One question people often ask me: Why should I learn how to play music? What are the benefits of learning music?
Why should I invest time and money in something that would not be useful in my professional career? Why not use the time to learn about financial investments or leadership skills?
No doubt things like finance and leadership are important. I’m a huge advocate of them and have been learning about these myself. I worked as a business development executive at a multinational corporation for a large part of my life. In recent times, I’ve been exploring the entrepreneurial path.
But music’s impact is less obvious than that of finance and leadership. It builds soft skills that make a difference in both your professional and private life.
Today, I am going to share 10 advantages of learning music that will impact your life and in a good way. There are many more advantages, but I find these to be the most prominent ones.
Music Does Wonders for Your Health
Research has shown that playing music lowers your blood pressure, reduces stress and anxiety levels. Heck, it even strengthens your immunological response, making you more resistant to viruses.
Most importantly, we can enjoy playing music even at an old age, and it’s a social activity that keeps our minds active. This is especially important in protecting ourselves from mind-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Music Makes You Pretty Darn Smart
Many studies show how learning music can enhance the mind when you pick it up at an early stage. But what if we have already passed an early age?
It turns out that learning music at an older age can do wonders for your mind as well.
In a study at the University of South Florida, adults aged between 60 and 85 were given piano lessons. Six months later, they exhibited improved memory, verbal fluency, information processing skills, and other cognitive functions.
Music Boosts Your Social Life
When you learn how to play an instrument, you are able to create something beautiful for your loved ones to enjoy, which brings you closer.
If you decide to play music in public, you might make some new friends. If you play with a group of musicians, a sense of fellowship is shared amongst musicians, who can collectively produce so much more than an individual can.
Nothing beats a good old-fashioned jamming/hangout session with other musicians, and the bonds and friendships you make are priceless.
Music Builds Your Confidence
Have you ever wondered, how some seasoned musicians can go on stage in front of hundreds, or even thousands of people, and just perform?
Believe me, it takes a whole lot of self-belief and confidence to do something like that, no matter how good you are.
Learning music gives you opportunities to put yourself in that situation and, more importantly, to pull through them! The audience does not have to be massive; you could be performing for just one person or your partner. But when you pull off a performance, you will feel a whole lot better about yourself.
And the best thing is, you will bring that confidence into other areas of your life.
Music Trains Discipline and Patience
They say that the best things in life are worth waiting and/or working for.
Being able to play music is no exception, which requires us to work tirelessly for a good amount of time. It requires commitment and perseverance.
But when we grind our way through it and realize the rewards of playing music, you can treat the whole experience as a lesson in the importance of patience and discipline.
Music Gets the Creative Juices Flowing
Music lets you “look beyond what currently exists and express yourself in a new way,” according to Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
Music is all about understanding basic rules and then expressing yourself in the form of sound. Writing your own song, improvising solos, and re-performing existing songs are the ways that musicians create something out of nothing.
It is no surprise that research has shown that numerous successful people studied music at one point in their lives.
Music Connects Yourself Better
Music is a universal language.
Think of how many of us can appreciate songs in languages we don’t speak or barely understand. You will be surprised how music can bring you closer to people, especially if you need to socialize with people from other cultures.
If you ever find yourself lacking a topic to talk about, ask the other person what his/her favourite song is, and if you are knowledgeable in music, you’ve got yourself a great conversation ahead.
Music Makes You a Team Player
Musicians often play with other musicians. And when they do, it is important to always listen to your team-mates and watch their facial and body language. Only then can you decide how you want to play your instrument to blend in seamlessly with the song.
This ability to listen to what everyone is saying and find a good solution translates to other areas in your life and makes you a great team player.
Music Is an Amazing Stress Reliever
We all have busy lives, and there will be times when we feel like our heads are going to explode from everything that’s happening.
How about going for a jamming session and letting it out on your instrument? It is an amazing way to get your mind off things. It doesn’t hurt your health, it allows you to release your frustrations, it costs nothing, and you probably will gain a bunch of close musician friends.
Music Is FUN!
Last but definitely not least, playing music is fun.
Learning can be annoying at times, but it’s never easy to learn something new. When you reach a level to play something, it can be totally awesome. It starts with a sense of achievement, and then it becomes a whole confidence thing when you play for others. It becomes utter enjoyment when you play with others.
It is a healthy addiction with loads of fun, and I promise that you will not regret making that decision to start learning music.
Also published on Medium.