The Benefits of Playing an Instrument

Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash

One of the greatest joys in life is the ability to play a musical instrument. Looking back at my own experience, I can not count the hours, days and years that I spent in front of the piano practicing my rudimentary exercises through to my Prokofiev's, Gershwin's, Debussy's, Mozart's, Liszt's, Schubert's, Beethoven's... It's apt to quote the beautiful song by Sampha:

"No one knows me like the piano in my mother's home You would show me I have something, some people call a soul"

Over the course of my life music has offered me many opportunities in education, performance, work, travel and friendship; it has been an enriching element with powerful life-long benefits.

Playing an instrument and learning music improves functions of the brain. Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, in their research paper titled Music Training Causes Long-Term Enhancement Of Preschool Children's Spatial-Temporal Reasoning, discuss how, “a research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science."

Music provides a constructive way to express yourself; you can reveal your feelings (good or bad) without having to necessarily define them with words. Playing music is a stress-reliever; it can put your mind at ease in an otherwise hustle bustle world.

Almost everything in our time is a click away. Learning an instrument encourages patience, perseverance and self-discipline. These are all essential ingredients to success in life! And, boy, once you nail that Chopin arpeggiated run or 'ping' out the counter-part voice in a Bach fugue you really get a sense of achievement and grow in confidence.

You will never run out of things to learn in the world of music! With a seemingly endless array of musical style from classical, to pop, jazz, funk and hip-hop, you will never be done exploring. In the Information Age, digital music platforms make music-making, listening and sharing easier than ever.

Music is the most exciting and engaging form of art and self-expression! Here's a short video on how playing music benefits the brain...

#BrainTraining #MusicInstrument #BenefitsOfLearningMusic