviation incidents — that number has risen to 67%, according to a poll commissioned by The Points Guy. Music, when it’s played well, can be instrumental in easing nerves on a subconscious level.
“Airports would be absolutely terrifying if they were dead silent other than announcements,” one Redditor pointed out in a thread dedicated to the topic.
But calming nerves isn’t the only reason. Some terminals use pianos as a way to humanize an otherwise sterile space — a touch of warmth in a place typically defined by harsh fluorescent lighting and conveyor belts. Then there’s most certainly the branding element: a piano makes an airport feel a little more cultured, even if what you’re hearing is closer to “Chopsticks” than Chopin.
The Journey by InsideHook
Join over 100K travelers seeking trip ideas, the latest travel news, and all the inspiration you need for your next vacation.
Some of those pianos are part of an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram called the “Play Me, I’m Yours”, which kicked off in the early 2000s. Since then, more than 2,000 street pianos have been installed in over 70 cities worldwide, from Tokyo to New York. Inspired by his project, all kinds of organizations have since taken up the torch, dropping pianos into train stations, hospitals, malls, libraries — basically any public space where people gather and wait. There’s even a Wiki that obsessively tracks airport pianos around the world, proof that it’s not exactly a quirky coincidence.
Then there’s another theory — one that is, admittedly, much harder to prove but far more fun. A Reddit user claimed that back in the ’80s, Elton John had pianos included in his rider, and airports installed them as a way to welcome him. Is there a single shred of evidence to support this? None that I can find. Do I want to believe it’s true? Absolutely. Picture yourself walking through Baltimore/Washington International Airport and catching Elton John casually banging out “Bennie and the Jets” before your boarding group is called. Electric.
To be fair, very occasionally, you will catch someone who really knows what they’re doing — and I’ll admit, it’s a treat when that happens. But the unfortunate reality, though, is that — at least in my experience — it rarely is. It’s a child, or a clueless adult who once learned “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on their grandparents’ piano 40-odd years ago. And airport employees agree: “I can tell you, as long as we had one, all employees hated it,” one supposed airport worker wrote. “Announcements couldn’t be heard, and passengers and staff had to shout at each other over the noise.”
So, the takeaway? Occasionally, it can be charming. Other times it’s irritating. But if you choose to imagine that every piano in every terminal building is waiting for its Elton John moment — even if all it usually gets is “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” — suddenly, the airport feels, at the very least, a little less mundane.
Meet your guide
More Like This
This article appeared in an InsideHook newsletter. Sign up for free to get more on travel, wellness, style, drinking, and culture.
