Lizzo is one of today’s most popular performers, known for ability to sing, rap, act and even play instruments, the vivacious singer has proven herself to be a well-rounded talent, who isn’t afraid to make waves in the entertainment industry. Given the multi-talented songstress’ musical chops, many fans might be wondering in Lizzo plays piano.
Lizzo can play the piano. She’s been known to play piano solos during her sold-out concerts and even been shown tinkling the ivories on social media. However, the piano is not the instrument Lizzo is best known for playing.
Read more below to learn about Lizzo’s musical background and the unexpected instrument she is classically trained to play.
The Budding Flautist
Lizzo was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson on April 27, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan. When she was 10-years-old, her family relocated to Dallas, Texas, where Lizzo started performing.
When she was 14, Lizzo started a rap group called the “Cornrow Clique” which is where she got her stage mononym. Despite her love of music, singing was not actually Lizzo’s first passion.
Lizzo had begun playing the flute in elementary school, but unlike most students forced to take band class at an early age, Lizzo stuck with the instrument. Discussing her dedication to the instrument, she said, “I remember in the fifth grade, I just wanted to be really good. I was, like, ‘I want to be really good at the flute. Everybody else is so bad.’ And it was so hard to be good at it. It’s a very difficult instrument. I became, like, obsessed with being good.”
Lizzo joined the marching band in high school and when she attended the University of Houston, she was a member of the Spirit of Houston Marching Band. She majored in music flute performance, but ultimately dropped out of college after her dad passed away.
You can see Lizzo show off her flute playing skills on The Jonathan Ross show in the YouTube video below.
Rise to Fame
Following her father’s death, Lizzo moved to Minneapolis, where she formed a girl group and released her first solo album. Though her success was mostly local, Lizzo toured the country, and then crossed the pond to perform in the U.K., which caught the eye of record execs.
Lizzo’s star grew steadily over the next few years and she ultimately shot to international fame with the release of her third studio album, Cuz I Love You, in 2019. The album was well-received by critics and was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.
Not only did Lizzo show off her singing and rapping skills with the release of the album, but she also co-wrote the album. Lizzo often played flute during her live performances, giving audiences a taste of her multi-talented skill set.
Classical Instrumentation
Even though Lizzo is a classically trained flautist, it isn’t the only instrument she can play. During a jam session with fellow artist, Awkwafina, the duo messed around on the piano, showing off Lizzo’s skills. Awkwafina took to Instagram to show off yet another of Lizzo’s musical talents, with the duo performing Hoagy Carmichael’s “Heart and Soul.”
Despite all of her talent, Lizzo realizes she’s not like most of her contemporaries in the music business. Speaking of marching to the beat of her own drum, Lizzo said, “It took me so long. When you hide who you are, it makes it harder for people to get to know you and get to love you, but as soon as you are unashamed of who you are – I was so nervous that people would call me a nerd or think I wasn’t cool – but as soon as I showed the world all of me, that’s when they started to fall in love with me.”
No matter the differences, Lizzo has proven she has the skills from singing to playing musical instruments, to stay in the music business for decades to come.