10 Reasons Why Playing Music Is Good For You

"Music

 produces a kind of pleasure 

which human cannot without."

Confucius

                No matter how old you are, it’s never too late to pick up any musical instrument that you fancy playing.. or what you have lying around, and learn how to play it! 

                    Have no idea how? Well, not to worry, the fact is, you don’t have to be a prodigy to gain the benefits of playing an instrument. On top of that, you also don’t have to spend a lot of money to be classically trained. There are many books on the subject sold everywhere, plus the internet and YouTube are full of tutorials to help you learn on your own. 
                     Did you know that playing an instrument can actually change the architecture of your brain? That might sound like some kind of a made-up futuristic Matrix mumbo jumbo but the truth of the matter is, it’s been scientifically proven ...that’s not even the tip of the “benefits of playing musical instruments” iceberg!

Refines your Time Management and Organizational Skills

               In order to learn an instrument successfully you have to learn how to be organized and manage your time wisely. To progress quicker, a musician will learn how to use their time efficiently and plan different challenges to work on. When you see yourself continuously improving, you will be motivated and ready to take on those new challenges.

 

Betters Your Mathematical Ability

                       Music consists of notes and rhythms. In order to read music well, you have to count notes and rhythms, which has the effect of improving your math skills. Learning music theory includes many mathematical aspects.  So it’s not surprising that it can help you understand things like fractions more effectively. A very pleasant news for you who are still in school.  

                      There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence .  It is the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things. This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.

Teaches You Discipline, Responsibility And Perseverance

                 No pain no gain. Learning to play an instrument takes time and effort, which results in your learning patience and perseverance. To get a musical phrase or entire song down with as few mistakes as possible takes great focus and repetition since most people will not be able to play a piece of music perfectly the first time. In fact, majority of musicians have to work difficult sections of music multiple times in a row before they can play it correctly. Since it is such a challenge, this teaches you self-discipline and the importance of maintaining a steady practice schedule.  

 

Improves Performance On Cognitive Tasks

                       Who said you cannot  teach an old dog new tricks! People over the age of 65...Yes! You read it right, after 4 or 5 months of playing a musical instrument for an hour a week there were strong changes in the brain—the parts that control hearing, memory and the part that controls the hands, among others all become more active.  
                         Another bonus is, the effects are long-lasting too! Adults aged 65-80, the more years a person had spent playing an instrument, the better they performed on tests of word recall, nonverbal memory, and cognitive flexibility. Other delightful results is that playing an instrument can help your IQ increase by seven points.  

Provides Health Benefits

              Playing music acts as a form of therapy. It  provides calming effects on the mind and body. Music has been found to reduce blood-pressure levels.  Other studies suggest that music therapy helps children and teens with Attention Deficit Disorder, insomnia, and depression. In addition to that, it can also be exercise : 90 minutes of drumming burns as many as 500 calories. That sounds so much better than jogging! 

Enhances Your Coordination

                  If you learn how to play an instrument, the parts of your brain that control motor skills actually grow and become more active. By reading musical notes on a page, your brain must convert that note into specific motor patterns while also controlling breathing and rhythm as well. Also for most instruments, you have to be able to have your fingers and/or limbs each performing different tasks simultaneously. Therefore playing music requires a lot of hand-eye co-ordination.

Fosters Your Self-Expression

                  Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression. Since music is an art form, you can easily play a piece and use it as an outlet for your emotions. Playing an instrument of your own will not only help you relax, but can help build confidence and give you a sense of achievement. 

Increases the Capacity of Your Memory

                  Both adults and children can benefit from learning to play an instrument because it helps the mind to be alert and remain active eventually helping to sharpen the memory. This makes learning a foreign language easier and makes you more perceptive to interpreting the emotions of others. This is due to the fact that learning an instrument requires you to learn about tones and scores which increases your ability to store audio information. 

                  Therefore, it becomes easier to pick up other languages and have a better verbal memory in your own language. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.

Relieves Stress

                    Music naturally can soothe not only others but the musician as well. The sound combined with the release of creativity and emotion, as well as the simple vibration of an instrument against a player’s body can significantly lower a musician’s stress level. Playing any instrument can actually help release the endorphin in your body, which will also result in reduced levels of stress.

It’s Just Fun!

                 Even after learning the simplest three chords, you have the ability to write your own song. Bob Dylan has written several well-known songs using only a few chords and there is nothing like playing a song you just learned or wrote for a friend or playing it with friends. You don’t have to be Beethoven or Mozart here, you just have to have a desire to learn!

So let's shake our Angklung!